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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want headphones that survive full submersion and keep playing while you swim laps, choose MARLALL Soft Liquid Silicone; if you need an open-ear pair for gym sessions, running and everyday training with a safety light and longer battery, choose KLKE Bone Conduction Headphones. I'll frame this around the gym, but I'll also flag one use case people rarely think about: if you're hunting for wireless headphones for webinars, the open-ear design of both matters more than you'd expect, since you can hear your own voice and your room while a presenter talks.
• MARLALL biggest strength: a true IPX8 waterproof seal plus a built-in 32GB MP3 player, so it works with no phone anywhere near the water.
• MARLALL biggest trade-off: Bluetooth doesn't work underwater — swimming is MP3-mode only, and you have to manage playlists through the magnetic cable.
• KLKE biggest strength: up to 10 hours of playtime, dual Indoor/Outdoor sound modes, an adjustable back strap and a rear safety light for low-light training.
• KLKE biggest trade-off: IP66 means sweat and splashes, not swimming, and there's no built-in storage — it's Bluetooth-only.
• Pick MARLALL if the pool, the beach or heavy sweat is part of your routine and you want music without a phone.
• Pick KLKE if the gym, the road and the trail are your world and you want awareness, comfort and battery life.
The MARLALL pair is built around one idea: water. It carries an IPX8 rating, which is the kind of protection meant to handle immersion, and the brand explicitly points to swimming, snorkeling and surfing. The housing is wrapped in a skin-friendly liquid silicone overmold, and at 22.68 g it's the lighter of the two. The ear-hook shape spreads pressure instead of clamping down on one spot, which is the difference between a pair you forget about and a pair you keep adjusting between sets.
The feature that changes how you use it is the built-in 32GB MP3 player. You load tracks onto the headphone itself, so you can leave your phone in a locker, a bag or a dry pouch and still have music. Charging is magnetic, which avoids an exposed port, and 1.5 hours of charging gets you up to 7 hours of playback. For the gym, that matters in a specific way: the MARLALL is the pair you can take from a sweaty lifting session straight into the pool or the shower area without worrying about water damage.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants to stream from their phone while training. Underwater, Bluetooth is not supported, and the brand is upfront that swimming requires MP3 mode. You also can't copy music straight from a phone app to the headphone's memory — you manage playlists through the magnetic cable and a computer. If you live on streaming services, that workflow will annoy you. And if you take calls mid-workout, note the reminder to dry the microphone after swimming to avoid call issues.
KLKE aims at the opposite kind of athlete: the one who never gets in the water but is always moving. The headline spec is up to 10 hours of playtime from a 3-hour USB-C charge, which covers a long training week without a mid-session panic. IP66 means it shrugs off sweat and splashes — fine for a hard gym session, a run in light rain or a dusty trail, but not for swimming.
The open-ear bone conduction driver sits outside your ear canal, so you keep hearing traffic, voices and whatever is happening around you. That's the whole point for outdoor work. KLKE adds a rear safety light for night runs and low-light workouts, which is a genuinely practical touch if you train before sunrise or after dark. The adjustable silicone back strap lets you dial in the fit for different head sizes, and the design is meant to stay comfortable over long sessions without ear pressure.
There's also a dual-mode feature: Indoor Mode is tuned for balanced clarity on calls, podcasts and gym work, while Outdoor Mode gives fuller sound for running and cycling. Controls are physical push buttons rather than touch, which is easier to operate with sweaty hands. Weight is 32 g, slightly heavier than the MARLALL, and Bluetooth range is listed at 10 meters. The trade-off is clear: no built-in storage, no swimming, and no noise cancelling. If you want to disappear into your music, an open-ear design won't do that — it's built to keep you connected to your surroundings.
• Best for swimming and water sports → MARLALL Soft Liquid Silicone. IPX8 and a 32GB MP3 player are the reason.
• Best for the gym floor and sweaty sessions → KLKE Bone Conduction Headphones. IP66 sweatproofing and 10 hours of playtime cover a full week of training.
• Best for battery life → KLKE Bone Conduction Headphones. Up to 10 hours versus up to 7 on the MARLALL.
• Best for training without your phone → MARLALL Soft Liquid Silicone. The built-in memory means no device required.
• Best for night running and cycling → KLKE Bone Conduction Headphones. The rear safety light is the deciding feature.
• Best for calls and podcasts → KLKE Bone Conduction Headphones. Dual sound modes and a clear-call microphone are aimed at exactly that.
• Best for lighter all-day wear → MARLALL Soft Liquid Silicone. 22.68 g against 32 g, with a pressure-spreading ear hook.
• Best for adjustable fit → KLKE Bone Conduction Headphones. The silicone back strap adapts to different head sizes.
My Verdict
For a gym-focused buyer, I'd buy the KLKE Bone Conduction Headphones. Ten hours of playtime, IP66 sweat resistance, dual sound modes, physical buttons that work with sweaty hands and a rear safety light make it the more useful training partner — and it handles webinars, calls and podcasts comfortably too. I'd only switch to the MARLALL Soft Liquid Silicone if water is genuinely part of your routine, because that IPX8 seal and 32GB MP3 player are things the KLKE simply doesn't offer. Match the pair to your environment and you'll be happy with either.
what is best headphones for gym
There's no single answer, but the spec that matters most is sweat and splash protection. The KLKE carries IP66 and up to 10 hours of playtime, which suits gym work well. The MARLALL goes further with IPX8, but it's really designed around swimming rather than the weight room.
what headphones for gym
For most people training indoors, an open-ear bone conduction design like the KLKE is the practical pick — you keep hearing your surroundings, the adjustable back strap holds the fit, and button controls are easier to use mid-set. Choose the MARLALL instead if your gym routine includes the pool.
what headphones for gym reddit
Forums tend to split on the same line the specs do: waterproofing versus battery and awareness. If you're weighing these two, the KLKE wins on playtime and outdoor visibility, while the MARLALL wins on water protection and phone-free playback. Decide which of those you actually need.
what headphone is good for gym
A good gym headphone stays put, survives sweat and doesn't die mid-session. The KLKE covers that with IP66, an adjustable strap and 10 hours of battery. The MARLALL covers the sweat case too, plus full immersion, but it's heavier on setup since you load music onto its 32GB memory.
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