Bragi Launches 'The Dash Pro' With Bigger Battery, Better Bluetooth, and Real-Time Translation

[Ankaa]

Thank you very much for your very detailed review!

Yes, them being engraved despite explicitly asking not to (I wouldn't want that either) and the sloppy finish are unacceptable, especially at this price point (I know they are rather inexpensive for custom monitors, but for christ's sake, it's still a LOT of money). Those scratches on the casing also are really not acceptable. I hope you can have them re-done without hassle. If I pay a premium for custom-made I expect excellent quality.

I'm a little disappointed about the redone box. I really really liked that book-stile box of the original Dash. That seemed original and very well done. But, well, whatever saves you $$ I guess...

I may have just missed it, but how does sound compare to the original Dash? Is it at least en par?

 

[batman75]

I got mine. Finish looks fine on mine. Don't see any issues.

 

[RichardF]

[...]

I may have just missed it, but how does sound compare to the original Dash? Is it at least en par?

You are welcome.

I did not mention anything comparing the sound quality of this one to the Dash or the Dash with Comply foam tips because I can't trust my judgment right now. Memory is a tricky thing.

My impressions are that it's on par with the Dash with foam tips but with stronger bass and a "smaller" sound.

I got mine. Finish looks fine on mine. Don't see any issues.

That's great.

What do you think of the sound?

Would you mind terribly posting a few close-ups of the contact patch area?

 

[mistertomlinson]

They don't go into the ear canal much more than the non-tailored version.

This is also odd to me. I did notice how short the canal portion is. Maybe that's the way these are designed, but I have always been under the impression that the impressions (lol) needed to be taken passed the second bend of your ear canal so the soundtube would be aiming at your ear drum. It almost looks like your monitors don't quite make it passed that bend so the sound actually has to "turn a corner" to meet your ear drum. Perhaps this can negatively impact the sound.

Here are pics of one of my monitors. You'll notice how deep they reach into the canal. And the end doesn't terminate until it just makes that bend.

 

[Ankaa]

Wow, what a difference! Makes you wonder why the Dash would be designed with a much shorter ear canal portion? I mean, yes, this way it's kinda like the original Dash/Dash Pro, but this also makes it somewhat only half-tailored. I wonder if it influences fit/fixation at all? I.e. would they be less "secured" then those reaching further into the ear canal?

I might be mistaken (bad memory), but this also looks shorter than the ear canal portion of the original Dash. no?

This is kind of a big concern of mine since I just couldn't get a secure fit of the original Dash and probably would have lost them during exercise (even while walking I kinda had to adjust them constantly to make sure they don't fall out)

 

[mistertomlinson]

Wow, what a difference! Makes you wonder why the Dash would be designed with a much shorter ear canal portion? I mean, yes, this way it's kinda like the original Dash/Dash Pro, but this also makes it somewhat only half-tailored. I wonder if it influences fit/fixation at all? I.e. would they be less "secured" then those reaching further into the ear canal?

I might be mistaken (bad memory), but this also looks shorter than the ear canal portion of the original Dash. no?

This is kind of a big concern of mine since I just couldn't get a secure fit of the original Dash and probably would have lost them during exercise (even while walking I kinda had to adjust them constantly to make sure they don't fall out)

I don't think it'll affect whether they stay in or not. I just worry it could change the sound and isolation.

 

[batman75]

One thing that concerns me is that the earpieces seem to scrape the case when you slide the tray in and out. Has anyone noticed this?

 

[RichardF]

One thing that concerns me is that the earpieces seem to scrape the case when you slide the tray in and out. Has anyone noticed this?

I don't think mine do that. I'll check when I get home.

Have you had a chance to put yours to use? What do you think of the sound?


Edit: confirmed, mine don't touch/ rub.

 

[RichardF]

This is also odd to me. I did notice how short the canal portion is. Maybe that's the way these are designed, but I have always been under the impression that the impressions (lol) needed to be taken passed the second bend of your ear canal so the soundtube would be aiming at your ear drum. It almost looks like your monitors don't quite make it passed that bend so the sound actually has to "turn a corner" to meet your ear drum. Perhaps this can negatively impact the sound.

[...]

Remind me, these are wired monitors?

They are beautiful! How many drivers in each?


Starkey explained on the phone today that they do make a different type which reaches deep in the ear canal.
But the Dash is not it.
Whether this impacts the quality of the sound reproduction... I doubt it frankly. At the volumes we are discussing, this shouldn't matter, should it?



Funny/ interesting: I just did some stretching and I have the earphones on.
If I bend to try and touch my toes, with my head down, the lower frequencies disappear!

 

[mistertomlinson]

Remind me, these are wired monitors?

They are beautiful! How many drivers in each?


Starkey explained on the phone today that they do make a different type which reaches deep in the ear canal.
But the Dash is not it.
Whether this impacts the quality of the sound reproduction... I doubt it frankly. At the volumes we are discussing, this shouldn't matter, should it?



Funny/ interesting: I just did some stretching and I have the earphones on.
If I bend to try and touch my toes, with my head down, the lower frequencies disappear!

I don't know exactly what impact a shorter tip has on the sound because I've never had a set of monitors with short tips. I just know the standard has always been to terminate the shell after the second bend. But I'll give them the benefit of a doubt and assume they've done enough r&d to design these in such a way not to require the additional length.

And my customs are wired. Most customs have detachable cables. I took the pictures without the cable. Only the super cheap ones have fixed cables. They're 6 drivers per ear. I would have taken pictures of the faceplates if I thought anyone was interested. The company that made them does this really unique artwork by actually laying real watch gears and parts in the acrylic before hardening it.

I'm not at home to take them but here are a couple I found online.

The company is Cosmic Ears. Long story short: the monitors were originally made by a Chinese company named Unique Melody but when they needed repair, I sent them to CE instead because I really wanted the "steampunk" artwork. Unfortunately, they had to make changes to the original design when repairing them so they don't sound quite as good as they once did.

 

[RichardF]

6 drivers? and proper fit!

I have a feeling you won't like the Dash tailored.

Can't wait for your review!


I have gotten in the habit of cleaning my iPhone 7 Plus phones under running water in the morning so I have a clean screen. Love that.

Did that with the Dash monitors for the first time ever this AM. The battery is depleted, they are now sitting in their charger.

Used them in bed last night. I also lose the low frequencies if I lay down flat on my back.

 

[mistertomlinson]

6 drivers? and proper fit!

I have a feeling you won't like the Dash tailored.

Can't wait for your review!


I have gotten in the habit of cleaning my iPhone 7 Plus phones under running water in the morning so I have a clean screen. Love that.

Did that with the Dash monitors for the first time ever this AM. The battery is depleted, they are not sitting in their charger.

Used them in bed last night. I also lose the low frequencies if I lay down flat on my back.

I hope I don't sound boastful, but my pride and joys are my JH16s. 8 drivers per ear. Those are the pair I've sent to Starkey to scan. Hopefully they make it back.

Honestly, I don't expect the sound quality to be great. I know they won't come close to my JH16s, I intend to use them for less critical listening. Primarily at work or running. So I'm more interested in the other features. I'm perfectly happy with less than stellar audio quality. I'm beyond excited just to have sweatproof wireless customs with internal storage, touch panel faceplates and the audio transparency feature looks amazingly useful.

Btw, what did you mean by saying the battery was depleted and they weren't on the charger? Is that good because you used them until they died or bad because the battery didn't last long enough and you didn't care to put them on the charger?

And not to rub it in, but with my monitors, I can do basically anything and the seal remains tight. Yawn, eat, talk and most definitely lay on my back. Definitely get open mouth impressions.

 

[RichardF]

I hope I don't sound boastful, but my pride and joys are my JH16s. 8 drivers per ear. Those are the pair I've sent to Starkey to scan. Hopefully they make it back.

Honestly, I don't expect the sound quality to be great. I know they won't come close to my JH16s, I intend to use them for less critical listening. Primarily at work or running. So I'm more interested in the other features. I'm perfectly happy with less than stellar audio quality. I'm beyond excited just to have sweatproof wireless customs with internal storage, touch panel faceplates and the audio transparency feature looks amazingly useful.

Btw, what did you mean by saying the battery was depleted and they weren't on the charger? Is that good because you used them until they died or bad because the battery didn't last long enough and you didn't care to put them on the charger?

And not to rub it in, but with my monitors, I can do basically anything and the seal remains tight. Yawn, eat, talk and most definitely lay on my back. Definitely get open mouth impressions.

Typo (now fixed), sorry, meant they are now sitting in their charger. They charged relatively quickly (the charging case was already full though it looks like with a green light right when I plugged it in).

Still want to read your comments/ impressions as soon as you get yours. With your experience, I value your opinion RE: the sound.

I'll load one song in the Dash now to test the sound quality playing back from internet player vs. over BT.


Here are a couple of shots showing that my earphones don't rub/ touch the case when sitting properly on their contact pins and when sliding them into the case cover.

Also another shot in the sun showing the circuitry of the tap area.

[doublepost=1498757004][/doublepost]So I just tested by playing the exact same file:
One More Chance by Late Night Alumni (love this song!).

Played at max volume in the earphones and from the phone over BT and then at max volume in the earphones from the internal Dash player.

You were right!

To my ears, the music sounds (a bit) better: the bass is punchier/ cleaner and the details in the mids are better defined.
Becky Jean's voice sounds better and the piano part for instance sounds more vibrant (it seems to play at an ever so slightly higher frequency).

Details of the file:

Then I tried Hermitude - HyperParadise (Flume Remix) - heavy on bass and it also sounded better to my ears.

I also tested both files one notch above the minimal volume. At that volume I could no longer hear the difference.

 

[batman75]

I have some things I'm not happy about:

1) I noticed the issues with the finish that Richard F mentioned earlier. I didn't notice it earlier but I noticed it today and you're right. It looks poorly made.

2) I am not impressed with the sound quality. It sounds like an articial sound profile. The bass is not bad, but the overall sound profile seems not rich, and not balanced. Sound staging is poor.

3) Given the sound profile, voices don't sound normal. I prefer phone calls on my AirPods to the Bragi's because it sounds more normal and less digitally enhanced.

4) The case doesn't fit well. I think because of my small ears, the charging port is too close to the ear piece and this means it doesn't sit well in the case. This causes the case to scrape the top of the headphones, and I am worried they will break over time.

5) Max volume isn't loud enough.

Does anyone know what the return policy is?

 

[RichardF]

I managed to capture a close-up shot of the finish by moving farther and zooming in on it.
This also degraded the picture resolution but the issue is especially apparent on the right monitor in this shot as you can see.

It does not seem to affect the waterproofing since I washed them this AM and was able to charge them. But who knows?

So you picked up on what you think is a biased/ unbalanced sound processing?

Perhaps this can be corrected with a firmware update. Frankly the firmware update game is grueling with Bragi and I don't want to put myself through that again.

As for returns and support it all starts support@bragi.com
There is a 30-day free refit policy but I haven't inquired about returning yet.
Let us know if you find out please.


Why don't you post up some pictures of what yours look like.

It seems the charging receptacle height is the main reason why they sort of produce these with a shorter ear canal reach than they should perhaps.

 

[batman75]

Here are some pictures of mine.

[doublepost=1498780385][/doublepost]

I managed to capture a close-up shot of the finish by moving farther and zooming in on it.
This also degraded the picture resolution but the issue is especially apparent on the right monitor in this shot as you can see.

It does not seem to affect the waterproofing since I washed them this AM and was able to charge them. But who knows?


View attachment 706460



So you picked up on what you think is a biased/ unbalanced sound processing?

Perhaps this can be corrected with a firmware update. Frankly the firmware update game is grueling with Bragi and I don't want to put myself through that again.

As for returns and support it all starts support@bragi.com
There is a 30-day free refit policy but I haven't inquired about returning yet.
Let us know if you find out please.


Why don't you post up some pictures of what yours look like.

It seems the charging receptacle height is the main reason why they sort of produce these with a shorter ear canal reach than they should perhaps.

I think you're right about the charging receptacle. See photos in post above.

Do you agree with me regarding the sound processing?

 

[Ankaa]

View attachment 706460

Wow, this is certainly not acceptable. I'd expect the same quality as in the original Dash. Please keep us updated on the refit/refund process. Did they say anything regarding those issues?

Is it just some weird reflection or is the finish pretty abraded right unter the touch surface?

 

[mistertomlinson]

Yeah, the surface flaws around the faceplate look pretty bad. That shouldn't have made it passed QC.

 

[batman75]

Wow, this is certainly not acceptable. I'd expect the same quality as in the original Dash. Please keep us updated on the refit/refund process. Did they say anything regarding those issues?

Is it just some weird reflection or is the finish pretty abraded right unter the touch surface?

Not a reflection. This is how the surface is.

 

[Ankaa]

WOW! I would NOT pay $500 for THAT. Absolutely not acceptable.

 

[batman75]

Reply from Bragi regarding the finish:

Dear customer:

Thanks for contacting us on this, That certainly looks like something unusual has happened to your Dash but I am afraid That Starkey rather than Bragi hold the warranties of the Tailored Dash Pro, In order for you to get this resolved you will need to contact the audiologist that you went to to get the fitting done they can start any necessary process.

The reason this process involves Starkey rather than us is that if a replacement needs to be issued, It is Starkey that would build up a new custom fit housing for your ear as they have the original fitting information.

Regards
Richard & your Team Bragi

 

[RichardF]

That's a good thing: Starkey has been excellent in my communications with them.
I'm sure they will take care of it.

Dealing with Bragi and overseas shipping would have been a major pain.

 

[Ankaa]

But, to be honest, it is a little unsettling that they don't seem to take on any responsibility for something that is supposedly THEIR product. Sure, Starkey made the mold, but I'd still had thought it would be a "Bragi" product after all and thus I would expect them to take care of it - and even if that means to only forward it to Starkey and get the ball rolling, themselves... But then, Bragi has never been famous for their customer service and does have a bit of a reputation...

 

[Ankaa]

Any updates?

 

[mistertomlinson]

Sadly, not for me. I'm a little over a week into my wait. I have at least 2 more to go. Probably 3.