Speaker features

Brane X battery lasts up to 12 hours on a full charge at moderate volume. It fully recharges in approximately three hours, and you can continue listening while it charges.

Yes, Brane X is a smart speaker with Alexa Built-in. Alexa works when the speaker is connected to Wi-Fi, and the microphones can be physically muted at any time.

Brane X lights show its connection, charging, update, reset, and voice-assistant status. Blue indicates Bluetooth activity, white and yellow are used for Wi-Fi and updates, orange shows charging, cyan relates to Alexa, and red usually indicates muted microphones or an error.

You can hear the remaining battery level of your Brane X by pressing both volume (+ and –) buttons simultaneously. The Brane X will announce its current battery percentage. The Brane X also automatically announces its battery level when powered on.

You can set up Amazon Alexa on the Brane X through the Brane Audio app. Make sure your Brane X is connected to Wi-Fi and the microphones are enabled. Open the Brane Audio app, select your Brane X from the Speaker List, tap Voice Assistant, and follow the prompts to connect your Amazon account.

The Brane X makes a brief mechanical sound when turning on or off because an internal air pump moves its patented Repel-Attract Driver (RAD) subwoofer between parked and operating positions. This sound is a normal part of the RAD system, which uses magnetic forces to enable the Brane X's powerful, deep bass performance.

A red light on the top of the speaker indicates the mics are disabled. Press the Microphone Mute button to enable them (the red light will turn off).

You can rename your Brane X through the Brane Audio app. Select your Brane X from the Speaker List, tap the pencil icon next to its current name, enter a new name, and tap Done or outside the field to save your changes. If your Brane X was named through Apple Home, you'll need to rename it in the Apple Home app instead.

The Brane X is fully charged when the orange charging indicator light on the front of the Brane X turns off while the power adapter is connected. A solid orange light means the battery is charging, while no light indicates charging is complete. The charging indicator works even when the Brane X is powered off.

Yes. You can use the speaker while it is plugged in, and it is fine to leave it on and plugged in all the time. When the adapter is plugged in, the speaker runs from it rather than the battery, and it will not harm the battery. The idle shutdown does not apply while it is on wall power. The battery charges faster when the speaker is not playing.

If the speaker stays in one place, such as with a TV, consider turning on Park RAD on Idle, which is off by default. Open your speaker in the Brane Audio app, then go to Advanced Settings > Park RAD on Idle. When it is on, the RAD depressurizes and parks after 5 minutes idle, which reduces power draw. When it is off, the speaker stays pressurized while it is powered on. See What does Park RAD on Idle do?

You can turn off the microphones and Amazon Alexa voice controls on the Brane X by pressing the Microphone Mute button on top of the Brane X. A red indicator light confirms the microphones are disabled and the Brane X is no longer listening for voice commands. Voice controls remain disabled until you press the button again to unmute the microphones.

If you named the speaker during Apple's AirPlay setup or in the Home app, the name is locked to Apple. The Brane Audio app blocks edits so that Apple does not later overwrite the name you typed. A lock icon appears at the top of the speaker's settings screen where the pencil icon would be.

Rename the speaker in the Apple Home app. A factory reset removes the lock, after which you can name the speaker in the Brane Audio app when you set it up again.

• Solid cyan: Alexa is listening.
• Cyan and blue, fast: Alexa is thinking.
• Cyan and blue, slow: Alexa is speaking. Press the Alexa button or say "Alexa" and then "Stop" to interrupt.
• Pulsing yellow: you have a notification. Say "Alexa, what did I miss?"
• Two cyan pulses then two blue: a timer or alarm is going off.
• One purple pulse after Alexa finishes: Do Not Disturb is on.
• Three red pulses: an error. See "Why does the Alexa light pulse red three times?"

The Bass button switches between three presets: Low (-4 dB), Medium (0 dB) and High (+4 dB). A higher level gives more rumble and a louder sound but uses more battery. A new speaker is on High.

Press Bass once to hear the current level. Press again within 15 seconds to move to the next level, and keep pressing to cycle Low, Medium, High and back to Low. If your speaker has a different bass level than you expected, this is how to set it.

You can also set the level in the Brane Audio app. Open your speaker, then go to Sound Settings > Bass and choose Low, Medium or High. If you have set a custom bass level in EQ, Sound Settings shows a note that changing Bass there overrides your current EQ settings, with a link to EQ. If Voice Announcements is off, the Bass button changes the level only when music is playing.

The speaker powers off on its own in three cases:

• Idle on battery: it played no audio for 30 minutes while on battery. This saves charge and does not apply while plugged in.
• Low battery: the battery is low. A speaker playing loudly may shut down, and then play a while longer at a lower volume after you power it back on. It says "Battery low shutdown" first. Plug it in to recharge.
• High temperature: the speaker got too hot. It lowers its volume first and shuts down only as a last resort, saying "High temperature shutdown." Move it somewhere cooler and out of direct sun, then turn it on again.

Hold the Bass button for 5 seconds. The speaker says "EQ reset." On firmware 2.1 and later this returns the bass to High. On earlier firmware it returns the EQ to flat, which is Medium bass.

If you have changed the EQ in the Brane Audio app, the speaker announces "Custom EQ" at power-on to remind you.

Park RAD on Idle controls whether the RAD stays launched when the speaker is not in use. It is off by default. To change it, open your speaker in the Brane Audio app, then go to Advanced Settings > Park RAD on Idle.

When it is off, the speaker stays pressurized while it is powered on. When it is on, the RAD depressurizes and parks itself after 5 minutes idle. Starting playback launches the RAD again, but bass is reduced until it finishes pressurizing. Parking the RAD reduces power draw, so the setting matters mostly if you leave the speaker plugged in and turned on.

The speaker pulses red three times when you press the Alexa button or say "Alexa" and Alexa cannot respond. The usual causes are:

• Alexa is not set up on the speaker. The speaker also says "Open the Brane app to setup the voice assistant."
• The speaker has no internet connection, so it cannot reach Alexa.
• The microphones are muted and you pressed the Alexa button.

Set up Alexa in the Brane Audio app, check the speaker's Wi-Fi light, or press the Mic button so the red light goes off.

Press the Alexa button or say "Alexa, stop" to silence a timer or alarm that is sounding.

Alarms have their own volume, separate from music volume, and it cannot be muted. Change it in the Alexa app, or press the volume buttons on the speaker while an alarm is sounding. In the Alexa app you can also have an alarm rise gradually from quiet over one minute.

The Brane X has an IP57 water- and dust-resistance rating. Its sealed enclosure protects it against dust and temporary submersion in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, making it suitable for poolside, outdoor, beach, and kitchen use.

Stereo Enhancement adjusts the apparent separation between the left and right audio channels. A higher setting gives a wider soundstage and more separation. A lower setting gives a more focused sound. It is set to 0 by default.

To change it, open your speaker in the Brane Audio app, then go to Sound Settings > Stereo Enhancement. Turn it on or off with the toggle and set the level with the slider. The info button explains the setting.

Yes, Brane X floats. Its sealed enclosure keeps it buoyant when the speaker is turned on, so it can rest on the surface of the water without sinking.

You can turn the Brane X voice prompts on or off through the Brane Audio app under Advanced Settings > Voice Announcements. When disabled, most automatic voice announcements, including the battery level announced at startup, are silenced. However, manually triggered prompts, such as requesting the battery level or entering Bluetooth pairing mode, will still play.

Do Not Disturb silences Alexa notifications. Turn it on by voice or in the Alexa app. It is off by default. When it is on, the Alexa light gives one purple pulse at the end of each interaction.

Open your speaker in the Brane Audio app, then go to LED Brightness > Brightness Level and choose High, Normal or Low.

With High or Normal, the lights dim to the Low level after about eight seconds. They brighten again whenever a light changes, so new signals are easy to see.

The Brane X is designed to operate from 0 to 40 °C (32 to 104 °F). Store it between -25 and 60 °C (-13 to 140 °F). If it gets too hot in use, it lowers its volume and then shuts itself down to protect itself.

Alexa on the Brane X currently supports English (US).

The speaker's own voice prompts, such as battery level and "Bluetooth pairing mode," are separate. On firmware 2.1 and later you can choose English (US), French, German or Spanish (Spain). Open your speaker in the Brane Audio app, then go to Speaker Language. Changing the voice prompt language does not change Alexa.

You can disable or re-enable the Brane X control buttons through the Brane Audio app under Advanced Settings > Touch Controls. This setting keeps the buttons disabled even after the Brane X is restarted, so make sure your Brane X is connected to the app before turning them off.

For a temporary option, press and hold the Microphone Mute button for more than 10 seconds (firmware 2.1 or later) until you hear "Buttons disabled." To re-enable the buttons after using this method, simply turn the Brane X off and back on.

Yes, the Brane X is designed to deliver powerful, deep bass with exceptional energy efficiency, using approximately 1/10th the power of conventional compact speakers in the subwoofer frequency range while producing up to 10 times more sub-bass than comparable speakers. This is made possible by Brane Audio's patented Repel-Attract Driver (RAD) technology, which reduces the power needed to produce deep bass in a compact design.

Accessibility Mode modifies how the touch buttons behave and turns on additional voice prompts. To change it, open your speaker in the Brane Audio app, then go to Accessibility and turn it on or off.

With it on, pressing a button announces its name and engages it. The button disengages after you press another button. While a button is engaged:

• Double-tap it for its press behavior.
• Double-tap and hold it for its press-and-hold behavior.
• Press and hold it for its current status.