Waterproof Headphones That Are Worth Buying Right Now – SlashGear

Before buying a pair of waterproof headphones, it’s important to work out whether the pair in question will be resistant to the water conditions you’ll need them for. The main way manufacturers measure this resistance is through an ingress protection (IP) rating, which measures protection against both dust and water. The IP rating will usually take the form of either a two-digit number (for example, IP68) or a single digit with an X (say, IPX7). The first digit relates to dust protection, while the second digit relates to waterproofing, so it’s the important one here. The X isn’t anything to worry about — it simply means the manufacturer hasn’t tested the device for that particular type of protection, so in the case of an IPX7 rating, dust ingress protection hasn’t been measured.

Ratings less than IPX5 should not be considered waterproof at all, and any product with either IPX5 or IPX6 ratings will only be able to withstand water spray, not submersion of any kind. IPX7 is what most people would consider true waterproofing, since the product will be able to withstand submersion in water for 30 minutes at depths of up to 1 meter (roughly 3 feet). IPX8 is the top level found in most commercially-available headphones, meaning they can be submerged deeper than 3 feet, with the exact limitations specified by the manufacturer.