NW-WS413/4

It takes a lot to make me feel so pleased with a product that I would take the effort to write a review. This device has done it though. I'm a runner and on training runs music is an absolute must. For a long time I had my rather bulky windows phone in a waist strap with wires up through my shirt...... It worked but it was never great and couldn't get to controls so if a song that wasn't working for you came on you just had to endure it. The benefit of course was that my phone doubled up as a GPS tracker so I could log my runs etc. A month ago I bought a Smartwatch (Garmin forerunner 630) so that I could capture more info from my runs which is great, but I have been missing the music or still needing to take my phone. Buying these was a risk, very few reviews due to their recent release and I was worried about ease of use (after all, the controls are behind your ears), would they slip on my head or fall out easily as many buds do when running and would the sound quality be any good. I am pleased to say it has exceeded expectations in all areas. They fit on my head as if they were designed specifically for me, the quality of sound is amazing and the ambient noise mode that enables you to hear things going on around you is surprisingly crisp and it..... Well, it just works! I haven't used them for swimming so can't comment on the waterproof feature but for everything else, they are brilliant! I can't recommend enough if you're a runner who wants to ditch the smartphone and leave home without as much kit then this is what you want.

Bought this in 2017, it is still going strong now in 2025. I do not hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking for a headset to go swimming with. I swim regularly, I run with these regularly. They work perfectly.

If you are thinking about buying this, even at the ‘bargain’ price Amazon keeps offering, don’t. For swimming, it is utterly useless. It takes an age to get a decent seal on the earphones and when you finally managed it (it took me at least 10 attempts) you can’t hear the music! The other reviews on here are right; the volume is completely inadequate. There’s no danger of hearing damage, except from water ingress. This product really is rubbish. It’s almost incomprehensible that a manufacturer like Sony has failed to to match the performance of unbranded Chinese electronics costing a quarter of the price. Save yourself a lot of money and frustration by avoiding the ‘waterproof’ Walkman.

When my aquabeats by Speedo died I thought it was going to cost me a fortune to get another waterproof mp3 player till I found this one. My main question was will I be able to hear my music underwater as I've read many reviews of other cheaper products and people all have that issue. the answer is yes, yes you can. I only use mine for swimming so cant comment on how well it does when running or anything else but: Pros • Its waterproof!! • I can hear my music, and at a decent quality • There are multiple play formats - album, folder, random • It's easy to transfer music on to it • Battery life seems quite good • Different sizes of ear buds means you can change the sizes to fit your own ears Cons • Swimming fast the headphone can come out of your ears so you need to stop to pick them up and put it back on • Little fiddly working out which buttons so what function especially when you are working upside down when they're on your head • You will still get water in your ears from time to time which makes the music muffled • Weird charger is needed so if you lose it you need to buy a replacement. Keep in a safe place

This is a great product. I needed a waterproof player for Spartan racing and this is great. I have absolutely tortured this product and it is still going strong! There are separate buds for water submersion which are great but you do loose a bit of sound when using these. The battery lasts for ages. Mine has gone for 10 hours and still had charge. The buds keep the mp3 in place very well even when doing overhead and underwater obstacles. Overall I would recommend this product for its build quality and the fact it is still going strong after the 12 months of hard use I have exposed it to! I’ve never washed the mud off it and it’s even been stood on a couple of times. Great product!

Amazing Quality! My sister purchased the previous model and gave such a good review I decided I wanted some myself for swimming. The headphones stay in my ears at all times and with the new membrane ear buds the sound quality is perfect! The buttons are nice and easy to use in the pool and no need to keep removing the headphones. The fit is comfortable even with goggles on. The battery life is a massive bonus, swimming several hours a week I haven't even had to think about charging the battery yet and the device holds more than enough music. Really happy with this product and would recommend to anyone looking for a waterproof MP3!

I ordered this to cycle to my gym and then swim there. For cycling its ok as the ambient noise feature allows some car noise through, but its not safe in traffic really. In addition it has way to many buttons to remember, I kept changing modes or switching it off by accident as you never know where to press. 4 buttons should be the maximum in my opinion. I then went for a swim. It kept falling out every two lanes, regardless of what earpiece I used and with every frontcrawl stroke my arms hit the headphones as they are sticking out very far (badly designed), resulting in me loosing them every two lanes. In addition I had to turn it to full volume under water which still was very quiet (I never listen to loud music, but this was way too quiet). I just returned it for a refund as this was the worst swim I ever had, as it was so annoying to constantly deal with it. Sound quality, battery life, storage and ease of use ok, except the hundred buttons which I kept confusing :)

Love this, works really well

good in the water, rarely will slip from the ear

Outstanding option for an MP3 player, especially if you swim. The player fits very comfortably in your ears and wraps snuggly around your head...it won't fall out of your ears, even when you are active (with the exception noted below); the product comes with extra/different-sized ear buds. Loading the player is easy...plug it into your computer using the supplied charger/adapter, open the MUSIC folder on the player, and drag-and-drop your files (you can organize by folders if you like). The controls are fairly straight-forward: POWER, PLAY/PAUSE, VOLUME UP/DOWN, REPEAT. and an option that works similar to noise-cancelling. I've used these in the pool with only minimal problems. The best method is to cover the headset with a swim cap; otherwise you could run swim goggles over them to better hold them in place. If you are diving into a pool you shouldn't expect these to always remain in place...if you are swimming and making gentle flip-turns you likely won't have any trouble. The sound quality underwater is excellent (every once in a while a little water gets past and into your ear, so you might stop to reset them). My last pair probably had 25 hours in the pool (before it was lost...). This product used to have a problem with quality control (sound would die in one ear after a few months), but they seemed to have gotten past that...haven't had any trouble in my last 3 versions. Otherwise, I found they lasted about 18-24 months before the battery wouldn't hold more than a few hours. Finally, I usually charge them on the weekend and use them for about 5-6 hours a week with no issues (not sure how many hours I would get if I didn't charge on that schedule, but I assume they'd easily last beyond that). Finally, what they don't do is anything other than play stored music: no ability to receive radio; no Blue-Tooth; etc. I think Sony is making a pretty big profit on these, but they are better than the competition so I keep buying them.

Excelente material

Opened the MP3 player a couple of months after purchasing it. Seems very straightforward to connect and upload music to it. There's a lot of variation in earbud sizes included. I used the mp3 player in the swimming pool and ut worked fine, earbuds slipped a little but was okay. However, that was the only time I could use it. The battery died while I was using it and it would not charge again. I couldn't reset it or doing anything as the laptop wouldn't recognise it as connected. I tried various adapters and power sources but nothing. So I got one use from the mp3 player.