Customer Reviews

Mach Speed Trio Surf 2 GB Waterproof MP3 Player and Armband

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I needed to find something that would motivate me to get back in the pool and spend a decent amount of time there, so I searched around for waterproof mp3 players and found information on the Trio Surf a bit scarce, but after I looked at pictures of the item on TigerDirect.com it seemed like a perfect fit.

It has a very simple 2 button design, hold the + button for 3 seconds to turn the unit on, press it to switch to the next track or hold it to turn the volume up. The - button switches to the previous track or turns the volume down. Turning it off is a bit different, you have to unplug the headphones and then hold down the - button for 5 seconds, then wait 10 more seconds before you can plug the headphones back in.

The unit itself is small, about 2 inches long, 1 across, maybe 1/2 inch thick, and rounded along the edges. The unit has 2 wires coming from it, one is a 3.5mm male jack that plugs into a usb adapter to charge and transfer songs to the device, and the other wire goes to a small block that has the 3.5mm jack to plug your headphones in, it also has a 3.5mm hole that doesn't connect to anything where you plug the power/usb jack into while you're swimming, it's a very secure and tight fit and I didn't see any moisture on either the headphone or power/usb jack when I removed them.

The included waterproof headphones are designed quite a bit like the H2O Audio H3 Waterproof Headphones but more like in-ear buds than the H20. It comes with 3 different sizes of rubber ear plugs, with the default medium set for me it let in just enough water after 40 minutes that I couldn't hear the headphones anymore, once they dried out after a few minutes they worked fine again. I'm going to try using the larger ones next time. The Mach Speed Trio Surf also includes a pair of earbuds for out-of-water use.

When all the power cable is connected to the empty mount you can wear the device like a necklace, I used this method the first time I swam with it, but since the main unit is a little buoyant it floated up over my shoulder while I swam. This is only a slight nuisance, but i'm going to use the armband next time to keep it out of the way.

The audio quality from the included waterproof headphones is about average, and I didn't hear much difference underwater or above water, again the only problem was when water got past the guards into my ears I couldn't hear it very well at all. I plugged in my BeyerDynamic DT770 cans and it sounded almost as good as my Zune, but no real bass. (note: I'm not an audiophile, YMMV)

Moving music to the device requires it to be hooked up with the USB cable to your PC (no mention of Mac support, but seeing how it operates just like a USB thumbdrive it may work), the manual says you can use Windows Media Player to send files to it, but it just pops up as a removable USB drive in your drive list and I just did a drag and drop into that drive from windows explorer. The manual says it supports .mp3 and .wma format audio files, but not any encrypted DRM content. It also plays the files in the order they're loaded onto the device, no playlists, random play or anything fancy here.

The only real issue I have with the device is that if you're listening to something longer than a 3-5 minute song, like an audiobook or podcast and you accidentally hit the next or previous track button there's no way to fast forward back to where you were, so you have to end up listening to the whole thing again.

For what it's really meant to do: play music while you swim, it's just about perfect, but no real replacement for a more full featured MP3 player like an iPod or Zune when you're out of the water.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.