In the wake of the Dyson Zone — the brand’s “purifying headphones” — Dyson unveils a dedicated audio device, the Dyson OnTrac.

Above: our customised Dyson OnTrac.

There are no jokes to be made this time; this is a serious piece of audio equipment that competes in the luxury headphones category; and at $699, they go head-on with established audio solution brands like Sennheiser and even Bang & Olufsen.

Above: Unboxing the Dyson OnTrac and accessories.

DESIGN

Let’s get straight to the point — the Dyson OnTrac is going to sell much, much better than the Zone, and because they won’t look awkward when worn. In fact, they’ll look great.

[click on the images to enlarge. photos courtesy dyson.]

We think their biggest selling point is in their ability to be customised. You can swop out the ear cups and the side caps to a colour that suits your mood and style, and all the colours released for these accessories look fantastic.

Above: Various colours for the side caps and ear cushions. (Photo courtesy dyson.)

Above: unboxing the accessories.

Above: the dyson ontrac in Ceramic Cinnabar.

Above: customising the side caps on the dyson ontrac.

Above: Photo courtesy Dyson.

We also love the storage and carrying case that we think is very well-designed; it’s slim and has an open concept where you just slide in the headphones, and then slip the entire thing into your bag. If you insist on a case with a zipper, we believe it’s only a matter of time before we see third-party ones on Shopee and Lazada.

Above: The Dyson Ontrac Case that comes in the box with the headphones.

USING THE DYSON ONTRAC

Above: Photo courtesy Dyson.

The Dyson OnTrac connects via Bluetooth, and is simple and intuitive to use. Just turn it on with the physical power button on the device, and connect it to your smartphone, tablet, computer or other device.

Above: the power button on the dyson ontrac.

If you pair it with the MyDyson app (available on the Apple App and Google Play stores), you’ll get full functionality, which includes sound monitoring (this tracks and visualises external noise and in-ear volume), the preset EQ modes that are balanced by Dyson audio engineers, and more that will be released through app updates over time.

Above: our customised Dyson OnTrac.

The headphones boast a battery life of up to 55 hours (even with ANC enabled), and it charges fast — 10 minutes of charging gives you 2.5 hours of listening, and a 30-minute charge provides up to 9 hours.

Above: Side view of our customised Dyson OnTrac.

We particularly like the “joystick” style button on the right side of the headphones, which gives control of volume, tracks and access to your voice assistant (eg. Siri).

Above: The joystick-style button on the side of the dyson ontrac.

The headband takes cues from the Dyson Zone, where there’s a sponge that sits on the head to cushion it from the weight of the device. The sides of the headband house the batteries, so there’s even weight distribution while wearing the headphones.

Above: The headband has a cushion at the top and batteries are housed on the sides of the band, taking the weight away from the sides of the earphones.

SOUND

With the Dyson OnTrac, Dyson prides itself with what they call best-in-class noise cancellation. For over-ear headphones, these do block out an incredible amount of ambient sound. Dyson has built in 8 microphones to sense outside sounds 384,000 times a second, and the result is an immersive listening experience that cancels out unwanted noise.

Above: Photo courtesy Dyson.

With our test set, audio is clear and balanced, but that’s expected with headphones that command this price. We listened to the remastered version of Hotel California on Apple Music and could single out the various instruments, and these were further separated from the left and right sides so you really feel like you’re listening to music live right in front of you. It’s similar to the spatial function on AirPods Pro, so nothing new, but still impressive.

WHO’S THIS FOR?

Above: the dyson ontrac and case.

If you’re willing to spend $699 on a pair of headphones and want to look stylish wearing them, you’ll love these and you’ll definitely show them off. If you believe yourself to be an audiophile, try these out in-store first when they launch (we’re told sometime in September for Singapore), and then decide for yourself if the sound is what you’re looking for. You might actually prefer a more affordable model from Beyerdynamic, or want to save up for the Focal Utopia that’s a breed of its own.