Sound quality: Braven's Stryde XL had good sound quality overall. Bass has decent impact, but is a bit boomy and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is fairly even, but is somewhat hazy, grainy, and a bit nasal. Treble is a bit prominent, somewhat smeared and sizzly, and upper treble is muted. Does a so so job of recovering room ambience and is somewhat congested. Provides a decent volume level in a small to medium sized room. No significant difference between Bluetooth and wired sound quality.
Ease of use: We found the Braven Stryde XL ease of use to be good overall. Bluetooth pairing was very good which required the press of a button on the top of the unit, then discover with your device; the pairing control is marked with Bluetooth symbol but is low contrast. There is an indication when unit is in pairing mode and when it has paired. The volume controls are low contrast buttons (+/-) on top of unit. Has max volume audible indicator. Also, the volume controls is an unlabeled multi-function control to skip tracks. Switching between inputs involves plug and unplug - The line input has priority over Bluetooth when plugged in with slight or no delay. Unambiguous. Verbal prompts indicate source selection when connecting or disconnecting the line input.
