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

[John.B]

I like the Bose. They 'blend'...

Into the background. I don't need blinking lights, flashy colors, etc. It either works, or I pass...

We have some of the Sonys (X3/X5/X7) but the Bluetooth reliability hasn't been great. :-(

Still looking for replacements, but the UEs aren't in the running, aesthetically.

 

[MrXiro]

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.

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

I just got an Amazon Echo last week... which looks nearly the same, if not exactly the same size as the UE Boom. Best $100 bucks I've ever spent. Sounds great. Plays Pandora, Amazon Prime Music and also works as a bluetooth speaker for my phone... and it also handles voice activated GE Link Smart lights!

It's not portable, but holy crap I've never loved a bluetooth speaker as much as this thing and recommend it to anyone looking for an always on bluetooth speaker.

 

[JCrz]

It looks like there's a huge cross on it. Does that ward off vampires or something?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

We have some of the Sonys (X3/X5/X7) but the Bluetooth reliability hasn't been great. :-(

Still looking for replacements, but the UEs aren't in the running, aesthetically.

My Bose mini seems to be incredible, so far. The Bluetooth works very well. Through two walls, and I don't know how many feet. I was actually surprised it worked at all with that distance, and the clutter. But I think these were discontinued. Nope, actually still selling, the Mini II. I've also got the older SoundLink II speaker that was discoed, and it seems to work the same. No complaints with the Bluetooth...

 

[RightMACatU]

Thanks for the review. I'm debating between the Bose Mini II and this one. I'll walk into a local BestBuy and put them to the test.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Thanks for the review. I'm debating between the Bose Mini II and this one. I'll walk into a local BestBuy and put them to the test.

The only knock I'd have for the Mini II is that there seems to be too much bass at times. I don't know how they did it, but the bass from such a small box is pretty darn good. I will try to tweak the settings on my Touch and see if I can get more high end. It's kind of odd, because most small speakers are missing a lot of low-end, or try to fake it with a lot more mid-range. Once I got the Mini II, I tossed my Jambox into a drawer somewhere. I probably couldn't find it on a dare...

 

[robertpetry]

We have some of the Sonys (X3/X5/X7) but the Bluetooth reliability hasn't been great. :-(

Still looking for replacements, but the UEs aren't in the running, aesthetically.

Sorry to hear you are having issues. I LOVE my Sony SRX5. I compared it to all the others before I bought it and I love the clear, balanced sound.