Swimming Headphones: What Makes Them So Different From Common Headphones?

With so many headphones available on the market, most of which declare some sort of distinctive options, it might be straightforward to dismiss ones marketed as “swimming headphones” as simply one other gimmick. However, there are literally essential distinctions that set this sort of headphones aside from different units, each in how they entry your music and transmit it to your ears. In essence, all of it comes all the way down to how the physics of water affect audio.

Some of the variations between swimming headphones and common ones are apparent — it is a provided that they arrive with extra waterproofing than a typical pair, for instance. Other distinctions, like sound conduction and Bluetooth alerts are much less overt. Let’s dive into what makes underwater headphones particular, and what you need to search for when choosing out a pair.

Ironically, a music-loving swimmer’s largest enemy in relation to listening to tunes is the water itself. For one, Bluetooth alerts cannot transmit by means of the water, that means that as quickly as you dive underneath any connection to your cellphone is severed. Though they typically additionally include a Bluetooth mode, swimming headphones set themselves aside by coming with built-in storage, which is considerably of a rarity for normal headphones.

Water additionally implies that typical headphones, which conduct sound by means of vibrations within the air, cannot be heard almost as properly. Swimming headphones virtually completely make the most of bone conduction, which transmits through vibrations immediately into your head. To do that, the headphones relaxation in your cheekbones as a substitute of contained in the ear canal, bypassing the eardrum and going straight to the cochlea within the internal ear. Though there are some swimming headphones outliers that do not make the most of bone conduction, a overwhelming majority of them do.

It’s essential to ensure your swimming headphones boast a strong sufficient IP ranking — brief for Ingress Protection — to remain protected within the water. These generally is a bit complicated, as some producers record two numbers whereas others record only one (e.g., IP56 versus IPX7). When purchasing, you largely want to concentrate to the second quantity within the ranking, which displays how properly they’re geared up to deal with water (the primary quantity refers to mud, which is not as related; a ranking with a X usually means producers solely examined for water resistance). Ratings of 6 and under can solely deal with issues like sweat and rain, whereas IPX7 and IPX8 can deal with completely different ranges of precise submersion.

For audiophiles, the bone conduction itself in addition to auxiliary options like adjustable EQs are additionally essential to have a look at. As producer Shockz factors out, the water sealing your ear naturally causes an occlusion impact, amplifying decrease frequency sounds in a approach that may be overpowering, and headphones resting in your cheekbones as a substitute of in your ears means outdoors noise is rather more of a problem. To fight this, some swimming headphones provide particular swimming EQs that naturally amplify harder-to-hear tones and assist block different sounds.

Bone conduction’s reliance on vibration can be the downfall of some swimming headphones, particularly at greater volumes, which might imply intense quantities of buzzing. Different manufacturers boast varied methods to fight this: some swimming headphones permit listeners to manually modify the transducers, others declare to have transducers at angles optimized for buzz discount. It’s positively one thing that is value wanting into when purchasing round, particularly for those who wish to blast your music. With the appropriate analysis, you possibly can get pleasure from probably the most tech-savvy swim of your life — possibly subsequent you possibly can choose up a pair of sensible goggles.