It’s hard to talk about pool parties and camping trips when many of us are still waiting on at least one more winter storm, but spring is coming — and gone are your excuses to stay inside. The Braven Ready Elite is ready for all of your upcoming outdoor adventures; it’s waterproof, shockproof, and it gives 12-hour battery life.
Questioning how tough the Ready Elite might be? Braven has this to say:
Strap it to boats, UTVs, or stand it up at the campsite; its IP68 certification makes it completely waterproof, dustproof and debris-proof, enduring the dangers of wet, muddy or sandy environments.
Let’s talk about the packaging for a moment.
I picked the case up by its odd-looking handle before I realized that it was an included multi-tool. So keep that in mind if you buy one, and don’t toss the packaging without removing it.
Taking the “ready” part of its name to heart, the Braven Ready Elite includes a shoulder strap, a power brick, and what’s that? Cables for the US, Australia, the UK, and Europe. So the Ready Elite is not just ready for the outdoors, it’s ready for travel!
The Ready Elite is available in two color combinations — gray/gray/orange, and the black/clack/titanium which I received. It measures approximately 12″ long by 6.5″ tall by 4′ deep. The speaker weighs a substantial 4 pounds 4 ounces, yet it’s not so heavy as to be unwieldy. The exterior is composed of black rubberized plastic (Braven calls it a “drop-proof thermoplastic housing”) with just enough glossy parts to keep it from looking monotonous; the grille is composed of aircraft grade aluminum.
On the top of the speaker, there is a recessed, reinforced alloy anchor/tie-down point on each side. In the center, you’ll find the power button, the Bluetooth connect button, and a play/pause button. The minus button will turn the volume down when pressed, but if you press and hold it, it will skip a song backward. The voice control button can be used to answer and end calls, but you can also program it to use Siri or Google Voice to “give commands, dictate messages or make calls through the noise canceling speakerphone.” The plus button will raise the volume when pressed, but it will advance to the next song when pressed and held.
There are dual passive radiators under the aluminum grilles on the sides; there are twin full range drivers under the front grille. The bottom has two rubber feet in the middle, but it also has two more reinforced alloy anchor/tie-down points, one on each side. The back of the speaker has four large rubberized pads …
… the center rubber pad is actually a sealed flap that lifts to reveal a 1A USB Type-A charging port with a microUSB port underneath it that is only used for updates. There is a battery status button which will turn on the battery status LED under it; the LED will blink green when the speaker is charging, and it will no longer glow when fully charged. When you want to check the remaining battery life, press the battery status button: if the LED glows red, it means you have 40% or less battery remaining. If it glows yellow, then you have 40 to 70% battery life remaining; glowing green means that you have 70 to 100% battery life left. If you prefer a more precise battery reading, you can get that on the Braven Ready Outdoor Speaker app available from the Apple App Store or Google Play; I’ll cover it later in this review.
Next is the reset button (which you will hopefully never need), the power charging port, and then the auxiliary-in port. The Braven Ready Elite has a 5200mAh battery that they say will last for up to 12 hours, but that will vary by how loudly you are playing your music and whether you use the built-in battery for charging other devices.
The Braven Ready Elite will remember the last 8 devices it was paired with, and if it is left on for more than 30 minutes without music streaming via Bluetooth, it will power down to conserve battery life.
Don’t be afraid to get your speaker wet! The Ready Elite is IP68 waterproof certified; Braven says it is “designed to withstand rainfall, water jets, splashing or a dunk in up to 3f t / 1m of water for up to 30 minutes.” The IP68 designation also means that the speaker casing is sealed, so it is completely dustproof.
Rather than build a handle into the speaker’s top, the Ready Elite comes with a removable and adjustable shoulder strap. If you’ll be using the speaker on a boat this summer or while riding on an ATV or UTV, you can use the four anchor points to strap it down so it doesn’t go flying.
The free Braven Ready Outdoor Speaker app connects to your speaker and allows you to check the exact battery left. You can turn the speaker on or off through the app, and you can choose from various audio sources (including auxiliary) from the app. There is a rudimentary music app built in; I was playing Spotify, and when I opened the app it recognized the source and allowed me to advance or reverse songs, but there was no way to see the full playlist or album.
Pressing the speaker settings button in the upper right-hand corner opens the area where you can change the speaker’s name, adjust the equalizer through 6 presets (the Braven Audio was my favorite), enable the Siri or Google control (you’ll see Siri on iPhones and the Google option on Android), and then there’s an option to set an alarm. It’s not a traditional alarm clock in the sense that you can’t set it to go off at a given time each day, but you can enter a time and a particular date you want the alarm to sound. Why might this be handy? Well, if you need to leave the pool by 4:30, and you’re having too much fun, it may help you remember that it’s time to go. Maybe. 😉
You can set the speaker to give you full voice prompts (which my husband very much likes), minimal voice prompts, or no voice prompts, and you can press the ‘Tap for Sound’ option on Find Me to locate your missing speaker; it will play a tune. There’s a True Wireless Tutorial if you need help pairing two Ready Elite speakers together using Braven’s TrueWireless Technology; doing so gives you a more immersive (and loud) stereo experience.
Next is the option to choose from multiple paired audio sources, to show or not show the display lights, and there is a keylock which will keep buttons from being jostled. You can do firmware updates through the app, and you can put Bluetooth into power saving mode which will require you to manually turn your speaker on or off rather than using the app; using this setting will increase the standby battery time on your speaker if you enable it. Overall, the app is a pretty solid add-on, and I recommend that you download it.
The Braven Ready Elite is built like a tank, it has a battery that will give up to 12-hours playback; it can be dunked in the water, sprayed with water, or left outside to the elements. It can be hung from your shoulder, strapped to a boat, and it’s ready to go on your next adventure.
But how does it sound?
As it turns out, it sounds pretty darn good. As I mentioned, my favorite EQ setting was the eponymous Braven Audio. In that default setting, highs are decent, the bass is strong, and the midrange is acceptable and not too muddy. I tried it across an assortment of Rap, Indy, and Alternative songs, and it sounded very good.
The Braven Ready Elite is fine to use indoors, but where it really shines is outside. It is powerful and loud enough to handle the music on your back deck or at a backyard pool party. I found that even on its highest volume setting, the bass didn’t bottom out, and although the treble got a little fuzzy on some songs, it didn’t largely distort.
The Ready Elite is one of the loudest and best sounding outdoor speakers I’ve tried in its size; it’s perfect for someone who doesn’t want the bulk and heft of an outdoor boombox. If you want more than the usual portable outdoor speaker can provide, the Braven Ready Elite should be your go-to this summer.
The Braven Ready Elite retails for $299.99, and it is available directly from the manufacturer.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample
What I Like: IP68 dustproof and waterproof certified; Rugged build can survive drops and shocks; Four tie-down points, Included shoulder strap; Can be used as a speakerphone; Smart button can be assigned to work with Siri or Google; Light enough to carry with you yet large enough to produce big sound; Can be paired with a second Ready Elite speaker for even larger, stereo sound; 12 hours battery life; Has a USB port to charge your devices; App is handy for checking battery life, controlling speaker and changing EQ settings; Speaker sounds great outdoors; Even on loudest setting, the speaker doesn’t bottom out or distort; Ready for travel, it includes UK, US, EU, and Australia power cables; Includes a free multi-tool; Can pair with and remember up to 8 devices
What Needs Improvement: On the highest volume, treble could get a little fuzzy, but it didn’t largely distort