Dyson recently announced its second pair of headphones, taking a slightly more traditional route than the air purifier-toting Dyson Zone that came before them.
That said, the Dyson OnTrac are no less eye-catching with their large ear cups and seemingly endless colour combinations. Dyson has placed a particular emphasis on noise-cancelling this time, but how do they compare to our favourite noise-cancelling over-ears, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra?
It’s still too soon to compare performance or noise-cancelling skills with our review of the Dyson headphones yet to come. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t compare everything else these premium over-ears have to offer.
The Dyson OnTrac have a customisable design
If the recent trend of decorating AirPods Max with stickers and accessories is anything to go by, people are growing tired of the boring black, white and silver varieties that appear with most headphone launches.
One of the most exciting features of the Dyson OnTrac is the headphones’ customisable design. The outer caps and ear cushions can be swapped out, resulting in more than 2000 potential colour combinations. This means you can create a unique look to match your personal style.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra, meanwhile, are available in three colours – Black, White Smoke and Sandstone – offering a more classic, neutral style.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra support spatial audio
The QuietComfort Ultra offer more immersive sound thanks to Bose Immersive Audio. According to Bose, its technology creates a wide sound stage in front and to the sides, emulating the effect you would get sitting between a pair of stereo speakers.
This feature can also be combined with noise-cancellation to block out your surroundings and fully immerse yourself in the music with the headphones’ Immersion Mode.
We found Bose Immersive Audio to be an impressive piece of tech, though it does result in slightly lower levels of detail and a thinner sound than the dynamic Head Tracking on the Sonos Ace.
The Dyson OnTrac do not offer any kind of spatial or immersive audio.
The Dyson OnTrac have a longer battery life
The Dyson OnTrac are the clear winner when it comes to battery life.
The headphones can deliver up to 55 hours of listening from a single charge with noise-cancelling switched on. That’s around two weeks of listening, according to Dyson.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra, on the other hand, offer up to 24 hours of listening from one charge, or up to 18 hours with Immersive Audio switched on.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra include Bluetooth Multipoint
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra offer more convenience when you’re juggling multiple devices, such as a phone and a laptop. This is because the headphones support Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity.
With Bluetooth Multipoint, the QuietComfort Ultra can connect to two different devices simultaneously. This means you can listen to music on your laptop while listening out for an important phone call or notification, for example.
The Dyson OnTrac headphones do not support Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity.
