Not necessary.

I've had success with these (plugged into a waterproof iPod shuffle):

https://www.amazon.com/...91822336&sr=8-18

Have to admit the wires aren't the most durable. I've had one set fail soon after purchase, but vendor sent me a replacement. The in-ear configuration does a good job keeping water out, which is a bonus.

I've had decent luck with waterproofed shuffles, and their cheap ebay counterparts. The key is to have earbuds with the silicone "pine trees" that seal well in the ear canal. If any water gets in your ear the sound will cut out.

Right before shelter-in-place I splurged on some of the aftershokz xtrainerz bone conduction headphones. Really pleased with them. TO uses them (he's sponsored) as does Lionel (who doesn't seem to be).





Bluetooth is basically useless in the water (range in air is 10m, in water it's 5cm [2in]), so your music needs to be preloaded onto the device. Lack of BT basically means that these are for workouts only (no using them for calls....need airpods or some other handsfree).

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Waterproof Sony walkman for me. Been using mine for a couple of years. Needs you to download MP3s onto it (e.g. can't use spotify). Had issues with them coming loose in my ears and letting water in, despite the bud feeling secure when I put them in. Then I tried a different sized cup (they come with 4 different sizes) and now the work flawlessly. In the pool, I find them a little quiet for podcasts, but fine for music. Also the charging connector is a little fiddly. I'd buy another pair if these ones ever died.

I've gone through a handful of wired ear bud style, and usually break the wires in a couple months. And have never had the players last more than 6 months before they leak and quit.

Last Christmas my wife gave me a Tayogo bone conduction swim headset with FM and Mp3 player (the non-bluetooth version). Man it's a game changer. Better sound quality than I was expecting. I put my whole music collection on it (about 600 songs). You wear earplugs in the water, and they get even louder and clearer under water. For running, no worries about sweat and rain, and you can still hear everything around you, and even carry on a conversation. Tayogo is like a cheap brand of Aftershocks... but they work great. I doubt I could ever go back to the wired earbud hassle again. If and when these break, I'm sold on the concept, and will probably go with Aftershock next.

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Athlinks / Strava

Just read up on the Aftershokz. They look pretty amazing. I'll definitely go there next time my earbuds or iPod shuffle dies.

There are multiple aftershokz models it seems. Which one to get for swimming?

Xtrainerz are the ones to get for the water, they also work as well as the others for running or cycling.

I used the Underwater Audio ones with the waterproof iPod shuffle and the Aftershokz are far better. Well worth the cost, very reliable, and decent sound quality above or below water.

Cool, thanks! Swimming is boring as hell, might try this!

Finis Duo.

Have had many versions over the years. Uses bone conduction and sound quality is actually pretty good.

bone conduction works great for music, but it didn't work for audiobooks or podcasts for me. Just missed too many words.
I've had a waterproof ipod shuffle for 4 years now and its still working great. I've bought a few pair of waterproof ear buds off ebay over the years as they don't last forever but love the shuffle.

Thank you everyone. Great info.

I know this is a month old but I just saw this:

https://bemighty.com/...terproof-mighty-vibe

I had the regular Mighty from when it first came out. I don't really use it anymore since I run with an Apple Watch with Apple Music, but it was great for the few years I did use it. It sync's spotify playlists. I've never used the waterproof one, or ever swam with music, but sounds like a good product.

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--Chris

Another vote for Aftershokz. I have the Xtrainerz for the pool and when I don't carry my phone with me. I have the Aeropekz for when I carry my phone, like on the bike and such, both are awesome.

+1

100x better than trying to keep anything in your ear while swimming.