Braven 850 and 855s Review: Great Wireless Sound… at a Price

We’ve reviewed a slew of speakers for use with mobile devices, but the Braven 850 and 855s Bluetooth battery-powered 20-watt speakers grabbed our attention like no other thanks to great sound and battery life, plus a unique trick. This pair of speakers will hook up wirelessly to double the sound filling a large conference room, or living room. The Braven 850 and 855s even blasted our tunes loud enough to fill a beach on Long Island this summer.

The Braven 850 speaker comes in aluminum and black for a durable and solid feel. Take either of these speakers on the road to the park, or to the next presentation, and they will hold up with lots of use and even some abuse. The SRS HD speaker pumps plenty of volume alone.

The Braven 850 on the left and 855s on the right wirelessly connect to double the sound on these Bluetooth battery-powered speakers.

An 8,800mAh battery will last all day. We used it off and on for a few days without need of recharge.

The integrated hands-free Bluetooth speaker phone will mute the speakers and pause the music when a call comes through a paired iPhone or Android phone. Speak into the integrated noise canceling mic while on the call without ever taking the phone out.

The controls on the Braven 850. Notice the phone button for use as a hands free Bluetooth device.

The Braven 855s speaker comes with the same dimensions and weight as the Braven 850, but sports a silicone exterior to make it even more durable. The speaker’s water-resistant, not water-proof, so take it to the beach like we did, but don’t bring it in the water.

The 850 and the 855s speakers will pair together to create a full and rich stereo sound. Put them across the room from one another to fill it with sound. They kept their connection more than 30 yards apart before sound started to drop a little.

These speakers will fill a small dorm room, a large home great room, a board room or a small auditorium with sound. They will pump enough sound to fill a backyard, an area of a park or the beach.

The integrated USB port powers an iPad or smaller device. The 3.5mm auxiliary jack lets users play music from non-Bluetooth devices.

The Braven 850 comes with a very large power brick but long battery life means users won’t need it often.

We couldn’t find much to complain about with the Braven 850 and 855s speakers. Their large power bricks makes them less portable, but thanks to the battery the user can leave the power brick at home or in the office. The Braven 855s’s silicone wrapper collects lint and dust like most soft silicone. We struggled to keep it looking nice. Finally, the price will shock some people. The Braven 850 and the Braven 855s each costs $299.99 direct. $300 for one and $600 for the pair seems steep, but we love the sound and of these awesome battery-powered Bluetooth speakers. We can’t think of a better product with the versatility and features, including Bluetooth 3.0, long battery life, hands free phone integration and the ability to pair two speakers for double the sound.

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