Internal Mono(b)log

Late in 2015, Finis released the newest installation in the bone-conduction mp3 collection: The Finis Duo. As with the other devices in this line it produces pretty good sound quality by sending vibrations directly into your skull rather than relying on earplugs or speakers.  I like this about the line because I use silicon earplugs and like to dump them regularly to keep the chances for some strange ear bug growing in the earplugs.

Unfortunate, for me, the Duo is not a step forward in the evolution of Finis products.  Lets dive in (no pun intended).

Likes

• the bone conduction tech that Finis has used for years, it’s not the most high fidelity sound, but to break up the hours staring at the black line, it’s enough
• the Duo has a magnetic charge adapter that is a definite improvement over the previous grommeted swimp3 approach and is perhaps a little better than the charge adapter for the Neptune (though I never had a problem charging my neptune)

Dislikes

• previous incarnations of the swimp3 and neptune had plastic clips on the sides of the “ear pieces” (they don’t go in your ear, but not sure what else to call them… sound pods?).  While the ones on the swimp3 could be a little cumbersome, especially if you have short fingernails, they improved them on the Neptune to be a clothes-peg-like design that was simple to attach to goggles and to adjust. The Duo has a hard plastic channel that you have to weave your goggle-strap into. Having wrestled with it daily for about a week, I have to say “don’t like”.  It’s very hard to clip in with your goggles on your head and once the strap is threaded, its nearly impossible to adjust the location of the “pods”.
• the neptune has a longer battery life. The Duo’s 7hrs isn’t bad, but it won’t get me through a weeks’ training in the pool without a recharge.  There’s also no indicator of battery charge on the Duo (unlike the Neptune).
• the neptune actually has a display and user interface that doesn’t require guessing and interpreting a single blinking light, again (imo) a step backwards for the Duo
• I’m not sure if this is bad luck (track selection), or by design, but I’ve noticed LONG (20-30s) gaps between tracks with the Duo.  To the point where I wonder if the unit is still on/out of battery/malfunctioning.  I haven’t checked to see if my track selection had long lead-ins/outs (but I’d be surprised). Also because of the lack of screen, I have no idea what track is playing, so it’s “difficult” to quickly diagnose.

To me, the Duo is a refresh on the old SwiMP3 v2.. call it the SwiMP3 v3.. the interface is pretty much the same, the case is more difficult to comfortably fit on your goggle strap but the battery life and memory is beefed up a bit.

Personally, I’ll stick with the Neptune.