Dyson OnTrac: New over-ear headphones come with ambient noise cancellation and 55 hours of runtime

Dyson is primarily known for its cleaning solutions, but already has headphones in its range with the Zone models. The company has just now unveiled its new OnTrac over-ear headphones, which are very solid headphones with a decent set of features. The extended sound range is one example, which ranges from 6 to 21,000 Hz, meaning that bass is also reproduced particularly strongly. The headphones have 40 millimeter drivers and the speaker housings are tilted at an angle of 13 degrees to the ear, which is intended to allow for more direct audio reproduction.

Active suppression of ambient noise is supported. This function uses data from eight microphones and ambient noise is sampled 384,000 times per second. The choice of material and the geometry of the headphones are designed to suppress ambient noise by up to 40 dB. The MyDyson app allows users to have an overview of these features as well as of real-time monitoring of the volume inside and outside the ear, which aims to protect against damaging noise levels. EQ modes can also be set. 

A joystick is installed, which can be used to control music playback. Capacitive sensors detect when the headphones are taken off and then pause playback, which is then resumed when the headphones are put back on. The battery life is specified as up to 55 hours (based on average listening time of 3 hours a day with ANC on). Last but not least, the headphones are available directly from Dyson for a price of $499.

A possible alternative: Buy the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 at Amazon.