We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-30 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a swimming-first headset with built-in music storage and no phone required in the water, choose Sanag B33S; if you need a featherlight open-ear headset with a live 3D sound profile and a battery display you can read at a glance, choose lkzsto Valisus Bone Conduction.
• Sanag B33S — biggest strength: IPX8 sealing plus 32GB of onboard MP3 storage, so you can swim laps with music and leave your phone in the locker.
• Sanag B33S — biggest trade-off: No wired option and no touch controls; everything runs through push buttons and Bluetooth 6.0, and you must switch to MP3 mode once you're underwater.
• lkzsto Valisus — biggest strength: A 360° ACS panoramic sound design paired with an LED three-screen battery readout, in a housing described as ultra-lightweight.
• lkzsto Valisus — biggest trade-off: The spec sheet lists a 3.5 mm jack and "wired" control type alongside wireless connectivity, which muddies the picture of how you actually operate it day to day.
• Who each pick is for: Sanag B33S suits pool and open-water swimmers who want phone-free playback; lkzsto Valisus suits land-based runners, gym-goers and commuters who want comfort and a clear battery indicator.
The B33S is built around one idea: get music into the water without a phone. The IPX8 rating covers full submersion up to two meters, and the one-piece, hole-free enclosure is the physical reason that rating holds up — fewer openings means fewer places for water to get in. That matters for lap swimming, pool training and ocean swims, and it also means rain and heavy sweat are non-issues on land.
The second half of that idea is the 32GB of built-in memory. That's the part most open-ear headsets skip. You load your tracks once and then leave the phone behind entirely — genuinely useful at a swim meet or a long trail session where you don't want a device bouncing around. The catch is spelled out plainly: Bluetooth can't transmit through water, so you have to switch to MP3 mode before you submerge. It's not a flaw, it's physics, but it's a habit you have to build.
On land it's a straightforward open-ear headset. Bluetooth 6.0 pairs in about three seconds and holds a connection out to roughly 50 feet, there's an ENC microphone for calls in loud gyms or poolside, and the claimed eight hours of playback comes back on a two-hour charge. At 21 grams with a plastic, open-ear fit, it's light enough to forget about. The frequency range runs 20 Hz to 20 kHz with an 8-ohm impedance and 81 dB sensitivity, driven by a bone conduction driver.
lkzsto Valisus Bone Conduction: Who It's For
The Valisus takes the opposite approach: it leans into the listening experience rather than the swimming workflow. The headline is 360° ACS panoramic sound, which the brand describes as breaking away from conventional left/right channel separation to produce a lossless, live-level 3D surround effect. Whether that fully lands in practice is something only your ears can settle, but the design intent is clear — this is aimed at people who want music, movies and games to feel wide rather than flat.
Waterproofing is serious here too: IPX8, with the brand stating it's tested to withstand two meters of immersion for 120 minutes. That's a real swimming capability, and the brand explicitly frames it as underwater listening without a phone. What the spec sheet does not show is onboard storage the way the B33S has it, so I'd treat the Valisus as a Bluetooth-first headset that happens to survive the water rather than a dedicated swim player.
Where it clearly pulls ahead is comfort and battery awareness. The brand describes an ultra-lightweight build that removes the swelling and pressure of in-ear designs, and the three-screen LED display shows remaining battery in real time instead of the usual vague blinking light. That's a small feature that solves a real annoyance — no more guessing whether you have ten minutes or two hours left. The open-ear, air-circulating design is also pitched at people who sweat a lot or wear headphones for hours, since it avoids a sealed, stuffy ear canal.
The trade-offs are in the details. Bone conduction drivers of this type give up bass depth to in-ear models, and there's no noise cancellation listed. The spec sheet also lists a 3.5 mm jack and a "wired" control type next to wireless connectivity, plus memory foam, metal and wood as enclosure materials and a 50 mm dynamic driver size — a mix that reads like generic catalog data rather than a clean description of one product. If you want a purely wireless, purely bone-conduction setup with zero ambiguity, that inconsistency is worth knowing about before you buy.
• Best for swimming with no phone → Sanag B33S. The 32GB of onboard memory is the deciding factor; the Valisus doesn't list equivalent storage.
• Best for comfort over long sessions → lkzsto Valisus. The brand's ultra-lightweight, pressure-free design is the whole pitch.
• Best for battery visibility → lkzsto Valisus. Three LED screens showing real-time charge beat a single blinking indicator.
• Best for call clarity in noisy places → Sanag B33S. ENC noise cancellation on the microphone is explicitly listed; the Valisus sheet lists no noise control at all.
• Best for immersive, wide-sounding audio → lkzsto Valisus. The 360° ACS panoramic design is aimed squarely at that.
• Best for predictable controls → Sanag B33S. Push buttons are boring, but they work with wet hands and gloves.
• Best for a straightforward spec sheet → Sanag B33S. Bluetooth 6.0, 8 hours, 2-hour charge, 21 grams — clean and consistent.
• Best for land-based runners and commuters → lkzsto Valisus. Open-ear awareness plus lightweight comfort suits traffic-heavy routes.
In my opinion, the Sanag B33S is the one I'd buy. The 32GB of onboard storage plus IPX8 sealing solves a problem the Valisus doesn't fully address: actually having music with you in the water without a phone. Add Bluetooth 6.0, ENC call handling and a clean eight-hour figure, and it's a coherent package where every spec supports the same use case. I'd pick the Valisus instead if comfort and battery visibility matter more to you than phone-free swimming — its lightweight design and LED charge display are genuinely nice touches for everyday wear. But for the swim-and-train crowd, the B33S is the more complete tool.
Both carry IPX8 and both handle submersion to two meters. The difference is the B33S's 32GB of built-in memory, which lets you swim without a phone. The Valisus sheet doesn't list equivalent storage, so it's better suited to Bluetooth listening near the water.
No — the brand states clearly that Bluetooth signals can't transmit underwater and that you must switch to MP3 mode while swimming. Above water, Bluetooth 6.0 pairs in about three seconds and reaches roughly 50 feet.
The lkzsto Valisus is the one to look at. It's described as ultra-lightweight and pressure-free, with an open-ear design that keeps the ear canal ventilated — helpful if you sweat a lot or wear headphones for hours.
Neither lists active noise cancellation. The Sanag B33S does include an ENC microphone that filters background noise on calls, which is a different thing from blocking sound for the listener. Both are open-ear designs, so you'll hear your surroundings either way.
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