Sound quality: The Braven BRV-XXL/2 has Very Good overall sound quality. Bass has good impact and goes deep, but is somewhat prominent and boomy. Midrange is fairly even, but a bit hazy and grainy. Treble is extended but is a bit smeared and sizzly. Does a decent job of recovering room ambience but is somewhat congested and constricted. Although this is a stereo model it does not provide much of a sense of stereo separation unless you are very close to the unit. Bluetooth differs from wired sound where the wired sound is a bit less bassy, in order to match the sound of the line and Bluetooth inputs requires using different bass control settings. Provides a decent volume level in large sized room.
Ease of use: We found the Braven BRV-XXL/2 ease of use to be Very Good overall. The volume controls are large but are low contrast and not in a prominent location( on the side of the unit), and there is nothing to indicate that it is a volume control except + and - symbols. The unit has a non-persistant graphical volume indicator for volume level when control is pressed. Note the volume controls double as skip forward and back play controls. Switching sources: There is no source selection button but Aux input has priority over Bluetooth. The Aux input is well labeled under a protective door. Bluetooth pairing requires a press of a button with a low contrast label on unit, and then the selection of the unit from Bluetooth selection list on source device; unit provides an obvious indication that the unit is in pairing mode as well as when pairing has actually occurred.
