I´m doing a 600 kilometre charity swim this summer in Sweden. To avoid going crazy from all that time in the water I´d like to try one of these new water-iPods/MP3-players. Which one is the best? And when I mean “the best” I mean best sound, compatibility to i-Tunes, best battery, least hassle with attachement of the player to the head, etc…
Thanks for any input
Jonas
I have this one…
http://www.x-1.com/store/waterproof-cases/interval-waterproof-headphone-system-4g.html
It’s essentially just a waterproof case for an iPod shuffle. For $100 it comes with everything, including the iPod. I’ve been swimming with mine (3-4 days a week) for about 5 months now and the iPod has stayed bone dry. The earplugs come with 5 different sizes, and I’ve only had water get into my ear maybe once or twice in all the time swimming with them. It is super easy to clip onto your goggle straps on the back of your head, and even has buttons so you can control the iPod without opening it up. Sound quality is surprisingly good…that said, these are the only ones I’ve used, so I can’t compare to other options.
Hope that helps!
x2 on x1…I have that player as well as their headphones and they all work great.
I have Audioflood. Got it for christmas and havnt had one problem.
had mine for 2 years now and no problems. Same idea as audioflood…don’t think you can go wrong with either option. Much better than using cases, etc.
2nd the waterfi. Get good earphones. I use TYR molded earplugs with Pyle waterproof earphones
x2 on x1…I have that player as well as their headphones and they all work great.
X3 on the X-1 … I’ve been using it for six months without issues. My first one had a seal leak but X-1 was good about replacing it and the ipod inside as I bought them as a unit. always be mindful to check the seal and you’ll be good. Great to have the controls on the back of your head while swimming to skip tracks etc.
Have used the Waterfi for years, Highly recommend. After a year or so, my first one stopped working. The customer service to get it fixed was GREAT! Have been using the one the sent to me for at least 2 years now. Ditto to the person mentioning getting good head phones, recommend getting a short cord.
Audioflood, love it so far.
I had two x-1 cases which didn’t last me more then a year. Wires to ear buds seem to break rapidly. I prefer Audioflood because you can replace the headphones.
Waterfi – the waterproof shuffle. I’ve had it over two years and it still works great.
Best headphones I’ve found are also Waterfi brand, the “short cord” version. Good sound and no water intrusion. X2 earbuds were okay, but were hard to size properly and let in water even with the right size earbud. Cheaper brands did not last long.
The best sound I had in a waterproof was the Monster iSport, but again, they let in too much water, so I just use those for treadmill-running now.
I bought one off ebay new for $11 shipped. It came with head phones. It looks like a flash drive to your computer. It has an fm radio. The sound is as good as the head phones will permit. Sometimes water gets in and muffles the sound, so I upgraded headphones. Still not willing to rave about them though.
I use the Sony NWZ-W273, compact, 4 gig capacity gives around 8-9 hours use and has a 3 minute quick charge for 60 min usage. Just comes up like a flash drive to copy music across from the PC. Sound quality is good for what you get, very secure in your ears as the cables loop over the ears and the different size buds ensures that it stays in place.
I like the X-1 Audio Interval system with an iPod Shuffle 4g for swimming. It’s pretty easy - has a long battery and sits behind the head pretty comfortably (to the point where you don’t notice it on a swim).
In terms of sound and stuff, I can’t speak to all that (as I haven’t tried every one out there) but the X-1 headphones included are pretty damn good in my mind.
If you’re interested in it - I have a discount code I can pass along to you (can’t share it publicly). Lemme know.
2nd the waterfi. Get good earphones. I use TYR molded earplugs with Pyle waterproof earphones
+1 on Waterfi, SwimMan, or any of the other waterproofed shuffles (I’ve had a SwimMan for 7 years, still going strong). It’s great to have the normal form factor of the shuffle (for use outside the pool), and to not have to worry about seals leaking. At ~15hrs. of battery life, you also won’t have it die during long efforts.
As the poster above mentioned, get some good earbuds that seal really well (since if any water gets in your ear canal it will block the sound). I’ve actually had much better luck with the $10 ones off Amazon (same ones that come with the WaterFi) than with H2O Audios. The stock plugs may seal well for you, if not the TYR plugs will usually fit on the buds.
http://cdn3.volusion.com/onyvk.cxpaa/v/vspfiles/photos/LEARS-3.jpg?1394447615
The old H20 Audio phones usually only had one fitting on the earpiece. THe new ones from X-1 (which is what H20 turned into) come with several different fittings for the earpiece. I can’t imagine that people can’t find one that will fit perfectly and work for them - but I suppose it’s possible (everyone’s ears are different).
The old H20 Audio phones usually only had one fitting on the earpiece. THe new ones from X-1 (which is what H20 turned into) come with several different fittings for the earpiece. I can’t imagine that people can’t find one that will fit perfectly and work for them - but I suppose it’s possible (everyone’s ears are different).
Yeah, they used to come with just the “mushroom” buds, and no “pine trees.” I had/have some H20 Audio Surges that I placed the TYR plugs on. Then they sealed fine, but the wiring failed after about 6 mos.
The earbuds are always the weak link for waterproofed ipods, which is why I prefer a solution where you can replace them if they fail.
x2 on “Everyone’s ears are different”.
I have had no luck on any type of ear bud. I tried all the types of that come with the X-1. Invariable, one ear would get some water in and that side would stop working for the rest of that workout.
As for other types of waterproof headphones, like the type pictured in the waterfi, I could never get them to stay in my ears for the duration of the workout. There’s no wrap-around piece on many of them, and even some with a wrap-around piece still don’t really hold them in place. My swim cap would not work since it would not come down far enough to fully cover the ears.
Very frustrating since I’ve wasted lots of money on trying to get something that works long term.
I’ve recently been using the Finis Neptune (http://www.finisinc.com/neptune.html). The sound definitely is not nearly as good as with ear buds. So IF you can get ear buds that actually fit and stay in place comfortably for the entire workout, ear buds would definitely score higher. Great bass, etc. But, the Neptune has been very consistent. I can hear the music when my head is out of the pool, which I would equate to AM radio quality sound. When my head is under water, I’d say the sound is close to FM radio quality sound. Battery life is great. For me, I’m ok sacrificing sound quality for something that works 100% and is comfortable too.
I would recommend that whatever you buy, get it from a place that has a generous Return policy. You may find that something works for you initially, but then no longer works reliably/comfortably, etc. after 2 or 3 weeks. Good luck with your swim.