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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a lightweight open-ear sport headphone you can wear all day for running, cycling, gym sessions and calls, choose KOAIEZ IP7; if you need a bone conduction headphone that can actually go underwater for swimming and diving with built-in MP3 storage, choose Soveign Waterproof Headphones. Those two sentences are the whole decision. Everything below is me showing my work, spec by spec, so you can confirm which camp you fall into.
• KOAIEZ IP7 — biggest strength: an open-ear bone conduction design with Bluetooth 5.3, a 10 m transmission range, multi-pairing, built-in mics for calls, and a claimed 6–10 hours of playback from a 2-hour charge in a lightweight, foldable-feeling body.
• KOAIEZ IP7 — biggest trade-off: IPX7 covers sweat, rain and accidental splashes, but it is not built for swimming, and it has no built-in music storage — it lives and dies by its Bluetooth connection.
• Soveign Waterproof Headphones — biggest strength: IPX8 sealing plus a dual Bluetooth/MP3 system with 32 GB of onboard memory (the spec sheet cites storage for more than 6000 songs), so you can swim with music and no phone nearby.
• Soveign Waterproof Headphones — biggest trade-off: while swimming you must switch to MP3 mode because Bluetooth is limited in water, and the design is a full wraparound bone conduction band rather than a discreet everyday headphone.
• Who each pick is for: KOAIEZ IP7 for land-based athletes and commuters who want open-ear awareness and easy pairing; Soveign for swimmers and divers who want their music to follow them into the pool.
The KOAIEZ IP7 is a sport-first open-ear headphone. The design sits outside your ear canal and delivers sound through the bone to the cochlea, which the spec sheet frames as richer, fuller audio with clearer mids and highs — and, more practically for a runner, it leaves your ears open to traffic, training partners and gym announcements. The neckband is wrapped in rubber and skin-friendly silicone, loops over the tops of your ears, and is described as hugging the head, so the "will these bounce off on mile three" worry is addressed by the shape rather than by a tight in-ear seal.
On the tech side it runs Bluetooth 5.3 with strong signal transmission, lower power consumption, stable connection and multi-pairing, plus a 10 m transmission range. Built-in mics with environmental noise handling are there for calls, and the battery spec is 6–10 continuous hours of music, calls, audiobooks or podcasts from a single 2-hour charge. It's small and light enough to drop in a clothes pocket, and the spec sheet emphasizes comfort over long wearing sessions. In the box: the headphones, a user manual and a charging cable.
Soveign Waterproof Headphones: Who It's For
The Soveign Waterproof Headphones are built around one idea: music in the water. The IPX8 rating means the whole unit is covered in waterproof silicone and can be submerged and stay out of water for extended periods — the spec sheet is explicit that not every "waterproof" bone conduction headphone earns the swimming-earphone label, and this one does. The critical caveat is stated up front by the manufacturer: use MP3 mode when swimming, because Bluetooth is limited in water. That's not a flaw so much as the reality of wireless signals underwater, and Soveign solves it with a dual-mode system.
That second mode is the 32 GB MP3 player, which the spec sheet says holds more than 6000 songs. So you load your library once, leave the phone in your bag, and swim, dive, cycle, run or hike without a tether. The frame is designed to bend at any angle — up to 360 degrees — so you can shape it to your head and it resists breaking at the middle joint. Controls are physical: one-button operation with volume buttons and a call-answer button, operable one-handed, which matters when your hands are wet. It runs Bluetooth 5.3 for normal wireless use out of the water.
Buy it if you swim, dive, or train in wet environments and want your own music with no phone in reach. Skip it if you mainly want a discreet everyday headphone for commuting and calls — the wraparound bone conduction band and its swimming-first priorities aren't aimed at that.
• Best for swimming and diving → Soveign Waterproof Headphones. IPX8 sealing plus MP3 mode is the combination that makes underwater listening possible at all.
• Best for running, cycling and gym work → KOAIEZ IP7. Open-ear design, Bluetooth 5.3, multi-pairing and a lightweight pocketable body fit land training better.
• Best for listening without a phone → Soveign Waterproof Headphones. 32 GB of onboard storage cited as room for 6000+ songs beats a phone-dependent Bluetooth headphone every time.
• Best for battery expectations on long sessions → KOAIEZ IP7. The spec sheet states 6–10 continuous hours from a 2-hour charge; Soveign doesn't publish a comparable hour figure, so treat that as unknown rather than equal.
• Best for calls → KOAIEZ IP7. Built-in mics with environmental noise handling and a stable Bluetooth 5.3 connection are spelled out; Soveign has a call-answer button but its waterproof sealing is the headline feature.
• Best for durability against bending → Soveign Waterproof Headphones. The 360-degree bendable frame is designed specifically so the middle joint doesn't snap.
• Best for everyday portability → KOAIEZ IP7. Small, light, pocketable, with a rubber-wrapped neckband and ear loops that keep it in place.
• Best for wet-weather commuters and sweaty sessions → either one. IPX7 on the KOAIEZ handles rain and sweat; IPX8 on the Soveign handles far more than that.
In my opinion, the right buy depends entirely on whether water is a workout surface or just a hazard. If you swim, the Soveign Waterproof Headphones are the only one of the two that makes sense — IPX8 plus 32 GB of MP3 storage is a genuinely different capability, not a spec-sheet bragging point. For everyone else — runners, cyclists, lifters, hikers, drivers — I'd take the KOAIEZ IP7: open-ear awareness, Bluetooth 5.3 with multi-pairing, built-in mics, 6–10 hours per charge and a body light enough to forget. Before you commit, check the current price on Amazon using the button on this page, since that's the one variable that can tip a close call.
are headphones waterproof
It depends on the rating. True waterproofing is measured by IPX ratings: the KOAIEZ IP7 carries IPX7, which covers sweat, rain and brief immersion, while the Soveign Waterproof Headphones carry IPX8, meaning they're designed for extended submersion and swimming. For swimming, only the IPX8-rated option here qualifies — and it needs MP3 mode, since Bluetooth is limited in water.
are headphones water resistant
Water resistant and waterproof aren't the same claim. Water resistance means the headphone tolerates sweat, splashes and light rain; full waterproofing means it can be submerged. The KOAIEZ IP7 sits in the water-resistant-to-splashproof zone with IPX7, while the Soveign Waterproof Headphones go further with IPX8 sealing over the whole unit for swimming and diving.
Yes, that's what they're built for — IPX8 protection plus a 32 GB MP3 player holding 6000+ songs. The one rule from the manufacturer: switch to MP3 mode when you're in the water, because Bluetooth signals are limited underwater. Out of the pool, you can use Bluetooth 5.3 as normal.
For land training I'd pick the KOAIEZ IP7. Its open-ear bone conduction design keeps you aware of your surroundings, Bluetooth 5.3 handles stable multi-pairing, built-in mics cover calls, and the stated 6–10 hours of playback from a 2-hour charge covers most training weeks. The Soveign can handle running too, but its design priorities are swimming first.
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