The Braven BRV-MINI- Rugged Speaker £45.50 via Amazon
The market for Bluetooth speaker is huge and to stand out you need to do something different. Welcome the Braven Brv-Mini which is a speaker that is designed for that rugged lifestyle and costing £45.50 via Amazon. This speaker is a small portable speaker that is perfect for the outdoors and in size, it’s just a bit smaller than a can of coke ( 2.75 2.75 x3.75). Packaging wise it has been very well designed which would attract the customer who wants a speaker for the great outdoors. You get a USB-C charging cable, Quick guide and Braven sticker.
The speaker is covered in a fabric mesh that goes around the cylindrical shape and comes with a rubber base with 4 raised little feet to keep the speaker in one place. On the back, you have a small rubber cover and if you left that you see the USB-C port and the 3.5mm jack port. This speaker does not give you a 3.5 mm jack but most people have one of these floating about.
One the top of this speaker its made of plastic which houses the controls in a very simple style. You have a power button that also has a small LED light that turns on when the speaker is in use. You also have the volume controls either side on a slightly raised platform. The volume buttons also double as track control. Last but not least you have a play/pause button that if you hold for a few seconds it will start pairing.
When you turn on the speaker and pair with your device you hear a guitar being played then it will pair once you tap on the name of the speaker on the Bluetooth device and then your connected. You will only have to pair once on your device as whenever you turn the speaker on it will automatically pair as long as the Bluetooth is on your device. The Bluetooth range offers up to 100ft is the great outdoors.
The design of this speaker is finished with a rugged-looking lanyard that allows you to hang the speaker up or connect it to your backpack. This speaker also comes in four colours: Black, Blue, Grey & Red. In this review, we are testing the black Brv-Mini.
Features wise the main one is its its IPX7 rated meaning its waterproof and this speaker even floats and can handle most things mother nature can provide such as water, dust and even mud if you took this speaker camping.
In terms of battery life, Braven mention on the packaging you get 12 hours of playtime and like most speakers, if you play it on the max level you have no chance to reach 12 hours. However, If you use it like must of us would on a medium level then 12 hours is very achievable and if you’re taking this speaker outdoors then my feeling 12 hours playtime is very good going.
Moving to how it performs in regards to the sound quality. This speaker gives you a great sound with the chance to pair a second BRV-MINI for that stereo sound. When using just the one speaker this speaker can produce some great sound it offers a strong low-end bass and a clear and well defined mid and high ranges.
Now you can take calls via this speaker and unfortunately, I found the built-in microphone poor when picking up my voice making it difficult for someone who called me to hear me clearly.
Overall, Braven has created a very good speaker that yes using for calls is not ideal but put that to one side and use it for what you should be and that is listening to the Rocky theme tune when your out cycling off-road or when your out camping or using this speaker near a swimming pool this speaker would simply be unaffected thanks to that IPX7 rating.
As mentioned in this review you get great sound quality and for the cost £45.50 it will not break the bank and this speaker will last you a long time can be taken anywhere it also comes with a 2-year limited warranty for that added protection.