Dyson confirms 2022 launch of purifying headphones delivering pure air and pure audio

The Dyson Zone™ is Dyson’s first wearable purifier, capturing city pollution including gas, allergens and particulate matter and cancelling unwanted noise with advanced noise cancellation and pure, high-fidelity audio.

As the world’s urban population continues to grow, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 9 in 10 people globally breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline pollutant limits . Where NO2 pollution in cities decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic , levels have quickly returned to normal, or exceeded pre-pandemic levels across many global cities . It is estimated that more than 100m people, around 20% of the European population, are exposed to long-term noise exposure above WHO guidance .

The Dyson Zone™ noise-cancelling headphones are borne of Dyson’s 30 years of expertise in airflow, filtration and motors technologies and deep 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, channelled through the non-contact visor. Sculpted returns on the visor ensure the purified airflow is kept near to the nose and mouth and diluted as little as possible by external crosswinds. The Dyson Zone™ delivers rich, immersive audio and relief from unwanted city noise thanks to advanced active noise cancelling (ANC), low distortion and a neutral frequency response, to faithfully replicate music or audio as the creator intended.

Developing a non-contact solution was a must for Dyson engineers, to avoid the discomfort and irritation often associated with full-contact alternatives. The visor, therefore, was a critical element. The airflow pathways and visor design are central to delivering pure air. The geometries of the visor and the visor returns, alongside the central mesh that diffuses the two jets of airflow, ensure that the purified air exiting the filters is effectively delivered to the nose and mouth in crosswinds, and for the wearer’s specific facial shape. Going beyond existing testing methods, Dyson engineers use a breathing manikin fitted with medical-grade mechanical lungs and sensing equipment, which ‘inhales’ pollution replicating human breathing patterns in a controlled chamber. They then measure the pollution level within the nose and throat to determine the filtration efficacy of those particles which would otherwise end up in Frank’s artificial lung.

Precision-engineered compressors within the earcups draw air through the dual-layer filters, intelligently designed to fit within the considerable space constraints of a headphone. The negatively charged electrostatic filter media captures ultrafine particles such as allergens, and particles from sources such as brake dust, industry combustion and construction whilst a potassium-enriched carbon layer captures city gas pollutants like NO2 and SO2. The compressor channels the purified air to the wearer’s nose and mouth via the contact-free visor, formed with flexible returns that to channel the flow of purified air to the breathing zone.

A first foray into the world of audio, Dyson engineers took a scientific approach, choosing not to rely on a ‘golden listener’ approach that many others do. Dyson’s team of audio engineers and acousticians sought to engineer excellent audio led by metrics, backed up with extensive listening trials. The result: pure, rich audio and advanced noise cancellation. Despite the space constraints inherent with a wearable device, Dyson engineers developed a high performing neodymium electroacoustic system within each earcup. A wide frequency response, precise left-right balance and distortion significantly below what can be detected by the human ear, offer a faithful reproduction as the musicians or creators intended.

Through solving a problem of Dyson’s own creation, the engineers have developed an advanced noise cancellation system. Together, the device’s passive attenuation and the ANC, with its unique array of microphones, reduces unwanted environmental noise and the motor tones to provide advanced noise cancellation at home, at work and on-the-go. Large, angled ear cushions mould around the listener’s ear, with a medium foam density and headband clamp force engineered specifically for both comfort and optimal noise reduction.

Taking inspiration from the shape and design of a horse’s saddle, the Dyson Zone™ is engineered to distribute weight over the sides of the head, rather than on the top. A saddle typically curves over the horse’s spine distributing the load through contact with the areas left and right of the backbone – a format used for the central cushion on the headband. 

The development of the ear cushions is important for three reasons: comfort, on-head stability and passive attenuation. Foam is an obvious choice for ear cushions but Dyson engineers dug deep into the make-up of different foams to choose the most suitable material based on density, rate of compression and spring-back rate – all of which change the way pressure translates onto the head. When choosing the optimal foam for the ear and headband cushions, it was important to balance the comfort it provides, its stability when moulded to the ear, but critically the acoustic benefit it provides. Moulding around the ear increases the size of the contact points providing better sealing – and inhibiting additional urban noise entering the ear. The cushion is purposefully flatter than conventional ear cushions for both attenuation and comfort, and the cushions are angled in line with the angle of the ear on the head for optimal comfort.

The Dyson Zone™ noise-cancelling headphones have been engineered by teams across the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and China, with a particular focus on software on our South East Asia campuses. The app development and integration was a critical project to ensure a smooth connection journey and provide intelligent, meaningful air and noise pollution tracking features. Robustness and durability are central to a product that leaves the home with the wearer. As with all Dyson machines, the Dyson Zone™ noise-cancelling headphones have been tested to the extremes – in temperature-controlled chambers, drop-testing, material and fabric wear testing, button robustness and much more. Our expert test engineers in the Dyson Malaysia Development Centre are integral to this, as is the geography – putting it through its paces in warmer climates and higher humidity compared to UK-based testing. 

The Dyson Zone™ noise-cancelling headphones will be available online and in-store at Dyson Demo Stores and Dyson.com from Autumn 2022. Timings will vary by geography. Full product specification and further details on availability will be announced in the coming months.

Filter efficiency tested to ISO 29463 adapted at max flow setting by an independent third-party laboratory. Capture rates may differ depending on real life usage.