A team of 25 specialist acousticians worked hard to reduce vibrations, hone airflow and change the motor’s tone to engineer machines that are quieter and have better sound quality, while maintaining high performance.

The new Dyson AB14dB works like its predecessors with two sheets of high velocity unheated air traveling through apertures as thin as an eyelash, quickly scraping water from hands and leaving them fully dry.  However, its new scallop-shaped apertures increase the distance travelled by the two sheets of air before they collide.  An overhanging lip on the front aperture alters the angle of the air exiting the machine, further reducing the sound made when the sheets collide.  

“Noise is made up of irritating frequencies as well as the total volume of sound heard by the human ear.  Dyson engineers were challenged to improve both. They’ve reduced air turbulence and eliminated whining motor tones – improving sound without ever compromising performance,” explains James Dyson.

The newest model features the Dyson Digital Motor V4 and using digital pulse technology, accelerating from 0-90,000rpm in less than 0.7 seconds.  It includes the Helmholtz Silencer, designed to eliminate specific motor tones, which are the unpleasant frequencies most prominent to the human ear.  

While quieter, there is no compromise on performance: it dries hands in just 10 seconds.  Still the most hygienic way to dry hands, it passes washroom air through a HEPA filter to remove 99.9% of bacteria before it is blown onto hands.  The Dyson Airblade dB hand dryer can dry 18 pairs of hands for the price of a single paper towel.