INTRODUCTION

   For the past 5 years or so I’ve been looking all over the market to track down the perfect portable wireless speaker (the holy grail of wireless speakers as i like to call it) with no luck really. Sure many models by some of the leading companies in the field have reached us some of which performed extremely well both in terms of audio quality and volume levels while others offered a plethora of interesting and innovative features including built-in MP3 players, battery packs (used to recharge other devices), voice recorders and even on-the-fly voice "changers" but in the end to my disappointment none offered both. Ultimate Ears has been around for quite some time and I’ve worked with them in the past but ever since they joined with Logitech for reasons unknown we drifted apart. Well I’m happy to say that this ends today since with us we have their best portable wireless speaker to date the BOOM.

   Ultimate Ears, a brand of Logitech, revolutionized the way artists perform music on stage with the creation of its custom fit professional earphones in 1995. Today, more touring artists use Ultimate Ears than any other brand, and UE makes critically acclaimed earphones and speakers that are redefining the way people experience the music they love. Ultimate Ears is the leading supplier of custom fitted earphones for professional musicians and an emerging provider of premium speakers and earphones for the consumer market. For more information, please visit www.ultimateears.com.

   At first glance the cylindrical BOOM 360 degree wireless speaker certainly has very little to offer in terms of design since it's apparent that Ultimate Ears designed it either with a bottle in mind or an energy drink (redbull anyone?). That however doesn't mean it looks bad, quite the opposite largely thanks to the fabric used (ultimate ears calls it acoustic skin), the plasma coating used to make it water resistant and the available colors. Did we say available colors? This is one of the things that distinguish the BOOM from every other wireless portable speaker in the market currently since Ultimate Ears sells it in not one but 21 different color combinations (check the last page for more on that). Specs-wise the BOOM comes ready with support for NFC (Near Field Communication), A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and HFP1.5 (Hands-Free Profile) and packs two full-range 1.5 inch drivers (frequency range of 90Hz-20Khz with 4 Ohm), two 2 inch passive radiators, dual noise-cancelling microphones and a lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack that gives it up to 15 hours of music playback.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The BOOM gets shipped inside a cylindrical box much like those used by whisky brands (a product picture is placed at the front).

Some drawings at the rear point to the main features of the BOOM and the compatible devices.

After removing the cover the box looks even more like the ones used with whiskies.

This cylinder opens to reveal the BOOM and two compartments at the top and bottom in which the rest of the bundle is stored.

With the BOOM Ultimate Ears has also packed a protective rubber cap, yellow colored USB to microUSB charging cable, yellow colored USB wall charger with two plugs (EU/UK), user manual and a warranty information paper.

THE BOOM

The BOOM is neither large nor small since it may have a diameter of just 6.8cm but it stands 18cm tall and weighs 538g (you can also use it horizontally although vertically is ideal due to the placement of the drivers).

Once again we used the largest and smallest wireless portable speakers we've tested to date so you can have a better understanding regarding the size of the product in hand.

At the front the BOOM has two large buttons used to control the volume.

The company logo is placed right next to those buttons.

At the top rubber are we find the on/off power button, the power LED and the Bluetooth button with its activity LED.

At the base we see a microUSB charging port, 3.5mm auxiliary input and a D-ring which you can remove to reveal the 1/4-inch socket (this allows the BOOM to be mounted on a Tripod or a speaker stand).

This is how you must use the protection cap to ensure that the device is secured against water.

CONCLUSION

   Back when i was still testing earphones for Ultimate Ears i always knew that i could count on them to produce high quality models with performance levels that had nothing to be jealous from rival models in the market so when i heard that they also got in Bluetooth speakers i couldn't wait to start cooperating with them again. Well as you all know it took quite a bit of time for that to happen since the BOOM is not amongst the latest wireless speaker models to hit the market but even so after two full weeks of testing i can't say i was disappointed. The reason i say this is because the BOOM produced one of the highest volume levels I’ve ever encountered with a wireless portable speaker and ontop of that the clarity and bass levels where very impressive (although bass sometimes sounds weak but that has a lot to do with the type of music used). So if your primary goal is to find a wireless portable speaker with exceptional audio and build quality then you really can't go wrong with the BOOM by Ultimate Ears. On the other hand however the BOOM lacks several features we've seen with other speakers including support for aptX, media navigation buttons (previous/next/play/pause), USB charging port for other devices and last but not least a built-in MP3 player (via USB or microSD). Now i do realize that a built-in MP3 player is not something we see a lot with wireless portable speakers so it's not really something we expect to encounter whenever we receive such a product but it's without doubt a very convenient feature which i hope more manufacturers implement in their products. Now although we all think that Ultimate Ears could had done better in the features department still the BOOM has a few aces up its sleeve including 50ft/15m of wireless range with compatible Bluetooth devices (we did find this number to be more or less accurate), NFC support, 15 hours of playback time (although at almost maxed out volume we hardly passed 8 hours for its size that's really good), dual noise-cancelling microphones (work ok but nothing we haven't encountered in the past several times), waterproof coating (don't submerge it in water however) and the ability to combine another BOOM to create an even wider soundstage via the Ultimate Ears iOS/Android app.

   The only "serious" downside of the BOOM wireless speaker by Ultimate Ears is its price especially since it hasn't really changed since launch and still remains at USD199.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 174.68Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de - Price Depends On The Color Selection However). Of course much like other audiophile manufacturers like JBL, Klipsch and B&W we didn't really expect to see a low price tag attached to the BOOM but still we do feel that Ultimate Ears is asking a bit more for it than what they should based on both its performance and available features. That being said the BOOM wireless speaker does excel in one thing, playing music at very high volume levels with a style you don't see much in the market currently (the amount of available colors is overwhelming) and for that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design / Available Colors
- Size/Weight
- Waterproof Coating
- Audio Clarity
- Volume Levels
- Battery Life (Up To 15 Hours)
- NFC Support
- 50ft/15m Wireless Range
- Ability To Pair Two BOOM Wireless Speakers

CONS

- No Media Controls
- No USB Charging Port
- Doesn't Support aptX
- Price (For Some)