I looking to purchase an MP3 player to use while swimming and would appreciate product feedback from the group. I swim in a 25 yrd indoor pool and I am concerned that the earphones on the various styles will not stay in when I do flip turns. I also swim alot of IM and want to make sure I won't have problems with the earphones when I do fly, back, and ***. From a previous post alot of people like the swimman IPOD which sells for around $250. Also in the same thread some people like the Finis SwiMP3 ($140) but I am concerned the Finis unit won't work for me when I swim an IM set due to the bone conduction design of sound transmission. Any comments on this opionion ? And in particular does the swimman IPOD earphones work well when doing flip turns and swimming IM?
There are 3 other products that I have seen on the web that I think might work for me and would appreciate any experience any one has had with them. They are: 1. Freestyle Audio Soundwave 2 GB MP3 player ($90).
2. NU Technology 1 GB waterproof MP3 Player ($90) 3. Speedo Aquabeat MP3 1GB player ($140).
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Former Member
I've had experience with a number of the brands that have been mentioned in this forum. Concerning Rick's question as to whether the Swimman earphones will stay in the ears with flipturns and the various IM strokes, I've had no problems with it. For casual swims, I clip the Swimman waterproof iPod Shuffle onto my suit and run the cord up the center of my back. The headset clips onto your swim goggles so there is no tug on the earbuds no matter how hard you swim. When doing sprints and aggressive flipturns, I clip the Shuffle onto the back of the goggle strap and wind the cord around the strap so that there is no loose cord. In this setup, there is no way for the cord to ever get in the way no matter how aggressive your laps might be. I have encountered various problems with other units mentioned in this forum however. I find that the finis bone conduction units produce a wavering sound as they come in and out of the water. Further, other people in the pool can hear my music as the bone conduction transducers send signals through the water as well as through bone! On occasion, others in the pool would get annoyed with the sound (and possibly my choice of music). As for the H2O models, I have never had any luck with their earbuds staying in my ears. Further, the barbs on their earbuds are rather stiff making them painful to use on a regular basis (I even got swimmers ear from those hard earbuds). Same goes for the FreeStyle earbuds -- real ear canal wreckers. To top it off, my Natalie Coughlin H2O model developed condensation (or leakage?) inside and killed my shuffle. I found that H2O doesn't cover such damage! Really annoying. While the Swimman does cost more, it appears that you get what you pay for in this instance. If you want to enjoy your workouts (and I find that it really helps) without having to deal with big floppy cases or clunky units and earbuds that hurt and keep coming out of your ears, then just get the Swimman and don't go through the learning curve and expense that I had to go through.
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Former Member
I've had experience with a number of the brands that have been mentioned in this forum. Concerning Rick's question as to whether the Swimman earphones will stay in the ears with flipturns and the various IM strokes, I've had no problems with it. For casual swims, I clip the Swimman waterproof iPod Shuffle onto my suit and run the cord up the center of my back. The headset clips onto your swim goggles so there is no tug on the earbuds no matter how hard you swim. When doing sprints and aggressive flipturns, I clip the Shuffle onto the back of the goggle strap and wind the cord around the strap so that there is no loose cord. In this setup, there is no way for the cord to ever get in the way no matter how aggressive your laps might be. I have encountered various problems with other units mentioned in this forum however. I find that the finis bone conduction units produce a wavering sound as they come in and out of the water. Further, other people in the pool can hear my music as the bone conduction transducers send signals through the water as well as through bone! On occasion, others in the pool would get annoyed with the sound (and possibly my choice of music). As for the H2O models, I have never had any luck with their earbuds staying in my ears. Further, the barbs on their earbuds are rather stiff making them painful to use on a regular basis (I even got swimmers ear from those hard earbuds). Same goes for the FreeStyle earbuds -- real ear canal wreckers. To top it off, my Natalie Coughlin H2O model developed condensation (or leakage?) inside and killed my shuffle. I found that H2O doesn't cover such damage! Really annoying. While the Swimman does cost more, it appears that you get what you pay for in this instance. If you want to enjoy your workouts (and I find that it really helps) without having to deal with big floppy cases or clunky units and earbuds that hurt and keep coming out of your ears, then just get the Swimman and don't go through the learning curve and expense that I had to go through.
