Braven 855s Bluetooth Speaker Review

Introduction

Very recently, we checked out the Braven 850 speaker, which intrigued us with its killer industrial design, punchy audio quality, and serious battery life. Strengthening its lineup, Braven also offers its 855s Portable Bluetooth Speaker, which interestingly enough, separates itself from its sibling by offering up a tougher exterior. Although they might appear to be closely similar to one another, the advantage with the Braven 855s is its ability to withstand a little bit more punishment that would otherwise be havoc to the Braven 850.

The package contains:

• Owners guide
• Wall charger
• Universal plug adapters
• Auxiliary cable

Design

Sporting the same hard-lined industrial design as its sibling, the extra padding around its body gives it more protection.

Right from the onset, we can see the close resemblance it has to its sibling in the Braven 850, seeing that it sports the same rectangular, hard lined design we like. It’s an appreciable look with a distinguishable industrial tone that gives it a serious look, thanks to its aircraft grade aluminum body, but don’t let its size fool you because it’s extremely weighty – to the point that it wouldn’t necessarily be painted as travel friendly. Regardless, it’s still marketed as one by the maker, but it’s something that’s best suited for placement in a backpack or something comparable.

Giving the speaker its tough and rugged element, most of the casing is covered in this shock-absorbing water-resistant exterior. Having a rubbery-like feel to it, the speaker is able to withstand some minor shocks and drops. However, we wouldn’t say that it’s padded enough to survive being dropped from lengthy heights. In addition, its IPX3 water resistant rating means that it’ll be safeguarded from splashes – though, it’s not meant to be dunked under water. By in large, the Braven 855s manages to maintain a clean look that’s resilient to smudges and fingerprints thanks to its rubbery exterior.

Along the top of the speaker, we find its set of physical buttons, which happen to be a little bit on the flush side – albeit, they have a sufficient amount of feedback when pressed. They include the power, volume up & down, pause/play, and pickup/end phone call buttons. Looking at the right side of the speaker, we have both the power and auxiliary ports perched next to one another.

Continuing to be a staple of Braven, the speaker features a built-in 8,800 mAh battery that can be used to charge devices on the go. In order to tap into this feature, we’re required to connect our device’s charging cable to the full-sized USB port on the speaker. Even though there’s a physical button that lights up corresponding LEDs to indicate the battery’s charge, all we need to do to initiate the charging process is to connect our cable to the USB port.

Exteriorly, the Braven 855s looks different from its sibling, but the internals haven’t changed with this rock solid speaker. Specifically, its set of audio hardware is able to muster up 20 watts of power, driving the extended-range aluminum cone drivers with dual passive radiators.

Performance

Out of the box, the Braven 855s automatically places itself into pairing mode as soon as it’s turned on initially – leading to a simple, quick, and hassle-free setup process. Once completed, we’re able to connect it to a Samsung Galaxy S4, and start using it to stream our music to it. Alternatively, we managed to connect it to an iPhone 5s as well, where an icon in the status bar of the iPhone 5s shows us how much battery is left in the speaker.

Even with the extra padded exterior, the Braven 855s produces the same lovable tones that we already had the opportunity of experiencing on the Braven 850. For a ‘portable Bluetooth speaker,’ it musters up a serious punch with its commanding presence. Not only is it more than equipped to fill a small bedroom, its volume echoes strongly in larger rooms as well – though, you’ll want to initialize its SRS WOW HD technology before doing so. Without it, the speaker’s audio quality sounds flat – with some crackling tones produced at the loudest volume setting. In comparison, the quality dramatically improves with SRS WOW Technology enabled, as the speaker has a more profound tone to it. To be more exact, the audio simply has a richer and bolder punch to it – plus, there’s an accompanying amount of bass too. The ‘True Wireless’ functionality allows it to pair with another Braven 855s (or 850), for a left and right channel stereo experience.

Battery Life

One of the nice things about a speaker of this size, is that its battery life has more endurance than some other portable speakers. Stuffed with that beefy 8,800 mAh battery, which can also be used to charge devices while it’s churning out some tunes, the Braven 855s obtains nearly 21 hours of playback time in our experience. However, that tally is achieved by having the volume set to the middle settings. Of course, charging devices frequently and placing it at a higher volume setting will cause battery life to lessen.

Conclusion

The Braven 855s is one of those bridge speakers, where it functions as both a portable speaker for better traveling, and a dedicated in-home one that’s meant to be stationary – that’s in part to its ear shattering volume output! For its size and all, you won’t be disappointed by what it has in tow. From its solid industrial design, to its extended battery life, there’s a lot to like here.

Still, it all boils down to price point. And trust us folks, this one doesn’t come cheap! For the budget conscious folks out there, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere – especially with its wallet busting $300 price. Indeed, it’s a hefty cost to fork over, but you’re getting a sturdy speaker that doesn’t disappoint with what matters most; audio quality. Better yet, this is the perfect outdoor speaker that’ll survive the occasional rainy days – or some splashes from the pool.