So Braven are back at it again with another waterproof speaker, and this time it absolutely packs a punch when it comes to bass performance. I’m talking about the new Braven Ready Pro, a sleek looking all-black box (with the exception of some small silver detail) that boasts water-resistance with its IP68 rating. A little while ago we checked out their Stryde360 which impressed us somewhat. Let’s see if the Ready Pro can beat it.

Braven have boxed this speaker in their traditional clear plastic casing, which I think is a really great look. It shows off the products if you’re looking at them on the shelves, and just creates and all round pleasant unboxing experience. However, the clips on either side of the case are an absolute pain to get into. I struggled and ended up prying them open with a screwdriver. The slide door on the bottom which hides the action mount and things like cables was equally stiff.

The speaker itself is pretty rubbery. By that I mean it’s covered in rubber, pretty much all of the way round minus the speaker grill and some small metal areas on top. It gives the speaker the upmost protection from the elements and even things like drops and bangs. Don’t worry too much if this does fall of the side of your table, or you drop it when taking it to the beach. The important areas are covered with a large rubber door, to stop water from getting in if it goes go for a swim.

Just to let you know, this speaker is waterproof for up to 30 minutes at 1.5 meters depth. That’s pretty impressive and means it’s pretty safe pool side. The action mount I mentioned earlier is compatible with most GoPro accessories, which means the Braven Ready Pro can be attached to things like your body or bike frame to give you some much needed tunes when riding.  Not that you’d want it attached to your body, this thing is an absolute hulk for such a small portable speaker, which is a good sign.

All of the buttons can be found on top. There are only four, but that’s all you need to get going. These are power, volume up and down and play/pause. Again, these are made from rubber for ultimate protection. On the back you can find a microUSB input for charging the speaker. It has a 14 hour battery life by the way which is amazing! There is an aux input for connecting non-Bluetooth devices and even a USB port for charging your phone from the speaker itself. Charging of the speaker from dead to full took around two hours too. A very nice and tidy setup indeed.

Okay, so far I’m impressed, but all of that protection goodness is useless if it doesn’t sound good, right? Well thank God for that, because for a such a portable speaker, the Braven Ready Pro actually sounds superb for what it is, and definitely one of the better sounding waterproof speakers on the market. Most of that is thanks to its down-firing subwoofer that gives off a decent amount of bass to compliment the mids and highs in the music.

What more, is that there is a feature that requires two of the speakers. If you connect both speakers to the app which is available on both Android and iOS, then you can get a pretty decent left and right separation from them, but you do need two of these bad boys, and they’re £149 each. Not cheap, and if you’re going to be sinking £300 into a speaker setup, there are far more superior audio devices out there like a Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin albeit the size or a Bose SoundLink Revolve+ but of course, you miss out on the protection.

The Braven Ready Pro comes in two sizes, the other being the Solo. I thoroughly enjoyed my time using the Braven Ready Pro, and it’s definitely going to be a speaker coming with me on my next holiday. It’s completely rugged for some really great protection and the waterproo IP68 rating with also protect it from dust and debris in the air. It’s a great little speaker for those wanting to listen to some tunes at the beach or around a pool, and it’s very well priced for the features and sound quality you get. For more information, you can visit the Braven website.