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At first glance it might seem absurd to walk down the street wearing a pair of headphones that also integrate an air purification module but the Dyson Zones look to the future. Alas, we are talking about a tomorrow in which there will often be a need for a facial support useful for filtering the microparticles that the environment retains, to eliminate them before they enter our nose or through our mouth. Something that is not felt to be extremely necessary today, so much so that the Zones are relegated to a limited audience. Which is due both to a price that is not within everyone’s reach, 899 or 959 euros depending on the color combination, and to the lack of practicality of an instrument which, beyond the extreme audio quality, is still bulky and ” important” to wear. Once you put them on you look a bit like the big bad Bane from Batman, even if you end up feeling almost like an extraterrestrial, a traveler from the Starfield video game which is very fashionable lately, scrutinized at every passerby you pass by. Once you have overcome the necessary doubts, you enter the magical world of Dyson audio. The central point is the active noise cancellation, among the best around. We combine this with the almost absence of distortion of the Zones, with the possibility of managing every aspect from the app on the smartphone to which the headphones are paired, to remain involved in the music as if you were listening to a song in the recording studio where it came to life . The earcups are massive, so much so that they make even Apple’s AirPod Max seem tiny, which translates into a certain difficulty in keeping the headphones around the neck when not in use. Perhaps this is why Dyson also includes a convenient carrying bag in the package, more to avoid losing the purification visor than to protect the object itself, built with the usual craftsmanship to which the manufacturer has accustomed us with its household products.
Moving on to the topic of purification, it is clear that this functionality contains all of Dyson’s knowledge on the subject, derived from years of research and development in domestic purifiers. The visor only works when it is fixed to the Zones and can be lowered when there is a need to communicate, face to face, with others or when you feel suffocated inside it. The magnetic hook is stable, both with the purification running and with the visor down, reducing the risk of separation and falling. The movement with which he lowers the visor brings to mind a knight inviting someone to a duel, a gesture that smacks of romance and disregard for other people’s judgment at the same time. Purification is activated from the MyDyson app, which is also possible by pressing a button under the ear cup. There are various speeds, including automatic mode, with which the Dyson Zones recognize the quality of the surrounding air, to independently decide how to work. Once the filter is used up, you unclip each cap to replace it with the spare change in the package. Are the Zones the audio product of the year? Probably not, but they will be in the next decade, when the foresight that the company has shown in putting together this concentration of technology will transform from a niche gadget to a cult for the masses.