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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want true underwater listening for lap swimming, choose Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater; if you need long battery life and a flexible neckband for sweat-heavy land workouts, choose Keenso Neckband Headset.
• Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater — biggest strength: IPX8 waterproofing plus a secure shark-fin fit and silicone earplugs, built specifically for use in the water.
• Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater — biggest trade-off: Bluetooth 5.0 and a 180mAh battery, with no published playtime figure, so it's positioned around pool use rather than marathon sessions.
• Keenso Neckband Headset — biggest strength: IPX7 protection combined with a 150mAh battery rated for up to 13 hours of talk/music time and Bluetooth 5.1 with a 32.8 ft range.
• Keenso Neckband Headset — biggest trade-off: IPX7 covers sweat and rain, not submersion, so it isn't the pick for swimming laps.
• Who each pick is for: Sanpyl for swimmers who want music in the water; Keenso for runners, gym-goers and commuters who want long playtime and easy on-ear controls.
The Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater is the rare headset in this comparison that's explicitly designed to be used in water without damage. The IPX8 rating is the headline here: where most sports earbuds are rated to survive sweat and rain, this one is built around the idea of being submerged while you swim. If your workout happens in a pool rather than on a treadmill, that distinction matters more than any other spec on the page.
The fit is engineered for that environment too. Instead of a rigid hook, Sanpyl uses a high-elastic soft back-winding beam that wraps behind the head, and the shark fins rotate along the ear contour until they lock in place. The point of that design is retention — the fins are meant to keep the headset from shifting or falling off during swimming, running or cycling. Two sizes of silicone earplugs are included, which is the part swimmers will care about most, since a good seal is what keeps water out and sound in. The whole unit is silicone-bodied and weighs about 55g, with four earplugs and a USB cable in the box.
On the audio side, Sanpyl lists noise reduction for clearer calls, plus an intelligent voice prompt system that announces power-on, pairing mode, connection status, incoming calls and low-battery shutdown. That's genuinely useful when your phone is in a locker or a bag and you can't see a screen. Bluetooth is version 5.0, charging runs at 100mA between 4.75 and 5.75V, and the built-in lithium battery is 180mAh.
Keenso Neckband Headset: Who It's For
The Keenso Neckband Headset takes the opposite approach: it's a land-sports workhorse with a battery that outlasts most people's workouts several times over. The 150mAh polymer battery is rated at up to 13 hours of talk or music time, which is the kind of number that means you charge it once and forget about it for days. For runners, hikers, cyclists and anyone doing long gym sessions, that's the single most valuable spec in this comparison.
Protection is IPX7, which Keenso frames around sweat and rain. That's a meaningful rating — it handles heavy perspiration, drizzle and getting splashed — but it's a step below the IPX8 submersion rating on the Sanpyl. So this is a headset you can wear through a brutal interval session or a rainy commute without worry, just not one you take into the pool.
Connectivity is Bluetooth 5.1 with a 32.8 ft range, and Keenso describes it as stable and lag-free across phones, tablets, laptops and TVs. Controls live on the earphones themselves — volume, track skipping and call answering — so you're not digging for your phone mid-run. The acoustic design uses a noise-reduction microphone for calls, with a bass-forward tuning, and the impedance is listed at 16 ohm. The neckband itself is flexible ABS with soft ear tips, designed for all-day comfort, and it charges over Micro USB.
Who should buy it: anyone whose training is sweat-based rather than water-based, and anyone who values not thinking about charging. Who should skip it: swimmers, and anyone who wants the smallest possible footprint — a neckband is a deliberate, visible piece of gear, not a discreet bud.
• Best for swimming → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. IPX8 means it's rated for use in the water; the Keenso's IPX7 does not cover submersion.
• Best for battery life → Keenso Neckband Headset. Up to 13 hours on a 150mAh battery versus no published playtime figure for the Sanpyl.
• Best for secure fit during high-impact movement → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. The rotating shark fins and soft back-winding beam are designed specifically to stop the headset coming loose.
• Best for connectivity headroom → Keenso Neckband Headset. Bluetooth 5.1 with a 32.8 ft range versus Bluetooth 5.0.
• Best for hands-free control during activity → Keenso Neckband Headset. Push-button on-ear controls for volume, tracks and calls.
• Best for guided setup and status awareness → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. Voice prompts walk you through power, pairing and connection, and warn you about low battery.
• Best for all-day wear comfort → Keenso Neckband Headset. Flexible neckband with soft ear tips, built around extended wear.
• Best for ear-seal customization → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. Four earplugs in two sizes are included, which matters for water blocking.
In my opinion, the right buy comes down to one question: does your workout get you wet, or does it make you sweat? If it's water — laps, open-water swims, aqua training — I'd buy the Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. The IPX8 rating, the two-size silicone earplug set and the rotating shark-fin retention are all purpose-built for exactly that job, and no amount of battery life makes up for a headset you can't safely submerge.
If your training is running, cycling, hiking or the gym, I'd buy the Keenso Neckband Headset. Thirteen hours of playtime, Bluetooth 5.1, on-ear controls and a flexible neckband make it the more practical everyday sports headset, and IPX7 is enough for sweat and rain. Check the current price on Amazon for whichever one matches your workout, since pricing moves around.
FAQ
are headphones waterproof
Not all of them — it depends entirely on the IP rating. The Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater carries IPX8, which is rated for use in the water without damage. The Keenso Neckband Headset is IPX7, rated against sweat and rain rather than submersion.
Many sports headsets are, and that's what an IPX7 rating like the Keenso's means: it resists sweat, rain and splashes during running, hiking, cycling and gym workouts. Water resistance is not the same as being swim-proof, which is why the IPX8 Sanpyl is the one built for pool use.
The Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater, without question. Its IPX8 rating is the only one in this comparison that covers being used in the water, and its shark-fin retention and included silicone earplugs are designed around staying put and sealing properly while you swim.
The Keenso Neckband Headset, based on the published figures. Keenso rates its 150mAh battery at up to 13 hours of talk and music time. Sanpyl does not publish a playtime figure for its 180mAh battery, so there's nothing to compare it against directly.
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