I had a right old time with my new waterproof mp3 player in the pool yesterday. Not only did it take three and a half months to arrive (thanks a bunch, Groupon), but it's pretty much useless. It seems you need to swim with your ears permanently submerged in order to hear any bass.
This
lead to a very strange scene in the gym pool, with me
coughing,spluttering and trying not to snort water up my nose as I
attempted to keep my ears filled with water in order to hear the full
sonic spectrum offered by Bitch Magnet. All of this and (as usual) I had
forgotten to put my contact lenses in, so was blind, deaf and flailing. It's a
miracle I didn't drown/get removed and returned to the funny farm.
Looking
on the bright side, I have very much enjoyed making my swimming
playlist. It seems that songs about swimming are mostly very dreamy and
woozy - not what I would listen to during a workout normally, so it made
a pleasant change. There are some lovely, reflective moments from
Sleater-Kinney and the Smashing Pumpkins, as well as dreamy twinkles
from Eels and 'Allo Darlin' who are a new (to me) band who are miles
away from being my normal "thing", but a change is as good as a rest I
suppose. Couldn't help sticking Nirvana on the end
there though, just in case I fell asleep and drifted into the next
lane. And the Jaws theme music is obviously intended to make me go a bit faster.
I'm
viewing it all as musical cross-training. Would be nice if I could
actually listen to it anywhere but on dry land though, as I fear my flashy mp3
player is nowt but a very expensive memory stick.
You can listen to my playlist at the top of this entry - just click play on the friendly swimming polar bear. On another music tip, it's time for my Florence Finds round-up - that 2 Bears album is massive. And hairy.
You can listen to my playlist at the top of this entry - just click play on the friendly swimming polar bear. On another music tip, it's time for my Florence Finds round-up - that 2 Bears album is massive. And hairy.
Question (now I've stopped laughing at that mental image...) do you think waterproof mp3 would be worth it if your head was underwater? I'm tempted to get one, swimming for an hour is a bit dull sans music, I have to sing in my head to keep going!
ReplyDeleteK x
You would have to be completely submerged - as soon as your ears come out of the water for even a second, the liquid runs out and the connection is lost. This is just my mp3 player too (Splashgear) others might be better! If you could get one that worked properly it would be a brilliant investment!
ReplyDeletePx
First, let me say I love your blog! I found you via AOW and now I can't get enough. :)
ReplyDeleteBut to get to my point...
As someone who swims nearly everyday, I highly reccomend the NuDolphin underwater mp3 player. I have the Touch version and while it takes some getting used to, it's probably the best waterproof player I have owned.
The ear buds seat right inside your ear canal (hence the 'getting used to' part) and because of that there's not a huge amount of sound degradation. It also has a radio, but with 4gbs storage I find that I don't have much use for it.
I'm not sure how much you paid for your current mp3 player but the Dolphin is about £60-75 and well worth the investment. I'm on my second one (I upgraded) and it's honestly one of the best purchases I've made and certainly the best waterproof mp3 player I've owned.
I realise I sounded a bit like a commercial there, but I really do love mine!