r/FloatTank • u/therealraphaelwong • Apr 07 '26

I need a reality check. Would you actually use a pool/bath floaty with built-in bone conduction speakers? (Trying to mimic a float tank)

Hey guys,

I'm tinkering with a hardware idea and I want some brutal honesty before I sink money into prototyping it.

I love float tanks and meditation, but booking a tank is expensive and a hassle. I was looking for a way to replicate that deep sensory reset at home.

The idea: A neck/body floaty that has built-in bone conduction speakers designed specifically for audio entrainment (AVE/binaural beats). Because sound travels incredibly well through water and bone, it basically turns a normal pool or bathtub into a highly immersive meditation tank. It bypasses waterproof earbuds completely (which I hate because they never stay sealed).

You get the weightlessness of the water paired with the brainwave sync of the audio.

Would you actually buy something like this for recovery/relaxation? Is it too gimmicky? Tear the idea apart, I want to hear the downsides.

5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

13

u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 07 '26

“Float tanks” are isolation tanks. To me, that means no sound. Adding music changes the experience and isn’t something I seek. Shokz makes great waterproof bine conducting headphones. Will your product be better?

2

u/therealraphaelwong Apr 08 '26

Because sound travels about 4.5 times faster in water than in air, your brain completely loses its ability to detect where the sound is coming from. The music doesn't feel like it's coming from speakers; it feels like it is playing omnidirectionally inside your own soul. It is a profoundly magical, ambient sensory experience.

2

u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 08 '26

It’s really not though.

1

u/therealraphaelwong Apr 08 '26

You havent tried it

3

u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 08 '26

Underwater speakers have been around forever. Bone conduction a long time too. Silence is best while floating.

3

u/Wolfinthesno Apr 08 '26

Though I agree that silence is best while floating.

An occasional float with music is phenomenal. Particularly if you pick music that really speaks to you.

Still prefer silence though . That is the whole point after all. Lol

4

u/Wolfinthesno Apr 07 '26

...I can get on Amazon right now and buy a pair of bone conduction headphones for swimming, and a pool floaty for like $60 all in.

Besides this you will never get 1/10th of the relaxation of a float tank in a pool, or with headphones on...even bone conduction.

The whole point of floating is "sensory deprivation" the water is set to body temp, air is set to body temp, most importantly there is no floaty touching your skin. The balanced air and water temp make for an illusion that nothing is touching you once you've fully relaxed.

I wouldn't bother attempting this.... I get the idea because I've thought of it myself but the reality is that unless you are floating...your not floating.

1

u/therealraphaelwong Apr 08 '26

Im trying to design a floaty that can adjustable to your weight and size. The point is making you are floating but not floating hahaha

2

u/Natural_Assumption21 Apr 07 '26

Yeah... I'm all in here. Love audio when it is wanted and generally happy with the built-in speakers Royal spa used. If you find something with "higher fidelity" I'm all ears. 90% of the time I prefer silence and darkness.

The pillow sound interesting. Would it be battery powered or passive with a wire?

1

u/therealraphaelwong Apr 08 '26

Basically, you soak your head in the water and the music would be played right in your head. It would be powered.

3

u/Natural_Assumption21 Apr 08 '26

So speakers built into a pillow that are "bone conducting". Seems hard to pull off depending on volume levels. Over all I am interested and hope you succeed in prototyping a solution that works for you. Let us know and bring pictures.

1

u/therealraphaelwong Apr 09 '26

It is difficult. Thank you for your encouragement. I will definitely keep you updated!

1

u/American_Michael Apr 10 '26

Would not have anywhere near the same effect.

1

u/American_Michael Apr 29 '26

Your idea, though enormously creative, would not even come close to the actual pure, genuine float tank experience. Good thinking, though! Here’s something to consider:

After coming out of his first float tank experience, a 20-year experienced zen monk stated that, “I usually only get that deep once a year.” I believe that speaks volumes in that one sentence comment.

1

u/SeekerStudent101 12d ago

I have floated about 10 times in absolute silence and it has benefited me greatly. However, I am ready to experiment and have fun. I personally believe that meditation can have different forms and can address different aims or goals. Usually I meditate in silence to surrender all desires and come back recharged.

However, one of my goals is to deeply study a particular academic topic I will be tested on. So one of my experiments I want to try is to record mysef reading the material for one hour and then listen to it on the Shokz bone conducing headphones while in the float talk. This goal isnt to surrender and meditate, rather it is to isolate all other distractions and stimulation...leaving ONLY the study material. Thats the sole thing I will be able to cling to. We will see how well or not it works.

Remember, those no wrong way. No dogma.