Braven has announced the immediate availability of an adventure-proof high definition wireless speaker system that could be deserving of a place in the rugged section of our recent round-up of Bluetooth speakers. First announced at CES back in January, the BRV-X outdoor speaker is the bigger brother of the BRV-1 that impressed us back in January 2013, has a built-in battery that can be used to charge other portable devices, and is described by the company as "the tank of mobile speakers."
Braven has given the BRV-X IPX5 weather sealing that makes it splash proof enough to provide a speed metal soundtrack to any super-soaker skirmish you might find yourself caught up in, and a rubber-over-high-impact-plastic housing designed to laugh off bumps and drops.
Its built-in 5200 mAh Li-pol battery should be good for over 12 hours of continuous output between charges, and can also be used to top up smartphone, camera or music device batteries via the 5 V USB output port to the rear.
The 9.06 x 3.64 x 2.94 in (230 x 92.5 x 74.7 mm), 1.5 lb (680 g) device features two 2-in custom HD drivers and an omnidirectional passive bass radiator for a reported frequency range of 80 Hz to 20 kHz, and benefits from an indoor/outdoor switch that adjusts sound quality and volume to better suit the environment.
TrueWireless technology caters for pain-free pairing of two BRV-X systems for left/right stereo performance, there's NFC technology for tap to connect convenience, and a 3.5 mm aux in jack allows users to feed in music from non-Bluetooth music players.
Hands-free phone conversations are also possible thanks to an integrated noise-canceling microphone.
The Braven BRV-X outdoor speaker is available now for US$229.99.
Product page: Braven BRV-X