We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-26 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a pair of headphones built specifically for swimming laps with music on board and no phone required, choose H2O Audio Sonar 2; if you need over-ear headphones for late-night TV watching that keep the sound to yourself without waking the house, choose Skyaudio Headphones.
• H2O Audio Sonar 2 — biggest strength: Bone conduction drivers in an IPX8-rated, open-ear frame with a built-in 8GB MP3 player, so you can swim phone-free while still hearing your surroundings.
• H2O Audio Sonar 2 — biggest trade-off: Playtime is modest by everyday headphone standards — up to 9 hours over Bluetooth and about 6 hours in MP3 mode — and it charges over USB rather than a regular 3.5mm jack.
• Skyaudio Headphones — biggest strength: A plug-and-play USB transmitter setup built for TV audio with no noticeable delay, tuned for clear dialogue and louder, clearer sound for seniors.
• Skyaudio Headphones — biggest trade-off: It's a TV-first, stationary product — no waterproofing, no built-in music storage, and no real portability story.
• Who each pick is for: Serious swimmers and water athletes → H2O Audio Sonar 2. Night-owl TV watchers and seniors who want personal, sync-accurate TV audio → Skyaudio Headphones.
The Sonar 2 PRO is one of those products where the design brief tells you almost everything. It's an open-ear, bone conduction headphone with an IPX8 waterproof rating good to 12 feet, which means it's meant to be submerged, not just splashed. H2O Audio built the whole thing around lap swimming: the frame is 40% smaller and thinner than the previous generation, it's light enough to sit under a swim cap, and there's a removable goggle clip so it stays put through flip turns and sprints.
The genuinely interesting part is the storage. There's 8GB of built-in memory on board — enough for roughly 2,000 songs or about 130 hours of music — and it handles MP3 and iTunes .m4a files. You drag and drop from a computer and swim with zero devices anywhere near the pool. There's also a Playlist+ feature: double-click the control and it records Bluetooth audio straight into memory, so you can save a streaming playlist for offline laps later. Bluetooth 5.3 is on board too, with a 30-foot range on land and a claimed 4 inches underwater — which lines up with the goggle-mounted streaming use case rather than mid-stroke freedom.
The controls deserve a mention because they're one of the few things that actually goes wrong on pool headphones. The buttons are large and raised, deliberately shaped for wet hands or gloves. That's a design detail, not a marketing line, and it matters when your fingers are numb and you're mid-interval.
Who should buy it: swimmers, triathletes, and anyone doing structured pool or open-water training who wants music without a phone on the deck. The open-ear design also keeps you aware of lane traffic and coaches, which is a safety point, not just a comfort one.
Skyaudio Headphones: Who It's For
The Skyaudio set is solving a completely different problem, and it's honest about it. This is an over-ear wireless headphone paired with a USB transmitter, plug-and-play, built for television. The pitch is straightforward: watch late-night movies or quiet viewing without disturbing anyone else in the house, with audio that stays in sync with the picture and no perceptible delay.
The acoustic tuning is aimed at dialogue. If you've ever cranked the volume on a drama and still missed half the conversation, that's the exact complaint this product targets — clearer vocals, richer and more balanced sound, louder for people who struggle with TV speakers. Skyaudio positions it partly for seniors, and the feature set fits that: over-ear cups in ABS with faux leather padding, a classic look, and button controls on the headset itself.
The specs are modest but sensible for the job: 32 ohm impedance, 105 dB sensitivity, wireless range up to 35 feet. That range is the practical heart of it — you can walk to the kitchen and keep listening while the TV keeps playing. The transmitter is USB, so the setup is plug-and-play rather than a pairing ritual. There's a cable included, and the warranty is listed at one year.
A few things it deliberately isn't: there's no noise cancelling (noise control is listed as none), no waterproofing, no built-in music storage, and no Bluetooth in the conventional sense — connectivity is described as wireless via the transmitter. That's not a flaw, it's a trade-off. A dedicated transmitter is exactly why the sync is tight and why there's no delay to fight with.
Who should buy it: anyone who watches TV late and doesn't want to wake a partner or housemates, people who struggle to follow dialogue on TV speakers, and older listeners who want a simple plug-in-and-go setup rather than app pairing and codec menus.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for swimming and water sports → H2O Audio Sonar 2. IPX8 to 12 feet, bone conduction, goggle clip. Nothing about the Skyaudio set is built for water.
• Best for TV watching without disturbing others → Skyaudio Headphones. A dedicated USB transmitter, no audio delay, dialogue-focused tuning.
• Best for phone-free workouts → H2O Audio Sonar 2. 8GB of onboard storage, roughly 2,000 songs, no device needed at the pool.
• Best for seniors or anyone who wants the simplest possible setup → Skyaudio Headphones. Plug-and-play transmitter beats any pairing flow for ease of use.
• Best for situational awareness → H2O Audio Sonar 2. The open-ear design leaves your ears uncovered, which is the whole point in a pool.
• Best for listening around the house while the TV stays on → Skyaudio Headphones. Up to 35 feet of wireless range lets you move rooms without losing audio.
• Best battery flexibility → H2O Audio Sonar 2, though it's a narrow win: up to 9 hours over Bluetooth and about 6 in MP3 mode, versus a TV headphone that lives mostly on a charger near the couch.
• Best for everyday commuting or music on the go → neither, honestly. Sonar 2 is a swim tool with no jack; Skyaudio is tethered to its transmitter. If that's your main need, keep looking.
In my opinion, the right answer depends entirely on which problem you actually have, and these two products don't overlap at all. For swimmers, I'd buy the H2O Audio Sonar 2 without much hesitation — the IPX8 rating, the 8GB of onboard music, the goggle clip and the wet-hand buttons are a coherent package built for one job, and it does that job. For TV watchers, especially anyone who keeps the volume low at night or struggles with dialogue, I'd buy the Skyaudio Headphones: the USB transmitter and delay-free sync matter more here than any spec sheet bravado. If you can only pick one and you don't swim, pick Skyaudio. If you swim seriously, pick Sonar 2. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since that's the one variable I can't weigh for you.
FAQ
The product is built around its USB transmitter for plug-and-play TV audio with no delay. Connectivity is listed as wireless with up to 35 feet of range, so plan on using it with the transmitter as intended.
Yes. It supports Bluetooth 5.3 with a 30-foot range on land for streaming from phones, smartwatches and computers. Underwater, Bluetooth is limited to about 4 inches, so the built-in 8GB player is the practical option in the water.
No. Noise control is listed as none, and the H2O Audio Sonar 2 uses passive noise cancellation rather than active. If blocking out a noisy room is your priority, neither is an active-noise-cancelling product.
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