UE Hyperboom review: A jumbo portable Bluetooth speaker that rocks

Ultimate Ears Boom speakers arrive in a handful of distinct dimensions, but none as large as the Hyberboom. A supersize wi-fi speaker that ideas the scales at a significant thirteen pounds, the Hyperboom helps make the Megaboom 3 glimpse unquestionably puny. Obtainable in black only at launch, the Hyperboom expenses $399 (399 euros, AU$599). That’s not low cost, but it sounds improved than a great deal of the jumbo transportable speakers on the industry suitable now. (There is certainly no phrase still on British isles pricing or when it will be released in the British isles, but it’s going to likely match the euro selling price.)

Ultimate Ears reps advised me the Hyperboom was established following the corporation got responses from its shoppers looking for a more substantial speaker that could perform loud plenty of and have deep plenty of bass to electrical power a bash. The speaker can do just that — Ultimate Ears claims it truly is 3 times as loud and has six-and-a-fifty percent times the bass of Megaboom 3 — and has no difficulty filling a relatively massive place with seem. 

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Yes, this speaker is “transportable” — battery life is rated 24 hours at average quantity degrees. But if you seriously crank the quantity, that variety will fall additional like 3 hours. Sufficient to get you through a bash? It’s possible. But you can generally plug it in (you have to charge it with its very own AC electrical power adapter) if you happen to be in close proximity to a electrical power resource. The battery is not replaceable but should really final many decades.

The speaker supports 4 input sources — two Bluetooth wireless, just one 3.5mm auxiliary and even an optical input if you want to link a activity console, Tv set or Pc. With a push of a button you can swap amongst the sources and have two telephones related by way of Bluetooth at the same time so you can trade off actively playing songs with a friend. There is certainly also a USB-out port for charging products. But to be clear, this is a Bluetooth-only speaker — you can find no Wi-Fi.

Study additional: Most effective Wi-Fi speakers of 2020: Apple, Sonos, Polk and Ikea

UE added Alexa voice-assistant guidance to its smaller sized Blast and Megablast speaker, both of which are both Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-enabled. This speaker has no wake-phrase voice control, nonetheless, for possibly Alexa or Google Assistant. I never imagine that is a large deal, but some persons might anticipate a $four hundred speaker to have voice control. Of system, you could connect an Echo Dot by way of the auxiliary port to attain Alexa guidance when you have the speaker at home.

The Hyperboom is splashproof with an IPX4 ranking, and an integrated microphone immediately reads the atmosphere and calibrates the seem to fill any house, indoors or outside. As I explained, it truly is very significant, so you probably never want to carry it too far. But the retractable rubber handle appears to be durable and is securely mounted to the speaker. I lugged it about for many blocks in the course of our video clip shoot.

As a single speaker, it sounds a lot improved than any UE Boom or UE Blast speaker I’ve listened to in advance of. The bass goes deep and stays effectively-defined, even at larger volumes, and you can find respectable clarity (it will not distort at max quantity). I in comparison it to a Sonos Transfer, a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth speaker that also expenses $four hundred but is smaller sized. The Hyperboom did seem more substantial, with improved all round clarity and additional highly effective bass. It undoubtedly has additional kick to it.

This has more substantial, additional refined seem with additional bass than the JBL Xtreme 2, a common jumbo transportable Bluetooth speaker that lists for $350 but is at this time on sale for $250. And soundwise this actions up effectively to the JBL Boombox, which lists for $500. For outside use, I do favor the fashion of the JBL Boombox, but the Hyperboom’s simply black box structure is equipped to mix in improved with indoor decors.   

Whilst it has many drivers, the Hyperboom does have its seem constraints it are unable to quite escape sounding like a single speaker. If you want to acquire it to the upcoming amount, you can pair two of these men and get actual stereo seem (they do seem quite good paired collectively but that will set you back $800). Or you can wirelessly link it with any other Boom, Megaboom ($one hundred ten at Amazon) or Hyperboom speakers using the PartyUp characteristic in the companion app for iOS and Android to distribute the seem across additional house.

In the long run, this is the transportable speaker for someone who’s fatigued of sacrificing seem high-quality for dimensions. Yes, it truly is more substantial, heavier and pricier than all those people compact Bluetooth speakers out there. But it appears to be and sounds additional like a “actual” speaker in your home and is continue to transportable when you want to acquire it on the go. 

Right here are the Hyperboom’s key specs, according to Ultimate Ears:

• Dimensions (H/W/D): 14.33 inches (364mm) x seven.five inches (190mm) x seven.five inches (190mm)
• Body weight: thirteen pounds (five.9kg)
• Input sources: Two Bluetooth, just one 3.5mm auxiliary and just one optical audio
• Bluetooth assortment: one hundred fifty ft (46m)
• Battery life: Up to 24 hours (3 hours max quantity)
• Cost time: 2.6 hours
• Drivers: Two 4.five-inch (114mm) woofers, two 1-inch (25mm) tweeters, two 3.five-inch (89mm) x seven.5inch (191mm) passive radiators
• Most Seem Strain Stage: a hundred dBC
• Frequency assortment: 45Hz-20KHz
• Drinking water-resistance: IPX4 rated (splashproof)
• Warranty: Two-calendar year confined components
• Price: $399 (399 euros, AU$599)