So I guess there are a variety of waterproof mp3 player/headphones systems out there to use while you’re swimming. Swimming can get pretty boring and I’d like to be able to listen to podcasts.
There are a few types. Little clip on players that come with traditional looking earbuds or IEMs. Single pieces where the mp3 player is built into ear units. Cases and headphones to waterproof existing mp3 players like ipods. I do have an ipod touch but unless those things are 100% foolproof rock solid I wouldn’t really want to risk them.
I only really need maybe two hours of podcasts anyway - that’s probably not even 100mb. More is better, but if I can get a cheap but good 256mb player I’d go with that I suppose.
A lot of these designs seem to use regular ear buds (which sit outside of your ear in the bones of the ear) rather than in-ear monitors (where they actually go into your ear canal). The latter seems like it’d be better since it could keep the water out better… earbuds seem like they’d change the sound quite a bit as you went above and underwater.
I don’t need anything with good sound - I won’t be listening to music - but I do want it to be consistent. I don’t want dipping my head underwater to make me miss some of the audio before it equalizes again. And obviously a good fit would be nice, I don’t want to have to adjust them all the time.
Bought myself a case and armband for my iPod Mini way back when, and just got myself a system for my iPod Touch. Never had a problem once with the Mini case - haven’t had a chance to use the Touch case yet (they actually are very different). One thing I remember from the instructions of the Mini case is that they tell you to put a tissue in your case and leave it soaking in water overnight just to make sure, for the final time, that your case is all good. I never had a problem.
I was scared when they switched up their headphone system…the only ones they had when I first started were sort of shaped like screws and went in to your ear canal. Since I have stupidly-shaped ear canals, this was the only way I could wear any sort of “ear bud.” But now their headphones are all “buds.” When I bought the Touch setup, I paid $12 for a whole case of differently-shaped ear buds but it turns out the headphones come with 3 sizes of earplugs. I still might need the extra buds I bought, but it looks like a lot of thought was put in to the bud/earphone design at the get-go.
Kind of expensive, and you have to supply your own iPod, but they work. I’ve been a fan since 2005 and have been following their company since then (I get their email newsletters). When I got my Mini and was searching around for a solution, these guys were the only solution. There was them and Otterbox but Otterbox did not have headphones. Not sure what the other solutions are today, but 6+ years is a lifetime in new technology so I definitely trust them to protect my iPod.
Oh, and when I got back to swimming after a hiatus last year, and found that one half of my now-no-longer-sold headphones was not giving sound, I emailed h2o and they said “send us the old ones and we’ll send you a new set for free”. This was 5 years later!
I do not work for h2o Audio. I just love to swim and hate to swim w/o sound.
SwiMP3 from Finis is awesome. Fairly expensive, though.
It’s of the bone-conductance type. The sound is actually better underwater. And far superior to earphones and earbuds, I’ve found. It doesn’t do anything for keeping water out of your ear canals… but none of the headsets I’ve tried did that.
You still hear the splashing of your swimming, and the sound quality changes as I turn my head to breathe, but still by far the best I’ve tried.
The most recent model is small and unobtrusive – clip on to goggles, and go. No armbands or whatnot. Recharge and load mp3 by plugging into your computer; I usually recharge every three or so uses (of an hour each), although it can go longer.
The only issue I’ve had is that they’re rather delicate. My brother’s earlier model (bulkier) seems more robust. I’m on #3 in three years, but one of those was replaced by Finis at no cost to me. I’d recommend a warranty if available. The defects so far seem to have been caused by water in the sealed portion (replaced), and the wire sheathing separating at the charge-port (out-of-warranty).
Yeah I was looking at the Swimp3 thing which looked interesting. I have no idea how the bone conduction thing would actually deliver sound, if it’d be any good. I don’t need hi-fi music, just enough that voices are consistently clear.
You say the sound is better underwater, but does it change significantly when you’re going in and out? If I’m doing a stroke that puts my head in and out of water every other second, it’d be distracting if the volume/quality of the sound kept going in and out.
The sound is not noticably different while I’m doing different strokes (and I do IMs in my workout routine). It is noticably clearer while underwater… but that’s mainly noticable when I’ve loaned them to someone to try out.
Usual conversation:
“Here, try them out.”
“Hey, these are good. You can really hear that.”
“Now, go underwater.”
“Wow!”
And usually a few days later, I see them with their own set. Finis would make a bundle if they just demo’d the things at pools.
But, yeah, the sound is good even while popping in and out of the water. Just have to be careful with them – as I mentioned, they can be fragile, so you don’t want to treat them roughly.
Yeah I’m leaning towards the bone conduction thing because it sounds pretty cool, just having never experienced it I’m skeptical about how well it could work.
Some of the reviews say it only really works well underwater. Maybe that makes sense, the water makes a better seal for the vibration or something - but most of my time is spent with my head above water one way or the other. strokes that keep your ears out of the water, stretching, various water excercises - when I’m in the pool my ears are probably out of the water 75% of the time. Does it still work ok even above water?
Thinking of grabbing a http://www.amazon.com/Dry-CASE-DC13-Waterproof-Crystal/dp/B002SXMO88/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top vacuum-sealed case too and some waterproof earbuds. The engineering makes sense (one way air seal, locking seal for the device, gasketed headphone jack) to keep it waterproof, but I’m still kind of leery of taking my ipod touch underwater. Is there any reason to be worried?
I guess I’m just a little skeptical of the bone conduction sound quality… and this method would be a little more convenient - I can use my current ipod with all my podcasts and music, I can just stick the earphones in from home so I can listen on the drive or when showering after or whatever. Just wish I could demo stuff first to figure out what works best, everything has some pretty strong detractors.
What depth does this become a concern at? Certainly getting your head 1-2 feet underwater during normal lap swimming can’t hurt your ears, can it? I thought some people wore earplugs underwater to keep the water out of their ears.
It still works out of water. The sound is just clearer underwater, since that is where it was optimized for. But I can hear mine just fine, kicking or doing breaststroke, backstroke, fly, or crawl. Or just standing in the shower after.
Best advice would be to ask someone who you see has one, to borrow for a moment to hear for yourself. I don’t think they demo them anywhere, unfortunately.
As for that review… water conducts sound better than air, but I’m not sure about that “pressure differential” comment. There shouldn’t be a difference because of the depth, it’s a question of whether the sound being so efficiently conducted to your delicate ears is going to do some damage. Keeping the water out of your earcanals is to prevent water-in-the-ears or getting swimmer’s ear; shouldn’t affect whether you’d blast your ears out with loud music.
I came in specifically to mention the SwimP3 also. When I first started training for triathlons last spring, a woman I work with asked if I had used one. I hadn’t, so she brought her older one in. It seemed to work well at first, and as soon as I went underwater, I was hooked. I would definitely purchase one if I wasn’t still using hers, and she has several so seemed okay with me using it this summer as well. Definitely try one out, I think it would be a good option for podcasts as well as music.
Does the swimp3 make audible sound? The reviews are strangely mixed, some saying that it generates so much vibration you can hear it even if you hold it several feet away from your ear, and some say that everyone else in the pool can hear it. Is that true?
It makes audible sound. It is just “tinny” in air. Although I don’t blast mine up to max volume, the only way anyone can hear it is if their head is pressed right up to mine while it’s on. Everyone in the pool can’t hear it. People several feet away might hear some very faint noise… if it’s really really quiet otherwise and their hearing is really good and they’re deliberately listening for it. I’ve never cranked mine up loud enough for there to be any “vibration”.
It’s not like it’s the stereo in some teenager’s hoopty, booming and shuddering its way down the street.
I ended up not grabbing anything back when I made this thread originally, but I’m going to be buying a swimming mp3 solution soon. Anyone else with experience with these things before I purchase?
Swimp3 is still in the running (wish I could demo it first, since it’s odd). Everything on amazon related to waterproofed mp3 has bad reviews except for that and this self contained unit.
I’ve used my H2O Audio iPod Touch case/armband now many many times since I posted and the gaskets and everything still hold tough. So for about 6 years now my experience with that company and their products has been 100% good.
I use a dry bag similar to the one you posted earlier. The sound changes significantly in an out of the water, so it doesn’t really work for podcasts or audiobooks - you would only be able to make out half the the conversation because it changes in sound every time you go up for breath.
Also I find that since the bag sits flush with the device, water flowing around the bag seems to be enough to start interfering with the capacitive touch controls on my 2nd gen ipod nano. I solved this problem by wrapping a couple of rubber bands around the ipod so that the bag is “raised” off the click wheel enough, if that makes sense.