I revisited Dyson's weird over-ear headphones, and they're actually an incredible value in 2026

Start shopping for a pair of wireless over-ear headphones, and you’ll find models from trusted brands like Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, or Bowers & Wilkins. You might not expect to see a premium pair of over-ears from Dyson, the company best known for making vacuums. Dyson’s foray into consumer audio is quite interesting, as it first built a strange pair of headphones with an air filtration system a few years ago. Then, it made a more sensible pair of headphones called the Dyson OnTrac.

Dyson’s OnTrac headphones are still quirky in their own way, but they’ve made me want to love them since their 2024 debut. I just couldn’t recommend the Dyson OnTrac at their full $500 retail price. Fast-forward to 2026, and something incredible has happened. The Dyson OnTrac headphones are regularly available for $250, often less. At the time of writing, they’re only $179 on Amazon.

I’ve tested Dyson OnTrac headphones for years, and at these prices, they’re not just affordable — they might be the best-value headphones you can buy.

Dyson’s OnTrac headphones sound superb for the price

Price is impossible to ignore when grading the audio quality of headphones. At $500, the Dyson OnTrac were competing with the likes of the AirPods Max 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, and the second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones. Frankly, while I didn’t think the OnTrac sounded bad, it was clear the headphones sat firmly in a tier below those flagship options. Dyson’s new unofficial $250 price point for the OnTrac puts the headphones in competition with brands like Beats, JBL, and Anker — they’re better poised to compete in this space.

The Dyson OnTrac uses 40mm neodymium dynamic speaker drivers and supports the SBC, AAC, and LHDC Bluetooth audio codecs. It’s nice to see at least one Hi-Res Bluetooth audio codec here, and LHDC matters more now that Android 17 supports it by default on Google Pixel phones. Out of the box, the OnTrac sound good, but not great. They can be tuned via the MyDyson app and ship with “Enhanced” EQ mode enabled.

This default EQ mode bumps the Dyson OnTrac’s low-end reproduction slightly. The headphones’ frequency response curve below show that low-end frequencies are overemphasized compared to our target curve. More importantly, there’s a dip between 2kHz and 6kHz that makes the headphones’ sound more bass-heavy than they actually are without strong upper-mids.

Still, I would say the Dyson OnTrac headphones sound good overall, never deviating too far from our house curve. Again, I wouldn’t put the OnTrac headphones in the same category as the AirPods Max 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2. The good news is that at sub-$250 prices, the OnTrac doesn’t have to be.

If you’re considering the Dyson OnTrac, I’d worry more about the headphones’ active noise cancelation (ANC) performance than their sound quality. With one dedicated voice microphone and eight ANC microphones, you’d think the OnTrac would cancel out a decent amount of noise. It isn’t always the case. The OnTrac does better at canceling out consistent, low-end frequencies — think the hum of an air conditioner or cabin noise in an airplane — than the sudden bursts of chatter in a coffee shop.

We see this reflected in the Dyson OnTrac’s test results, as the headphones rely almost exclusively on passive isolation to block out anything above 1kHz. Below that frequency range, the OnTrac headphones’ ANC is at work. They cancel out an average of more than 80% of external noise based on perceived loudness, which isn’t too far behind what the best ANC headphones can offer in 2026.

The OnTrac headphones earn major style points

In a world where you’re going to see 20 pairs of AirPods Max on a commercial plane, I like that the Dyson OnTrac’s design stands out — even if I don’t agree with every decision Dyson made to get there. Specifically, the headphones weigh 451 grams, and that would normally be too heavy for my liking. I can wear the Dyson OnTrac for longer listening sessions regardless to their excellent weight distribution.

The headband features three pill-shaped cushions, each covered with a soft liner. However, only the top one is actually a cushion. The two on the sides of the OnTrac house the lithium-ion batteries that keep the wireless headphones running without a cable. By putting the heavy batteries on the sides of the headband rather than on the ear cups, the Dyson OnTrac feel much lighter on your head than they really are.

The battery life also lasts up to 55 hours with ANC enabled, and this is enough to outlast plenty of more expensive over-ears. I can take these headphones on a trip without having to recharge them, whereas I need to take off my AirPods Max during long travel days for a quick charge.

The top headband cushion and microfiber ear cushions are as comfortable as any I’ve tried, but that isn’t the best part. The Dyson OnTrac is the start of a customizable system. You can replace the ear caps and cushions to get a different look. For example, while the OnTrac ships with silver or copper aluminum ear caps, there are optional ceramic caps available to give your headphones a custom design.

Dyson’s custom parts aren’t improving sound quality, and in fact, the MyDyson app pushes the add-ons too hard. That said, this design trait makes the Dyson OnTrac unique, and I’m a big fan of it.

Can you find better wireless over-ears at this price?

Make no mistake, the Dyson OnTrac are flawed. Aside from some of the drawbacks I’ve already mentioned, these headphones are limited to Bluetooth 5.0, could have a better app, and rely on taps for on-headphone ANC control. The difference now is that the Dyson OnTrac’s price is consistently low enough for buyers to feel good about accepting these compromises.

I’ve been tracking the Dyson OnTrac’s cost for many months now, and it’s apparent that the new $250 sale price is not a fluke. If anything, $250 is effectively the headphones’ new MSRP, which is why they’re even cheaper ($179) on Amazon. When I consider the other wireless over-ear headphones available at this price point, I can’t think of any other model I’d want over the Dyson OnTrac.