Ultimate Ears Hyperboom Portable & Home Wireless Bluetooth Speaker, Loud Speaker, Big Bass, Water Resistant IPX4, 150 Ft Range – Black

For background, I’ve been a picky audio enthusiast for 30 years and have several large component systems (large high performance speakers and subwoofers, AV processors, separate amplifiers, etc.) and use lossless content for music (FLAC rips from personal CD collection and Tidal FLAC streaming). Because of the above, my audio quality bar is pretty high, but there are times I want to bring music on the road (trips, camping, beach, etc.). The challenge has been finding a portable speaker that provides a satisfying-enough musical experience. I was given a Bose Revolve+ as a gift from my employer and also own the LG PK7. Both of these are “OK” for small portable speakers, but their small size limits bass capabilities (it’s just physics). So, recently I decided to try some of the larger portable speakers. First, I tried the JBL Boombox 2. I returned it. To my ears, the bass was overdone and thuddy, drowning out the mids and highs. Also, the sound was very directional, meaning that my ears had to be directly in line with the speaker (vertically and horizontally) to get some presence of mids and highs. Enter the Hyperboom… IMO, the Hyperboom sounds pretty darn balanced, with good bass and open and detailed mids and highs. It sounds more like a pair of decent bookshelf speakers pushed together. The location of the drivers also provides good dispersion, helping to provide the open and detailed sound. We have a Gen 1 Sonos Play5 in the kitchen, and I think the Hyperboom sounds better. I’m pretty impressed and believe it will be a keeper. I’ve tested it in several locations, inside and outside, and it sounds good pretty much everywhere (perhaps the Adaptive EQ is helping), but I will say that the overall sound signature does have some bass emphasis, especially if the speaker is placed on the floor/ground or near walls. So, the sound is not perfectly balanced to my ears, but it is not distractingly unbalanced, like I found the JBL Boombox 2 to be, with its overdone bass. Heck, I expect that many folks would prefer the JBL because of its bass, so YMMV. Also, the Hyperboom sounds balanced as the volume is pushed to near max. The loudest I’ve had it is a click or 2 down from max, and it is plenty loud and satisfying for me at that level. Of course, it is a moderately sized portable speaker, so it’s not going to have the output and dynamics of a “real” full scale system – that is just not possible. The caveat… UE could have hit a homerun if they had included the aptX and AAC bluetooth codecs, rather than just SBC. The Hyperboom is resolving enough to benefit form higher quality source streams. However, the inclusion of an optical input does provide options. For example, one could connect a battery powered Bluetooth receiver with aptX/AAC and optical output (like I did with the Monoprice unit in the attached pic), or even connect a Chromecast Audio via optical, which would not be portable, but would eliminate Bluetooth compression altogether. If UE made a Hyperboom with aptX/AAC bluetooth and wifi connectivity for $400, they would hit a grand slam, IMO.

The product description emphasizing the heavy bass and ability to annoy the neighbors made me think that I might not be the target market for this product. My musical interests do not run to genres where extremely loud bass is key, like hip Hop or Electronica or club mixes for big parties. I do listen to genres where bass is appreciated (blues and rock) as well as some where over-emphasized bass might be a problem (like jazz and vocal heavy genres often characterized as Americana or Singer Songwriter). I am so glad I gave it a try! The bass is certainly prominent, but rich and warm, unlike the fake bass boosts on some other products. More importantly for my purposes, it has beautiful, clear, well defined mids and highs. It can be very loud with minimal distortion, and still sounds great at both more normal and even low volumes. The other feature that was a pleasant surprise was the Adaptive EQ. I assumed it would just be a gimmick. I don't know how it works, but it maintains a very consistent sound in radically different environments, from a small contained room, to a greatroom open to a loft, and even outdoors on the deck. Another good feature is the fact that there is no change in sound quality and volume between powered and battery modes. The soundstage is amazing for a single speaker. I can't imagine why you would need more volume than this speaker produces. In terms of sound quality, I think it easily beats out the Bose Soundplay 30. I would give a slight edge to my Audio Engine HD6's, but that is to be expected from more expensive, powered, dual speakers. The Hyperboom may even handle bass better, and of course it is portable. Other good points - it has good bluetooth range, and has never dropped or crackled. The battery life is excellent. The app was easy to use, and set up was seamless. I did not try to connect additional speakers, so cannot speak to that function. The EQ function was a nice touch. The ability to pre-load a couple of play lists was interesting, though more would be better, and since you have to have your phone there anyway I am not sure how much it adds. But compared to the abysmal apps shipped with other products, it was a nice change of pace. The negatives - these don't matter to me but they might to you. It is pretty heavy (maybe just awkward because of size/shape and crappy rubber handle). Plenty portable, but I wouldn't take it on a hike or public transportation. I am not sure how water resistant it really is. There is a hole on top for the Adaptive EQ (where the ads show drinks being spilled, etc.), and it only arguably splash proof when being battery operated. Attaching power or other components requires removing the rubber cover on the electronic inputs. That cover is also a little fussy to get properly reattached. Overall, this is an excellent speaker and well worth the price.

Si buscas una bocina con una de las mejores calidad de audio a un buen precio, no busques más. Es esta. Si para ti es importante la conectividad con asistentes de voz (a mi no me interesa eso), entonces no es esta. Empecé buscando una bocina Bose, pero luego me di cuenta que en la actualidad (jul 2021), las bocinas se enfocan mucho en la conectividad con Alexa y demas asistentes de voz, entonces el precio incluye esa parte que la verdad a mi no me interesan (yo buscaba CALIDAD de AUDIO. Al darme cuenta que la mayoría de las bocinas consideran eso de la conectividad con asistentes de voz en su precio, era obvio que mermaban en la calidad del audio. Entonces seguí buscando y di con esta excelente bocina, me decidí y estoy encantado. La comparé con bocinas bose de gama alta (un amigo las tiene) y es lo mismo, solo que mucho más barata. Los materiales se sienten duraderos, la batería practicamente nunca se te terminará (considerando que en la mayoría de las ocasiones no estarás lejos de una conexión a la luz más de 24 horas), y nuevamente la calidad del audio es EXCELENTE. Puntos negativos: - La app presenta muchos bugs (aunque no es necesaria para que funcione bien la bocina). - Al menos yo, en la app no me aparece el equalizador (no he buscado solución con soporte por que no es necesario, el equalizador automático que trae funciona muy bien).

I was after a BT speaker for the outdoors. My BIG requirement was bass. The majority of speakers are good on clarity, mids etc. but bass is key in an outdoor setting and this guy stands alone in this range from it's competitors. The UE Hyperboom i knew of as my buddy has one and i was impressed by the the thump. Simple to use and the size actually is reasonable, especially when you compare it to the JBL partybox 110. There's a nice handle. I can't comment on the battery life but I've been told 4-6 hours depending on use. Only negative and this is minor. Some more colors other than white and black would have been nice. I would be interested if UE launched one up from this.

I've been using this for a few months now. I am 100% satisfied and quite impressed with this speaker. It is built well, lives up to the 360-degree sound projection, and blends in with anything, and it sounds great. I take it in the backyard all the time, and it is also great to just move around the house and stream YouTube music from. Sure, it is a bit on the large side and heavier compared to other "portable" speakers. However, if you want to have good frequency response with natural low-end response, there is simply no way to avoid that, it's physics. Battery life is amazing, lives up to what is advertised.

Tiene un buen balance de graves con agudos también nítidos. Diría que está entre megaboom y megablast en calidad de audio (lo cual de todas maneras supera ampliamente a muchísimas otras marcas en calidad de audio). Tiene más potencia que megaboom y megablast, aunque uno se quedaría con la idea de que pudiera tener más potencia considerando la buena potencia de su hermana megaboom, de mucho menor tamaño. La calidad de sonido es excepcionalmente buena, la bocina es bastante pesada, el material de la bocina es de muy buena calidad. el precio del producto es algo elevado y viene bien protegida en su empaque. Sí es resistente al agua, aunque no tanto como megaboom, de acuerdo a la norma. La batería tiene muy buena duración, aunque da la impresión que megaboom logra un mejor ratio en un tamaño mucho más pequeño. Tiene un botón en la parte superior como selector del origen del audio, para dos dispositivos bluetooth, la entrada óptica y la señal auxiliar. No es una bocina 360° como megaboom y megablast de modo que la ubicación es mas importante para obtener una mejor distribución del sonido. Diría que por calidad no hay ningún problema. Su precio hace referencia a la alta calidad, aunque ese precio hace a veces complicado decantarse por una bocina portátil como esta. Estoy a gusto con la misma, recomendable si te gusta viajar, y escuchar música solo o con amigos en zonas donde no hay acceso a energía. También es recomendable para poner música en casas de tamaño medio (se siente como modo club) Supera ampliamente a muchos estéreos y modulares mucho más aparatosos. Su cargador es grande (similar al de una lap de 15.4) y si carga rápido.

Before purchasing I watched a lot of videos on this up against boomboxes. This really is in a whole different category I believe. They even named it wrong lol. Sure it's bassy but it's also very detailed with a soundstage incredible for it's size. I trust it's adaptive eq. It never sounds harsh or shrilly. I had the Tribit Storm and sent it back. I tried to like it but after messing with the EQ settings constantly I finally gave up. Spent twice the money for the hyperswoon lol And never looked back