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UE Boom 2 Review: Ultimate Ears' Rugged Bluetooth Speaker Gets a Nice Upgrade

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Apr 12, 2001
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Back in mid-September, Logitech's Ultimate Ears brand rolled out the UE Boom 2, an upgraded version of its popular mid-level Bluetooth portable speaker. With Apple adding the new speaker to its online store and retail locations a few weeks ago, we decided to take a look at the new and improved speaker.

ue_boom_2.jpg

Priced at $200, the UE Boom 2 isn't the cheapest Bluetooth speaker on the market, but its feature set will be appealing to many. The rugged, waterproof design is extremely portable, puts out a lot of sound, and keeps things simple for those who want to just toss a speaker in a bag and go. It's roughly the size of a water bottle, so you can also easily put it in a cup holder or water bottle holder when you're out and about.

Aside from the speaker grille wrapping nearly entirely around the cylindrical body of the UE Boom 2, the dominating feature of the device is its pair of oversized buttons along a rubber strip on the side that make it easy to adjust the volume with a quick grab.


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Article Link: UE Boom 2 Review: Ultimate Ears' Rugged Bluetooth Speaker Gets a Nice Upgrade
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/ultimate-ears-ue-boom-2/
However good the speaker is, the app really needs some serious optimisation work; it looks like something a child has drawn with crayons!
 
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At least this one comes in solid black. I bought the Mini Boom on sale for $59 right before they ruined it with that new spazzy neon frisbee version (saw a reviewer that actually used it as a frisbe, lol). I miss the design of the old Mini Boom. I wish they just made a bigger version of that. I'm toying around with the idea of adding a second Mini Boom before they're no longer available on Amazon and elsewhere as you can use them like a stereo speaker. In the article it mentions using two of the Boom 2's at once but doesn't say whether that's in a stereo mode. $400 is kinda expensive for a setup like that anyway. The Mini Boom was plenty loud for me. My wife and I love ours and she uses it a lot in her daycare for playtime. The only issue we have is sometimes the connection isn't as good as it could be.
 
I happened to see this today when browsing the Apple website from a MR link on travel. I will be getting something like this very soon. Open to similar or better ideas.

The Kickstarter campaign has a comparison table that shows the Apple offering as nearly as good as the Kickstarter offering, albeit in stock now, slightly more expensive and equipped with DSP which the KS offering declares bad.
 
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My friend bought one when we were promoting my new album release for Soul Pacific. We walked around passing out flyers playing music and the little thing is very impressive. Best one on the market in my opinion, and we tested many including the Bose and new beats pill+. This one can be linked together with others units as well!
 
I have two UE Booms (original), and to be honest, I don't expect pure reproduction out of them. They're small, they're portable, and they're rugged, and they sound good. When I use them I'm outside. If I want flat response speakers with excellent reproduction I stay home.
 
I have a original UE Boom and I love it. I dropped it from 15 feet off a deck and it survived and it lasts for at least 12hrs. The sound is great and very loud for outdoor use.
 
usarioclave said:
I have two UE Booms (original), and to be honest, I don't expect pure reproduction out of them. They're small, they're portable, and they're rugged, and they sound good. When I use them I'm outside. If I want flat response speakers with excellent reproduction I stay home.
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Like the guy on a LONG flight (It seemed a lot longer, thanks to him) that regaled me with the idea that iPods and their ear buds do not reproduce sound accurately. Uh, thanks professor. I really already knew that...

Sometimes, on planes, I find myself almost praying for a fart attack. ANYTHING to stop the insanity...

Once, I was very tired, I actually put on my Bose headphones, and fell asleep. I felt bad afterwords, but, what the heck...

EDITED for the people that just don't understand that you can say something, without knowing what was happening half a world away. Button your lips. At the time, it was an off color attempt at showing how much I enjoyed being lectured about the evils of sound reproduction from Apple products, while sitting on a THREE HOUR FLIGHT...
 
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PinkyMacGodess said:
Like the guy on a LONG flight (It seemed a lot longer, thanks to him) that regaled me with the idea that iPods and their ear buds do not reproduce sound accurately. Uh, thanks professor. I really already knew that...

Sometimes, on planes, I find myself almost praying for a terrorist attack. ANYTHING to stop the insanity...

Once, I was very tired, I actually put on my Bose headphones, and fell asleep. I felt bad afterwords, but, what the heck...
Click to expand...

Wow. That is in really poor taste today. Grow up.
 
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PinkyMacGodess said:
Like the guy on a LONG flight (It seemed a lot longer, thanks to him) that regaled me with the idea that iPods and their ear buds do not reproduce sound accurately. Uh, thanks professor. I really already knew that...

Sometimes, on planes, I find myself almost praying for a terrorist attack. ANYTHING to stop the insanity...

Once, I was very tired, I actually put on my Bose headphones, and fell asleep. I felt bad afterwords, but, what the heck...
Click to expand...

I'm guessing the poor guy was probably jawing to keep from having to listen to your tinny crap music bleeding thru the headphones.

Next time just drown yourself in the plane's bathroom, or eat a bullet before the trip, and save everyone else the pain of your shallow existence.
 
I bought the UE Boom and Mega Boom (the bigger brother), due to their ruggedness and the fact that they are designed to stand vertically (other than the annoying USB port on the bottom), saving desktop space. There are too many great sounding bluetooth speakers that are copying Jambox rectangle design.

Hopefully my UE Boom 1 will still get updates. :(
 
supercoolmanchu said:
I'm guessing the poor guy was probably jawing to keep from having to listen to your tinny crap music bleeding thru the headphones.

Next time just drown yourself in the plane's bathroom, or eat a bullet before the trip, and save everyone else the pain of your shallow existence.
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And another adult flapping their fingers on their keyboard.

Thanks for your opinion...
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Like the guy on a LONG flight (It seemed a lot longer, thanks to him) that regaled me with the idea that iPods and their ear buds do not reproduce sound accurately. Uh, thanks professor. I really already knew that...

Sometimes, on planes, I find myself almost praying for a fart attack. ANYTHING to stop the insanity...

Once, I was very tired, I actually put on my Bose headphones, and fell asleep. I felt bad afterwords, but, what the heck...

EDITED for the people that just don't understand that you can say something, without knowing what was happening half a world away. Button your lips. At the time, it was an off color attempt at showing how much I enjoyed being lectured about the evils of sound reproduction from Apple products, while sitting on a THREE HOUR FLIGHT...
Click to expand...


Pinky, I will say that your comment is appalling and I am surprised you would ever considering saying something like that regardless of what is going on around the world. Death is nothing to joke about especially when the incident you joke about has affected many folks across the world.

Next time, please think before you type or speak.
 
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Black Magic said:
Pinky, I will say that your comment is appalling and I am surprised you would ever considering saying something like that regardless of what is going on around the world. Death is nothing to joke about especially when the incident you joke about has affected many folks across the world.

Next time, please think before you type or speak.
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And humor is what it is.

I'm generally a very 'nice' person, and actually did sit through that three hour flight being lectured on the inadequacies of the sound production of the Apple iPod. I think the guy was an audio engineer, and was obviously a nervous flyer. I hope that if you ever get stuck next to a non stop talker on an airplane, your mind doesn't leap to thoughts of opening the window and throwing them out.

I have a rather dry sense of humor. I'm told it's an 'acquired taste'. Obvious, can't anyone imagine, had I known what was going on at the time, I wouldn't have said that in a post?

Now, can we move on, or do I need to be battered some more...
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Now, can we move on, or do I need to be battered some more...
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I found it amusing, having been in that exact same situation except with someone lecturing me about android's "openness."

FWIW, the iPod Photo is or was considered the best audio ipod ever, due to the ultra-fancy DAC it used.
 
usarioclave said:
I found it amusing, having been in that exact same situation except with someone lecturing me about android's "openness."

FWIW, the iPod Photo is or was considered the best audio ipod ever, due to the ultra-fancy DAC it used.
Click to expand...

I had heard that. I was bummed the day it died. Dang hard drive crashed, and I traded it in on my first Touch.
 
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