Brane X Smart Speaker, Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker, Internal RAD Subwoofer, 12 Hrs Playback, Waterproof IP57

ottima qualità sia di costruzione che sonora. Trovo solo scomodo passare dalla rete x accedere semplicemente all'equalizzatore. Buona la durata della batteria . Richiede un telefono "massiccio" e moderno altrimenti lo prosciuga letteralmente causa il codec bluetooth HD esigente. All'inizio l'ho detestato , ora mi piace.

I am a loudspeaker designer/builder and have made many different types of loudspeakers for portable use, HiFi, PA, and home theatre. This is part science and part art. The Brane-X is amazing as a portable loudspeaker and it achieves what many portable loudspeakers lack: rich and true bass for its size. I say “for its size”, because I own and have built portable loudspeakers with lots of low end, but they are larger and heavier. I bought a Marshall Kilburn III for my wife that is about the same size and that loudspeaker is better in most every feature that the Brane-X lacks, except the bass/sound. Hands-down, this is the main thing that the Brane-X excels in, and that alone makes it worth the price tag, because good, loud, low bass makes the entire listening experience worth it. And it doesn’t just have good bass, but the entire frequency range is well represented.But, even though the sound is spot on, it does lack features that make this portable loudspeaker a true winner in the portable loudspeakers category. The shorter battery life and big power brick make it more of a home loudspeaker that you can bring out on for a picnic. The Kilburn III lives in my wife’s van and she takes it everywhere since it has 50 hours of battery life, can be charged up with USB-C, and emits sound from the front and back. The portable loudspeaker that I keep in my truck is a JBL EON One. It’s a portable PA loudspeaker, and though it is large and more expensive, it has great sound, get’s hella loud, and has pretty good battery life (I get 20 hours even though it’s advertised at 12 hours).And a side note, what happened to radios? Do these manufacturers know that a lot of people still listen to the radio. What a feature it would be to add a radio (physical dial with digital display and a few presets) to your portable loudspeaker lineup so I don’t need to have my phone with me to enjoy some tunes. The Makita XRM10 makes good use of a radio.If I could transpose the sound quality from the Brane-X into the Marshall Kilburn III, well, now I’d have the almost-perfect portable loudspeakers. Why? Because here’s what I like about the Kilburn III as a truly portable loudspeaker:- knobs for volume/bass/treble with indicators- custom EQ preset button- visible battery meter (10-segment)- tactile power button- media control (left/right/push)- universal charging via USB-C- can be used as a power bank if your phone is low- handle moves out of the way easily- no microphones- lighter color available so it doesn’t get so hot on sunny days- AUX input- splash proof- great aestheticsSo, even though I’m going to keep the Brane-X, it’s not going to be the loudspeaker that goes with us everywhere. I’ll keep it plugged in at home and then take it out when I don’t want to lug out the EON One, and when I want to impress my friends with the mass of bass. Opinions aside, here’s a pro/con list to get you going:PROs- more true bass than should seemingly be possible for its size- very smooth and balanced frequency response- voice prompts for battery life, bluetooth, etc.- volume max/min notification- soft rubber feet to isolate vibration- waterproof- microphone shut-off control (are they really off though?!)- wide soundstage- AUX inputCONs- battery life is low (I’m getting 5-6 hours out of 12-hour advertised)- proprietary charger is very large- no mute button- no media controls- no tactile buttons (all controls are touch sensitive)- power button on back is difficult to find and press by feel- sound dispersion is about 160º- rubber handle doesn’t easily swivel out of the way, but must be pushed down- front lights are difficult to see if loudspeaker is not near eye level- any color you want, as long as it's blackFUTURE IMPROVEMENTS- longer battery life; at least 15 hours!- USB-C charging (a 90W charger should be smaller than their power supply)- 360º sound, or at least front/back sound- NEEDS to have tactile media controls + mute button- dual-opposing bass drivers to reduce vibration- lighter color option so it doesn’t get so hot in summer- add a radio- better handle- indicators for power/volume/EQI’m glad I can own both, but if I had to choose between only owning the Brane-X or the Marshall Kilburn III, I would go with the Marshall. The audio is nowhere near the quality, but the features rule, and it’s a bit cheaper.In all, the Brane-X is a great v1 of their product, though a bit pricey. I hope that they let the reviews and community suggestions guide their next release to a loudspeaker that would kill!

I live in Belgium and during a trip in Austin for SXSW I discovered the Brane X. I immediately order one.The packaging was easy to open.- First good surprise : the power plug is at the European standard (Type E) and the transformer is universal (so 220v compatible).- Second good surprise : I had my US Apple Account handy but that wasn’t necessary as I could download the app on the Belgian app store !- Third good feeling : the app is already translated in french !I had some trouble to do the initial setup, The led colours meaning was a bit cryptic to me. The power button is a bit tactile but not much. It took me a minute to manage simply switching on the speaker. I needed a manual ;-)First setup I could not join my wifi network so i skipped and I did pairing it in Bluetooth settings of iOS settings and the Brane X appeared in the app. Immediately i could experience the deep room filling bass. The default setting for bass was a bit too much for the room I was in so I set them to medium using the app.The sound is real big and pleasant to my ears, even if it’s not neutral to say the least...I tried some funk, jazz and good old rock and roll song that i use to test all my speakers systemsThen I wanted to try setting up the wifi again, but I could not find a way once the speaker had been added in the app.The solution was to do a reset by pressing the + and - touch keys for a few seconds and remove it from the Brane iOS app. I started the pairing process again and my Wifi network appeared normally.On that screen I thought the password fields were to input my wifi network password.But I was wrong, these are to add a password to connect to the Brane X using Airplay 2.With Airplay password activated the streaming that was not working well and it was cumbersome.So I did a second reset and this time I did not fill the password fields.I realised that the Brane app get the wifi network password automagically from the iPhone.I could use the Brane X with Airplay. I tried playing music in 3 rooms using the Brane X, a pair of KEF LS50 Wireless and an Homepod mini, and all of them were perfectly in sync.I moved across the rooms with the Brane X in my hands, which is the first time I could do that.I noticed that the Bass sound really vary from a room to another. Example Bathroom, Bedroom with carpet and curtains or in the garden, … great that you can change the setting in the app.Good suprise : despite the fact that I was moving the wifi streaming music kept ininterrupted thanks to the buffering in the Airplay 2 protocol. I have 8 Access Points in my home so it was roaming fine from one wifi AP to another.Then I setup Alexa and tried listening to a few radio (French) channel. This worked wonderfully at the first attemps.We spent the first evening trying all sort of Alexa services : jokes, music, bedtime stories, etc.My wife wants to keep it in her Atelier/Office as she hate the Homepods for a good reason : Siri is setup in french for my whole house (my main language) and she speaks english and croatian only. She loved having Alexa in English and she played her pop songs on the Brane X with very visible satisfaction. My kids like it too and and could not resist playing a few songs.My conclusion : it's a unique speaker on the market with it's unmatched bass, it's strong amplification, it's small format and batteries that allow to move it easily in the garden, the attic or the garage. It can be used with Airplay with other speakers, and also in Bluetooth which is convenient if you go far from your wifi, for example in the park (good that it's resistant to some rain).

The Brane X is an absolute BEAST for it's size, and I cannot think of something that comes close to this in terms of the overall quality, especially the bass for the money!The sound is mostly neutral with a light-to-moderate bass boost when playing on Bass Low mode. The bass is agile and gets low. Mids are just fine, a bit warm leaning. Treble is decent, more detail than expected. In the machine shop, I can hear it dig down to about 35 Hz, maybe a smidge lower. When cranked, the bass loses some quality (of course, can't beat physics!) but it brings a deceivingly powerful subwoofer-like effect.I had this placed on a floor-standing toolbox at first, played one of my bassiest songs that has 40Hz notes. When that note hit, I was laughing my tail off at the chaos it was dishing out on every inanimate object placed on, or inside it.With that said, if you want deep and clean bass, you'll need this placed on a stiff and stable surface. I'm not getting an audible 27Hz because this is a huge space and the subwoofer isn't magic. If you have this in a small to medium room, you should expect a far more exciting, dynamic, deeper (27Hz achievable), and more accurate bass experience. If you're using it in a machine shop like me, standing within 6 feet will be a nice experience regardless.Setting this up was easy, all I did was turn it on, pair bluetooth, and played music. There's a phone app available for this speaker, it worked okay but some user's experience are mixed. The app is not required at all, but it's nice if you want to use their simple EQ.Minor cons: Buttons need tactility, I'd rather the top buttons be... buttons and not touch activated. Female barrel connector needs more holding power. The power brick is a little weak, you can still have it playing moderately loud while plugged in, but it will be a slow charge unless the device is turned off.Thank you for reading.

5* Bass3.5* Mids & treble1* App1* Noise3* Battery2* Battery WearI rated the machine based on what's important to me. I don't care so much about the power brick size or that it gets around 10 hrs battery life. The battery life is enough to listen to a few movies outside on the deck on a warm Summer's night.The bass, of course, is what this speaker is known for and it delivers! Very Satisfying!The Mids & Treble however are not as open & sparkly, even with the App EQ highs maxed (when the App even works!!).The App is an absolute disaster simply because it fails to connect to the speaker consistently. I've had to reset the speaker several times with my Android phone (s23 Galaxy Ultra) or iPhone 15 pro. After a while, it fails to connect to the speaker AGAIN thus limiting you to adjust the speaker. Plus the features on the App are very limited. It truly is a half baked app where apparently the promised improvements have NOT come.The NOISE on the machine when on idle/paused is absolutely/unmistakenly NOTICEABLE!! I can hear it 10+ ft away easily. The noise isn't white noise either, but subjectively speaking, sounds like an old jalopy engine or air bubbles in an aquarium. Though it's more more pleasing sound than white noise, it still is TOO MUCH for a quiet room. Now, if you have a fan on and other noises in the house, then this noise will be drowned out. But it IS EVER PRESENT! if you're listening to movies with quiet dialogue you WILL(!) hear it (unless you're hard of hearing). But b/c the noise is like an aquarium, it's not annoying like white noise hiss. In other words, you MAYBE can live with it. My hearing is good so it annoys me......There is a feature in the App where you can park the subwoofer so it's silent, but that is only to reduce power when on Idle. Once sound is activated, you'll hear the sub boot up (with a pump buzz) and then it's jalopy engine rata tat tat sound.As for the "subjective" sound, the bass lends to of a more "full" sound system type of sound, It's very pleasing if you can overlook its rather substantial faults..........In comparison, my extremely high user rated Harman Kardon Go Play 3 has just as/more pleasing sound, but with better Treble & Mids--it's more open and balanced and not as dark sounding. And the GP3's bass is subjectively HUGE(!) as well to the point that I feel I'm not missing anything in the scope of full spectrum sound vs the Brane, with its lesser quality mids/treble. Of course, if you're a true "bass head" and want to hear the SLAM you feel, then this speaker is for you, but keep in mind you'll be sacrificing other sound dynamics that other competitors offer better. BTW, the GoPlay 3 is silent, so better for silent rooms. Movie dialogue is better on the GP3 not only b/c of the superior background noise suppression but also has more mids/treble clarity/openness so you can lower the overall volume without the boom dynamics making you constantly play with the remote off & on.BATTERY WEAR. Being such a tech forward company, I'm surprised Brane didn't do what the Go Play 3 does. That is, when it's plugged into the wall, the GP3 will *NOT* use the battery. With the added wall power, the GP3 becomes even punchier & full, while charging if the unit needs it--best of both worlds. And if you EQ the GP3 Bass/Treble up, it's even more clear/bassy (but not overly so, as this is pro tuned and sounds great in Stock mode or any simple EQ variation out of the box). The Brane, in comparison, when plugged in *WILL* use the battery!! So there WILL be constant battery wear, ALWAYS, over time as you're using the battery 100% of the time, no matter what! Also, I don't know how replaceable the battery is on the Brane, b/c on the GP3 it's easy for someone with minor skills.Overall, this 1st Gen speaker is a very good effort, and as long as they continue to improve on the sound (mids/treble), broken(!) app, noisy(!) background sound, unavoidable battery wear(!), it'll have its place in the market and scratch out some market share.Keep on improving Brane. You're headed in the right direction.....