When not surfing Slowtwitch, I spend a lot of time doing failure and competitive analyses as a product analysis engineer for an electronics packaging company. So I think being a product tester for H20 Audio should be natural for me. I’ll be posting periodically about their SURGE waterproof headphones and INTERVAL waterproof headphone system.
This morning I got in about a mile of open-water practice then my wife called me at work and told me I had a box that was delivered, so I swung home at lunch anticipating it was a delivery from H20 Audio. I was geeked to get home and see what was delivered since I was selected to be a product tester for H20 Audio. Thanks Jamie for picking me, I really appreciate it.
I was anxious to try out the INTERVAL waterproof headphone system, so even though I did an o-w swim this morning, I headed to the pool after work so I could put the INTERVAL through a light workout. The INTERVAL is a waterproof system that holds the 2nd & 3rd generation Ipod shuffle along w/ waterproof headphones. The control interface is through tactile pads on the housing that align w/ the Ipod controls. The system comes w/ a set of interchangeable earbuds so that you get an optimum waterproof seal for your ear canal.
The INTERVAL is pretty small, its about the size of a small bar of soap. It readily connects to your goggle strap and resides on the back off your head. It only took about a minute to attach the unit to my goggles. It’s secured using a clip and you don’t have to take the straps off or anything like that. Also the unit comes w/ a nice little case that was convenient for carrying in my swim bag.
I gotta tell you, those earphones sound nice. I was thinking that the sound would be distorted since I was underwater, but the audio was really quite good. Also these things have some real nice bass. I love “The Roots” and ?uestlove’s drumming and Black Thought’s flow came through with suprising clarity.
That was my first opportunity to swim w/ headphones and it was a very cool experience. It felt like my 2K swim session flew by. I’m not a very strong swimmer, therefore my motivation wanes when I’m training, but I think this INTERVAL system is going make me spend more time in the water. I know I need more time in the water, so that one day I can achieve MOP status during the swim leg of my tris.
I’ll post more of my thoughts on the INTERVAL as I swim more w/ the system. Additionally, I’ll provide reviews for the SURGE waterproof headphones as a running solution.
rob-
Like you “everyone at the pools and private backyards I swim in thank you to Jamie” for letting me be the test dummy.
I plan on beating the ever living crap out of barbie’s briefcase (thats what one of the kids asked me - i guess it does looks like hers) that now houses my music…aka h20 Audio.
Game plan: training for another deca iron (this nov or next - really depends on funds) either way in huge swim block. Enjoying the 20/22/24 hr/wk builds and starting to go batty. Gearing up for a nice 14hr swim in 2 weeks. Music couldn’t come soon enough. Used to swim with finis and the battery just wasn’t long enough (even with 2 to rotate out/ charge). One of the reasons I wanted to try out the h20 Audio. Was going to buy it even if they didn’t choose me. Now I get to try to torture it on purpose.
I’ve been grumpy seeing lines that don’t exist, being called a superhero from these little kids at the pool, and recently snapping at some guy to shut up and swim (those that don’t know me know it was in a motherly tough love kinda thing).
When this is all over going to need some serious deep hair conditioning and cracked skin and lungs repaired - which will survive the best - h20 audio, hair, nails, skin, sanity?
See you in a few weeks to compare abuse stories.
the idea was to have one thread, when the product test phase was over, where all testers could place their comments. i’m going to lock this thread, and open it back up when we’re ready for everyone to post. then, this will be the “official” review thread for h2o audio. thanks for the review!
Maybe I am not using the right size ear plugs, but I have issues with my Interval. The plugs aren’t very comfortable (I can feel the hard headphone through the silicon and it presses against and pinches my ear) and they often fall out. I spend more time fixing my headphones when I take them to the pool than I do just swimming.
m- is it possible you have the wrong size in? I have very small ear canals and was afraid they wouldn’t work (wear kids goggles). Using the smallest piece I don’t feel the element and shove them pretty flush into my ears. Maybe try larger so they don’t fall out? Or maybe smaller so it’s less pinchy? In the past when something aggravated my canals I’d use a little bit of vasoline - I don’t know if this is recommended with use of their product.
From others I’ve talked with it’s not uncommon to use two different sizes. Hope you figure it out.
Thanks Eileen. I will try. I did try different sized plugs yesterday and it worked for a while, but eventually started to hurt again. I’ll give the two-different-size idea a try.
are you sure this works with 3rd generation i pod shuffle ??
Hello,
The product being reviewed is called the INTERVAL Waterproof Headphone System and is compatible with the 2nd Gen Shuffle (About the size of a postage stamp with full player control on the iPod). Look for the INTERVAL compatible with 3rd Gen Shuffle (size of a double A battery with player controls on the headphone) in October.
Eileen has it right. Try a larger size ear plug. A helpful tip to get the larger earplug into your ear is to reach around with your opposite hand and pull up on the top of your ear to open the ear canal. Also, putting the ear plugs in completely dry helps.
Okay, I know, too much ST time at work… However, I did want to jot down my impressions of the SURGE headphones as a running solution.
First off the folks at H20 Audio understand the importance of having good fitting earbuds. Like w/ the INTERVAL system, the SURGE headphones come w/ 5 pairs of earbuds to ensure a good fit. This made it easy for me to get the right ear canal fit.
The sound quality was very good. On my 5:30AM run this morning, I was getting my groove on w/ some nice cuts coming through the headphones and very little vehicle traffic. Maybe it was because I had a rest day yesterday, but the tunes coupled w/ low traffic made this morning’s run very enjoyable.
I recently had the wire break inside the jack housing on my old headphones from another manufacturer. When I opened up the package for the SURGE headphones, I quickly noticed that the jack is longer than other headphones I’ve used. I bet this feature increases durability.
Lastly, sorry about getting stating previously that the INTERVAL is compatible w/ 3rd gen Ipod Shuffle’s. I glad the folks from H20 Audio cleared that up for me.
While I was unhappy with the earlier version that had the stepped ear plugs, the new version of the Interval is pretty good. You should not have a problem finding the right size ear pieces given the range that is provided. While I find the cords just a bit short, the unit mounts easily and fairly unobstusively on your goggle strap. While not as good as a set of regular iPod headphones the sound is decent enough and great when you consider not having it at all.
I think it sounds good enough to use while running in the rain. I simply clip the unit to the back of my visor. Be careful though as you really cannot hear much of the outside word when you use the unit out of the pool. Be careful with the o-ring on the case and this unit should last a long time.
I like mine so much I went and bought a second 2d gen shuffle just as a back up.
2 good swim sessions so far with the interval and looking forward to a long continuous swim later in the week, here are my initial impressions:
I really like that it works with an Ipod instead of it’s own player as the music library I keep is Itunes so it is very convenient.
Once again in life it seems I am average, this time in ear canal size as the earpieces on the device at arrival fit perfectly, I get a good seal and they have stayed in place for both swim sessions with no issues.
Very easy to get set up on your goggles, and I have not needed a swim cap to keep the earbuds in.
Sound quality is excellent, I was surprised by how good they sound underwater.
The earphones truly create a watertight seal so it is hard to hear anything other than your music (now I have an excuse for ignoring the lifegaurds asking me to get out of the pool because they heard a loud noise they thought was lightening).
I have not tried to navigate the player while on the back of my head yet as i just get it set and let it shuffle so no real feedback here but I suspect that will take some getting used to.
I have no comparator for in the water but this product meets my expectations fully and I really have enjoyed swimming with tunes.
I have run with the headphones 1x, here is my initial feedback:
sound quality is excellent when I am standing still
headphones stay put when running hard
seem sturdy and very sweat resistant
earbuds create a seal so i can not hear anything but the music (cars approaching, etc) so may take some getting used to
when running or walking fast, the earplugs create a seal which magnifies the sound of my footsteps (almost like when you have water in your ear) which is a little distracting, when I loosen them in my ear canal backing them out a touch, they still stay put the wind seems to be whistling in my ear…I will try a smaller size earbud for my next run and report back and please any suggestions welcome…
Can someone try these with an audio book? I used the H20 headphones about a year ago and they didnt last more than a lap. I hope these ones are different. Are you guys doing flip turns while these things are in? Do they ever fall out while swimming?
haven’t done an audio book but have done flip turns without issue, doing a long continuous swim later in the week so I may have more feedback but if I were going to have issues with them falling out, I would have thought it was when i was doing shorter harder sets, so far so good, 2 swims in…
Music in water is amazing. It has revolutionized my approach to swimming. Nothing better than to have some excellent tunes in a 90 minute open water swim practice… so liberating!
Piggy-backing on this question but am curious if those testing could state whether they typically run with the apple ear-bud style headphones or not. I’ve given up on trying to use that style of headphone myself for anything other than sitting completely still as they just dont fit/stay in my ear if I move at all, let alone running and can’t even imagine swimming). Would really like to purchase something like this, but if the ear buds function similarly as other type bud systems they probably aren’t going to work for me.
