An MP3 player for swimmers. Finally...
Finally, a gadget that allows swimmers to be moved by music, too
Music is motivational, especially when exercising. If swimming is how you get your exercise though, there’s been little to help you enjoy music as you plough through the pool. Companies have tried to adapt devices like the iPod for underwater use but there hasn’t so far been a decent, cost effective solution.
Finis is an American company best known for making performance swimwear and accessories. Its Duo is an all-in-one MP3 music player designed for swimming. Unpacking the Duo reveals the unusual shaped device. The headphones themselves and a magnetic USB dock are included. It took around three hours to charge the device using the USB connection, which gave about seven hours of listening time.
One of the headphones has the controls, including play and pause, repeat and random play buttons. There are also easy-to-find up and down buttons for volume control.
I clipped the headphones into my goggle strap and arranged them, not over my ears but on my temple. The speakers use bone conduction technology and sound is absorbed through your temple bone rather than through your ear.
Playing, pausing or selecting random tracks was easy and didn’t interrupt my swim. After use, I followed the instructions to rinse the headphones with fresh water and pat dry with a cloth. Loading music on the Duo is straightforward. It has 4GB of built-in memory, which should hold over 1,000 regular MP3 songs. It is not compatible with Apple’s AAC format, so I converted some music and dragged the files onto the Duo’s icon on my computer. This is a remarkable little gadget. I found myself listening at about 60% volume and the sound quality was great – and surprisingly clear underwater. The only obvious drawback was the need to use MP3 files rather than Apple’s iTunes format but it’s a small inconvenience. With excellent sound quality and tremendous durability, the Finis Duo has made even the swimming pool a place where music can move me.