Dyson Zone Air Purifying Headphones Revealed

Dyson is best known for its vacuum cleaners, but also offers other products such as the Dyson Lightcyle Morph Desk. Today Jake Dyson unveiled the Dyson Zone air purifying headphones. Frankly, I thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke at first, but apparently it’s “just” Dyson’s first foray into wearable technology. The Dyson Zone are noise-cancelling hi-fi headphones that deliver rich sound to the ears as well as clean airflow to the nose and mouth. It is the result of more than ten years of research and development in the field of air quality. In addition, the Dyson Zone simultaneously tackles urban air quality and noise problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe air that exceeds the WHO limit for pollutants.

6 years & 500 prototypes
The Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones draw on more than 30 years of Dyson’s expertise in airflow, filtration and motor technologies and an in-depth understanding of indoor and outdoor air quality. The compressors in each earcup draw air through the dual-layer filters and project two streams of purified air to the wearer’s nose and mouth through the non-contact visor. The shape of the visor ensures that the purified airflow is kept close to the nose and mouth and is diluted as little as possible by external crosswinds. The Dyson Zone delivers rich, immersive audio and blocks out unwanted city noise with advanced Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). It has a neutral frequency response to faithfully reproduce music or audio as the creator intended.

Test methods
Developing a non-contact visor was a must for Dyson engineers to avoid the discomfort and irritation that can often arise from full-contact alternatives. The contactless visor was therefore a crucial element.

The Dyson engineers went beyond the existing test methods for the Dyson Zone. They used a breathing manikin equipped with mechanical lungs and medical-grade detection equipment, which “breathes in” pollution and mimics human breathing patterns in a controlled space. Then the pollution level in the nose and throat was measured to determine the filtration efficiency of those particles that would otherwise end up in the doll’s artificial lung. The compressors in the ear cups draw air through the double-layer filters. The negatively charged electrostatic filter medium captures ultra-fine particles such as allergens and particles from sources such as brake dust and industrial combustion. A potassium-enriched carbon layer captures pollutants from town gas such as NO2 and SO2.

Scientific approach
For this first step into the world of audio, Dyson engineers took a scientific approach rather than the more general ‘golden listener’ approach that many others do. Dyson’s team of audio engineers and acoustics developed excellent audio based on statistics, supported by extensive listening tests. The result: pure, rich audio and advanced noise cancellation. Despite the limited space inherent in a portable device, Dyson’s engineers have developed a high-performance neodymium electro-acoustic system in each ear cup. A wide frequency response, precise left-right balance and distortion significantly lower than what can be detected by the human ear provide faithful reproduction as the musicians or creators intended.
Dyson engineers have developed an advanced noise reduction system. Together with its unique array of microphones, the device’s passive attenuation and ANC reduce unwanted ambient and engine noises to provide advanced noise cancellation at home, at work and on the go. Large, curved ear cushions mold around the listener’s ear, with headband foam density and clamping strength specifically designed for both comfort and optimal noise reduction.

Designed for comfort
Every head is unique. Dyson’s first wearable technology required Dyson engineers to think about comfort in a new way. Detailed research into the head and face geometry meant engineers could measure how the Dyson Zone would sit and perform on different heads. They examined, among other things, the clamping force of the headband, the geometry and materials of the visor and the adjustability of the device.
Inspired by the shape and design of a horse saddle, the Dyson Zone is designed to distribute weight over the sides of the head rather than the top. A saddle usually bends over the horse’s spine and distributes the load equally to the left and right sides.
The development of the ear cushions is important for three reasons: comfort, stability on the head and passive cushioning. Foam is an obvious choice for ear cushions. Dyson engineers took a close look at the composition of different foams to choose the most appropriate material based on density, degree of compression and springback – all of which change the way pressure translates to the head. When choosing the optimal foam for the ear and headband cushions, it was important to strike a balance between the comfort it provides, the stability when molded to the ear, but above all the acoustic advantage it provides. The cushion is purposefully flatter than conventional ear cushions for both cushioning and comfort, and the cushions are angled to align with the angle of the ear on the head for optimal comfort.

Price and availability
The Dyson Zone will be rolled out globally from the fall of 2022. The timing will vary by region. Full product specification and further details on availability in the Benelux will be announced in the coming months.

Dyson Zone Air Purifying Headphones
• Radically new format for delivering clean air and high-fidelity audio on the go
• Electrostatic filtration captures 99% of contaminated particles as small as 0.1 microns, such as dust, pollen and bacteria
• Potassium-enriched carbon filter captures city gases such as NO2, SO2 and O3
• Non-contact visor that directs two streams of purified air to the nose and mouth, specially designed for outdoor use
• Dyson’s smallest motors yet, sit in each earcup and are the beating heart of Dyson Zone™ air-purifying headphones
• Advanced ANC and a high-performance neodymium electro-acoustic system deliver rich, immersive audio that replicates sound as the artist or creator intended
• 15 students from the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology worked on the Dyson Zone project from diverse disciplines such as acoustics development, electronics and airflow systems
• 3 ANC modes: isolation, conversation and transparency
o Isolation mode: Highest level of active noise cancellation to provide a rich, immersive audio experience, such as when you need to focus on a task
o Conversation Mode: Activates when you lower the visor – automatically turns off the air purifier to save battery power and amplify the conversation
o Transparency mode: designed to make you aware of your surroundings by amplifying sounds such as emergency sirens or informational announcements

• 4 air cleaning modes: low, medium, high and Auto. Because different levels of exertion require different breathing patterns, the Dyson Zone is informed by built-in accelerometers and in automatic mode automatically switches between high, medium and low purge rates as needed.

• 4 versions:
o Combined air cleaning, audio playback and ANC – visor stays attached
o Headphones can only be used for audio – visor remains attached
o For situations that require face covering, such as a face mask, the face covering mask provides a covered solution – it is included in the box
o For regions or situations that require FFP2 compliant face coverings – the FFP2 face covering attachment meets the required filtration standard – it is included in the box.