H2O Audio Sonar IPX8 - Bluetooth Bone Conduction Headphones with MP3 Player - Wireless, Open Ear Waterproof Headset for Swimming, Underwater Activities, Sports, Workouts

This is a detailed review of the device. It is not a superficial critique of bone conduction technology. Some people prefer bone conduction, some don't. Inevitably, many negative reviews critique the bone conduction technology vs. standard speakers, rather than the devices themselves and their implementation of bone conduction technology. This is like buying a sports car and complaining that it doesn't get good gas mileage. I prefer bone conduction technology for my open lake swims and want the absolute best bone conduction headset specifically designed for swimming. I have tried them all, and the Sonar is at present the best available. I was a longtime Finis customer. I used their bone conduction SwiMP3. I kept 2, so I would have a backup in case 1 failed. Both failed within a week. They were older, but the rapid failure of the brand new (but older) backup device seemed curious. I could not get Finis to help me troubleshoot. The person at Finis I talked to was surly and argumentative. I did not expect warranty replacement of the Finis, it was old, but I paid more than $100 for it and wanted to understand the problem. I believe the problem was a short in the power cord that fried both devices. Finis does not sell replacement cords on Amazon and the cords were exorbitantly priced on their site. I didn't want to buy new cords at exorbitant prices for dead devices until I knew this was the problem. It again appears that a short in the power cord on the Finis fried both devices. The cord was pristine, not cut, damaged, frayed, etc. Bottom line, the entire process with Finis disgusted me and I will never buy another one of their products just on principle. The one glaring deficiency in the old Finis, besides abysmal battery life, was the lack of folder support. You must dump all the files into one directory and this makes it difficult to play different music selections at different times. The simple ability to create different folders and then move to another folder while swimming is a HUGE plus and I consider this feature mandatory in any swimming mp3 player I buy now. Finis does not have this folder support. It seems to be offering the same product from 5 or 10 years ago and resting on its laurels. The Sonar is smaller than the Finis and louder and clearer sounding. I have used both for hundreds of hours in the water. The battery on the Sonar lasts longer. The storage space is double the Finis. The Sonar has folder support, the Finis does not. The Sonar is quite simply superior to the Finis in every aspect, while having a retail price of $99.99 vs. $120 for the Finis, not that retail prices mean anything anymore. I never would have tried the Sonar if my Finis hadn't failed, so their shoddy products and awful support actually did me a favor. In the future, I'll pass on the garbage legacy Finis with half the memory, shorter battery life, a larger cumbersome size, no folder support, which will fail with NO support from the company. This is my honest opinion and no one paid or compensated me for it. I do long 1-3 hour open water swims and music is essential. Earpiece players are simply too much of a pain for me on long water swims, versus something I simply attach to my goggles, which stays put, and which provides steady and continuous sound even if I get pummeled by waves or wind. The actual resonator on the Sonar, the speaker for lack of a better term, is smaller than on the Finis. Because this is not a literal speaker, bigger is not necessarily better (not that it always is with speakers). So long as the device sits on the bone leading to the ear, the bone in front of your ear, it does not need to be huge to achieve the desired effect. Rather, I find that the smaller resonator on the Sonar produces louder volume than the Finis, perhaps because it can resonate more intensely with similar power at a smaller size. Regardless, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sound of the smaller Sonar was louder and clearer than the Finis. The battery also lasts longer than the Finis, again perhaps because the smaller resonator takes less power to drive. Overall, if you know what bone conduction is, and want it, this is the best swimming player currently available. Given how much time I spend in the water swimming, having the best player possible is a pretty big deal. This is the best bone conduction player period. I actually dealt with tech support at the company to try and get additional charging cords and they were the exact opposite of Finis--friendly and helpful in other words. A better product, better support, Sonar wins hands down. I consider the bluetooth feature in all devices like this a waste of time and wish they would simply offer devices without it. Bluetooth doesn't penetrate water. Such features inevitably work sporadic at best, unless you have a phone or something right next to the pool. Some people doubtless love this feature, I could care less and I wish there were a way to turn it off permanently on my device. It does not impede simple, normal playback of songs loaded onto the device, however.

Alright, for me to write a review, I have to love it or hate it. In this case, it's a sad amalgam of both. I am dispositionally incapable of writing laconically so, for those who don't want to read the following, the headline pretty much says it all. For those interested in the details, read on: I used these headphones for many months before writing this review but am, as of the time of posting, still well WITHIN the warranty period for this device. I spend a lot of time working underwater at depths less than 10 foot deep, and am not in chlorinated water. I bought these headphones to make better use of my time down there than simply ruminating on how to save the world or on whatever stupid thing I said to someone within the last six hours and, for that purpose, they were in no small way absolutely revelatory. It's wonderful to be able to digest a several thousand page book while working underwater for hours on end and, while they worked, these headphones beautifully permitted such activities. I could listen to music with remarkable sound resolution and clarity, given the environment, and the interface was relatively easy to learn and employ. All things considered, this was a very worthwhile product and purchase...on its face. A few months into ownership, I began to have difficulty with the charger. The charger is also the upload cable that allows you to connect the headphones to a device for new uploads, and it is a four-pronged magnetic connector that, unfortunately, becomes increasingly spotty in its connection with time. Now, I diligently washed these headphones in fresh water after EVERY single use, as I would just take the mask with me into the shower when I got home and rinse them off. I could visually see that there was no corrosion on the contacts, but that didn't seem to make an ounce of difference, as I would sometimes spend many minutes clipping and unclipping the charger to the headphones in an attempt to get them to engage the little connection LED - sometimes I would just give up and move on with the rest of my night. I tried the eraser trick for the contacts, a cleaning cloth, all of the usual tricks one might employ, but I've finally decided that it's just a terrible design, as many others (including an employee) corroborated this finding with their own set of these headphones. Accepting the charger as a significant but tolerable annoyance on an otherwise great product, I continued to employ them until this previous December, when one side of the headphones spontaneously began to quit functioning. It began cutting in and out, then altogether failed, leaving only one side functioning. There are piece of music that operate in stereo, where I could miss entire parts of the song, as they were broadcast through the failed side of the headphone...this was no longer a tolerable annoyance. So I attempted to contact the company. As ever, Amazon doesn't exactly make it easy to do this, but the company does provide an email to contact them directly for product assistance. Given that I was well within the warranty period, never abused the product (doesn't have a scratch on it), and have diligently cared for it, I didn't think there would be a problem in procuring a replacement. Spoiler alert - there was. The problem? I couldn't get a response from the company AT ALL. I contacted the company email, followed up to the email, attempted every way I could think to get in touch with them, but have gotten exactly ZERO response from the company at all. Two months later, these headphones dangle uselessly off the handle of my nightstand, and have been relegated to eventual trash status, as there is no product support to get them back online and, though I can see no sign of a leak or other damage, they have malfunctioned to the point of uselessness. So, do I recommend these? Well, that's really your gamble, but I don't personally recommend products when the manufacturer provides no support. So sadly, I'm going to have to climb down off of my initial elation with these, and recommend against purchasing them. There are other options, and some of those options have reports of better product support and reliability. I'd look elsewhere. Verdict? A few great months, but in the end, a significant waste of money.

I was hesitant at first… used bone mic tech in the military and it’s great when you can use it. Finally pulled the plug with a discount and coupon. I was very impressed. I was very comfortable in the water with them. Above surface sound is not what it’s designed for. Sound is great for being underwater. It is a little muffled (hey, you’re underwater you land dweller) but totally clear enough and what I would expect being underwater and swimming hard. Fit on goggles rocks. Barely felt them on my temples and they didn’t move with surface/sub-surface swimming. Controls are easy to manage. Perfect solution. You can wear earplugs to keep the water out of your ears or not. Totally more comfortable then jamming waterproof earbuds in your ears. Loaded music works great… put it on shuffle and go. Used it with my Apple Watch on land w/no problems. That’s the next test run. Biggest issue I read about was the connection when you’re putting your music in the memory space. Set yourself up for success. Tape your cord down so it doesn’t move. Set your desk up so it’s out of the way. The magnet pull between the charger and ‘headphones’ was stronger then I was lead to believe. Just set the time aside to test and manage your music upload. Also take the time to test these with your Apple Watch. Yes, the bluetooth works better through gas molecules then liquid molecules (atmosphere vs water). Be prepared to rehearse the connection at your desk and in the tub. Biggest takeaways from this are: 1) Have patience when you’re setting this up the first time. If you do it right there are no problems you can’t troubleshoot, immediately recognize why you’re screwing it up, and correct. You will then know how to manage it from there on out. Review the directions before using. 2) Do a dry land rehearsal (with music on the memory and your Apple Watch) so you master the connection and controls so it doesn’t cut into your workout. If you abuse your Apple Watch, double check the integrity of your watch so it’s still waterproof (within accepted norms of use). If you’re thorough try them in the tub! Rinse them off after every use so they don’t succumb to repeated exposure to chlorine, etc… I haven’t tried them in salt water yet. 3) Read the directions. There are a few pointers that will make your usage a lot easier. Life’s better with music… rock out…

Do not usually write reviews but I thought I could be helpful with this one as I have swam with it everyday for a few months. Identify the strengths I enjoy and also some deficits so consumers can decide whether they can live with them or not. First the good: This unit is really well constructed. I would imagine it could take some serious drops or banging around. Very solid. It is easy to attach to your goggles and delivers above avg sound after you monkey with the positioning on your skull. Display buttons are large and "grailed" so no problem locating them on the side your head. People have said there is no random setting but if you quickly tap twice on the power button it goes in to that mode. Defaults back to alphabetical when you power off and then back on. This is my 2nd H2o product and they are an American based company that is very responsive and individualized when you make an inquiry or request a return RMA. Now the bad: Loading music from your PC is problematic. It will stop loading a long selection of songs midway sometimes whether you jostle it or not. I will disconnect it from usb port and reconnect a few seconds later and pick up were I left off. A bit inconvenient. This is the worst bugaboo this unit has, but I can live with it. The power level that is verbalized by the unit is inaccurate. When it says you are at 50% the 1st time you have maybe an hour left tops. Not that big of a deal. The commands that require a double click have to be done very fast or it will not recognize it. Something to get used to I guess. Over all I think this unit has many more pluses than detractions and I think it will last a long time and give you hours of enjoyment.

These headphones were the answer to boring lap swims. The sound quality is excellent, the buttons are large enough to use by touch so you don't have to remove your goggles to adjust the volume. I like everything about this product except for the music downloading app. It is pure 1990s tech that records as you are playing. Playlists are restricted by time, usually 20 minute increments or 30 minutes to hours. It requires time & forethought to actually get your work out music ready & if wifi drops or you get a text/call, the music is interrupted. I really expected a better way to add music at this price point.

I just used these for the first time today. They worked great. It brought a new life to my swim workout. The only issue I experienced is I was using them with my Apple Watch, and the sound cuts out when the watch is submerged. I assume this is an issue on the watch side and/or the Bluetooth signal not being able to travel through water. When doing free style stroke the sound would transmit when my hand was out of the water, but once in it cuts out. Thankfully you can download music directly to the headset so I'll have my music for my next swim. The music that comes pre-loaded on the headset is a little mellow and not really motivating to push a workout. First use I really like them. They were easy to use and easy to attach to goggles. They didn't slip around, held tight to my head. The sound quality is excellent. I read other reviews about concerns about how loud they played and concern about others being able to hear your music. It's loud, but doesn't travel far so it definitely doesn't disturb others.

Delights / Pro's: **sound quality and volume is amazingly good. Be sure to record music at full volume. Then you can turn down to your preference. **size is comfortable. I have a smaller head and smaller ears. Fits just fine. The cord that connects the ear pieces is longer than I need, but given it's one-size-fits-all, it's not a deal breaker. **Fits over pro-swimming googles. My goggles have a thicker strap to them than the average google. The thicker strap still fits into the strap slot just fine. ** I swim about 45 minutes a day. The battery lasts me about two weeks of swim sessions. Charging is very easy (do NOT lose that cable!), so it's no big deal to charge. CHALLENGES / Con's ** Designed only for swimming. BUT I've worked around that. I found thin headbands on Amazon and I use that if I want to use these when riding my bike. When out of the pool I don't want to use in-ear phones so I can hear traffic etc around me. The head band is perfect when riding a bike. I have not ran with them ... I don't run. TIPS ** keep the instructions on how to load songs. If you want to be able to "one tap" change to the next song, then you MUST record each song individually. Personally, I'm not going to do that. So I created short play lists of 1 hour. Then I can skip a play list if I'm not feeling it. ** loading songs instructions give an outline but I had to figure out individual steps for loading with my paid spotify account and Android based phone. Attached in a picture which might save you some anguish. Hope it's helpful. WISH LIST ** Manufacture would make a deal with Spotify for automatic pairing and song upload. As a swimmer, I could pair the h2o audio with my spotify account, then select playlists, albums, podcast, etc to download directly. The leave spotify playing to record is cumbersome.

I've owned this for over a year and now cannot download music to it locally. I've always had some problems trying to get music to copy to the internal memory card and now it just won't copy anything. It just hangs. Extremely annoying and disappointing. It works fine when using it in the water. Of course the bluetooth doesn't work underwater so you have to download music to it. But since purchase its always had issues copying to it. This is likely due to the way it connects which is with a magnet and a few contact points. Over time the water seems to make this connection stop working. So it'll last you maybe a year or so before having to buy something else. I would not recommend this item due to this issue.

HEY! It's incredible how much more comfortable i am than the overear openswim ones, i dont need to wear a cap and its amazing. Just a few things * You can use any goggles that have a silicion band (Most defaults) however its better if its in a Y shape towards the end (image attached 1) however youc an use any, can just be fussy (my speedo vanisher 2.0 is frustrating as it bungles up) - biofuse 2.0 is a good option to show how it would easily fit, as the vanisher has very thin sides and feels kinda bad to put on, but have never had it slip off once. There are folders you can put shit in, so usually i start with music to a podcast.

Does the job well. Good battery life and decent enough sound quality. People around you may be able to hear your music at full volume.

Lo uso para entrenar en alberca, y su sonido es espectacular. Es un tanto incómodo ya que va sujeto a la liga de los goggles, pero nada que interrumpa el entrenamiento.

Totally love these headphones, great that you have 3 different options to listen to whatever you want in the water with great sound, you actually have to turn these down in the water, no comparison to other headphones I’ve tried, including in ear for the same price! The playlist + is a great feature if you want to load something and don’t want to use a computer, as many of us use smart devices to for most things these days. The streaming function works great with the clip that you purchase separately and the swim tracker app, although a bit fiddly and not always the most accurate, but seems to work ok in certain geographical locations but not great in others, I’m guessing it’s to do with the quality of the network, but then of course you have playlist + and can track your lengths on your watch with apple fitness which works great everywhere! Can’t fault the company, had an issue after 3 months with the playlist + feature, originally bought off amazon, emailed customer support, received an email straight back in less than 30 min with troubleshooting tips and a firmware file download to put onto the memory for a reset, unfortunately wasn’t able to sort the problem out, a few more emails back and forth and within 48 hrs from the initial contact they sent me out a new pair! WOW, couldn’t ask for more!!! I’m swimming further, longer and enjoying it so much more with these, get them, they’re awesome!

Hi It’s taken me a bit to find the right set up for me and finally have wit the H2O Audio Sonar PRO It’s sit great on my googles and sound is great I started with the H2O Audio TRI PRO Multi-Sport but it was not working as I hoped and was uncomfortable for me and would not satay in place with trouble turns and I tried a swim cap but this only mage it more uncomfortable etc I then sent it back and pressed the H2O Audio Steam Pro amd again it was not the right for me. Had issues with it turning from memory to blue tooth on turns and the main reason with all the different ear pieces that came with it that I tried the ear buds would not stay in my ears even with swim cap. Finally I bought the H2O Audio Sonar Pro and finally this has been working great for me. Love the H2O Audio app as well