We examined one of the most interesting headphones on the market in this analysis of the Bragi The Dash, one of the best alternatives to Apple AirPods. It has a heart rate monitor, boasts water resistance and is upgradeable.
Innovation inside and out
As much as all the spotlights now point to Apple for its new AirPods, the universe of wireless headphones was not born in Cupertino. One of the pioneers in this segment is a German startup, Bragi, who a few years ago managed to finance its first model thanks to a crowdfunding project at Kickstarter.
Now that it looks like the cables are in danger of extension it’s our turn for our analysis of the Bragi The Dash, a wireless headset that is much more than an alternative to AirPods as their philosophy is well different.
Not only do they serve to listen to music from the mobile phone, but also incorporate internal memory so as not to have to rely on our smartphone, they are able to record our physical activity and measure our heart rate thanks to their advanced sensors, they are understood with Google Now, Siri or Cortana, respond to the gestures we make with our head , are water resistant and can be upgraded via software.
Throughout this review of the Bragi The Dash we will try to decipher exactly what each of these sections means and how it behaves in the most demanding areas in relation to competition. A momentous issue as major manufacturers have signed up for the wireless headphone car in recent months: AirPods are just the latest example of a long list where Samsung Gear IconX, Sony Xperia Ear or Jabra Elite Sport cannot be missed.
An attractive and successful design
The first impression of the Bragi Dash is unbeatable. It may be an unimportant detail for some, but the sales box already lets us sense that we are dealing with a high-end product.
The good sensations are confirmed by taking the headphones out of their hiding place: at the design level the Bragi The Dash helmets are seduced by their avant-garde appearance with sharp curved lines and a format that takes a lot – fortunately – away from what Apple proposes. We also have the possibility to buy them in black or white.
When holding them in your hand the first question is obvious, aren’t they too big to hold in your ear without falling? Throughout the analysis of the Bragi The Dash we have verified that they remain on their site without any problems, something that on the other hand also happens in the model launched by Samsung a few months ago.
In this case we also have small silicone sleeves called «fit sleeves» that help the headphones better attach to our physiognomy, which in addition to ensuring a better grip helps to create a much more complete experience by isolating ourselves much more effectively from the outside noise, a matter that we will talk about in depth later.
Bragi The Dash is a waterproof cordless headset. And that’s a fundamental advantage over their main competitors as they offer IPX7 certification, which means they can dive underwater up to a metre deep. We can use them for example to swim in the pool and record our physical activity, something we can’t do with the AirPods.
What is most striking at the design level of the Bragi The Dash, however, is the LED lighting they incorporate on its outer face. When you remove the headphones from its case, they light up intermittently under a color code that indicates its charge level, which is extremely useful.
If fully charged they will light up in a bluish tone; if the load level is high we will see a green light; if the battery is about 50 percent will light up in a yellowing volume; and if the load is low, they will light up in red.
On top of all, we’re talking about a touch headset, which is another advantage over most of the competition. We can control the music playback or volume without having to pick up the smartphone, but we also have the possibility to access all kinds of advanced functions.
Synchronization and compatibility
We get to the section where we found more lights and shadows in this analysis of the Bragi The Dash, which in principle offer compatibility with Android, iOS and Windows devices so they have a big point in favor about the competition.
However in the connectivity section we have found more problems than anticipated, an issue that has been improved through the last update (2.2) but that should still be polished a little more, especially in view of the sale price of the product.
How to sync Bragi The Dash? The first thing to keep in mind is that the «talk» helmets between them through NFMI technology, which eliminates any kind of delay and allows the headphones to transmit audio in a synchronized manner.
In this way the helmets can work autonomously using the internal memory they incorporate, but in practice their functionalities grow quite a bit if we synchronize them with a smartphone. This process is done via Bluetooth in several steps.
The first thing you need to do is download the Bragi app for Android, iOS or from the Windows Store. Once opened you will have to activate Bluetooth and location services to find your headphones, which by the way you will have to have on positions since you will have to enter a PIN code that you will hear through the helmets. To force this process you can perform a long press on the left earbud.
Once connected you will have the possibility to access different options through the app, being able to activate some additional features or start the physical activity log. If you want to listen to music with them you will have to take one more step: in this case you will have to make a long press on the right earphone. Once this process is done, they will be linked to transmit all the audio from your phone, from calls to video, music or even personal assistant playback.
This whole process is much easier on AirPods and somewhat more intuitive on Samsung Gear IconX. The instructions we receive through the headphones are also in English, which will probably discourage the less experienced with the language, but once you get everything it is quite easy to repeat the process if you want to synchronize them with another device.
More worrying seems the wireless range of the headphones. Its range is well below the AirPods and Gear IconX. For optimal operation we should place the phone at chest height, on the right side, since that is the headset that is made the link.
If we keep the mobile in our pocket the range radius will have, according to Bragi itself, medium or low operation, something that we have unfortunately confirmed through this analysis of the Bragi The Dash. The company also warns that a high density of wireless signals or certain metal cases or housings can be negatively affected by its range, something that is not unique to these headphones but accentuates problems.
The story changes if we use them inside the house or inside a building, and can even exceed the 10 meters of range of which the brand speaks in the technical sheet of the product.
Translated software and fitness mode
One of the great surprises that we have taken when doing this review of the Bragi The Dash has been to check that the software is mostly translated into Spanish, a laudable effort that, for example, is not made by some smartphone manufacturers from Asia.