I have a weird relationship with music. When I’m at my desk, I can’t just hit shuffle and play anything from my library; I need to focus, so I usually stick to instrumental tunes. Anything with vocals when I’m trying to write or edit feels like someone’s talking to me as I try to come up with my own words.
Ever since I started working from home in 2019, my days start around 8:45 am, and I head straight to my desk after making a cup of coffee. Post-work, I join my partner in the living room, and we watch something together (or I dip into a video game). When I head to the gym, I play energetic songs to keep me going. My pre-pandemic commutes were filled with two 30-minute trips where I could play my favorite artists and discover new music on the subway here in New York City. And when I lived in New Jersey, my old job required an hour-long drive where I could listen to burned CDs in my Dad’s 2006 Honda Accord. I’m not forced to sit still for a period of time anymore—which is great in a lot of ways—but for me, it does mean less music time.
One hobby that’s helped is a spiraling addiction to vinyl. I spin records when I’m doing mundane tasks around the house, like cleaning on Sunday mornings. My secondary solution? A Bluetooth speaker in the shower. It’s not quite the same, but it lets me play tracks I haven’t listened to in a while for a few minutes a day. It’s the specific shower speaker in question that has almost re-created the experience I’ve had from my commutes: Ampere’s Shower Power Pro automatically roars to life when I start my shower, and it’s hydro-powered, so I almost never have to recharge it.
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Hydro Power
Ampere got its start making mobile charging accessories, and the Shower Power is one of its first forays outside its wheelhouse. There are two models: Shower Power and the Shower Power Pro. I’ve been testing the latter since February. The Pro model is slightly bigger, so it offers better sound, or so Ampere says, and there’s a ring of LEDs at the end for a bit of sparkle.
The LEDs are impactful only if your bathroom is dimly lit (or if you’re showering in the dark), so I hardly use them. The Pro model is slated to get an app that will let you track water usage and temperature (the LEDs will flash red if the water is scalding hot and purple if it’s really cold), but even after more than nine months, it’s still not out (Ampere says it will launch this month). Still, I’d stick with the basic Shower Power to save some cash. Just stick your hand in the shower to see if the water is hot or not.
It feels well-built, and I love that it’s made from recycled ocean plastic (specifically, 16 recovered water bottles). Installation is also a breeze. I’ve tested it on three different showerheads, and I’ve had zero problems. Ampere has plenty of instructions that show how to install it with different heads, but you’re essentially attaching this hydro-powered speaker in between the shower arm that sticks out the top of your bathroom tiling and the showerhead.
The water flows through the Shower Power’s turbine and generates power for the Bluetooth speaker connected to the side (you’ll hear the slight whir of the turbine). Don’t worry, the speaker has an IPX7 water-resistance rating, so it’s safe. You can easily twist the speaker to disconnect it and tote it around the home, so it’s not limited to your bathroom.