Aqua Soundz waterproof speakers May 2009

Aqua Soundz waterproof speakers

Aqua Soundz floating wireless speakers aim to let you enjoy the music from your MP3 player, even when you're relaxing in the pool or the bath. 

Open the box and you'll find a small transmitter – about the size of an iPod Nano – together with the speaker itself.

To get started you'll need three AAA batteries for the transmitter, and four AA batteries for the speaker. 

Fitting the batteries into the Aqua Soundz waterproof speaker was fiddly, especially as the battery enclosure has to have a watertight seal once you're finished. 

Make sure you take care with this – one of our Aqua Soundz test samples suffered a leak in the battery compartment and stopped working. 

The Aqua Soundz's printed instructions are reasonable, but don't go into much detail about some aspects of using the waterproof speakers.

Playing your music through the waterproof speakers was simple enough, and the transmission range was impressive. The sound quality was disappointing, however – particularly when compared with similarly priced portable speaker systems. 

The Aqua Soundz waterproof speaker has no volume control of its own – volume must be adjusted via the MP3 player (so you'd have to get out of the pool to adjust this) – and the two small speakers were too close together to provide much of a stereo effect. 

Thanks to the batteries in the base, the waterproof speaker is reasonably stable when floating, but you wouldn't have to splash too much to get water in through the speaker grilles. You can also hang the Aqua Soundz speaker upside down from the built-in hook on the base when it's not in the water.

Overall, the Aqua Soundz waterproof speakers are a disappointing product – you'll get better sound from a normal MP3 speaker system, and Aqua Soundz's waterproof capabilities are limited.

Aqua Soundz waterproof speakers are available from Amazon.co.uk and other online retailers for around £42.

Pros: Good range

Cons: Poor sound, potential for leaks