Swimming in the water is one of the most popular sports for everyone. But long-term swimming partners know that it takes hours to swim one or two kilometers, and swimming back and forth repeatedly is a bit boring. Look at other people’s running buddies, they can also plug in headphones to accompany them with music!

Can we swim with headphones on? The answer is yes. There are already many waterproof headphones for swimming on the market. Few people can tell which headphones will allow you to listen to music after being put into the water without affecting your exercise. Don’t worry, today I will test the swimmers headphones and show you how to unlock the ability to listen to music underwater.

Especially during casual swimming, playing talk shows, or audiobooks, don’t mention how enjoyable it is. After experiencing the experience of listening to music while traveling, and returning to the previous situation without music, to be honest, I am not used to it. The gap between the two is like the first time I have played stand-alone games for more than ten years and came into contact with a computer. Surprised by online games.

Test instruction

At present, there are mainly two types of headphones that can be used for swimming. One is the traditional in-ear headphones. As long as the manufacturer is waterproof, it can be used in water. The other is the waterproof bone conduction inverted headphone, which does not need to go into the ear and is just suitable for swimming.

Considering that few people pay attention to the sound quality of swimmers headphones in the pool, everyone’s general budget is not too high, so we choose mid-priced headphones for comparative testing. There is not much difference in their sound quality and functions, so let’s look at the type first and then the brand. However, the experience of the regular brands that are common in the comprehensive evaluation is not much different.

▲ Two test headphones

Song copy: the general transmission speed is not fast

Swimming with headphones is first of all to copy songs, and enter the water, the Bluetooth function can not be used. The two headphones we prepared come with 8GB-32G memory. Compared with the current mobile phone memory starting at 128GB, it does not seem to be much, but for copying MP3, a 320K HQ sound quality MP3 with 10MB is enough to copy more than 500 songs, which is adequate.

However, in the process of copying songs, we found that the copying speed of the two headphones is relatively slow, with an average speed of only a few hundred KB, which is not even as good as the download speed of gigabit broadband. Perhaps for the sake of waterproofing, the two headphones do not use a standard USB interface but use their multi-contact charging head, which is one of the reasons.

Sound quality: Traditional in-ear type dominates

In terms of sound quality, the bone conduction headphones that cost less than $50 have no sound quality at all, and you can hardly hear the slightly qualified low frequency, and the sound of knocking on iron all the way. The sound quality of traditional in-ear headphones is superior, and you can hear decent sound without going into the water.

Is it because the price of the bone conduction headphones we used for testing is too low, so the sound quality is not good? For this reason, we also especially found a brand of bone-conduction headphones with a higher price for comparative testing. In terms of sound quality and volume, the high-end headphones are indeed better than our lower-priced headphones, but there are still considerable flaws, and the sound quality is difficult to match. The battle of traditional headphones.

Of course, neither of the two headphones is aimed at Hifi, and there is no need to be too demanding on the sound quality.

Wearing in water: traditional headphones are easy to drop and block, and bone conduction has great advantages.

Then, today’s highlight, how do they perform underwater?

After launching into the water, there are several problems with traditional in-ear headphones. First of all, although the in-ear wearing method can get better listening effects and higher volume. However, there will be protrusions on both sides of the ear when wearing the strap. It is easy to come out of the ear when the head is submerged, especially when snorkeling and breathing. Even if the headphone itself has a hook design, it will still fall. Only by pressing the hook of the headphone under the rubber band of the swimming goggles can it be more secure.

Given this situation, we believe that if you choose traditional in-ear waterproof headphones when swimming, it is best to choose headphones with higher pressure on the connecting line, more stable ear hanging, and less resistance.

Bone conduction headphones have a natural advantage when worn underwater, because the sound unit is in front of the ear, and the hanging wire provides a certain pressure to press it against the skin, so it is very safe to wear. As long as you don’t dive, you can wear it steadily.

The sound quality in water: water entering the earmuffs of traditional headphones will affect the sound quality.

We have compared the sound quality part before, and the sound quality of traditional headphones has a great advantage, but after entering the water, the situation is different.

We found that after the traditional headphones are immersed in water, water will enter the holes on the earmuffs for sound. This will greatly affect the sound quality, not only will the volume become smaller, but the effect will also be reduced. The listening experience is not very good.

At this time, the bone-conduction headphones gave us another little surprise. First of all, the water has no effect on the bone-conduction headphones. Moreover, when diving, perhaps because the sound unit vibrates more, the volume will increase after using water as the medium. We think its performance in water is better than traditional headphones.

Use summary:

We believe that bone-conduction headphones are more suitable for listening to music while swimming. Of course, it does not provide an experience similar to running and listening to in-ear headphones, it is more like playing music with a small speaker by the pool. But compared to the various underwater “accidents” of traditional in-ear headphones at the same price, it is more worry-free and easy to use.

However, all the swimmers headphones we tested are entry-level headphones. In the higher price range, some brand headphones have optimized the shortcomings of traditional in-ear waterproof headphones, and I believe they can have a better experience. But at the same time, the high-priced bone conduction headphones have also improved in terms of power and sound quality. I believe that they can also have a good feeling when swimming in the water.

When choosing swimmers headphones, be sure to keep an eye on the five points

1. Waterproof, this is the most important thing. Only IPX8 waterproof can be used for swimming in the swimming pool. Many merchants make up the money and buy IPX7 waterproof headphones as swimmers headphones. In the end, they are broken by water. Everyone must pay attention.

2. Memory, the swimming pool can’t hold a mobile phone, so the headphones must have built-in memory, and can use MP3 mode. Naturally, the larger the memory capacity, the better, and more audio files can be stored.

3. With the ear hook design, the resistance in water is much greater than that on land, and the headphones with large and unstable ear hooks are useless in water.

4. Sound effects. Headphones are used with earplugs in water, and the transmission media are different. It is best to have a matching sound effect mode for the underwater environment, otherwise, the user experience will not be so high.

5. Versatility, if the versatility is good, other sports such as cycling, hiking, and running can also be used, which is much better than the kind of headphones that can only be used in the swimming pool.

Few headphones can do all these five well. How to choose between the five points has to be based on our own actual needs, and we must avoid impulsive consumption!

Next, let’s take a look at several bone conduction headphones that are moderately priced and recommended for comprehensive performance, and are suitable for swimming and underwater use.

Wissonly Hi Runner Bone Conduction Headphones

Sound technology: high-efficiency vibrator

Waterproof: IPX8

Earhook design: one-piece design

Weight: 30g

Material: Silicone

Battery: 230mAh 10h battery life

Bluetooth: version 5.0

Memory: 32GB

The appearance of Wissonly adopts a one-piece body design, which is tailored to the characteristics of the ear. The high-grade silicone material is used to ensure soft and comfortable wearing for a long time.

Wissonly Hi Runner is currently the best experience among all bone conduction headphones with the highest configuration. It has joined Wissonly’s new generation of bone oscillator technology and Wissonly’s high-efficiency oscillator. The treble is clear and has a certain stereo effect. It is the ceiling of the current bone conduction sound quality experience.

Wissonly Hi Runner has been ergonomically designed for the entire wearing angle and bending range. Dozens of Wissonly engineers have gone through more than 200 days and nights of analysis and innovation, combined with 8,000 human ear databases collected in the past, specially designed for The ear developed to create a more obedient headphone contour.

The MP3 mode of 32G memory and IPX8 waterproof performance endow it with the title of “amphibious use” in bone conduction. The highlight is that it has the latest Bluetooth 5.0 chip. In terms of battery life, the single battery life of the Wissonly Hi Runner has reached 10H, and it also supports magnetic charging. This configuration can be said to be the top among swimmers headphones.

If you have a high demand for sound quality and a sufficient budget, you can directly choose this Wissonly Hi Runner as your daily equipment. It can be called the top configuration of bone-conduction headphones in every configuration.

In a word,Wissonly Hi Runner is the best swimmers headphones.

Shokz Bone Conduction Headphones

Sound Technology: PremiumPitch 2.0

Waterproof: IPX8

Earhook design: horizontal cabin + curved earh ook

Weight: 30g

Material: Silicone + Plastic

Battery: 183mAh 8h battery life

Bluetooth: No Bluetooth

Memory: 4GB

In terms of appearance, the headphone is very small, similar to our common collar-type Bluetooth headsets, except that the headphone does not have earplugs. The body of the headphone adopts a one-piece design and uses rubber material, which feels good to the touch. It has the advantages of lightness, flexibility, and memorable shape. The clamping force is moderate, and the resistance in water is low. When wearing it in intense sports such as surfing, you don’t have to worry about the headphones falling. Open holes, so it has the highest IP68 level of protection today, not only dustproof but also able to last for 2 hours under 2 meters of water.

In addition, it is made of high-light titanium alloy material, and it also has a built-in 4G memory, which can store about 1,200 pieces of music, manage playlists and song lists through folders, and support mainstream music formats such as MP3 and FLAC.

The battery life is up to 8 hours. In terms of sound quality, the performance of the headphone is also good. The sound technology of this model is also specially developed for underwater environments. The texture of the sound is very good after wearing earplugs. When listening to some novels, the human voice is not distorted. The overall restoration of the sound is still very real. During the audition process, the human voice is more prominent and the atmosphere is very strong. The mid-to-high frequency sound quality is outstanding, surging, and powerful; the low frequency is a bit dull, and the overall performance is still very good, but it is a pity that it cannot be connected to a mobile phone for use. The versatility is average, and it is suitable for people who only swim.

However, its 4GB memory is still a bit small, to be honest, and the audio files that can be stored are relatively limited, and the memory files need to be frequently updated on the computer. Moreover, this model has no Bluetooth function, and it relies entirely on memory. It is fine in the swimming pool, but if you use it outside the swimming pool, you will have no way to make and receive calls or play games.

All in all, this is a good swimmers headphones if it is only used in the pool, but if it is out of the pool, it will be slightly tasteless.

FINIS Duo Bone Conduction Headphones

Sound technology: FINIS Duo uses bone conduction technology to transmit sound to the inner ear through vibration

Waterproof: IPX8

Earhook design: ear hook design

Weight: 46g

Material: Silicone and Plastic

Battery: 7h battery life

Bluetooth: Bluetooth is not supported

Memory: 4GB

FINIS Duo has built-in 4GB memory, which can hold up to 1000 music tracks. There is no Bluetooth connection function, it can only transfer music files directly to the headphones for playback and can be used independently while swimming. With IPX8-level waterproof performance, it can be used underwater up to a depth of 3 meters. The battery life lasts up to 7 hours and the sound quality is excellent. There are simple buttons on the top of the headphones, which are convenient for you to perform operations such as music playback, track switching, and volume adjustment. This makes it easier to control music while swimming or other water activities. The disadvantage is that it does not support linking Bluetooth.

Sony WS623 swimmers headphones

Waterproof: IP65/68

Ear hook design: ear hook

Weight: 220.00g

Material: Silicone

Battery: 183mAh

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0

Memory: 4G

As Sony’s multi-scene sports headphones are specially made for sports headphones, Sony WS623 adopts an ear-mounted integrated design. This design can give swimmers enough stability during exercise, and it will not fall off easily under strenuous exercise, and with the addition of skin-friendly silicone, the comfort of the headphones is also relatively good. The battery life performance is also good, up to 12 hours in MP3 mode, 4 hours of Bluetooth playback battery life is excellent, and it is also equipped with a fast charging function, 3 minutes of charging can get about 60 minutes of music playback, it can be said to be very convenient, In addition, it also has a built-in 4G memory MP3 function, which can be described as a small sports artifact! That is, the Bluetooth version is only 4.0, which is a bit of a hindrance.

The size of the WS623 headphone unit is a 13.5mm dynamic unit, the in-ear part is inclined at 45°, and it is supported by a Columbia sleeve, which has an outstanding sound insulation effect. Another highlight of Sony WS623 is the new ambient sound mode. The ambient sound mode allows users to hear the surrounding situation without closing or pausing the player, enhancing security. In addition, this headphone supports a protection level of IP65/68 and can be immersed in the water at a depth of 2 meters for about 30 minutes. It is very easy to take a hearty swim at this time.

Tayogo swimmers headphones

Sound technology: 5.2mm sound unit

Waterproof: IPX8

Earhook Design: Curved Earhook

Weight: 30g

Material: titanium alloy

Battery: 10 hours of battery life

Bluetooth: Available Bluetooth

Memory: 8GB

We know that Tayogo is a professional manufacturer of swimmers headphones. This headphone has two different versions, W01 and W02. The weight is about 30g, which is relatively light. It is a bone conduction headphone with built-in 8GB MP3 function and supports IPX8 waterproof, and claims to support 5-meter diving. What’s a little bit powerful is that it won’t be damaged in 50-degree water. Few brands do this in terms of high-temperature resistance.

W02 is a Bluetooth version that supports step counting function. If you don’t need to use it on the ground or connect to your mobile phone, choose W01, because the sound quality of W01 on land will be worse than that in water; both W01 and W02 have radio functions, and the performance in water is quite good. Yes, it will be very practical when you get tired of listening to music.

Mojawa

Sound technology: broadband vibrator + directional sound technology

Waterproof: IPX8

Earhook design: longitudinal cabin + ergonomic ear hook

Weight: 28g

Material: skin silicone

Battery: 140mAh 8h battery life

Bluetooth: version 5.2

Memory: 32GB

To be honest, there are quite a lot of highlights of this model, 32GB of memory, the largest capacity is large enough, can store more than 2,000 songs and dozens of audiobooks, I can play in the pool on weekends without stopping all day, very top use.

The design of the fuselage is a longitudinal cabin + ergonomic ear hooks. This cabin layout can provide an extra support point on the ears, and the overall wearing stability is greatly improved. It is not easy even under water resistance when swimming freestyle. fall off.

You can also adjust the EQ equalizer through the APP and replace it with underwater sound effects. With its broadband vibrator and directional sound technology, the overall sound quality can be greatly improved.

In addition, the versatility of this model is also very good. After leaving the swimming pool, wearing it for running does not shake. To be honest, there are not many headphones ordered.

But this one is not without drawbacks, it is used to listen to music while swimming. First of all, the ambient noise is a bit loud, so be careful to wear earplugs when swimming, otherwise the noise is too loud and you can’t hear the songs clearly, but the sound quality is still fine with earplugs. Then in the water, you may accidentally touch the headphone to adjust the volume, cut the playback order, etc. I thought about it for a while, because this headphone can be touched to adjust the volume and switch songs. I found that you can adjust the volume without touching the headphone to prevent accidental touch ( Maybe because of sensor memory?).

H2O Audio Sonar PRO

Sound technology: H2O Audio bone conduction speakers

Waterproof: IPX8

Earhook Design:

Weight: 141.7g

material: plastic

Battery: 7h

Bluetooth: support Bluetooth

Memory: 8g

Large battery capacity can hold more than 7 hours of playtime. H2O Audio app, use H2O Audio’s app to manage your music or drag and drop music, podcasts, and recordings from your computer. It can be seamlessly connected with any Bluetooth device (iOS and Android), and the underwater wireless Bluetooth range is about 3 inches. But the weight is heavy, and the comfort of wearing it for a long time is slightly poor. Must be used with goggles, there is no way to wear them over the ears.

Finally, according to the evaluation results, these seven models have their advantages in terms of appearance, sound quality, battery life, memory, and wearing comfort. You can choose according to your needs. After considering all options, I have chosen Wissonly Hi Runner as my swimmers headphones because it can meet all of my requirements.