Is Dyson’s Zone a weird product? Yes. Yes, it is. The combined over-ear headphones and personal air purifier is both dystopian and visually jarring – it would look more at home in Cyberpunk 2077 than say, Berwick-upon-Tweed 2023.
Still, as Dyson is the company that pioneered bagless stick vacuum cleaners, normalised $400/ £300 hair dryers and decided that fans would no longer have their blades on the outside, who am I to say that we won’t all be wearing Zones or Zone knockoffs in a few years?
In any case, it’s hard to think of another product that would similarly improve your commute, creating a soothing bubble of beats and clean air – that is, as long as you don’t mind a few weird looks from your fellow travellers. And, if you’ve been dying to get your hands on a set, the good news is that your wait has ended – or nearly, depending on where you are in the world.
We’ve got all the information below, but if you’d like a detailed breakdown of what they’re like to use, take a look at our hands-on impressions of the Dyson Zone.
When will the Dyson Zone headphones be released?
In the US, it’s go time. You’ll be able to buy the Zone from Dyson’s online store and Dyson Demo Stores from 27 April, at 10am CST. The Ultra Blue and Prussian Blue colourway will also be available at Best Buy.
In the UK, the Zone will be available to buy from 17 May of this year. You’ll be able to get it from Dyson’s online shop and from Dyson Demo Stores.
How much will the Dyson Zone headphones cost?
In the US, the Dyson Zone headphones will start at $949 and will come in two colourways: Ultra Blue & Prussian Blue and Prussian Blue & Bright Copper.
In the UK, there will be two models available. The standard Dyson Zone costs £749.99 and comes in an Ultra Blue and Prussian Blue colourway. It comes with a pair of filters, a cleaning brush, a USB-C charging cable, visor sleeve and travel case.
Dyson
As well as buying direct from Dyson, you’ll also find the standard Zone stocked by selected retailers.
The pricier model, the Dyson Zone Absolute+, costs £819.99 and comes in a Prussian Blue and Bright Copper colourway. Buy it and you’ll also get two pairs of filters, a cleaning brush, USB-C charging cable, visor sleeve, travel case and in-flight adaptor kit. This will be available exclusively from Dyson.
That’s still much more expensive than even premium headphones like Sony’s WH-1000XM5 and even Apple’s AirPods Max, but considering the blend of audio performance and air purification tech on offer, it’s actually cheaper than some were expecting.
After all, Dyson’s air purifiers start from around $300/£300 for basic models – and that’s not taking the high-end audio performance into consideration.
Lewis Painter / Foundry
Dyson Zone design & features
So, what is it that makes the Dyson Zone headphones unique?
It’s the first pair of headphones to combine audio with air purification, with the bid to tackle air and noise pollution for those on-the-go, particularly those in cities where noise and pollution are constantly on the rise.
In terms of design, the cans themselves look fairly standard – though with Dyson design flair and a distinctive grille.
That’s because as well as housing all the headphone tech, each can features a mini air purifying system that sucks in up to 2.5L of air polluted air per second and ‘cleans’ it using electrostatic media that effectively pulls particulates as small as 0.1 microns from the air. Dyson says it should also filter out Covid-19 particles in the air, tested with the near-identical H1N1 virus, which should give wearers added peace of mind.
It’ll also protect from gases including nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and ground-level ozone, not usually filtered by standard air purifying tech.
That cleaned air is then delivered directly to your nose and mouth via a visor that magnetically attaches to the headphones. It does look a little ‘Bane’ in use, but Dyson is confident that it won’t be a huge barrier as we’ve adjusted attitudes to face coverings in recent years dealing with the pandemic.
Dyson
The visor doesn’t make contact with your mouth or nose; instead, it gently blows a ‘plume’ of fresh air through a mesh grille that’s nicer on the nose and mouth than a direct jet of air. There are four settings available – low, medium, high and automatic – with the latter automatically adjusting suction power depending on the air quality and other metrics using built-in air quality sensors.
Air quality information, and more, is also available to browse via the My Dyson app where you’ll also be able to control other functions of the cans and adjust the audio equaliser too.
The visor isn’t permanently attached to the headphones. Instead, it snaps into place using magnets, and there’s an additional ‘conversation mode’ that allows you to pull the visor down to chat with people nearby. Once dropped, it’ll also disable the fans and enable a transparency mode that’ll let you clearly hear what’s going on.
Of course, they’re headphones as well as an air purifying system, and they’re high-end at that. The Zone cans sport 40mm drivers designed in-house by Dyson which deliver what it claims is “audio production-grade” quality.
There are 11 microphones housed on the headphones that monitor exterior, motor and interior noise and feed that through a system that’ll cancel out low-pitched noises, with top-notch passive attenuation focusing on cancelling high-pitched sounds. The result should be a noticeably quieter daily commute, with strong bass that doesn’t impact on the vocals.
Battery life isn’t quite as exciting, with between 1.5-4.5 hours of use depending on the level of air purification you opt for. Thankfully, things improve if you want to use them as a standard pair of headphones, managing 50 hours on a charge. The charge time isn’t quite as fast though, with a full charge taking around 3 hours according to Dyson.
Dyson Zone specifications
- 200 x 210 x 240mm (with visor)
- 595g (no visor)
- 670g (with visor)
- 11 microphones for ANC and telephony
- ANC up to 38dB
- Transparency mode
- Auto Mode (with activity detection)
- Air quality sensors
- 6Hz – 21kHz frequency response
- 0.08% @ 94dB 1kHz distortion
- Bluetooth 5.0
- SBC, AAC & LHDC codec support
- 40mm neodymium drivers
- Filter efficiency is 99% at PM0.1
- Can capture NO2, SO2 and O3 gases
- Filters last up to 12 months
- 2,600mAh battery
- 50 hours of audio
- Low-flow up to 4 hours
- Mid-flow up to 2.5 hours
- High flow up to 1.5 hours
- USB-C charging
- 3-hour charge time
- 3.5mm via USB-C cable
- MyDyson app support
To see what we made of Dyson’s latest air purifying appliances, which also destroy formaldehyde in your home air, have a look at our reviews of the Purifier Hot + Cool Formaldehyde and the Purifier Humidify + Cool Formaldehyde.