How do people listen to audio in the shower?

March 14, 2007 1:09 AM

One Ipod. One shower. One man. How can this man listen to his audio in the shower without damaging his Ipod or his ear cavities, using only household (or otherwise inexpensive) items. IMPORTANT : Must be able to hear the words.

Ok feel free to add any waterproofing accessories that you know of but I feel certain I can do this safely with a bit of creative thought. Im open to not using the Ipod and using the computer instead, and Im open to not needing to wash my hair/face in the shower at the time.

posted by zaebiz to Technology (14 answers total)

I don't know about putting the iPod ITSELF in the shower, but you should be able to put an iPod and a radio in the bathroom, so long as you don't need to change the song while you're washing your hair.

We use a cassette adapter to hook our various poddery up to a boombox at work and it's just peachy. Also, an iTrip would work with any FM radio - I have one for my car that travels around with me to various stereos. (I'd use a cassette adapter in my car, but there's no tape player.)

Just select your playlist ahead of time, and you should be able to be serenaded whilst you shower.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 1:23 AM on March 14, 2007

I don't know about "household" or "inexpensive," but a combination of a shower radio and an iTrip might be worth the ~$36 to you.
posted by cosmic osmo at 2:08 AM on March 14, 2007

Put your iPod in a docking station and listen to nice, safe, dry speakers located on the other side of your shower curtain or door.

Or try wearing ear buds under a pair of those hearing protection headphones (whatever they're called) people wear in noisy environments. Keep the player on the other side of the curtain or door. If you aren't in for too long, I don't think the water will get much chance to get into your buds -- the hearing protection thingies should block a lot of the shower noise and most of the water.

Or... put everything (iPod and ear buds) up inside a shower cap, maybe secured to the top of your head with a headband or woolen cap. Or tape. Or glue. Or a nail gun.
posted by pracowity at 2:41 AM on March 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've got a set of water resistant speakers, that open up and have enough space inside for a CD player or an iPod. It connects via the headphone jack. I only paid about £30 for the device but have seen it cheaper since I bought it.

While it looks something like this, mine is somewhat different and, not being made specifically for an iPod, much cheaper.

I usually run the water then put the iPod inside, on shuffle or point to to a long playlist, seal the box and off I go. There are far more expensive ones that will allow you to manipulate the controls.
posted by Mutant at 3:01 AM on March 14, 2007

An amp, speakers and volume.
posted by pompomtom at 3:24 AM on March 14, 2007

This is a bit unusual, but I've got a friend who has a laptop specifically for listening to music in the shower. (This is in a dorm setting.) He leaves the laptop on the sink, and just takes a shower from there - there's a door sectioning off the shower so the laptop is never wet. We used to be in the same tower, and he'd just leave the laptop there (no one stole it!) but now we've both moved towers so I don't know if he's still doing this.

You could be like him - get a shower-specific laptop and hook the iPod up to it - but I'm not sure you really want to.
posted by divabat at 3:41 AM on March 14, 2007

I looked into something like this when I was looking for a way to listen to music while I swam. The otterbox and h20audio are pretty much the industry standard thing for doing this, I really wouldn't trust a homemade solution to not trash my ipod. If you are using ipod to mean "MP3 player" and you don't yet have one yet, there are also waterproof MP3 players and I've heard good things about the Oregon Scientific model.

If I were in your shoes, I think I'd buy a 2nd gen ipod for cheap and affix it to the wall with some marine speakers someplace high up and just play it loud. This assumes that you'll be showering basically in one place and that that place is your home. I think the answer to your title question though is "they buy a shower radio" or some variant of listening to radio in the shower, it's not that tough to hear, in my experience.
posted by jessamyn at 4:19 AM on March 14, 2007

I have a set of computer speakers set up in my bathroom to do the same thing. I have part no. N82E16836121124 from newegg.com. It is just a set of amplified computer speakers. You just plug the minijack from the speakers into the top of the iPod, turn the speakers on and your'e jammin.
Total cost: $7 + shipping = ~12

Thats half the cost a pretty looking iPod dock anyways.
posted by ijoyner at 6:15 AM on March 14, 2007

I have a shower CD player/AM/FM radio that has an audio input (headphone-jack style). Get a miniplug to miniplug cable and it should work just fine.
posted by Xoder at 6:32 AM on March 14, 2007

Although I'm probably the last catholic virgin in America without an iPod, I was given a shower cd/radio player this past christmas from my aunt that can house an iPod behind a water resistant door with a window (so you can see the Ipod display). It has an aux plug that the iPod plugs into. Rubberized controls on the outside are supposed to control the iPod. I can't find a brand name or model number on it, other than "Shower CD/Media Player Dock". My aunt is Amway happy so my guess it is from them. Sorry I can't find any think to link to, but it sounds almost exactly like what you are looking for.
posted by tdischino at 7:07 AM on March 14, 2007

An amp, speakers and volume.

Please check with any nearby neighbors, first. The guy below me does just this, and even I can decipher the lyrics through solid oak and then some.
posted by stance at 8:26 AM on March 14, 2007

How cheap is cheap? OR how about this solution?

Actually, waterproof headphones would probably be the most likely to preserve word comprehension (showers are LOUD), you could save money just mounting the 'pod itself outside the shower, if the cord is long enough (otherwise, an extension and waterproof the connection, a little marine sealant would probably be sufficient. Probably lose one or more of the earbuds while shampooing from time to time, but hey.
posted by nanojath at 9:50 AM on March 14, 2007

I second the Otterbox idea. Although I haven't used it, it claims to be 100% waterproof. Try searching for it on www.ilounge.com. Got good reviews too.
posted by deeman at 11:53 AM on March 14, 2007

One of these. $12. + Sellotape
posted by DrtyBlvd at 8:03 AM on October 12, 2007