Comments on: Mach Speed Trio Surf 2 GB Waterproof MP3 Player and Armband

By: James

James — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:36:55 +0000

The unit stopped working after about three weeks. Until then it worked adequately with some caveats. Sound quality was good. The controls were a little odd and non-intuitive. The battery required recharging after only two swim sessions (a total of about 90 minutes). I would not recommend this product.

By: Ozan

Ozan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:33:19 +0000

its my first time spending the effort to write something up. However, I am very disappointed with this product. Shortly: a) the sound is terrible and not loud enough at all b) related to a, in general the headphones really suck. After using one-time, only one ear-bud is still working c)headphone frame and ear-bud fitting is uncomfortable d) the cables are either too short or in the way while swimming d)one positive thing though: its very cheap compared to other products. As a summary, i will give it one more chance with a new set of waterproof headphones that I just ordered.

By: Alissa Frederick

Alissa Frederick — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:08:13 +0000

This is my 2nd water mp3 player. My first was the H2O Man, but it had built in headphones and when the wires got damaged I could not just replace the headphones, so I decided to try this one out and I am really glad I did. The headphones took me a bit to fit comfortably, but now they fit on great. The player is no-frills, but for swimming laps I just fill it with fast-paced music and go. Works great!

The only reason I gave it 4 not 5 stars was because sometimes it seems to take forever to turn on.

By: O. M. Lopez

O. M. Lopez — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:16:52 +0000

This is a good product, not the best but it performs better than I expected. This works great if you listen to music, however, if you listen to audio books it won't allow you to fast-forward.

Now, the MP3 Player looks cheap but since it is really light, I don't find a problem with the cables breaking anytime soon. Learning how to use it was challenging until I read the instructions.

The arm band is a little bit uncomfortable but since the actual MP3 is really small you can put it on the side of your shorts.

The waterproof headphones are not the best, SOMETIMES the water gets inside them, but no problem because they are waterproof; however, you may lose some sound.

WMP did not find the MP3 to transfer the music directly from it but I downloaded the free version of SeaMonkey and it works great with drag and drop.

By: jw

jw — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:46:00 +0000

I've been using this thing for a few weeks. It is simple and unobtrusive - other than whistling, which can be tricky while you're swimming, it's perhaps the most inexpensive way to get your music in the water. The common problems have simple solutions:

- To keep them in place and watertight, I make sure the earbuds are securely mashed all the way into my ear. This sounds perhaps violent and painful, but actually it's ok in the pool. If the sound goes dull, just finish your lap, pull the offending earbud out, and blow into it. I pluck them from my ears when I run, letting them sit in that divot below my ear canal (thus I can hear the cars coming), and the headband holds everything in place comfortably. To keep everything working, it's important (and perhaps nontrivial) to keep the interior parts of the earbuds dry.

- I stopped the thing from floating up around my shoulders by tying a loose knot in the pair of wires a few inches above the player. It made it just snug enough around my neck to stop the slippage. Another idea I haven't tried is to thread a weight on there just heavy enough to switch the buoyancy to negative. But certainly it's wise to keep it buoyant if the water's deep.

- Are the controls mysterious? Read the instructions. Really, there are only two buttons...

I do wish it could handle a playlist. As far as I can tell, it plays the tracks in the order they are uploaded. And if you're some kind of sound snob, then the trio surf (or any underwater music) isn't for you. I'm glad I got mine.