Ultimate Ears Speaker Review
The Ultimate Ears Speaker is a rugged Bluetooth speaker offering big sound and an extensive app suite, making it an ideal companion for outdoor excursions.
Waterproof and dustproof design makes the UE Boombox perfect for beach, desert, or pool parties; plus its user-friendly UE app allows for audio customization through graphic EQ as well as saving EQ presets.
UE BOOM 3
Ultimate Ears’ latest portable speaker UE BOOM 3 stands out as being an all-around excellent portable option, featuring all of its anticipated features along with some unique ones. Notably loud and waterproofed for outdoor adventures – making this an excellent companion on any journey.
This speaker boasts an all-new design for this model and is smaller and lighter than previous iterations. Additionally, its fabric wrap adds visual interest. Perfect for beach or campfire use alike! Additionally, its durability has passed multiple drop tests and thousands of button presses, and has long battery life for added convenience.
One of the standout features on this speaker is its Magic Button. This button can be linked with up to four playlists from Apple Music or Deezer and pressing it briefly will play your music even when your device is off; pressing for longer will switch between playlists stored within your app. Unfortunately, Spotify isn’t yet supported; but overall this is a fantastic feature!
The Ultimate Ears app not only lets you control your music and tweak its sound profile, but it also allows you to create up to four EQ presets that allow for personalized tuning based on personal taste – perfect for tuning two speakers together for stereo pairing!
Overall, UE’s speaker is excellent and should definitely be considered when searching for a high-quality portable Bluetooth speaker. Although its battery life may not meet all your needs, its sound quality makes up for this shortcoming with outstanding dynamic performance and no compression artifacts at maximum volume – though its price might put off some.
UE BLAST
The UE Blast Bluetooth speaker is an affordable yet powerful portable Bluetooth speaker capable of producing crisp sound quality. Ideal for taking music on the road without carrying around an additional power cord, this portable device is great for beach, garden and home use – available in multiple colors for convenient use anywhere – it has IP67 waterproof rating to withstand submersion for up to 30 minutes at a time if submerged under water!
The BLAST is very similar to its larger cousin, MEGABOOM 3. Both feature cylindrical designs with rubberized surfaces encased in acoustic fabric and signature volume controls on their front panels. Available colors include Performance Blue, Hyper Pink, Joyous Bright and Active Black; other speakers also have built-in microphones compatible with Amazon Alexa that allow daisy chaining of multiple units through the UE app; you can customize its EQ presets up to four times within its app so it fits different applications perfectly for different environments!
The Boom 2 may be smaller and lighter than other smart speakers on the market, but its performance remains outstanding. You’ll find it ideal for packing into backpacks or taking camping, and its waterproof construction means it can withstand being dropped or submerged into water without becoming damaged or lost. At an attractive price point too compared to similar high-end smart speakers without its rugged build.
UE Blast differs significantly from its Boom 2 sibling by including Amazon Alexa, allowing you to access music streaming services such as Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn; voice support will soon be added for Spotify and Deezer as well. You can connect a phone or tablet via Bluetooth for control playback but will need to manually switch between connected device and Alexa to answer calls/text messages; additionally the UE app now also lets you see and set alarms, as well as manage device pairing.
UE MEGABLAST
UE’s Megablast smart speaker is one of the most adaptable Bluetooth and Amazon Alexa-enabled portable speakers available, boasting an enjoyable sound signature, sleek design and effortless setup process. Perfect for beach trips and poolside parties alike; waterproof for use underwater as well. In addition, its capabilities extend to calls as well as music from services such as Spotify or TuneIn.
Unlike prior UE speakers, the Megablast boasts an integrated microphone to make voice control simpler than ever before. It can easily pick up voices from a good distance away while its controls on top allow you to quickly mute or unmute it when taking calls.
Setup for the Megablast is similar to previous UE models, though starting with the UE app instead of Alexa will help simplify setup. The app walks you through connecting the speaker with your home Wi-Fi network using its built-in chip. While it would be nice if login information could be saved for future setups, that should not be seen as a dealbreaker.
The Megablast speaker is IP67 waterproof-rated and designed for full dunking in pools or dunking from diving boards, as well as dust resistance – an added advantage at barbecues where tipsy cousins might knock it over! The exterior features tight cloth mesh available in graphite, blue steel, blizzard and merlot colors.
This Bluetooth speaker boasts up to 16 hours of continuous playback on one charge. Plus, with its user-friendly app and power-saving features, you can set it for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 3 hours playback or stop altogether – giving it plenty of playback time before switching itself off!
As a standalone speaker, the Megablast faces stiff competition from Bluetooth- and Alexa-enabled portable speakers like Amazon Echo 2 and Sonos One. While Sonos One may offer greater surround sound effects due to daisy-chaining other speakers together for true surround sound experience, its contemporary design and compatibility with other Sonos devices makes it a better choice if users wish to use Megablast as part of a home audio system.
UE HYPERBOOM
The UE HYPERBOOM Bluetooth speaker stands out as one of the loudest in its series and delivers big sound without compromising quality. Boasting three times more power than its MEGABOOM 3 predecessor, it can create earth-shaking volumes of music to be enjoyed through powerful precision woofers, massive passive radiators, and soft dome tweeters for full, rich audio reproduction.
HYPERBOOM speakers deliver superior outdoor audio performance even at high volume settings, thanks to two drivers working together to disperse sound in a 270-degree arc for depth and stereo imaging. Furthermore, it boasts one of UE’s most flexible playback experiences, offering Bluetooth wireless connection, aux input and optical output – it even supports pairing up two HYPERBOOMs for stereo playback!
Since its initial debut, several modifications have been made to the HYPERBOOM speaker, including adding One-Touch music control features that automatically play your preferred playlist when long pressing on its power button. Meanwhile, power and input buttons remain on a panel at the top of the speaker, along with a microphone bump that supports hands-free voice control; capacitive touch buttons now offer easier operation while keeping a sleek profile.
UE’s Boom app for iOS and Android provides all of the smarts on this speaker, providing shortcuts to your favorite playlists, the option to remotely power off, stereo playback compatibility pairing and control of HYPERBOOM via smartphone control – including software updates!
The HYPERBOOM is built for tough use, featuring an IPX4 rating to provide protection from splashes of water without full immersion in pools or oceans. We put it through its paces and found no issues surviving spilled drinks or accidental submersion into the pool; but take caution with it while out and about at parties or during other outdoor activities.
This Bluetooth speaker from UE fills a niche they couldn’t meet before, providing high audio oomph while looking stylish too. While expensive, this model delivers.