This is a review post for the Pyle PSWP20BL MP3 Player
TLDR: It’s good. Make sure the earplugs fit well.
A couple weeks ago I decided to get back into lap swimming. For whatever reason, it seems to be the only regular workout routine that has worked for me historically, but the huge drawback is it’s just so boring. Being able to listen to podcasts or audio books is great for making the time fly during tedious tasks like this, but at least up until now that hasn’t been a good mix with being in the water.
There are a lot of different waterproof MP3 players out there. The price (and I’m sure the quality) varies greatly. I didn’t want to invest a lot without knowing whether they would even work, and these seemed to be an attractive option in that regard – they were only $34.99 when I bought them (about a week ago – they’ve gone up since then).
After reading the Amazon reviews I took a chance on these and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, the features and user interface aren’t as rich as my preferred media player (the Sansa Clip Zip
While I normally listen to more podcasts than probably anyone who’s reading this, I decided (at least for now) to see if I can finally make it through the daunting set of Song of Ice and Fire books, so that’s all I’ve listened to using them so far. The simple controls are fine for that, since it’s just listening to each track in order, so I’m never really skipping around.
The big question everyone wants to know with these devices: how do they sound? The answer is it’s not the greatest in terms of audio fidelity (and I highly doubt any waterproof model would be), but in terms of being able to hear (in this case book content) clearly they fit the bill.
In my experience, the most important aspect is making sure the earplugs fit in and seal well. If you’ve got a good seal (no water leaking in), it’s crystal clear. The minute any water gets in, you basically can’t hear at all. Again, I suspect this will be the same for any similar product. They provide four different types of rubber earplugs you can swap out to find the best fit for your ear, but the ones it came set up with initially worked great for me. There are other adjustments you can make to the earpieces, etc. and I highly recommend tweaking them until the fit is perfect, since it’s a deal-breaker if the fit is slightly off.
Here’s that site I was talking about.
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-waterproof-mp3-player/
Looks like they didn’t review yours but some very similar models.
Interesting. After reading that I’m actually happy I decided to get this one before I read it, because that post might have scared me into getting one that’s way more expensive (like the one they recommend).
I’m sure that one is great too, but since this one I got completely meets my needs and was a little less than one-third of the price, I feel pretty happy with the deal I got.
Their post brought up a lot of the same things I alluded to, so it was good to see confirmation for the speculative points I made in my post about issues that are probably common to every waterproof model. I especially thought the point about it being all about the headphones / earbuds rings very true, and in light of that I feel really good about the ones I have because they work great.
The only unknown factor I have at this point (which they mention in the article) is whether it will break down after a longer period of use, but even that I feel pretty good about. If it does break after a year or so, I’d still have to do the calculations as to whether it’s worth paying way more for a different model or just re-buying this one two or three times for the same money.