Wireless Bluetooth speakers are ten-a-penny these days… so what makes this Braven Ready Pro so special? Well, it turns out, quite a few things.
Firstly, if you’re the clumsy sort (like me), then the fact that it’s encased in rugged (and good looking) rubber and aircraft grade aluminium means you don’t have to worry about every bump and drop.
Secondly, if you’re using a Bluetooth speaker outdoors in the UK then you’ll want it to be able to withstand a little rain. Or, in this case, a lot of rain as the Ready Pro is IP68 rated, which means it’s waterproof (they say it can withstand rainfall, water jets, water splashing and even a full dunk underwater).
All that said, there’s no point in having a clumsiness-resistant, waterproof speaker if it sounds rubbish or it’s impossible to figure out how to use!
The Ready Pro is super simple to set up. Just turn it on, hold down the Bluetooth button for a couple of seconds and voila! it’s ready to go. If all you want is to play music from your phone, then that’s all you need to worry about… but there are several other juicy features you may want to play around with. Firstly, it has a built in noise-cancelling microphone, so you can use it as a hands-free device to make calls. It also hooks straight in to Google Assistant/Siri on your phone. It can also charge other devices from the built-in USB port and it even has a built-in flashlight! The 2,600mAh is apparently good for up to 14 hours of audio, but we didn’t find it came anywhere near that in real-world tests. Those sort of figures are heavily influenced by things such as volume and environment that it’s hard to put an exact number on the playtime. Having said that, our fun was never curtailed by lack of battery, it’s more than enough for a day of musical fun in the sun!
Sound quality is good for such a compact unit. When compared to really high end wireless speakers (such as a Bose Soundlink), the sound quality isn’t quite at the same level… however, I’d like (or hate!) to see the Bose try to carry on working in the rain. Spoiler alert – it wouldn’t! So, for all the ruggedness and toughness features, the sound quality is absolutely grand.
Overall, if you’re looking for a quality outdoor speak at a little over £100, the Braven Ready Pro is definitely worth a look!
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