By Cynthia Wilson
I tested the Soundwave waterproof MP3 player during three activities; swimming, running outdoors, and water running. It was relatively easy to charge the device simply by plugging it into my computer with the provided USB cable. After about 12 hours of charging I loaded on some music and gave it a go.
For running, it performed pretty much like any other MP3 player that I have used, and I used a different pair of headphones from the waterproof ones that were supplied with the player.
Then I tried the MP3 player while swimming. I put the over the ear headphones on, then my swim cap and goggles, then I clipped the unit to my goggles on the back of my head. The wires were tucked under my swim cap. I was skeptical at first, thinking the headphones would come right out of my ears as soon as I pushed off the wall or the player itself would be annoying clipped on to my goggles. Neither happened during the entire swim. I also thought I would be annoyed with not being able to change anything (volume, track, etc.) once the player was on my head. Not so, as the buttons are raised and easy to find just by feel. The unit is supplied with three different waterproof earbuds so I used the ones most comfortable to me, and they were fine for the whole swim.
The Soundwave MP3 player also performed very well while water running. I again used the waterproof earbuds, but this time I put the unit on my arm with the provided armband. The cables were tucked out of the way with the provided locking synch. In all, I used the player for about a total of 8 hours and the batteries were still charged.
The user interface took some getting used to, as there are only 5 buttons to play with. Once I became accustomed to it, I didn’t even need to look at the player when I wanted to change functions. I also used the player as a radio, however while swimming the reception was not very good probably since the cables act as the antenna and they were very short; from my ears to the back of my head. There are a few things that seemed to be overlooked: the L and R earphones are not marked, and the user manual is not very thorough.
In my opinion, the Soundwave is an excellent waterproof MP3 player and I will continue using it, especially during long swims and water running, where I could not normally listen to music. The added 50 free downloadable songs is a nice bonus, too.
About Cynthia Wilson
Cynthia is a top triathlete based in Gatineau, Quebec (near Ottawa). She has been competing "seriously" since 2005.
She was named Ottawa's top triathlete in for 2007 and was recent voted Gatineau's top athlete for 2008.
Cynthia is currently completing her PhD in Physics at the University of Ottawa with an expected finish date of December 2008.
Her website is at: CynthiaWilson.ca.
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