Officially revealed in 2022 and subjected to numerous delays since, the Dyson Zone air purifying headphones are now finally available to buy in the UK.
There are two models: the Dyson Zone (£749) and Dyson Zone Absolute+ (£819). For comparison, Apple’s AirPods Max are currently the most expensive headphones we’ve reviewed, at £549. Both Dyson models are over-ear wireless headphones that double as a personal air purifier, thanks to built-in filters and a detachable visor.
Dyson claims the Zone and Absolute+ are capable of capturing and filtering out ‘99% of pollutants as small as 0.1 microns’. The company also lists some examples of these pollutants, including bacteria, industrial emissions and pollen. However, in the small print it’s quick to point out that this was done in lab conditions and ‘capture rates may differ depending on real life usage’.
You can change the intensity via the accompanying app or set it to automatically change depending on the conditions you find yourself in. Even when set to maximum, the air flow never feels uncomfortable, but as you increase the air purification the noise made by the internal fans increases in volume.
As with all headphones, we’ll reserve final judgement on the Zone Absolute+ until we’ve fully lab-tested them. However, during several hours of use with a mixture of music and podcasts, our initial findings are that the headphones perform well, producing rich, clear sound.
“Helmet with that, sir” 
