Mighty Wave Waterproof IPX7 vs Rhyfell Bone Conduction Swimming at a Glance
• Mighty Wave's biggest strength: a tiny 1" x 1.5" x 1.5" player that downloads Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited or Prime content over Wi-Fi and plays it with no phone, no screen and no notifications — IPX7 rated to 1 m for 30 minutes, and it ships with waterproof wired headphones.
• Mighty Wave's biggest trade-off: it's a player, not a headset. You need an active streaming subscription to load music, setup runs through the Mighty Audio app, and the product notes that Spotify support ends on April 21, 2027.
• Rhyfell's biggest strength: IP68 submersion to roughly 2–5 m, 32GB of onboard storage for 8,000+ songs, and an MP3 mode that needs no phone and no subscription — plus 10 hours of playtime and Bluetooth 6.0 for dry-land days.
• Rhyfell's biggest trade-off: open-ear bone conduction gives you zero isolation and no noise cancellation, the controls are plain push-buttons, and you have to manage files instead of streaming.
• Pick Mighty Wave if you already pay for Spotify Premium or Amazon Music and want the smallest possible thing to clip on and swim with.
• Pick Rhyfell if you want one tough pair of headphones that handles open water, surf and the pool without a phone or a subscription anywhere in sight.
What Mighty Wave gets right is focus. It weighs about 20 g and produces nothing but music — no screen, no pings, no popups. You install the free Mighty Audio app, pair the device, and it pulls tracks over Wi-Fi from Spotify Premium, Amazon Music Unlimited or Amazon Music Prime. After that it runs offline, which is the entire point: no phone balanced on the pool deck, no signal to worry about. The 8GB of storage and 8+ hour battery are sized sensibly for a long lap session, a week of bedtime listening or a run of gym visits, and the IPX7 rating means it survives a dunking to 1 m for 30 minutes. It also works with waterproof Bluetooth headphones and speakers when you're dry.
How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-20 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
Who should skip it: anyone who doesn't subscribe to one of the supported services, since there's no other way to load music. Anyone who wants a swimming headset rather than a player — Wave needs headphones plugged in or paired. Anyone building a long-term plan around Spotify, given that April 2027 cutoff. And if you got here searching for IPX7 waterproof sleep headphones for Zoom calls, be clear on this: it's a screen-free player, not a call device — there's no microphone and no way to take a meeting with it.
Rhyfell Fit 5 takes the opposite approach: one pair of bone conduction headphones that does the swimming and the dry-land work. The headline is IP68, rated for full submersion down to roughly 2–5 m — a meaningful step beyond splash resistance. Since Bluetooth and water don't cooperate, the underwater listening happens in MP3 mode, and that's where the 32GB of onboard memory earns its keep: your library travels with you, no phone, no subscription, no app. The quoted transfer speed is 18MB/s, quick enough to move a large library in minutes instead of hours, and 10 hours of playtime from a 2-hour charge covers long sessions comfortably.
Where the open-ear design pays off is awareness. Nothing sits in your ear canal — sound travels through the cheekbones via a 13 mm bone conduction driver — so you can hear the pool, the traffic and the people around you. The 28 g liquid-silicone frame is shaped to stay put through turns and hard sets, Bluetooth 6.0 gives you 10 m of range on land, and the controls are physical push-buttons rather than touch, which is the right call when your hands are wet. There's also a one-year manufacturer warranty behind it.
Who should buy it: open-water swimmers, surfers, triathletes and anyone who'd rather own their files than rent them. People who want a single device for pool laps and road runs. Anyone who values hearing their surroundings more than they value thumping bass.
Who should skip it: anyone who needs isolation or active noise cancellation — noise control is listed as none, and open-ear means you hear everything around you. Anyone who wants to stream rather than manage files. And anyone hoping to use it as a microphone-equipped headset, because it isn't one.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Maximum water protection → Rhyfell. IP68 at 2–5 m versus IPX7 at 1 m for 30 minutes is a real gap if you're surfing or swimming open water.
• No subscription and no phone → Rhyfell. Load 32GB once and you're set for months.
• Longest single charge → Rhyfell. About 10 hours of playtime versus 8+ on Mighty Wave.
• Smallest and most distraction-free → Mighty Wave. 20 g, no screen, no notifications — it disappears in your bag.
• Hearing traffic, other swimmers and your surroundings → Rhyfell. Open-ear bone conduction is the safer choice outdoors.
• Long-term Spotify users → Mighty Wave today, with a caveat. Spotify support ends April 21, 2027, so plan accordingly.
• Audio for Zoom calls → neither. Keep a proper mic'd headset for meetings and use these strictly for training.
I'd buy the Rhyfell Bone Conduction Swimming headphones. IP68 protection, 32GB of built-in music, 10 hours of playtime and open-ear awareness make it the more versatile and more durable long-term pick, and it never asks you to keep paying a subscription or depend on a platform that might pull support. In my opinion Mighty Wave is the better choice only if you live inside Spotify or Amazon Music and want your existing playlists in the water with zero file work. Either way, if Zoom calls are the priority, buy a dedicated mic'd headset for that job and let these two do what they're built for.
Neither is a call device. No microphone is listed among the features of either product, and Rhyfell's noise control is listed as none — so no active noise cancellation either. If you're shopping for an ANC kids headset for Zoom calls, or the best with-mic bone conduction headphones for Zoom calls, look for a proper headset with a mic array instead.
Is IP68 actually better than IPX7 for swimming?
For depth and duration, yes. IPX7 on Mighty Wave covers 1 m for 30 minutes; IP68 on Rhyfell covers full submersion to roughly 2–5 m. For pool laps both are fine, but open water, surfing and diving favour the higher rating.
Mighty Wave does require one of Spotify Premium, Amazon Music Unlimited or Amazon Music Prime to load content, and Spotify support ends April 21, 2027. Rhyfell needs no subscription at all — you copy your own files to the 32GB of onboard storage and go.
I can't quote prices — check the current price on Amazon using the button on this page. What I can tell you is what's included: Rhyfell gives you 32GB of storage, IP68 protection and a one-year warranty with no ongoing cost, while Mighty Wave includes waterproof wired headphones but depends on a paid streaming plan. Add a year of that plan and the gap narrows.
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