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Waterproof earbuds are the best option for those looking for a pair that can withstand situations such as swimming and rain. You can find plenty of different models in the market, but the best one for you will highly depend on your particular use case.
To start off, many people often get confused about the difference between waterproof and water-resistant earbuds. These are not the same: water resistance means that the pair will withstand sweat and occasional splashes of water, but can’t be submerged like its waterproof counterparts.
In this article, we will review 10 of the best waterproof earbuds in 2024, as well as explain what IPX ratings are and what you should keep in mind when shopping for this type of product.
Table of Contents
- Waterproof VS Water-Resistant: The Difference
- What are IPX Ratings?
- Top 10 Best Waterproof Earbuds
- Conclusion
Waterproof VS Water-Resistant: The Difference
While these terms get confused a lot, waterproof devices are different from water-resistant ones. Waterproof earbuds can be fully submerged underwater and are more appropriate for uses such as swimming.
Water-resistant earbuds, on the other hand, can withstand dust, sweat particles, fluids, and occasional splashes of water, but submerging them will certainly damage the device in the long term.
When in doubt, you must look into the IPX rating, as we will explain below.
What are IPX Ratings?
The IP rating is an international marking that will determine how resistant a pair of earbuds or headphones is to dust, sweat, water, and other fluids. The rating is represented in the following form:
As you can see, the first two numbers after the IP marking will represent dust and water resistance. An optional supplementary letter may appear and will represent the conditions in which the pair of headphones were tested.
| IPX Rating | Water Resistance |
|---|---|
| IPX1 | Can survive vertical drops of water for 10 minutes. |
| IPX2 | Can survive drops of water at an angle of 15°. |
| IPX3 | Can survive sprays of water at different angles up to 60° from its vertical axis. |
| IPX4 | Can survive splashes of water from any direction. |
| IPX5 | Can survive small water jets by a 6.3mm nozzle at any angle. |
| IPX6 | Can survive strong water jets by a 12.5mm nozzle at any angle. |
| IPX7 | Can survive being submerged in water up to 1m deep for half an hour. |
| IPX8 | Can survive being submerged in water deeper than 1m. |
Top 10 Best Waterproof Earbuds
| Best Waterproof Earbuds | Rating | Price | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaybird Vista 2 | 4 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Donerton Wireless Earbuds | 4.4 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Jabra Elite Active 75t | 4.2 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Amazon Echo Buds | 4.5 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Anker SoundCore Life P2 | 4.2 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Skullcandy Push Ultra | 3.8 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Klipsch T5 II | 4.5 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| JBL Endurance | 4.3 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Kurdene S8 | 4.3 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Philips T5506 | 4 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
1. Jaybird Vista 2
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IP68 Rating
- Active Noise Cancellation
- Surroundsense Technology
- 6mm Milled Drivers
- Interchangeable Eargels
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (24 Reserve in Case)
- Available in 2 Colors
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 5
- Sound Quality: 4
- Noise Cancellation: 5
- Battery Life: 5
Review:-
- Comfort
If you like in-ear earbuds, the Jaybird Vista 2 offers a great deal of comfort thanks to its interchangeable eargels, especially for physical activities and sports.
- Resistance
With an IP68 rating, the Jaybird Vista 2 is extremely resistant to dust and water. It is, in fact, one of the best pairs on the list when it comes to resistance.
- Sound Quality
The sound quality of this pair of earbuds leaves nothing to be desired, especially since you can pair it with Jaybird’s app and customize it to your liking.
- Noise Cancellation
One of the best features of the Jaybird Vista 2 is the active noise cancellation. Plus, you can switch it on and off with the Jaybird app.
- Battery Life
The battery life is greater than most other pairs. The Jaybird Vista 2 has 8 hours of battery with a 24-hour reserve in its case.
2. Donerton Wireless Earbuds
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IP7 Rating
- Touch Control
- 6mm Composite Diafragm
- LED Digital Display
- Battery Life: 5 Hours (140 Reserve in Case)
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 3
- Sound Quality: 4
- Noise Cancellation: 3
- Battery Life: 5
Review:-
Comfort
The Donerton Wireless Earbuds are quite comfortable and comes with different earplugs sizes. It may look a little larger than other earbuds on ears, but it still gives you a great deal of comfort.
Resistance
With an IP7 rating, the resistance is great and these earbuds will survive sweat or any splash of water, but it is not resistant to dust like the Jaybird Vista 2.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is great, especially when it comes to the low frequencies. It also has a very wide frequency range: 20Hz to 20kHz, which, in short, will give you powerful bass and crisp highs.
Noise Cancellation
The noise cancellation is decent, but it isn’t active. It shouldn’t be a problem for most people, but if you’re looking for a pair to use in environments with a high noise level, we suggest going for the Jaybird Vista 2.
Battery Life
These earbuds have 5-6 hours of battery life, which stands below the 8-hour standard of most other earbuds, while the charging case can reserve upto 140 hours.
3. Jabra Elite Active 75t
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IP57 Rating
- Active Noise Cancellation
- 4 Microphones
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (20 Reverse in Case)
Score:-
- Comfort: 4
- Water Resistance: 4
- Sound Quality: 5
- Noise Cancellation: 5
- Battery Life: 4
Review:-
Comfort
The Jabra Elite Active 75t is quite comfortable and comes with silicone eargels in different sizes. The only drawback is that these earbuds are larger than most other options on the list, so for some, they may feel a little heavy on the ear.
Resistance
The resistance is great. These have an IP57 rating, meaning they will survive sweat and being submerged in water.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is excellent, as there is a Jabra dedicated app that will allow you to customize the settings to your liking.
Noise Cancellation
The Jabra Elite Active 75t features active noise cancellation that can be tailored to your liking: if you would like to still be aware of your surroundings, for example, you can tone down the noise cancellation via the dedicated app. This is one of our favorite features of these earbuds.
Battery Life
Battery life is excellent and on par with most other Bluetooth earbuds: 8 hours of playtime and 20 hours of reserve charge in the case.
4. Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen)
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IPX4 Rating
- Active Noise Cancellation
- Battery Life: 5 Hours (10 Reserve in Case)
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 2
- Sound Quality: 3
- Noise Cancellation: 4
- Battery Life: 3
Review:-
Comfort
The Echo Buds are quite comfortable and this is one of the best features of these earbuds. It includes 4 ear tips in different sizes, more than most other earbuds.
Resistance
The water resistance of the Echo Buds is not great. It only has an IPX4 rating, which means it will survive sweat and occasional splashes of water, but can’t be submerged.
Sound Quality
The sound quality of the Echo Buds is fine, although it can’t be considered audiophile-grade. For consumer-grade applications, though, it will perform very well.
Noise Cancellation
We like the fact that these earbuds have active noise cancellation. You can also control how much noise cancellation you’re willing to get, meaning it is possible to maintain a conversation while you have these earbuds on.
Battery Life
While 5 hours of battery life is fine, it stands below the 8-hours standard of most other earbuds. If you’re not wearing your earbuds all day long, this shouldn’t be an issue.
5. Anker Soundcore Life P2
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IPX7 Rating
- High-Quality Microphone
- Fast Charging Feature
- Battery Life: 7 hours (40 Reserve in Case)
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 4
- Sound Quality: 5
- Noise Cancellation: 2
- Battery Life: 5
Review:-
Comfort
These earbuds comes with 5 different ear tip sizes so comfort is one of its better features, especially for those looking for a great pair for physical activities.
Resistance
While the IP rating of these earbuds isn’t the best on the list, it is still very resistant. If your main concern is sweat, the Anker Soundcore Life P2 will keep it out just fine.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is great. These earbuds have a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range so they perform really well.
Noise Cancellation
Not the best. These earbuds don’t feature active noise cancellation. On the other hand, the 5 different ear tip sizes will give you a very snug fit regardless of your ear’s size and this will help keep noise out.
Battery Life
The battery life is amazing. Playtime, the Anker Soundcore Life P2 stands on average at 7 hours, but it has 40 hours of reserve battery in its case.
6. Skullcandy Push Ultra
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IP67
- Moldable Hooks
- Stay Aware Technology
- Battery Life: 40 Hours Total
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 4
- Sound Quality: 4
- Noise Cancellation: 2
- Battery Life: 5
Review:-
Comfort
These earbuds offer a great deal of comfort, especially for those practicing physical activities, thanks to the moldable hooks.
Resistance
The Skullcandy Push Ultra has an IP67 rating, which will keep dust and water out of the pair. Sufficient for most applications.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is great. The fact that the earpieces are moldable to your ear-canal size and format helps a lot in providing high-quality sound.
Noise Cancellation
The sound cancellation in these earbuds is not the best, since it isn’t active. It is, however, decent.
Battery Life
Skullcandy doesn’t specify a play-time battery life, but you get 40 hours total including the reserve in the case, which is impressive.
7. Klipsch T5 II
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IP67 Rating
- Patented Oval Tips
- High Clarity Dynamic Driver
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (24 Reverse in Case)
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water resistance: 4
- Sound quality: 5
- Noise cancellation: 5
- Battery life: 5
Review:-
Comfort
These are one of the most comfortable earbuds on the list, thanks to the 6 additional earpieces that come with them in different sizes and formats.
Resistance
These have an IP67 rating so they will perform just fine for most applications, keeping dust and sweat out of the pair.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is excellent, particularly thanks to the customizable earpieces. This is an important but often overlooked characteristic that will greatly impact sound quality: a snug fit between the earbuds and your ear canal.
Noise Cancellation
This device has great noise cancellation features, both active and passive. You can also customize how much noise cancellation you want from your earbuds.
Battery Life
The battery life of these earbuds is on par with most other options on the list: 8 hours and 24 hours reverse in the case.
8. JBL Endurance
Features:-
- Bluetooth Headphones
- IP67
- Pure Bass Sound
- Smart Ambient
- Battery Life: Upto 30 Hours
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 2
- Sound Quality: 4
- Noise Cancellation: 4
- Battery Life: 5
Review:-
Comfort
The JBL Endurance earbuds are extremely comfortable, thanks to its over-ear design and lightweight features.
Resistance
These headphones are resistant to dust and sweat. Whether while working out or being on the beach, the IP67 feature works extremely well.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is excellent and these earbuds perform especially well even in low frequencies.
Noise Cancellation
The noise cancellation is both active and passive. A great feature is the Smart Ambient which keeps you aware of your surroundings.
Battery Life
Due to its design, the battery life is greater than smaller earbuds: upto 30 hours.
9. Kurdene S8
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IPX8 Rating
- Buttonless Touch Control
- Customizable Fit
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (40 Reverse in Case)
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 4
- Sound Quality: 4
- Noise Cancellation: 3
- Battery Life: 5
Review:-
Comfort
These earbuds are quite comfortable and come with 6 different pairs of ear tip pieces to provide a snug fit between the device and your ear canal.
Resistance
With an IPX8 rating, these earbuds are extremely resistant to water. We gave it a 4 out of 5, however, due to it not being resistant to dust.
Sound Quality
The sound quality leaves nothing to be desired and will please most consumers.
Noise Cancellation
While this pair doesn’t feature active noise cancellation, the feature performs just fine for most applications.
Battery Life
Great battery life, on par with most other earbuds: 8 hours of playtime and 40 hours in the case.
10. Philips T5506
Features:-
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- IPX5 Rating
- 10mm Neodymium Drivers
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (24 Reserve in Case)
Score:-
- Comfort: 5
- Water Resistance: 2
- Sound Quality: 5
- Noise Cancellation: 4
- Battery Life: 5
Review:-
Comfort
The Philips T5506 is quite comfortable and doesn’t feel too heavy on the ears. Plus, it comes with interchangeable ear tips.
Resistance
The rating is IPX5. While it is not as resistant to dust and water as some other options on the list, for day-to-day use it will perform just fine.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is great and highly customizable through the Philips Headphones app, where you can choose different presets.
Noise Cancellation
Both the active technology and the snug fit of these headphones provide a great deal of noise cancellation. It can also be customized via the Philips Headphones app.
Battery Life
The battery life is under expectations: 8 hours of playtime and 24 reserve in the case.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are lots of options in the market for waterproof earbuds. Most earbuds in the list have good resistance to water and can be submerged, but there are other factors that must be taken into account when buying a pair that will depend on your use case, such as comfort and sound quality.
How to Buy
If you’re interested in any of the waterproof earbuds reviewed in this article, you can find links at their respective titles on the list.
We hope our 10 best waterproof earbuds in 2022 article was helpful. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!
Hello, my name is James Longman.
I’m a writer and editor at AudioReputation. I disassembled my first portable AM/FM radio when I was only 8. At the age of 11, I burned the circuit board on my old boombox cassette player. I’m not going to explain how but it was reckless and stupid.
Since then, I have become much more careful around radios, boomboxes, and other audio devices (at least, I like to think so) but I have never lost the passion for audio equipment. Throughout 20 years of my professional career, I’ve been working for various audio equipment manufacturers and even started building speakers on my own in my little workshop.
I love the work we do here at AudioReputation. Testing, comparing, and evaluating all kinds of audio devices (speakers, soundbars, headphones, home theater systems, etc.) is something I truly enjoy. I try to be unbiased and give you my honest opinion on every piece of equipment I test. Still, you should take my reviews with a pinch of salt and always be just a little bit skeptical. The fact that I liked some speaker or soundbar doesn’t mean that you are going to love it. If you have the opportunity, you should test it/hear it before buying it.