By Billy Z.
In 2014, a little German startup called Bragi launched a crowdfunding campaign for a pair of true wireless earphones called The Dash.The company touted the Dash as the world’s first true wireless smart in-ears – the first to offer a great listening experience along with automated fitness tracking, offline listening and waterproofing. Although everyone was excited for its launch, the final product fell short of expectations for some. Did Bragi over-promise and under-deliver? Let’s find out.
At the turn of the new millenium, the mobile market saw the introduction of a new revolutionary wireless technology called Bluetooth – and several companies saw the potential to use this tech to produce convenient audio solutions.
In 2002, Nokia shipped its first ever wireless headset called the Nokia HDW-1.
Although wireless headsets were groundbreaking incredibly popular at that time, they suffered from poor audio quality and short battery life due to limitations in technology. Although improved steadily across the years, they still occasionally suffered from the same battery life and audio quality issues, and at the end of the day, offered the typical audio/call experience.
It goes without saying that when the Bragi Dash was announced, audio techies went gaga over the idea of true wireless earphones which could do much more than play music and handle calls.
Key Features
Advanced, Versatile Audio
Completely no wires. Very well balanced audio over Bluetooth 4.0 (aptX). Touch controls. Variety of silicone tips and body covers for fantastic fit. Waterproofing & Fitness Tracking Can listen to music underwater. IPX7 rated - waterproof down to 1m. Automated tracking of runs, swims, and other fitness activities. Can work with 3rd part fitness apps. Headset Functionality Works as a bluetooth headset with bone-conduction microphone technology. Passive noise isolation. Audio transparency (amplifies sound, similar to hearing aid). In The Box
A Special Thank You to Bragi and Leader Radio Technologies for loaning us one set of the Dash for this non-paid review.
Appearance, Build Quality & Design
The Bragi Dash looks like a simple but sleek & stylish pair of earbuds. Unlike the ones from Jabra and Jaybird which have a plasticky, hollow finish all around, the Bragi Dash is made of a combination of solid-feeling, matte plastic with a glass-like exterior. Overall, it feels quite premium but a little bit larger and heftier than most true wireless earphones out there. On the sides of the Bragi Dash you’ll find a glass-like surface where users can control the device through capacitive touch. The right earbud controls volume, playback and Bluetooth pairing, while the left triggers activity tracking and Ambient mode, called “Audio Transparency” by Bragi (reverse noise isolation – lets you listen to ambient noise from the outside).
However, only the bottom half of the Dash’s capacitive surface reads the user’s touch, which makes it difficult to work with for first time users. It is a little complex to work with with the laundry list of features the Dash has by touch alone, but thankfully, Bragi has developed a smartphone app which makes learning and using the Dash easier.
Underneath the Bragi Dash’s glass-like exterior lies a series of indicator lights which show the earphone’s status and battery life – red for low, green for medium, and blue for full. These lights ‘breathe’ periodically to show the battery status, but can be set to active upon touch. There’s also a little cutout for the Dash’s microphones, which are used for audio transparency.
On the inner side of the Dash you’ll find the earphone nozzle, contacts for data & charging, as well as a heart rate sensor. The HR sensor also doubles up as a proximity sensor for skin, which allows the Dash to switch on and off automatically when a user puts on or removes the earphones from their ears. Although the Bragi Dash feels a little hefty for true wireless earbuds, they are quite well built and are completely waterproof for up to 1M (IPX7). We couldn’t find any weaknesses in the build other than the glass-like capacitive touch surface exterior, which might be susceptible to scratches when dropped from ear height.
The Dash also comes with a metal battery case which is used to store the Dash and charge it for up to five times. This is a fantastic accessory to the Dash – and in our opinion, a must-have for all true wireless earphones out there. Although it seems quite hardy, it lacks any form of water resistance. As a slide-to-open case, it’s not as ergonomic compared to the top-opening, ‘pop’ open battery cases used by Jabra’s Elite Sport and Apple Airpods. Despite the little annoyances in design, we’d say that Bragi has put quite a bit of effort into the appearance and presentation of the Bragi Dash and its included accessories. We love the effort put into the informative packaging as well.
Audio Performance
Sound Signature
The Bragi Dash has good volume and a very well balanced sound signature – with well tuned mids and highs. Although the bass seems a little muddy, it fits in well with the rest of the sound without overpowering the other frequencies. Although we feel that Dash’s sound can be a little boring for audiophiles used to more bassy or sharp-treble earphones, we’d say that it still sounds pleasant overall and is great for listening to most common genres. Microphone Although the Bragi Dash has two external microphones for audio transparency, they’re not used for calls at all. Instead, the earphones pick up sound for calls using bone conduction technology – picking up on sound waves produced by the user through his/her bones. It sounds high tech, but produces average, passable audio quality during calls. Although our unit’s microphone stopped working after a week or so due to some wear and tear issues, we’d say that the Dash’s microphone is good enough for some quick calls. Don’t count on it for extended conversation though, some people we tested the Dash’s microphone on preferred us using our phone. Fit
The earbuds fit quite well and stay secure, especially when using the included Fitsleeves – a silicone cover/eartip sleeve which covers the entire Dash. Despite the good fit, we found that the eartips were slightly uncomfortable and tended to ‘scratch’ the ear canal when being put in. We also had to wiggle them around to achieve full noise isolation with the regular eartips. Still, they work pretty well – and most importantly, keep the Dash in the ear.
Absolutely Abysmal Bluetooth Range
Unfortunately, our listening experience on the Bragi Dash was brought down by the absolutely abysmal Bluetooth range. Although listening to music with a phone in hand was fine, audio would cut off when the phone was placed at waist-level or in pocket. This is a terrible issue that users all around the world are facing, and something that software updates can’t fix. It is a shame that the Bluetooth Range is really bad, especially since we found listening to music quite pleasant on the Dash. Although users can get past the terrible connectivity by loading music onto the Dash’s on-board storage, the inability to stream audio reliably ruins the listening experience.
Swimming Experience
One of the highlights of the Bragi Dash is its IPX7 waterproofing, which enables users to listen to music while swimming. Because Bluetooth streaming doesn’t work reliably underwater, Bragi recommends that users load their music onto the Dash’s 4GB of onboard storage before taking a dive.
Although we enjoyed listening to music underwater with the Dash, we found the experience a little annoying as our unit would skip tracks now and then, even with the touch controls locked and head-tracking, “Kinetic User Interface” disabled. We also had to stop swimming a few times to get rid of some water which seeped in due to an improper fit.
Still – if you can get the Dash to behave underwater, and achieve a good fit with the eartips, swimming feels really refreshing with the Dash. There’s nothing out there which can deliver such a quality audio performance other than Sony’s Waterproof Walkmans, which don’t sound as great as the dash and are much bulkier. Fitness Tracking and Other Features
The Bragi Dash also comes with a suite of sensors which automatically tracks heart rate and exercise, including running and swimming. Although automated fitness tracking sounded really useful, it turned out to be a little imprecise – sometimes registering simple walks as runs, and marking a lap in the pool complete before we were halfway through.
Despite the issues, manual tracking of activities worked fine and the Dash’s heart rate sensor seemed pretty accurate. Audio Transparency The Bragi Dash also comes with an ambient mode called Audio Transparency. Think of it like reverse noise isolation, or a hearing aid– the Dash records ambient noise from the outside and plays it back to the user’s ears, enabling them to listen to the world around them while listening to their favorite tunes. Although this sounds like a feature that interferes with listening rather than enhancing the experience, it is intended to help active runners and cyclists who listen to music on the road be aware of their surroundings better and prevent them from getting into accidents. It works as intended and we like it – but it is far from perfect. The Dash can get a little sensitive to some noises like rustling paper or plastic. Loud or high-pitched audio also gets clipped, and unfortunately there’s no way to control the threshold of what the Dash picks up or doesn’t. Relatively Decent Battery Life - 3 hrs x 5 charges
The Verdict - Great Concept, Could Be Better: 3.7/5
Summary
Pros: Balanced Sound, Waterproof, Fitness Tracking, Battery Case, 4GB Internal Storage, Laundry list of smart features Cons: Extremely Poor Connectivity; Battery life not good for extended listening, Smart features such as automated fitness tracking and microphone and others don't work too well. The Bragi Dash is a promising pioneer in the true wireless earphones market. Compared to the competition, the Dash has good build quality, good sound, and possesses an entire suite of smart features from underwater fitness tracking and listening, to head gestures, all the way to great sound and audio transparency. Though the Dash delivered on the audio experience, it didn't deliver 100% on the other features and has really, really bad Bluetooth range. At S$428, it is expensive for its class. We recommend getting the Dash if you are set on getting a feature rich set of true wireless earphones, and can tolerate the little flaws mentioned above. If you're looking for an affordable true wireless audio experience without all the fitness tracking and smart features, we recommend looking at the Bragi headphone and Apple Airpods instead. Despite its flaws, we have to say that this is an excellent try for a first generation product. We think that Bragi can do better for future True Wireless Earphones. If they play their cards right, we are confident they can beat Jabra, Apple and Samsung at the True Wireless game when the next generation of products are due. Pricing & Availability
The Bragi Dash is available in Singapore for a price of S$428, and comes with a one year limited warranty. It is distributed by LRT Singapore and you can purchase them online at third party retailers such as Lazada, Mobyshop and headphones.sg.
One again, a very special thank you for LRT Singapore for loaning us the Bragi Dash for this non-paid review. If you’re looking to purchase Bragi products or other True Wireless Earphones to buy, head over to their website at truewireless.sg. They have a good range of true wireless products for sale. ARTICLES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN |