In this Dyson headphones review, we won’t look too deeply into whether or not they’re good as headphones or how well the audio and sound quality are in them. Instead, our focus will be on how effectively they clean the air and whether this surpasses the performance of an N95 mask.
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If you want to check the audio and sound quality, you can head to this YouTube video by Marques Brownlee.
Dyson Zone Headphones Specifications
Battery Life: Up to 50 hours for audio only; up to 4 hours with the air purifier on
Weight: 648g (1.5 pounds)
Filter Life: 1 year
Price: US$699
How Do the Dyson Zone Headphones Work?
This wearable air purifier has two fans and two HEPA filters inside the ear cups. Air is pulled in through the ear cups, filtered, and then comes out into this mask section. This mask section isn’t filtering out any of the air; it’s just blowing the filtered air into the region around our nose and mouth, allowing us to breathe clean air.
Is it Better than an N95 Mask?
We ran tests at Smart Air lab to find out the filtration efficiency of Dyson Zone Headphones and compared them to simple N95 masks. Through a common Fit Test, where pollution outside is compared to what’s breathed inside the mask, we found that Dyson Zone Headphones, equipped with HEPA filters, effectively filter out 99.4% and 99.8% of PM2.5 particles, which is very good. But, having said that, that’s just as good as an N95 mask that is fitted well.
What are the Drawbacks?
Heavy Bulky Wearable Air Purifier
The notable downside is the weight of this wearable air purifier—it’s around 650g. That’s pretty heavy to be having on your head if you’re running around. While advanced filtration is beneficial for activities like running, it might fall off and hurt your neck.
Short Battery Life
At high fan speed, the headphones offer only about one hour of battery life, and about three hours on low—still not enough for a full day. So you’d probably want to bring a backup battery pack, or more likely, a backup N95 mask to wear when this runs out of battery.
Noise Cancellation
While these headphones offer active noise cancellation, high fan speed generates noticeable noise and vibrations, even when listening to music. Think about it: you’ve got two fans right next to your head when you put this on, it is essentially right next to your ears. The noise cancellation can’t get rid of all the noise.
Built-in NO2 Sensor
These headphones feature a NO2 sensor that connects to your phone, displaying NO2 levels while you’re on the move. However, since the headphones can’t filter NO2, how useful is that? NO2 sensor sounds cool, but not sure what the use case for that is. People are more likely interested in monitoring PM2.5 than NO2 levels.
Very Pricey
Originally priced at around US$1000, the Dyson Zone Headphones now retail for US$699. This cost is equivalent to over ONE THOUSAND 3M N95 masks. Honestly, it’s very expensive for what it is, and it doesn’t necessarily give you any more clean air.
The headphones have a slightly higher filtration efficiency than the N95 mask but they also come with several downsides: heavyweight, short battery life, and noise. We recommend using an N95 mask over the headphones.
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Why do you advertise 3M N95 masks? Are you sponsored by them?
N95 is a standard, it is not a 3M brand product.
3M as everyone knows stands for 3 times more cost! They make little of what they sell and are just good marketers thanks to people like you.
I’ve seen a lot of reviews stating that due to the fact the mask does not form a seal around the face, the mask vent will pull in contaminated air from around the openings. For example, wearing these headphones in a room filled with pollen, what’s stopping pollen from drafting in on the output of the face mask? Was the test conducted with the measuring tube a proper amount of distance away from the mouthpiece vent to account for this?
This Dyson Zone headphones review is insightful and comprehensive! It’s refreshing to see a detailed assessment of both the pros and cons, allowing readers to make informed decisions. As someone interested in high-quality audio products, I found this review invaluable for understanding the features and performance of the Dyson Zone headphones. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this exciting new release!
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