I really love music and swimming Is there a product I can buy that lets me hear music while swimming
I have the non Bluetooth version of the Shokz Open Swim They’re not perfect but they’re pretty good
What works: you can have many hours of music or podcasts on the device and the battery lasts about four or five hours I usually charge it once a week You wear earplugs to block out the splashing sound The music is clear but it’s not quite like wearing high-end headphones
What’s not perfect: you can’t stream music You’ll have to rip CDs or download songs to upload on it There are scripts that let it read a Spotify playlist and then it tries to find that music on YouTube to download to your computer and then upload onto the Shokz It’s kind of a hassle so you probably won’t update your music very often I’ve got a lot of songs on it but I don’t change them more than once a month
Podcasts can be tricky because many are now protected so you can’t easily download them for playback on the Shokz
When you use the OpenSwims outside of the water, you get better sound quality since you don’t have all the water noise even with the earplugs
If you buy the latest Shokz Open Swim Pro, it has more space for songs but you lose some battery life
You also gain Bluetooth which is great outside of the water, and you can stream from your phone including Spotify and Apple Music Just keep in mind that Bluetooth and radio signals are blocked by just a bit of water, so you can’t stream while swimming unless you have your phone right behind your head as you swim There are a lot of one-star reviews for this new Open Swim because people expect Bluetooth to work while swimming
Lastly, the model I have doesn’t fit well under a swim cap I often end up with sore ears or I can’t wear a cap at all I plan on cutting slots in my swim cap to see if that helps I’m not sure if the new model is more comfortable under a swim cap
Many stores have display models Try them out Take a swim cap with you You might look goofy but you’ll know what works
@Dar
Thanks
I believe Shockz has a product for that
I just bought these on Amazon and they are awesome But they work best in MP3 mode underwater so make sure you have songs ready to upload https://shokz.com/pages/openswimpro
I’ve used this for the last three years and it’s still working well https://www.amazon.com/AGPTEK-Waterproof-Multi-Functional-Headphones-Swimming/dp/B07X3CMVXX/ref=sr_1_4 Before that, I used the Syryn model; however, when these wear out, I’d definitely consider ones that use bone conduction like the Shokz Open Swim
Keep in mind you need to have music or podcasts in MP3 format so you can load them onto these devices Unfortunately Bluetooth doesn’t work in water, so streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music are not an option
I use Xiaomi IPX8 bone conduction earphones which cost me £14.99 from Aliexpress They don’t go in your ears but vibrate the bone in front, which also picks up sound It sounds quiet on the surface of the water but quite loud when your head is submerged during freestyle or backstroke It’s very light and wraps around the back of your head and over both ears They have two modes, Bluetooth (better for out of water) or 32GB internal memory for about 7-8000 songs It has an on/off button that toggles between Bluetooth and MP3 modes and two buttons for volume control It comes with a charging/data lead that magnetically connects so the device stays sealed
You can search this forum for headphones or music
I figured out a way to stream to my Open Swim but it’s silly and has too many steps haha:
Connect headphones directly to my Apple Watch, not my phone
Start playing music or podcasts downloaded to my watch
Lock my watch in swim mode
Strap the watch to the part of the headphones that goes around my head My goggle straps can also hold it in place
Then it works even underwater If the watch is on my wrist it disconnects I can’t track my swims this way but if I get tired of my MP3s and want to listen to something else, it’s nice
@Fynn
But I’ll add using the headphones in Bluetooth mode works great and I really enjoy the Open Swim I use them outside of the pool too They keep my ears open and the sound quality is decent Better with earplugs though
Shokz Open Swim have worked perfectly for me
I had a cheap similar pair from Amazon before, but they didn’t last long The Shokz are comfy under a swim cap and it’s pretty easy to download my Spotify playlist into an MP3 file, which I can then plug into the earphones
They also have a Bluetooth mode so you can use them for other activities too