****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I don’t know that any audio device for swimming would get 5 stars. Audio equipment for swimming requires lots of compromises, so all devices have limitations. With the Tayogo, you get lots of options, although none are perfect due primarily to using them in water.Bone Conduction. I have used in-ear and now bone conduction for swimming. Both have benefits and drawbacks. If you position the speaker correctly, then bone conduction works well. My in-ear audio worked, but I did not like having to clip the player onto the goggle strap, where it kept falling off. When I get the Tayogo bone conduction positioned correctly, it is fine although the audio quality is not as good as in-ear audio. On dryland, the bone condition is great while riding my bike to the pool. Having an open ear is safer. The Shokz and Zygo Solo also offer bone conduction, but they are much more expensive.Bluetooth. BT does not work in water for any device, but this has BT, which means it works well for my bike ride to the pool. When out of the pool, I can listen to podcasts or whatever else is playing on my phone via BT. Even though BT does not work to play music in the pool, the BT can be used with a sport watch in the pool. My Garmin watch sends an audio message to the Tayogo reporting my time and lap number. Thus, in the pool the BT is good for something, so long as you are not listening to FM or MP3. The Shokz device does not offer BT, so Shokz has limited utility outside the pool. The Zygo Solo uses a radio frequency (not BT) to repeat to a transmitter and then to the headset, but it is $300. (The Zygo Solo transmitter can be used to communicate with the swimmer, which could be useful for some, but not many swimmers.)Microphone. It is nice to have a microphone when in BT mode so you can take calls. The Shokz device does not offer BT or a microphone, so Shokz has limited utility outside the pool. The Zygo Solo does not have a microphone, so it too has limited utility outside the pool.FM Radio. I like the FM radio option. I found that I get pretty good FM radio reception while swimming, but I lose it when I am deeper underwater in a turn. Not many swimming headphones have FM radio. I really like this option. Neither the Shokz nor Zygo solo devices offer FM radio.MP3. I have not used the MP3 yet. My in-ear player only did MP3. It is great to have this as an option. The Shokz device only offers MP3, which the Tayogo also has. The Zygo Solo does not have on-board storage or a player for MP3, but instead repeats via a radio frequency with the transmitter.Stability. When I first tried swimming with it, they fell off. After several experiments, I found ways to position the device lower at the back of my head, and with goggle elastic over each earpiece, so the device did not fall away. A swimcap may also help. I don’t know if a different design would work any better for bone conduction devices. The Shokz and Zygo Solo devices may or may not fit better around your neck and ears than the Tayogo.Considering the price and features, I am satisfied.I will add a video later on. I've had these bone conduction headphones for a couple of months now. I waited to do a review based on a desire to use them enough to provide an honest and complete review (and I also need to add some video). My experience? I also have the standard Tayogo headset with the earplugs, MP3 capacity, and bluetooth. I think that the bone conduction headset (this one) would probably be your best option if you were doing water aerobics. I say that because I transitioned from MP3's to bluetooth several years ago and I stream podcasts from my phone while I'm swimming and no matter what kind of device you have the bluetooth cuts out when you go under water. With the Tayogo earpiece model I am able to swing it up on top of my head (very important - don't hang it around your neck) while I swim and I don't do flip turns. My head is out of the water the full time that I'm swimming. I use a swimmer's snorkel, fins, and goggles and I swim a mile every day. The only problem that I have there is that the earpieces get waterlogged maybe three times in the course of a swim and I need to remove them and shake the water out. I stopped loading MP3's years ago because it's just simpler to stream the podcasts from my phone using bluetooth. You don't have to worry about someone stealing your phone poolside. It's never happened to me and if they did you would soon be aware of that as you lost the signal. Also the signal goes much farther than they say. I don't have to put my stuff in the middle of a 25 yard pool. They signal only begins to fade at around 40 or 50 yards. Like I said, the bone conduction headset would work fine for MP3's or something like water aerobics where your head is out of the water (jogging, biking, etc.). You also don't have the problem with waterlogged earpieces because there aren't any. On the standard headset with earpieces I did find that the two things that help are: 1) don't store it in your swim bag where it can remain wet, 2) when you get home - remove the earpieces and let them dry out over night while you recharge the brains. Out of water the bone conduction and earpieces are similar in terms of sound quality. With your head immersed in water I prefer the sound quality of the ear pieces (until they become waterlogged). So I guess my advice is - for swimmers get the Tayogo standard with bluetooth. For people doing water aerobics or other types of workouts - get the bone conduction model. Both have good microphones so I can accept phone calls and conduct a conversation while I'm in or out of the pool while on bluetooth.I bought these for swimming and they've been amazing! I've had them for about 9 months now, and I use them regularly (4x week). I would say the battery life is true to 5 hours - I wear them 2-3 days at the gym and then recharge. It's not like other earphones; it's almost like having a speaker right next to your ear. I also wear them when I'm outside walking or biking and it's great to be able to hear the environment around me. I've worn them in the pool, the lake, the sauna and steam room. My biggest complaint is the process to upload music to the MP3 (it doesn't work with a Mac, so I had to use a friend's computer and upload songs I had saved to a hard drive). You also have to download an app, but once the music is there you're good to go and can delete it. The bluetooth works great as well (not underwater) and although not the best quality, you can make phone calls with them too. The value for the price is definitely worth it. I get asked about them all the time and people are impressed when they try. I plan to get another set.
