Dyson OnTrac review: Solid premium headphones

The new Dyson OnTrac headphones excel in terms of Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) capabilities and deliver a long battery life.

Dyson earlier this week launched its new OnTrac headphones in India.

It comes with three variants—Aluminium, Copper, Ceramic Cinnabar and Nickel—for Rs 44,900. I have been using the OnTrac headphones for close to a week and here are my thoughts on the latest offering from Dyson.

Design and build quality

Dyson has done a fabulous job with the OnTrac headphones' design language. The dual colourway takes inspiration from Dyson's premium home appliances, and if you are wearing the OnTrac headphones, people around will instantly know the device is from the house of Dyson.

In particular, the Prussian blue-Copper colour variant looks elegant and brings out the visually-appealing dual tones of the headset. Further, the materials used for the headband and earcups are of premium quality.

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

Dyson has used a Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) manufacturing process for the three variants of headphones—CNC Aluminium, Nickel and Copper ear caps. Our review unit used the latter.

There is also a Ceramic Cinnabar variant, which is said to have a smooth porcelain-like finish.

In addition to these four colour variants, Dyson offers an option for customers to personalise their OnTrac headphones with custom outer caps and ear cushions in various colours and finishes.

Dyson offers multiple colour options for OnTrac headphone cups.

The headphones also feature multi-pivot gimbal arms and a uniquely positioned battery in the headband to ensure balanced weight distribution.

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

The headband is really sturdy and the soft cushion on the top makes the wearing the headphones comfortable for long hours. It should be noted that the headphones weigh close to half a kg (451g to be precise). However, I never felt any heaviness on my head during my daily commute between my house and the office via bus.

Right above the earcups on each side, the company has incorporated battery packs. It has a covered soft fabric to offer a comfortable feel.

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

The ear cushion inside is made of soft microfibre and has high-grade foam to offer an acoustic seal and comfortable fit on the ear. For me, the earcups covered the entire portion of my ears, cutting the noise outsode (more on noise cancellation in the performance section).

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

The right earcup features an intuitive joystick, which helps the user to control music, adjust volume, and trigger voice assistants such as Siri on iPhones. The controls can also be used to answer calls.

On the left earcup, the company has incorporated a Type-C port, an on/off button and an LED-based light to show Bluetooth connectivity and battery life status. Further, the headphones can even help inform users if the headphones need repair, and has a red colour light dedicated to the same.

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

Besides a standable power on/off button, the Dyson has placed highly sensitive capacitive sensors in both earcups to detect whether the user is wearing the device or not. This feature allows the headphones to automatically pause video/audio playing on the phone once the device is taken off. Conversely, playback resumes once the user puts the headphones back on.

Despite all its premium features, the device has no protection against water damage. So, avoid taking the headphone out if there is a chance of rain, or if you're going to the beach or swimming. However, the company offers a complimentary Slimline case free with the retail box. You just have to fold the earcups flat and slide them in to the case. There is also space to hold the 1.2-metre braided Type-C charging cable. The case can slip into any regular backpack with ease.

Performance

Setting up Dyson OnTrac to pair with a phone is easy. This can be done by installing the MyDyson app and then using the Bluetooth feature for pairing.

Once you turn on the OnTrac headphones, the device shows up as 'OnTrac Audio', and the entire pairing process takes a mere five minutes at most.

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

Each earcup houses a 40mm, 16-ohm neodymium speaker driver and an advanced audio signal processor.

The speaker housing is said to be tilted 13-inches towards the ear for a more direct audio response. It supports an enhanced sound range from 6Hz to 21,000Hz

During the review period, the OnTrac headphones delivered an amazing listening experience. I tried all possible genres of music and watched TV shows, and movies on the phone. The audio quality was pristine.

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

The new Dyson headphones also feature a custom-developed Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) algorithm that uses 8 microphones. It can significantly reduce up to 40dB of unwanted noise. Here too, the OnTrac earphones lived up to the hype.

During the voice calls, the Dyson OnTrac managed to deliver crisp and clear audio to the person on the other side of the call.

While commuting through the busy roads of the central business district of Bengaluru, the Dyson OnTrac headphones did a remarkable job blocking the annoying horns and engine sounds of the vehicles.

With the MyDyson app, users can also control in-ear and external volume. The app can also alert users to potentially harmful levels of volume.

The MyDyson app further features an equaliser and users choose between three custom EQ modes: Bass Boost, Neutral and Enhanced. For the best listening experience, be it for podcasts or music or movies/TV series, choose the latter.

However, I felt Dyson should have given more than three EQ modes or atleast offered one custom option to users to allow them to set frequencies for a more personalised listening experience.

Besides the ANC, the most notable aspect of the Dyson OnTrac headphones is its unbelievably long battery life.

With a full charge, the device can deliver up to 55 hours of battery life with ANC on. This is more than enough to last for two weeks of listening time, which is remarkable in this class of headphones.

It also supports fast charging—with 10 minutes of charging, it can last up to two and a half hours.

With 30 minutes of charging, it can deliver up to nine hours of listening time. Close to three hours is required to fully charge the device from zero to 100 per cent capacity.

Final thoughts

Dyson's latest OnTrac headphones are amazing, but like all the company's home appliances, the price tag is a tad on the higher side.

Dyson OnTrac headphones.

I had a great time listening to music and watching movies and TV series on the phone with OnTrac headphones. It excels with ANC capabilities to reduce outside noise while listening music and delivers clear voice calls.

The OnTrac headphones have a really impressive build quality and the visual customisation option allowing users to mix and match outer earcups and inner ear cushions adds to more compelling reasons to buy it.

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