Digital Home Thoughts: H20 Audio's SV i700 Waterproof Housing and Armband

The Water Music; Overture
Furthering the master design plan, H2O uses a high-grade "T" seal (Figure 4) to keep the water out of the main body of the SV i700. Two are included (one as a spare), and H2O Audio is very careful to point out that you should check these seals each time you use the device or you could risk a flood (which they will, obviously, not be held liable for).


Figure 4: Two high-grade "T" seals (the dark blue area) are included in the package (one as a spare).

While it looks like the original intent of the SV i700 was for watersports (Figure 5), I could also see these being used for mountain biking (an H2O suggestion), skiing (okay, so that's more or less water-related, but you get the point), and wet-weather jogging/running.


Figure 5: The SV i700 can be submersed up to 10ft/3m.

The headphones themselves are connected to the SV i700 in such a way to once again, keep the water out of the casing (with a little help from the included Silicon Super-O Lube). This is not to say that water doesn't touch the headphones at all (water can fill up the ear pieces themselves, but they too are sealed). I did find the headphones a little difficult to attach to my huge head (even in its currently shaved state), but once on, they weren't uncomfortable as the actual speakers can move up/down/rotate as necessary.


Figure 6: Almost too small for a large head, the SV i700 headphones still work as intended, keeping the water out and the music in.

Of course, design can only take you so far. If the performance is bad, even the best musical instrument cannot help. In any situation where the headphones were not completely submerged, the audio was, while a little bright and tinny (nothing that a little equalization couldn't fix), fine considering its application. Beneath the water, however, the sound level was cut drastically. As soon as my ears and the speakers filled with water, the volume seemed to drop at least 50%. Rise to the surface, the water drains, and the volume would return. Sadly, the iRiver can only go up to "40" which made the underwater level seem like just above soft. Still good enough for the average lap pool, but in a public swimming pool (ie mucho kiddos), your music might get drowned out by the occasional cannonball.