Dyson OnTrac Review: Plush, but Heavy Headphones

Dyson hasn’t been a “vacuum” company for a long time, but with its latest non-air purifying OnTrac headphones, it's branching out about as far as it has ever gone. The good news is that the headphones are plush and perform well if you can stomach their cost.

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Price and Availability

The Dyson OnTrac headphones retail for $499.99 and are available to purchase now. Two color options, aluminum and copper, are widely available at various retailers. The black nickel and ceramic cinnabar options are available exclusively through Dyson.com.

Let’s start with the basics. The Dyson OnTrac headphones are just regular Bluetooth headphones. They don’t massage your head or pick up crumbs or anything else weird like that. They’re for listening to music, playing games, or watching shows.

The primary benefits of the OnTrac headphones are active noise cancelation, a long 55-hour battery life (with ANC on), and the ability to customize the look of the headphones with colorful ear cup cushions and external-facing ear cup covers.

Dyson advertises “crystal clear” microphone clarity and I would agree. These headphones worked well for making calls or taking meetings.

Hardware customization is supposed to be a main draw—Dyson sells a collection of colorful, interchangable ear covers and cushions. The ear covers were satisfying to twist off and stayed secure, never rattling. The problem is that each set of accessories costs $50. If you aren't happy with the OnTrac color options that Dyson offers at purchase, you'll need to spend an extra $100 on new covers and cushions.

Despite the customization aspect being a heavy marketing push for the headphones, the true stand-out feature of the Dyson OnTrac is comfort. I found the headphones to be well-balanced and comfortable to wear. Both the ear cups and headband are coated in a plush, soft, microfiber fabric. Wearing them almost feels like snuggling up with a security blanket. That might not be what everyone is looking for come summer. Sitting here now in fall as winter approaches, however, the material is great.

The other side of that coin is that the headphones are heavy and a bit bulky. They weigh more than most other headphones competing in this same space, coming in at 451 grams. For reference, the AirPods Max weighs around 386 grams.

But for whatever reason, the OnTrac headphones didn’t feel as heavy as the AirPods Max did on my head. The weight is balanced a little better and somehow gets masked. I had no problem wearing OnTrac for a couple of hours while working at my desk. I don’t think I would have any problem wearing them on a plane either, but adding the extra weight to my bag would be unfortunate. (The Bose QC Ultra Headphones weigh 0.56 pounds, compared to the OnTrac’s 0.99 pounds.)

It’s hard to say whether these will be too heavy for most people, but, second to the price, weight is probably the main concern.

Looking at the other design elements, a double tap on the left ear cup will toggle ANC on and off. But that’s the only touch control used. (Interestingly, the sound that plays when pressing these buttons is also featured in Dyson's vacuums. I found this to be a little off-putting.) To change volume or skip tracks, you use a joystick-like controller and push up, down, left, or right. It’s not the worst media controller I’ve ever used on headphones, but it wasn’t my favorite either because of its placement. It was a little hard to reach on the back-right ear cup.

Slightly related—the “case” that comes with the headphones is probably the worst one imaginable. It’s two sheets of plastic held together by elastic fabric. When the headphones come out of it, it becomes wobbly and flimsy. There’s a small pocket for a USB-C cable inside the “case,” but I found it hard to fit it in.

Sound, ANC, and Microphones All Perform Well

Importantly, the headphones sound good. They have rich bass along with ultra-crisp and clear mids. Songs sound vibrant and present. These are great headphones for all kinds of music genres, from pop and rock to folk and jazz.

There are a few (3) EQ presets available in the app, but I found the default one to be the most universally pleasant.

I still think Bose has the best ANC performance out of any headphones or earbuds, the Dyson OnTrac are definitely up there among the top contenders. There are eight mics on the headphones doing the work to figure out your surroundings. I liked that I didn’t feel a lot of unease or pressure from the noise cancelation effect, too. They would be more than fine for a flight or a busy work environment.

Also nice, the microphone quality makes these headphones a worthy piece for taking calls or sitting through video meetings. However, of the eight mics used for ANC, it seems there's only one for telephony.

The App Situation Is Unfortunate

Dyson’s mobile app—available on iPhone and Android—is visually pleasing and allows you to change headphone settings or select EQ presets on the fly. However, I'm disappointed that this app, which should be exclusively for headphones, is the same app I use for the Dyson robot vacuum.

The other thing that stuck out to me is how the "headphone" section of the app tries to sell you other unrelated Dyson products. The good news is that once I got things configured in the app, I hardly felt any need to keep opening for use with the headphones.

The Dyson OnTrac is an interesting audio product that finds itself in a peculiar spot. While the heavy weight and high price tag prevent me from recommending OnTrac to most people, I wouldn’t discourage anyone from buying the headphones, either.

If the interchangeable ear covers and cushions look interesting to you, or if you love Dyson's industrial design, then the OnTrac headphones’ comfort, sound quality, and ANC performance will all go a long way in justifying their comparatively high price. Regardless of the price, if you feel like you might be susceptible to their heavy weight, I would give them a try in person before splurging.