Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: what are the differences?

Dyson's new OnTrac headphones have been announced and are far more consumer-friendly than its air-filtering Zone headphones that came before it.

After a few years of waiting, Bose updated its wireless noise-cancelling over-ear headphone range with the new flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones in September 2023.

So far, we've tested the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and gave the pair the full five stars in our review. We had the chance to briefly try the new Dyson OnTrac but have not given them a full review yet – they are gunning for the same noise-cancelling wireless headphones market that Bose leads in, however.

Let's take a look at all the key similarities and differences that separate the two pairs of headphones.

Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: price

The Dyson OnTrac headphones are set to cost £450 / $500 / AU$799 when they release on 1st August 2024. As they are a brand new model, it is unlikely we will see any big discounts immediately, but being priced on the premium side sees them compete with strong contenders.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones launched at £450 / $429 / AU$649, although we've seen the price drop to around £375 / $350 / AU$480 and may see more discounts applied as the year progresses.

The Dyson will cost more than the five-star Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones , which launched at £380 / $399 / AU$550, but are priced lower than the premium Apple AirPods Max , which cost  £549 / $549 / AU$899 when they arrived. Of course, the Sony and Apple headphones have been available for some time now, and significant price drops frequently occur.

Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: design

Dyson's new headphones feel quite chunky compared with the Bose. From our brief encounter with the OnTrac headphones during the launch demo, we think that they don't feel overly heavy when wearing them, but we will truly find out during our in-depth testing.

The build quality feels robust and they come with a nice collapsible case. Both the hinges and headband seem like they will withstand a good amount of flex and there's room for ample adjustment in the headband. The ear cushions are bigger than you might find with many other pairs of headphones but still feel comfortable and envelop the ear well. The earcups fold down flat but do not fold inwards, unlike the Bose.

If customisation is your thing, the fun news is that you can easily swap out the ear cushions and outer ear cups of the OnTrac headphones for a wide selection of colourful alternatives. The cushions just snap off and the outer cups have a twist-lock system making the process pretty quick. It's a level of interaction you'd never normally have with headphones, and the choice of colours available is enticing – from bright tones to subtler dark ones.

The Ultra Headphones are fully foldable, which is somewhat rare in this price bracket, and makes it easier to carry and accommodate in your bag or luggage when on the move. They also come with a protective carrying case and are available in Black and White Smoke colours – no customisable aesthetics here, unfortunately.

The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have ample cushioning along the length of the headband and the grip pressure is well-judged. We found the clamping force to be slightly stronger than the Sony WH-1000XM5 during our testing, which may be to the liking of some. The cushioning is comfortable even over longer listening periods and they offer a good level of isolation.

The OnTrac's larger, plusher cushions aim to offer a high level of passive isolation as well, but we will find out from our full review if there are any overheating issues.

Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: features

Dyson's new headphones feature physical control buttons for playback and calling on the voice assistant. Alongside these, there are touch controls for swapping between active noise-cancelling and Transparency modes.

The MyDyson app looks well laid out and allows users to change the ANC and EQ modes. It also includes a graph showing real-time hearing data and will warn you if you are listening at a harmful volume level.

Dyson claims the battery included in its new OnTrac headphones will last for a substantial 55 hours with ANC turned on, which blows most other rivals including Bose far out of the water. There has not yet been any mention of multi-point Bluetooth or fast pairing options with the OnTrac headphones, so we look forward to finding out during full testing.

Moving on to the Ultra Headphones: on the right earcup, you'll find one of the main talking points – a capacitive touch strip for controlling volume and accessing shortcuts. There's also a general multi-functional button for controlling listening modes, answering calls and pausing audio.

They include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound Technology suite, which gives them latency and stability boosts via aptX Adaptive codec support. There's also multipoint Bluetooth connectivity for seamless use between two devices such as phones, tablets and laptops.

The Bose headphones offer 24 hours of battery life during standard ANC use and 18 hours when ‘Immersive Audio’ is engaged. A healthy figure, but way behind the figures Dyson claims for their OnTrac headphones.

There's compatibility with the Bose Music App and an ‘Immersive Audio’ mode, which is Bose’s take on spatial audio and presents sound in a 3D environment. It comes with two further modes, ‘Motion’ and ‘Still’. In the ‘Still’ setting, audio is meant to sound as if it is “coming from two stereo speakers in front of you that stay where they are when you move your head”. “Motion” mode aims to make audio sound like “it's coming from two stereo speakers in front of you that follow the movements of your head”. We found the Immersive Audio modes unconvincing during our review, and especially aren't fond of it draining so much crucial battery life.

The Dyson OnTrac don't have any spatial audio capabilities, and we are getting confirmation on whether it supports hi-res codecs beyond the standard AAC and SBC codecs for Bluetooth.

Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: noise cancelling

Being the inventors of active noise cancelling technology, it’s no surprise that Bose usually sets the benchmark for new pairs of headphones to aim for.

The new Dyson OnTrac headphones offer ANC and Transparency modes. The cans feature eight mics that constantly monitor external noise – Dyson claims 384,000 times per second – to optimise the ANC quality. Unfortunately, you can't manually adjust ANC levels like you can on the Bose, but Dyson has made it clear that it is aiming high and wants its headphones to be crowned as the best for ANC. That's a tall order, however, and we will have to see how they compare to the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones during testing and real-world use.

The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are currently our top ANC choice for the best wireless headphones , and feature class-leading noise-cancelling tech that you would expect from Bose. The company states that its new headphones achieve noise cancellation via passive sealing of the earcups combined with proprietary active electronics. This active circuitry uses microphones on the inside and outside of both earcups to cancel out external noise.

In our full review of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones , we were impressed with the noise-cancelling capabilities. Background rumbles are drastically reduced and the sound of the London Underground during our daily commutes is far less abrasive and intrusive.

There are a few options within the ANC settings, namely Quiet and Aware modes. Quiet mode offers full noise cancellation, while the Aware setting allows full transparency so you can hear your surroundings while still enjoying audio in stereo sound. There's also an additional ActiveSense feature which only activates noise cancellation when a loud or sudden noise occurs nearby.

At the moment, we know that the Ultra Headphones are at the top of the ANC class. Let's see if Dyson's new ambitious headphones can compete once put them through the full review process.

Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: sound

As we only got to listen to the Dyson OnTrac headphones briefly during our demo, we aren't able to make any definite statements when it comes to sound quality. What we can say is that they gave an impression of sounding clear with a decent amount of detail, with Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon's gruff vocals on Exile projected well.

They will have their work cut out for them next to the Bose, which we gave five stars to in our in-depth review. The Ultra Headphones are precise and punchy, and convey every genre of music with enthusiasm.

They deliver rich highs and deep lows with refinement, while drums hit hard and fast. The sense of exciting dynamism that builds in certain tracks is captured and conveyed, which is massively appealing. We said in our review that "every note is tightly defined and they have no problem painting texture and giving them shape". Timing is terrific, and the overall natural balance is combined with a level of refinement and excitement that really impressed us.

While the Dyson headphones will be launching in the UK at the same price as Bose's flagship pair, they will be more expensive in the US and Australia. As a result, we're hoping that they sound good enough to justify their lofty price tag.

Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: early verdict

Of course, until we try out both pairs of headphones next to each other, we can't say which headphones offer the best value for money at this premium level.

However, we can certainly say that Bose's latest flagship headphones are a formidable pair to beat. They earned a full five-star review for their full-bodied, dynamic sound, along with the impressive noise-cancelling abilities that are unbeatable at this level.

The Dyson OnTrac are certainly interesting and are aiming high, and we're excited to put it through our thorough review process and see how they fare against Bose's best – stay tuned for the full review and comparison very soon.

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