H2O Audio is a player in the sports headphones market and have been available in Australia for a while now. Their lineup is designed to offer a quality audio experience that is also water—and sports-proof at an affordable price.

I was sent three sets of their headphones, the Ript Ultra, the Ript Lite, and the Tri 2 bone conduction headphones, to test out and see how good they are.

Read on to hear my thoughts on them.

H2O Audio RIPT ULTRA

The RIPT ULTRA is the series’ big dog. It has custom 45mm drivers, a battery life of 50 hours, active noise cancellation, and washable, interchangeable ear cushions made of silicone for workouts and leather for other times. The ear cushions are also 100% sweatproof and designed for the sweatiest workouts.

The ULTRA is extremely comfortable, with an adjustable padded headband that helps them remain comfortable for long listening sessions. I used them for workouts and around the house without any issues. The ear cups are angled so that they sit comfortably over the ears.

I am not a massive fan of over-the-ear headphones for workouts, as my ears tend to get hot, but these weren’t too bad. However, I still wouldn’t use them during workouts on hot days.

The RIPT ULTRA has aqua/blue accents around the earcups and on the forks that attach them to the headband. These make them extremely recognisable, but they also make them a bit cheap.  

How do they sound?

Their sound is good but not great. They will not match the sound quality of your Bose or other high-end headphones, but they sound better than they cost. In other words, they pack a punch for such a small outlay.

The RIPT ULTRA is priced at AU$438, so it is only fair that I compare them to a similarly priced set of headphones: the Bose QC45, which ranges from $349 at BigW to $449 at JB HiFi. Now, we are only comparing the sound between the two, and unfortunately for H2OAudio, it’s not even close.

The Bose QC45 headphones offer a deeper, punchier bass and are much better at reproducing sound across the mid- and upper register. They are good headphones by themselves, but alongside similarly priced headphones, they are not in the same league. Therein lies the issue.

Although I do see a lot of people using the QC45 (and 35) at the gym they do not have any particular sweatproof rating worth much.  The RIPT ULTRA are designed for working out, for sweating in, and they can be customised by changing the ear cushions to make that as comfortable as possible.  Personally, I find the QC45 ear cushions to be far too hot for use in the gym but I did not find that with the RIPT ULTRA.  

For this reason, the RIPT ULTRA are a great option for those who want to work out and sweat out their latest weekend indiscretions (or is that just me?) while also getting the wide range of quality sound that over-the-ear headphones produce.

The H2O Audio RIPT ULTRA are available now from Amazon AU and select retailers for RRP $438.

H2O Audio RIPT LITE

The RIPT LITE are in-ear earbuds from H2O Audio. They offer an IPX5 sweatproof rating, active noise cancellation, and up to 35 hours of total playback, including the power in the portable charging case.  

The charging case includes a battery indicator on the outside to indicate how much power is left. The indicator gives a numerical value far superior to the few LED lights on other brands.

The LITE is incredibly light, at just 3.7 grams, which is part of my problem with them. They sit in the ear without wedging themselves in the ear canal, making them feel like they would fall out easily. Because they are so light, they really don’t feel secure at all.

I like the feel and fit of these AirPods to the first-generation AirPods. However, they are not great. I am not a fan, and without something holding them in the ear, they were easily dislodged at times. If you are into super-strenuous workouts, these are not for you.

How do they sound?

I compared the RIPT LITE with one of my favourite earbuds when thinking of value for money, the JBL Live Pro 2.  The RIPT LITE offered great bass, on par with that from the JBL Live Pro 2, although the bass wasn’t quite as clear.

The mid and upper end, though, were a bit crisper, and overall, the RIPT LITE provided a better listening experience, which surprised me a lot. Add in their IPX5 sweatproof rating, and you have a great set of earbuds. Don’t go thinking they can match the upper-end Sennheisers and AirPod Pro because they cannot, not even close, but for what they cost, they are good value.

The H2O Audio RIPT LITE are available now from Amazon AU and select retailers for RRP $175.

H2O Audio TRI 2

For some reason, my YouTube algorithm has recently been recommending Hyrox and Crossfit videos. In these videos, everyone seems to be using bone-conducting headphones—not sponsored athletes only.

I’ve tested out the high-end Open Run Pro 2 from Shokz and was impressed with them, so much so that I’ve been using them lately in my rehab runs around the block (so I don’t get run over).  

The TRI 2 PRO from H2OAudio are bone-conducting headphones but their upside is that their IPX8 waterproof rating means that they are waterproof enough to wear while swimming – as long as you swim in water under 3.6m deep.  In fact, not only that, but H2OAudio include ear plugs to prevent the noise from the water splashing on your ears from affecting the audio you hear.

The TRI 2 PRO also includes built-in memory, which allows you to store up to 8GB of music on the headphones. Thus, you don’t have to have your phone anywhere near the water to use them.

The battery is big enough to offer 8hrs of Bluetooth playback.  The downside for charging is that the headphones do use a proprietary port to charge unfortunately.

There is also an optional battery storage case that you can store the headphones in and charge them at the same time, offering even more battery life for those who don’t want to plug them in very often. This also means you don’t have to carry a proprietary cable around with you—just carry the charging case and a standard USB-C cable. I like the idea; it’s just a pity that the case costs another $83.

How do they sound?

They are what you would expect from bone-conduction headphones. The closest I have to these are the Shokz Open Run Pro 2, which combines bone-conduction technology with an air-conduction driver. This combination produces a much louder, clearer, and improved sound than that in the RIPT TRI 2 PRO.

The Shokz headphones are only IP55 rated, though, due to this air-conduction speaker, so that is where the TRI 2 PRO excels. The TRI 2 PRO can be used in any environment, although you are FULLY aware of your surroundings, so there will be a lot of environmental noise bleeding into your sound, so it isn’t perfect.

These TRI 2 PRO headphones are best for swimmers and those who want full awareness of their surroundings. I tried them out swimming, and they worked really well—well, better than no headphones. The included earplugs improved the sound but muffled it slightly. It seems blocking your ears does affect how the sound transmits into your ear, even with bone-conduction headphones.

The H2O Audio TRI 2 PRO are available now from Amazon AU and select retailers for RRP $330 and the Charging Case for TRI 2 Series RRP $83.