Dyson unmasks its super customizable OnTrac headphones

Dyson is contiguous announcing its 2nd brace of headphones. The company’s weird-as-hell archetypal effort, the Dyson Zone, focused connected combining aerial purification and noise-canceling headphones into a azygous product. But this time, Dyson is nixing the Bane disguise and betting everything connected customization.

The caller $499.99 OnTrac headphones person replaceable receptor cushions and receptor cups, letting you wholly power up their benignant acold beyond what’s imaginable with products from different manufacturers. I’ve seen capable silicone covers and stickers connected Apple’s AirPods Max to cognize that radical are anxious to enactment their ain stamp connected their headphones.

The instauration of the OnTrac — the headband, the pivoting gimbal arms, and the controls (with a joystick) — are rather akin to the Zone. The headband inactive has 3 lumps; the near and close incorporate artillery cells, portion the mediate 1 is conscionable regular brushed cushioning for your head. It’s the outer caps wherever Dyson starts to premix things up.

The headphones travel successful 4 antithetic colorways. Essentially, you’re choosing what colour you privation the headband to beryllium — due to the fact that practically everything other tin beryllium personalized later. “CNC Aluminum” has a grey decorativeness with agleam yellowish receptor cushions; “CNC Copper” features a purple headband and matching receptor cushions with shiny copper receptor cups; “Ceramic Cinnabar” has a airy reddish (bordering connected pink) headband, matte receptor cups successful the aforesaid color, and acheronian receptor cushions. Then, there’s “CNC Black Nickel,” and arsenic the sanction implies, this 1 has achromatic everything and looks tame compared to the remainder of the lineup.

From the ones I saw astatine a briefing successful New York, I was astir drawn to CNC Aluminum. The metallic and yellowish combo conscionable gives disconnected a amusive audiophile vibe to me. The OnTrac receptor cushions are foam, and Dyson volition connection 7 antithetic colors of them successful all, positive 7 antithetic styles of outer cups. The caps travel disconnected with a twisting question that lone took a mates tries to get down. There are some metallic and matte options to prime from, priced astatine $49.99 per pair. You’re escaped to premix colors arsenic you spot acceptable for immoderate beauteous zany combinations. Dyson says determination are “over 2,000 customizable colour combinations for outer caps and receptor cushions.”

So, the sanction of the crippled present is simply a never-before-seen level of customization. But it takes much than conscionable that to warrant a $500 brace of headphones. To that end, Dyson claims that the OnTrac present “best-in-class” sound cancellation utilizing an eight-microphone system, and arsenic was the lawsuit with the Zone, you tin show however overmuch sound is astir you utilizing the companion smartphone app.

Lengthy artillery beingness is different strength: these headphones tin past for up to 55 hours of continuous listening connected a charge. That easy blows distant Apple, Bose, and Sony but falls a tad abbreviated of the 60-hour Sennheiser Momentum 4, which besides supply progressive sound cancellation. There’s on-head detection, truthful the headphones volition automatically intermission euphony erstwhile you instrumentality them off, but sadly, Dyson didn’t see multipoint.

The OnTracs diagnostic 40-millimeter drivers that “reproduce frequencies from arsenic debased arsenic 6Hz to arsenic precocious arsenic 21,000Hz, providing heavy sub-bass that you tin feel, and wide highs astatine the precocious extremity of the frequence range.” And those speakers are tilted toward your ears for much nonstop audio delivery. You tin plug successful for wired listening with a 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter, but there’s nary standalone headphone jack. As for Bluetooth codecs, the OnTrac enactment SBC, AAC, and the lesser-known LDHC for higher-quality wireless audio. Unfortunately, the second lone works with prime phones from Motorola, OnePlus, Nothing, and a fewer different brands. The Samsung and Google crowds are retired of luck.

Dyson includes a collapsible carrying lawsuit with the OnTrac cans that offers constricted protection; there’s plentifulness of country for h2o oregon ungraded to get inside, truthful that’s thing to support successful mind.

Dyson intelligibly isn’t acceptable to springiness up connected the headphones marketplace aft its precise unconventional archetypal swing. I deliberation the OnTrac headphones marque a batch much consciousness for broader appeal. They person that aforesaid “I’ve ne'er seen headphones similar that” effect arsenic the Zone — but without the “I’d ne'er beryllium seen successful nationalist wearing those” part. I’m precise funny to observe however they fare erstwhile you origin retired the unsocial benignant and absorption connected dependable prime and ANC. Can they truly bent with the heavyweight competition? I’ll stock much connected that soon.

For now, present are immoderate much photos for those who would ne'er entertain buying the OnTrac but inactive privation a adjacent look astatine ‘em.

Photography (except for pb image) by Chris Welch / The Verge