Earlier this year, the British company Dyson, already world-renowned for the innovation it brought to vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, fans, and other small household appliances, announced a new addition to its lineup – a pair of wireless headphones that promise to not only block noise, but also unwanted airborne particles, using a built-in filtration system and mask. On Wednesday, the brand finally revealed more details about the innovative Dyson Zone headphones, including when you’ll be able to buy a pair and how much it will cost to have that breath of fresh air available wherever you go.
When the device hits the US market in March 2023, it will sell for a whopping starting price of $949, making them almost twice as expensive as Apple’s AirPods Max.
In the US, Dyson will offer the headset in two color combinations: Ultra Blue / Prussian Blue and Prussian Blue / Bright Copper. The latter will only be available directly from the company, but it comes with several accessories, including a second electrostatic carbon filter, a soft pouch, and an in-flight adaptor kit.
Both the standard and Dyson Direct masks come with Zone’s trademark protective visor, a dedicated sleeve, and a cleaning brush. According to Dyson, the electrostatic filters are designed for up to 12 months of uninterrupted use before needing to be replaced. The air purifier filters feature a dual-layer design that incorporates potassium-enriched carbon to capture acidic gases such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone. The manufacturer guarantees that the filters block 99 percent of particles, even those smaller than 0.1 microns, but they stress that the Dyson Zone is intended for “filtering city fumes and pollutants,” not as means of disease protection.
As for the sound, the Zone air purifier headphones feature 40mm neodymium driver units that produce sound with up to 38 dB of noise cancellation. The accompanying MyDyson app will let you switch between three sound equalization modes: Dyson EQ, Bass Boost, and Neutral. Upon launch, the headphones will support SBC, AAC and LHDC audio codecs, as well as Bluetooth 5.0.
Battery life will vary depending on how much you use the Zone’s air filtering function. If it’s not powering the visor, a single charge of the 2600 mAh battery provides up to 50 hours of listening time. Using the visor on its slowest setting brings battery life down to just four hours, while increasing the purification speed to the “Mid” and “High” flow settings further reduces battery life to 2.5 and 1.5 hours, respectively. Dyson claims it should take approximately three hours to charge the mask’s battery from 0 to 100 percent using USB-C charging.
All of this means that – should you choose to invest in this gadget – you’ll need to carefully consider when to use the air filtration feature.
