Assessment: The Brane X Is a Transportable (however Expensive) Good Speaker With Unimaginable Bass

Earlier than this assessment, I had by no means heard of Brane, however now, it is all I need to hear once I play my music. The Brane X is many issues, however low-cost is not one in every of them. However for $499, you get a multi-use premium speaker that may deal with itself underwater, has Alexa voice assistant, connects by way of wifi for higher audio, has the very best bass of any wifi speaker, and can be utilized as a soundbar and subwoofer combo. The Brane X is a superb wifi speaker for somebody who values bass, wish to take their speaker outdoor, and wishes a soundbar and subwoofer combo for his or her residence theater. Nonetheless, it is not good and at its worth, it competes with the very best. The Sonos Transfer 2 is barely cheaper, provides a replaceable battery with 24 hours of juice, and higher treble and mids (however nowhere close to the identical vary or bass energy fo the Brane X).

Brane reached out to me to assessment the Brane X and despatched me the speaker for my trustworthy ideas, which is strictly what you will get on this assessment.

Brane X speaker professionals, cons, and specs

Execs

• Finest-in-class bass and sub-bass for good audio system

• Wifi streaming over Spotify and AirPlay 2

• Compact and transportable

• Highly effective 98dB stereo speaker

• IP57 mud and waterproof

• Doubles as a soundbar and subwoofer combo in a single with an AUX connection

• Companion app with EQ

Cons

• Costly

• Higher registers sound compressed at max quantity when utilizing Bluetooth

• No Chromecast assist

• No speakerphone perform

• Some options make a whirring noise

• No USB-C charging (solely DC)

Specs

• Battery Life: About six hours of battery at a reasonably excessive quantity (about 12 hours at a reasonable stage, in accordance with Brane).

• Connectivity: Wifi helps 802.11a/b/g/n/ac requirements, Bluetooth model 5.1, streaming companies appropriate with AirPlay 2, Spotify Join, and Amazon Alexa.

• Inputs: Auxiliary enter 3.5 mm jack for wired connections.

• App: Brane companion app for fine-tuning bass, customizing EQ settings, managing speaker teams, and adjusting varied settings.

• Drivers: One 6.5″ by 9″ Repel-Appeal to-Driver (RAD) subwoofer, two 2.5″ midrange drivers, two 0.75″ dome tweeters.

• Energy Output: 4 Class-D digital amplifiers delivering a mixed output of over 200 watts (98dB).

• Water Resistance: Rated IP57, making it totally waterproof and dust-protected.

• Dimension: 6.1 inches x 9.3 inches x 7 inches (H × W × D)

• Weight: 7.7 lbs

First impressions of the Brane X speaker

Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

I’ve to be trustworthy: First impressions of the Brane X weren’t good. Turning it on wasn’t intuitive, because the energy button does not present any suggestions that I pressed it correctly. The identical will be stated concerning the media controls on prime, however I am going to get extra into these particulars later. There may be additionally a bizarre whirring sound that the speaker makes when you flip it on that made me suppose my speaker was faulty (it goes away after a couple of seconds). The sound is definitely an air pump equalizing the air stress contained in the speaker, which is a patent expertise that Brane referred to as Repel-Appeal to-Driver (RAD). RAD is what makes this speaker distinctive, giving it the very best bass vary output I’ve heard on any speaker. Attempt this frequency vary take a look at in your wifi or Bluetooth speaker and see the way it performs. The Brane X did not simply play by way of the entire vary however vibrated my complete workplace with its highly effective bass. And due to that, I am keen to place up with the buzzing sound it makes when it is turned on.

Design

The Brane X makes use of contact controls for media.
Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

The design is, nicely, boring. All black is a protected possibility and with no coloration variations, it leaves me eager to fill it with stickers to provide it some persona. However that results in my subsequent challenge: contact controls. To regulate the speaker you may have a couple of choices on prime of the speaker, none of which offer haptic suggestions. And since their contact controls, you do not actually know in case your command when although except you hear the speaker. There may be additionally no play/pause button, so I can solely management it with my cellphone (or Alexa if utilizing it to play music).

Contemplating that is additionally an out of doors speaker with an IP57 score that may be fully submerged underwater, bodily buttons might’ve turn out to be useful. The deal with on the highest is beneficial contemplating the speaker nearly weighs eight kilos.

The Brane X charger is DC, so no USB-C.
Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

The charger is DC, so no USB-C for quick common charging, sadly. The battery is marketed as 20 hours of battery life at a reasonable quantity, however I solely acquired round six hours of juice at round 75% quantity (which to be honest, may be very loud indoors except you are having a home occasion). It will take about three hours to totally cost it as soon as it’s drained.

Sound

Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

The sound is the place the Brane X blows away the competitors and actually shines, particularly in the event you love bass (and I do). As I defined earlier, the RAD expertise actually pumps out unimaginable energy out of this small speaker. Contemplating that is lower than 10% the dimensions of JBL’s PartyBox Stage 320 (my favourite occasion speaker), it is spectacular that it practically matches its 240 W of output energy (the Brane X will get to 200 W), solely a few 2dB distinction in quantity to my favourite occasion speaker. I’ll caveat that this is not a celebration speaker, and you’ll actually hear it battle on higher registers when getting it to its max quantity.

Except I am blasting the Brane X, although, the sound high quality is pristine. As a result of the frequency vary of the bass is so vast, you may actually hear and really feel the decrease registers, giving it a full sound while not having to get too loud. It makes for a enjoyable sound that’s distinctive to the Brane X. I listened to MONACO by Dangerous Bunny and will hear the sub-bass components of the bass clearly. The feeling of feeling the bass at this stage often means blasting the music on common audio system or headphones, however the Brane X manages to offer that feeling with out scaring my neighbors.

Options of the Brane X speaker

Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

The Brane X is a wifi speaker first, that means it performs higher than Bluetooth audio system when it comes to connectivity with a wider vary, higher sound high quality by streaming increased bitrate audio, and different options. As a substitute of connecting to the speaker over Bluetooth, you may play music straight into it by way of Spotify Join, so you will get a greater connection and sound high quality. You can even join through AirPlay 2 and Amazon Alexa. The Amazon good assistant performs in addition to any Alexa gadget.

The Brane app

Left: Essential display. Center: EQ. Proper: The AUX Go-By characteristic to attenuate delay with the TV.
Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

My expertise with the companion app was like most speaker apps: It does its easy job nicely, however it may well disconnect now and again and will be gradual at occasions. The primary issues I used the app had been to examine the battery life, mess with the EQ (you get a five-band equalizer) which adjusts your modifications in actual time, and setting the AUX Go-By characteristic when setting it up as a soundbar. The app offers you the choice to hyperlink up teams if in case you have a couple of Brane X speaker. As I solely have one speaker, I wasn’t in a position to do this characteristic.

The Brane X as an out of doors speaker

Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

As I do with all of my outside audio system, I took it out to the court docket whereas internet hosting my Avenue FC soccer video games. We performed 5 on 5 on a hockey rink with partitions, so the sound bounces off to provide it a “encompass” really feel. Even then, the Brane X struggles to fill the court docket fully. That is by far the smallest speaker I’ve ever taken to my video games, nonetheless, and I am evaluating the sound decibels to occasion audio system, which is an unfair comparability. The truth that the Brane X is even a contender right here speaks volumes to its versatility. With that stated, the audio did sound compressed at most volumes typically. Since it is a Bluetooth connection outdoor as an alternative of wifi, the compression sound is extra noticeable at max quantity (it’s going to sound higher indoors with a wifi connection). The Brane X comes with an IP57 score, making it totally waterproof and dust-protected—nice for an out of doors speaker.

The Brane X as a soundbar

The Brane X doubles as a soundbar and sub woofer combo with an AUX cable.
Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

If you wish to use the speaker as a soundbar, you will want an AUX cable (at the least the top that connects to the speaker must be AUX). I want the Brane X had Google Chromecast assist so it might join wirelessly to my good TV, however you may’t have every part in life. You’ll be able to nonetheless join it with Bluetooth, however you will not be capable of use the AUX Go-Although characteristic on the app to do away with the sound delay (the delay just isn’t unhealthy, however sticklers will discover it). You will not get eARC sound high quality, however the speaker itself has a subwoofer, so the sound is surprisingly good as a soundbar and subwoofer combo.

I made a decision to re-watch Dune to listen to how nicely the Brane X carried out as a soundbar and subwoofer combo and in contrast it to the speaker system on my TCL QM7 TV, which has a subwoofer speaker on the again. The Brane X actually introduced Dune to life in comparison with the tv audio system. I might really feel each thud of the thumpers as they hit the sand when calling the worms. The soundtrack and vibrations of the explosions actually put the wonderful broad frequency vary the Brane X has to make use of. The speaker is ready to deal with the dynamic audio you need from a soundbar, listening to whispers and feeling explosions.

Backside line

Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

The Brane X is a robust wifi speaker with a subwoofer that provides it an unimaginable vary within the sub-bass frequencies. It is the very best wifi and good speaker for bass lovers. With Spotify and AirPlay 2, most individuals’s wants for music might be met. Its small compact dimension additionally makes it an amazing transportable and outside speaker, with a water-proof IP57 score and as much as 12 hours of battery life. It might probably get very loud with a most of 98 dBs, and it doubles as a soundbar and subwoofer combo, making it nice for watching motion pictures. Nonetheless, all that versatility comes at a excessive worth of $499. In the event you’re trying to blast the Brane X at max quantity, know that taking part in over Bluetooth will result in some compression being noticeable. There isn’t any speakerphone possibility regardless of its many microphones, and you will must rely on the DC charger, which is not superb for transportable audio system.

The Brane X is good for somebody searching for a wifi speaker that may do a little bit of every part. A one-stop speaker which you could take to the seashore, use as a soundbar, fill your front room for a celebration, or tackle a whim to your subsequent journey. It undoubtedly rivals the Sonos Transfer 2, and would advocate it to anybody who is not within the Sonos ecosystem already and/or likes to really feel bass of their life.