Review: Ultimate Ears' Wonderboom 2 Speaker Offers Louder Sound, New Outdoor Mode and More

[MacRumors]

The Wonderboom is one of Ultimate Ears' most popular speakers due to its small size that doesn't compromise on sound, and earlier this month, Ultimate Ears launched the Wonderboom 2, an updated version of the Wonderboom with some new functionality.

Design wise, the Wonderboom 2 features the same general size and shape as the original Wonderboom, though it's a bit taller. Ultimate Ears says the design was kept the same because customers loved the look of the Wonderboom. The Wonderboom's small size, affordable price tag, and big sound have always made it my favorite speaker in the Ultimate Ears lineup, and now the Wonderboom 2 is a new favorite.

Ultimate Ears kept everything that was great about the Wonderboom in the Wonderboom 2, but added some useful new features like better weatherproofing, stereo sound capabilities when using two speakers, and better sound both indoors and out.

The Wonderboom 2 measures in at about four inches tall and about 3.75 inches wide, so it's just about palm-sized. There are big volume control buttons at the front (an Ultimate Ears signature look), a stretchy loop for hanging it up at the back, and a covered micro-USB port for charging purposes. Physical controls for playing/pausing music, activating features, and powering the speaker on and off are located at the top.

Ultimate Ears didn't change the size or the shape of the Wonderboom 2, but there are new colors and a new two-tone knit fabric that looks more premium than the fabric used for the Wonderboom. It comes in Deep Space Black, Crushed Ice, Radical Red, Bermuda Blue, and Just Peach, along with a gray and white camo edition that's available exclusively from Apple.


Click here to read more...

Article Link: Review: Ultimate Ears' Wonderboom 2 Speaker Offers Louder Sound, New Outdoor Mode and More

 

[Morgenland]

"that doesn't compromise on sound"
Wonderboom's quality/cost ratio might be excellent, their sound might be rather good, but never uncompromising.

Whoever publishes such nonsense has not understood the technically sophisticated technology of Apple's HomePods.
Apple just had the money to hire the best acousticians in the world for their brilliant microphone-looped DSM architecture.

With 2 or 4 HomePods standing in one room, a fascinating carpet of sound unfolds.
In fact, America (or California ;-)) can be proud for creating such a beast.

nb
"Outdoor Boost mode bumps the sound up to 87 decibels"
Whenever you hate your neighbors, even when it rains ;-)

 

[ThaRuler]

For the price, I’ll take these over HomePod any day

 

[Jimmy James]

I have the original. It’s great, if a little boomy with voice such as podcasts.

 

[Aston441]

Logi can go climb a tree.

MR should quit doing PR pieces for those scumbags.

 

[ignatius345]

I've owned a few of these UE speakers, going back to one I got in like 2012 or something -- and they've all been really solid performers and quite tough. I have a Roll and it's the perfect size to throw in your bag when travelling.

With all three UE speakers I've bought, they are missing playback controls. It would be super useful to be able to pause or skip tracks. If they can put that on a cheap pair of bluetooth earbuds, why not on a speaker?
[doublepost=1561859524][/doublepost]

For the price, I’ll take these over HomePod any day

Very different use cases, but sure. I guess there's no reason you couldn't use this in a semi-permanent installation like you would a HomePod. AirPlay is definitely a lot better, though, in that it doesn't shoot every alert you get to the speaker along with the music.

 

[bbeagle]

For the price, I’ll take these over HomePod any day

This is a completely different product than HomePod or Sonos.

 

[P_Devil]

I wonder how it compares to the Bose SoundLink Micro, no pun intended. The Bose speaker easily beat the first Wonderboom in terms of sound quality and bass levels. Hopefully UE fixed this as the Wonderboom is larger than the SL Micro.

 

[bbeagle]

I love the Wonderbooms. I bought a second one for our hot tub. (The original one, now on sale for $50).

The new ones have a 13 hour battery vs a 10 hour battery. The new ones can be paired in stereo mode.

We don't need either one of these features, so we're happy with the older model. They're plenty loud, and great for our hot tub with all the jets on and bubbles. If someone knocks one into the water, they're fine. Awesome product!

 

[gregohb]

I bought two but returned one, and kept one. Its really useful and easy to move around. I am studying a foreign language, and I listen while I work - bring it into the kitchen, garage, etc. You do need to keep their mini-USB (or micro or whatever) to charge it. It would be nice if the iphone cable would work on it.