REVIEW – When I was a competitive swimmer, training my drifting thoughts while swimming endless laps was part of the process, but now, I only swim for fun and sometimes fitness. Wouldn’t it be great to listen to music or podcasts, or an audiobook while swimming? Ray, a good friend of mine, helped me test the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones as he enjoys the workout swimming laps provides. He, too, would like to listen to something while working out. How well did the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones hold up to Ray’s workouts? Read on!
︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $149.99
Where to buy: H2O Audio and Amazon
What is it?
The H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones are underwater bone-conducting headphones that can play up to 8 hours of standalone music (without a phone).
What’s included?
- Headset
- USB Cable
- User Guide
- Protective Case
- Swim Earplugs
Tech specs
Waterproof Rating: IPX8
Submersion Depth/Time: 12ft/3.6m unlimited
Storage Capacity: 8GB (2,000 songs or 130 hrs of music)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, waterproof mic
Battery Life: 9 hrs of Bluetooth playtime and 6 hrs in memory mode
App: H2O Audio Pro App (Apple/Android)
Technology: Bone Conduction
Charging: Fast-charging in a little as 1-2 hrs
Buttons: Playback, Volume Adjustments
Design and features
The H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones essentially are a wireless MP3 player that can be completely submerged and allows for open ear listening through bone conduction. Let’s break that down.
Design
There are two “speakers” connected by a thin, flexible cable on the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones. Each speaker housing presses up against the temple, or spot in front of each ear. The speakers have clips that attach to your goggle strap or swim cap that allow them to stay put. Each housing has raised buttons to adjust the volume, skip tracks, and play/pause. The headphones can be charged with the included proprietary charger.
Ray noted,
“After learning which side controls volume and which changes from one file to the next, it was easy to change. I could even make adjustments while swimming. The buttons have raised markings so you can find them by feel when your hands are wet.”
He went on to mention,
“The strap hung loosely around the back of my head, which means you have to hang the H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones on the strap of your goggles. If your goggles have a thin strap, I would be concerned about the H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones dangling or moving around. Luckily, my goggles have thick straps. That was a challenge at first, though, because as I moved my head underwater, the thick strap changed songs or changed folders when I did not want it to.
It would have been great if the cable connecting the H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones were a bit more stable. If I were training for a triathlon, I would be able to use the H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones while swimming, but not cycling or running unless I wanted to wear my goggles the whole time.”
Sound
Unlike traditional headphones, the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones utilize bone conduction technology. I’m not an audiologist or any kind of -ologist, but normally, we hear sound waves through the air. That sound vibration hits our eardrums. Sound underwater is different and needs a different way for our brains to interpret the “noise”. As noted from the H2O Audio website, bone conduction headphones “send vibrations into your skull bones, bypassing your eardrum, and transmit them directly to your inner ear, where the brain interprets them as sound”. Cool and strange at the same time! Earplugs are included if you need them.
100% Waterproof
The H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones are IPX8 rated and can be used completely submerged up to 12 feet of water for an unlimited amount of time.
Connectivity
The H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones feature Bluetooth connectivity. A quick word on Bluetooth and use underwater from the manufacturer:
*NOTE: SONAR 2 PRO Bluetooth range underwater is about 4″. Smart watch MUST be attached to your goggles (not on your wrist) for Bluetooth to function properly. Wireless range on air is 30ft/10m. AVAILABLE – Apple Watch Clip for SONAR.
To get the best experience listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks is to download them as MP3 or the Apple Music format M4A.
App
The H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones use the H2O Audio Pro App, available in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for free. This app allows you to manage all your listening choices, update software, and utilize Playlist+. Playlist+ is touted as “an old-school tape recorder and mixtapes”. H2O Audio poses 5 reasons to use Playlist+
- You use streaming apps, and they don’t use MP3 files
- You don’t want to buy new MP3 files
- You want to work out with your phone
- There is a weak internet connection
- You want to be disconnected
By double-clicking on the + button on the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones, it will record whatever is playing via Bluetooth to memory. Like recording the radio to cassettes way back in the day! From my friend,
“Using a streaming app, I loaded a playlist with songs I wanted to listen to. Then, just like back in the 80s with my boombox, I had to record the music onto the H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones app while the music played. If I wanted one hour of music, it literally had to play for one hour. I wanted to have two hours of music, so my H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones had to be connected to my app and record for two hours. I found this to be very clunky and a big drawback to the novelty of the H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones.”
But for those sources that have MP3 or M4A files, just drag and drop those files to the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones for your listening.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
The assembly is clipping the speakers to your googles strap or swim cap. I did see a picture of someone clipping the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones to their ball cap to use out of the water.
Performance
Ray mentioned that the sound was a lot louder once he was underwater. He told me,
“The sound underwater is good. I loaded a podcast and music, and both types of entertainment were clear. One thing I quickly learned was that if the sound was loud outside of the water, it was extremely loud underwater! You don’t need to crank the sound too much underwater to listen to your files”.
Final thoughts
The H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones proved to be a good solution to boring lap swimming. For Ray, it was a good, not great solution. He shared,
“Setup for music was somewhat of a challenge, and would have been easier 10 years
ago when everyone was not streaming music. The directions call for moving music files over to folders on the H20 Audio Sonar 2 pro headphones. Who still has CD files on their computers? I don’t even have a CD-ROM or DVD drive on my laptop or desktop. Once I figured out how to record music, I found a way to load music.”
But once Ray got music on the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones, he said,
“The music seems to help the swimming pass by relatively quickly as opposed to just hearing yourself breathing and splashing during your workout. My This American Life podcast episode helped get me through a 300-yard warmup before I knew it!
Although I am not an avid swimmer, I love the workout it provides. Without the music, I would swim and get in my head about technique, number of strokes, and how fast I was kicking my feet. With the H20 Audio Sonar 2 Pro Headphones, I could zone out and just work out.”
He did add that they were cool and would love to see ways that the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones could be used out of water, say for a triathlon.
What I (Ray) like about the H2O Audio Sonar 2 Pro Waterproof Headphones
- Sound quality underwater is awesome
- Battery life
- Helped with swim workouts
What needs to be improved?
- Make the strap more rigid so it can be worn while biking or jogging
- Make it easier and less time-consuming to transfer music
Price: $149.99
Where to buy: H2O Audio and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by H2O Audio. H2O Audio did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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