Brane X Is a Portable (but Expensive) Smart Speaker With Incredible Bass

I had never heard of Brane before this review, but now it’s all I want to hear when I play my music. The Brane X is many things, but cheap is not one of them. But for $499, you get a feature-rich, premium speaker that can work underwater, has Alexa voice assistant, connects via Wi-Fi for better sound, has the best bass of any Wi-Fi speaker, and can be used as a soundbar and subwoofer. The Brane X is a great Wi-Fi speaker for those who appreciate bass, want to take their speaker outdoors, and need a soundbar and subwoofer for their home theater. However, it is not perfect and is priced to compete with the best. The Sonos Move 2 is slightly cheaper, offers a replaceable battery that offers 24 hours of battery life, and better highs and mids (but nowhere near the same range or bass power as the Brane X).

Brain contacted me to review the Brane X and sent me the speaker to express my honest thoughts, and that’s exactly what you’ll get in this review.

Pros, cons and characteristics of Brane X speakers

Pros

• Best-in-Class Bass and Subwoofers for Smart Speakers

• Stream over Wi-Fi via Spotify and AirPlay 2

• Compact and portable

• Powerful 98 dB stereo speaker.

• IP57 dust and waterproof

• Functions as a soundbar and subwoofer in one device using an AUX connection.

• Companion app with equalizer

Cons

• Expensive

• Upper registers are compressed at maximum volume when using Bluetooth

• No Chromecast support

• No speakerphone function

• Some functions make a buzzing noise

• No USB-C charging (DC only)

Characteristics

• Battery life : About six hours of battery life at moderately high volume (about 12 hours at moderate volume, according to Bran).

• Connectivity : Wi-Fi supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v5.1, AirPlay 2 compatible streaming services, Spotify Connect and Amazon Alexa.

• Inputs : 3.5mm auxiliary input for wired connection.

• App : Brane’s companion app for fine-tuning bass, adjusting EQ, managing speaker groups, and adjusting various settings.

• Speakers : One 6.5-by-9-inch Repel-Attract-Driver (RAD) subwoofer, two 2.5-inch midrange drivers, two 0.75-inch dome tweeters.

• Output Power : Four Class D digital amplifiers delivering a total output power of over 200 W (98 dB).

• Waterproof : IP57 rated, making it completely waterproof and dustproof.

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

• Weight : 7.7 lbs

First impressions of the Brane X speaker

I’ll be honest: my first impressions of the Brane X weren’t very good. Turning it on was unintuitive as the power button doesn’t give any indication that I pressed it correctly. The same can be said for the media controls on top, but I’ll get into those details later. Also when turned on the speaker makes a strange buzzing sound which made me think my speaker was faulty (it goes away after a few seconds). The sound is actually an air pump equalizing the air pressure inside the speaker, a proprietary technology Brain calls the Repel-Attract-Driver (RAD) . The RAD is what makes this speaker unique, delivering the best bass range I’ve ever heard on any speaker. Try this range test on a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth speaker and see how it works. The Brane X not only reproduced the full range, but also vibrated my entire office with its powerful bass. And so I’m willing to put up with the buzzing sound it makes when turned on.

Design

The design is, well, boring. All black is a safe bet and without any color variations I want to fill it with stickers to give it some personality. But this leads to my next problem: touch controls. To control the speaker, you have several options for controlling the speaker, none of which provide haptic feedback. And because they have touch controls, you don’t really know if you’re giving a command when until you hear the speaker. There’s also no play/pause button, so I can only control it using my phone (or Alexa if I’m using it to play music).

Considering that this is also an IP57 rated outdoor speaker that can be fully submersible, physical buttons could come in handy. The handle on top is useful considering the speaker weighs nearly eight pounds.

The charger is DC, so unfortunately there is no USB-C for fast universal charging. The battery is rated to last 20 hours of battery life at moderate volume, but I only got about six hours of battery life at about 75% volume (which, frankly, is very loud indoors unless you’re throwing a house party). It will take about three hours to fully charge the battery after it has been discharged.

Sound

Sound is where the Brane X rises above the competition and really shines, especially if you love bass (which I do). As I explained earlier, RAD technology really pushes incredible power out of this little speaker. Considering that it’s less than 10% the size of the JBL PartyBox Stage 320 (my favorite party speaker), it’s impressive that it almost matches its 240W power output (the Brane X goes up to 200W), with only about a 2dB difference in volume compared to my favorite party speaker. I will caveat that this is not a party speaker and you can really hear it struggling in the upper registers when it reaches maximum volume.

However, if I don’t turn on the Brane X, the sound quality is impeccable. Because the frequency range of the bass is so wide, you can really hear and feel the lower registers, giving it a full sound without having to make it too loud. This creates a fun sound that is typical of the Brane X. I was listening to Bad Bunny’s MONACO and could hear the sub-bass bass lines clearly. Feeling bass at this level usually means listening to music through regular speakers or headphones, but the Brane X manages to deliver this feeling without disturbing my neighbors.

Features of the Brane X speaker

The Brane X is primarily a Wi-Fi speaker, meaning it performs better than Bluetooth speakers in terms of connectivity, wider range, better audio quality by streaming audio at a higher bitrate, and other features. Instead of connecting to the speaker via Bluetooth, you can play music directly to it via Spotify Connect for a better connection and sound quality. You can also connect via AirPlay 2 and Amazon Alexa. Amazon’s smart assistant works as well as any Alexa device.

Branagh application

My experience with the companion app is similar to most speaker apps: it does its simple job well, but can sometimes disconnect and be slow at times. The main things I used in the app were checking the battery life, getting to grips with the equalizer (you get a five-band equalizer) that adjusts for changes in real time, and setting up the AUX Pass-Through feature when setting it up as a soundbar. The app gives you the ability to combine groups if you have more than one Brane X speaker. Since I only have one speaker, I wasn’t able to try out this feature.

Brane X as an outdoor speaker

Like all my outdoor speakers, I took them out to the ground during Street FC football matches. We played five-on-five on a hockey rink that has walls so the sound bounces around, creating a sense of volume. Even so, Brane X struggles to completely fill the area. However, this is by far the smallest speaker I’ve ever brought into my gaming, and I’m comparing the decibel level to party speakers, which is an unfair comparison. The fact that Brane X is even a contender here speaks volumes about its versatility. However, the sound sometimes sounded compressed at maximum volume. Because outdoors uses a Bluetooth connection rather than Wi-Fi, the compression sound is more noticeable at maximum volume (it will sound better indoors when connected to Wi-Fi). Brane X is IP57 rated, making it completely waterproof and dustproof—ideal for an outdoor speaker system.

Brane X as a soundbar

If you want to use the speaker as a soundbar, you will need an AUX cable (at least the end that connects to the speaker should be AUX). I wish the Brane X had Google Chromecast support so it could connect wirelessly to my smart TV, but life can’t have everything. You can still connect it via Bluetooth, but you won’t be able to use the app’s AUX Pass-Though feature to get rid of audio latency (the latency isn’t bad, but die-hards will notice it). You won’t get eARC sound quality, but the speaker itself has a subwoofer, so the sound is surprisingly good in a soundbar and subwoofer combo.

I decided to rewatch Dune to hear how well the Brane X performs as a soundbar and subwoofer, and compared it to the speaker system on my TCL QM7 TV , which has a rear-mounted subwoofer. Brane X really brought Dune to life compared to TV speakers. I felt every blow of the hammers as they hit the sand, summoning worms. The sound and vibrations of explosions really provide an excellent wide frequency range that the Brane X can exploit. The speaker is capable of producing the dynamic sound you want from a soundbar, hearing whispers and feeling explosions.

Bottom line

Brane X is a powerful Wi-Fi speaker with a subwoofer that delivers incredible bass range. This is the best Wi-Fi and smart speaker for bass lovers. Spotify and AirPlay 2 will satisfy most people’s music needs. The small, compact size also makes it a great portable speaker for outdoor use, with IP57 water resistance and a battery life of up to 12 hours. It can be very loud (98dB maximum) and doubles as a soundbar and subwoofer, making it ideal for watching movies. However, all this versatility comes at a hefty price of $499. If you want to play the Brane X at maximum volume, be aware that Bluetooth playback will result in noticeable compression. Despite plenty of microphones, there’s no speakerphone and you’ll have to rely on a DC charger, which isn’t ideal for portable speakers.

The Brane X is perfect for those looking for a Wi-Fi speaker that can do it all. A versatile speaker that you can take to the beach, use as a soundbar, fill your living room at a party, or take you on your next adventure on a whim. It definitely competes with the Sonos Move 2 and would recommend it to anyone who isn’t already part of the Sonos ecosystem and/or likes to have bass in their life.

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