Premium home appliance brand Dyson launched the OnTrac headphones last year, before quietly bringing it into the local market a couple of months ago. It is technically the brand’s second foray into the personal audio space, the first being the Zone that never made it here.
On one hand, it’s probably not unfair to expect the first few attempts by any brand into any market to which they are new to be a bit rough. But on the other, there are some expectations being placed on the OnTrac simply due to the Dyson name. But with all that out of the way, are these headphones worth your money? Let’s find out.
What Am I Looking At?
The Dyson OnTrac is slightly more than just a pair of headphones, though heavy emphasis on the word slightly. As with most premium brand products, these headphones are as much a fashion statement as they are functional pieces of tech. One can argue that it is overflowing with the brand’s design language, and it doubles down on this aspect with ear cup covers and pads that can be swapped easily. The former is purely a cosmetic thing, while the latter is a pretty practical plus. Worth mentioning that the pads use a fabric material rather than faux leather, which is arguably better for the hot local weather but is prone to building up sweat-related odours.
On its spec sheet, the Dyson OnTrac boasts 40mm drivers that deliver a frequency response range of between 6Hz and 21kHz. Worth noting is that they are placed at an angle in each cup, making it so that the sound they produce are directed straight into your ear. There are eight mics littered around that powers its ANC and transparency mode, and a battery life of up to 55 hours with said ANC turned on. Controls on the headphones are done via the nub on the right cup, with the power / pairing button on the left.
The band is pretty unique here as well, as rather than having one large cushion on the entirety on its underside, it seems to have been split into three parts. This isn’t actually the case, as only the top piece acts as a cushion; the other two are actually battery packs, with Dyson saying that this helps with the weight distribution of the OnTrac. Worth noting though that the gap of slider to adjust for fit is positioned above the batteries, so if your hair is liable to getting caught here if its is of a certain length.
Another unique feature here is the way you switch between ANC and Transparency mode, which is by giving either ear cup a forceful doubletap. Beyond all of that, the OnTrac has all of the hallmark of a Dyson product. It looks as feels premium, with the weight and heft to match without it being a detriment outright. Well, some may argue that point, but we’ll get to that in a bit. There’s also the unfortunate price of progress in the form of the 3.5mm audio jack’s absence.
What’s Good About It?
For something that carries the Dyson brand – and a price tag of RM2,599 – you’d expect the OnTrac headphones to at least deliver on the sound department. For what it’s worth, initial impressions are good, before the price realisation kicks in again. You get sound that has enough richness, clarity and presence across the range, but the default equaliser presets usually have the highs heavily dialled down.
Once that’s been tweaked in the MyDyson app, I find that it plays Tenkyuu from the Kono Oto Tomare! Season 2 Soundtrack very well, with notes from the solo, first, second and 17-string koto very easily distinguishable. For something like Takanori Nishikawa’s HEROES, the separation between layers start getting a bit blurred during the busier parts of the song. One thing that sounds like a universal issue regardless of track is the very cramped soundstage.
Since you’ll have to get the MyDyson app anyway to get access to the equaliser, we might as well talk about a relatively unique feature, which is the sound exposure graph. This shows not only the noise level outide the headphones, but also inside when music is playing, in almost real-time. Here, you also get a visual warning for when you’re playing your music too loud (over 80dB), which you should heed if you want to be enjoying music for the years to come.
With the form part of the headphones covered, let’s move on to form. Part of why the Dyson OnTrac is priced the way it is is probably due to its customisability. The one we got for review comes with the Prussian Blue band and CNC Copper plates. While the band colour is something you can’t change after purchase, there are a total of seven ear cushion colours and outer caps to choose from, each costing RM259 a pair.
What’s The Catch?
Since I promised to talk about the MyDyson app, we’ll just start with that. Because the OnTrac is such a small drop in the Dyson bucket, the number of ads and promos for the brand’s other products is just overwhelming. This, in turn, makes the supporting features for the headphones themselves look like an afterthought. And while what tools you do get is serviceable, I can’t help but feel like there should be more to justify the OnTrac’s RM2,599 asking price.
One easy example is the equaliser, which has three presets and one custom for you to tweak. But there isn’t one that does the hearing test and then adjusting your equaliser for you based on the results, like what the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 does, among others.
Moving on, we have the Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The first problem is the limited codec support, of which there are only three – AAC, SBC and LDHC. While that last one is good news as it means there’s 24-bit support, it’s not the most widely supported one, as opposed to the many aptX variants. There’s also enough latency between the Dyson OnTrac and your device that, when watching videos, you’ll hear someone speak before you see their lips move, which means gaming is a no-go. Not to mention the occasional connection drop, leading to a second of silence while you have tracks playing.
Then there’s a list of nitpicks – There’s sometimes an audible click when you switch between equaliser presets. You can’t turn ANC completely off outside of the app. You’ll feel the pinch of the headband after awhile. It’s non collapsible (or foldable if you prefer) so it’s not exactly easy to transport around. And the Transparency mode is not quite good enough to let you keep wearing it all the time.
Should I Buy It?
If you’re a fan of Dyson products and are already neck deep into the ecosystem, the the OnTrac is for you, probably. It’s one less app to download just to access things like equalisers and firmware updates, and the tools you get from the MyDyson app is adequate, even if there’s plenty of room for improvement.
Not making sweeping statements, so sticking specifically with this pair of headphones, its asking price of RM2,599 can net you a fair number of compelling alternatives, most of them leaving you with change to spare. The limited codec support can be an issue if you’re particular about sound quality, and is against using a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter.
What it does have going for it though is the customisability afforded by the swappable caps and cushions, but those don’t exactly come cheap themselves. With that in mind the Dyson OnTrac is more of a fashion or lifestyle statement than perhaps any other product by the brand, and if you’re fine with paying for that, then it’s worth your consideration.
