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.

Overall This is a great sounding speaker with long battery life. I considered sending it back because it's not as loud as the JBL 310. HOWEVER, this speaker does way too many things right to disregard. Sound Quality - This is a great sounding speaker! The bass is deep and musical (it's not "boomy" for the sake of being boomy). UE has done an amazing job tuning this speaker to get the most out of it's enclosure. The gain stage is set so that you can play at full volume without clipping the amplifier (this is probably done to avoid damaging the speakers). The volume is more than adequate in most situations (indoors is GREAT, outdoors is really good though the bass takes a hit without having the benefit of being against a wall, to help the passive radiators). I also think you may not consider this speaker "loud" because it plays so cleanly at full volume. The EQ in the app is helpful but I find myself leaving it flat most of the time, this may be because the adaptive EQ is really effective. I have not tried the optical input yet. This speaker has a huge soundstage and easily fills a decent sized room - I think this can be attributed to having speakers on two sides - most speakers only utilize one face - this seems really effective. Bluetooth / Battery Life - The Battery life is GREAT. I play this speaker all week thru the day on a single charge (volume around 50%). The Bluetooth has awesome range as advertised, of course going thru walls cuts it down somewhat. It never loses connection. We have not tried the 2nd BT input. Form Factor - This is a decent sized speaker, though very portable and easy to move around (especially compared to the JBL 310 or the Sony XP500/700). The handle is a clever idea and works great. I think having a 2nd one paired in Party mode would be unbelievable - I will likely pick another one up when I get another $400 :) Idea - UE should create an 8" bluetooth sub that has an optical output that could feed a stereo signal to the Hyperboom (a 2' pole mount on both would be super cool). I had hoped to audition this speaker at the local big box retailer but of course their display wasn't working, I'm very happy though and would purchase this speaker again. If anything changes (quits working, battery life falls off dramatically, etc.), I'll post an update to this review.

Let me start off by saying that I very much appreciate crips, clear sound, but as I have not yet spent a five digit figure on audio equipment I cant quite call my self an audophile. But good sound is extremely important to me, and I mostly listen to electronic music (house and techno) and reggae - so clear sounds and handling of bass are crucial. This speaker deserves a 5 star rating, no ifs or buts. It is perfectly engineered to deliver clear sound, that will allow you to hear the full range - highs, mids and lows. Will it power your illegal, underground warehouse rave...? Probably not, and it wasnt designed for that - go and rent or buy a proper sound system. But It is the type of sound that is absolutely loud enough to power your back yard BBQ or pool party, wont make your ears bleed and allows you still have a conversation. Take it to the beach, to take over and hear music over surf break and waves crashing, night time bonfires on the beach, etc . I have tested this out and it delivers flawlessly. As far as portability is concerned... This isnt the speaker that you will take when backacking through Europe or Asia for 3 months - or even on a 2 week european vacation, or camping trip where you have to hike for a few hours - it is to heavy for that, and great sound comes at a cost (weight/size). But it is absolutely the speaker to take on your staycation where you drive to your destination, for your beach trip and villa rental, or camping trip where you can drive to the camp site... DO i recommend this speaker..? Absolutely! it is expensive but again, good sound doesnt come cheap. And it sounds superior tp the JBL equivalent. I have not tried to connect mine to another hyperboom, but i am going to buy a second one once they are back in stock. If you are looking for a solid, loud and clear portable music option look no further.

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.

Overall this is an excellent product. You're looking at this product because research tells you it's the loudest. It may very well be, but set your expectations properly. It does not replace the room shaking volume you get from an old-fashioned amp with 2 big speakers. Just be aware that it's only 20% louder than some much smaller options. The Hyperboom has a crazy battery capacity. It can play loud music far longer than I can listen to it. You can believe whatever it says - something like 24 hours. But that adds to the size and weight. Do we really need that much battery? Sound quality seems to be exceptional. Most of us are listening to crappy compressed audio off our iPhones, so do we really need care? If we really cared about audio quality, we'd be on CD's or lossless or uncompressed audio. This device and most of our consumption is now about convenience over quality. This is a $450 purchase, so let's be sure we're honest with ourselves about why we're buying it. You want a loud device that is convenient to use. For many people, the size and weight of this thing make it less convenient. You might be better off with a small Bose or JBL device that's got 80% of the volume at 20% of the heft. The HyperBoom app is not really a game changer - it's not Sonos. If anyone from UE reads this... invest in making your app really great, like Sonos did, and this speaker becomes a must-have. Mostly, I skip the app and just use basic bluetooth which makes this just another bluetooth speaker. It's loud, great battery, and high quality... but you don't want to carry this thing very far. It's fine by the pool but it can't rock my back yard like a wired system. It's great in the house, but then the huge battery doesn't really make sense.

Best sound quality I could find. I bought the JBL boom box and this one, with the intention of returning the one I didn’t like. Sound quality and volume were most important to me. This was hands down the winner. The JBL is a big bummer. Past half volume it doesn’t increase volume, just messes with the EQ to push the highs harder. A problem I’ve found with most JBL bluetooths that, while their quality isn’t always bad, is misleading and I believe it’s done on purpose. JBL couldn’t handle rock at louder volumes without becoming too muddy and tinny to even distinguish vocals. I like the small foot print on this. Crystal clear and massive sound at max volumes. Battery indicator, simple design, big volume buttons, all nice features. I love the app too. Some hate it, but I like being able to turn it on without going to the unit and having some extensive EQ options. The handle is also nice, although I wish the unit were overall a little more beefed up in the casing. Liking it so much I want to bring it everywhere, but I am more delicate with it than I would be with other portable speakers. IPX rating is enough for rain which is enough for me. I don’t toss speakers into pools and I suspect this could handle a little more than advertised anyway. A dynamic EQ with a mic to gauge the room response is a HUGE plus as well. You don’t have to worry about positioning it right. Put it where you want for good volume and the rest takes care of itself. A lot of people are probably comparing this to others in the price range. The JBL can certainly take more abuse and has a larger battery. Sound quality is always more important to me and if I had to I would sacrifice a lot for it. Luckily with this unit the losses are minor compared to the other speaker. Anything layered isn’t worth listening to on the JBL. I also love that max volume is actually usable on this too. You don’t have to baby it to get a sound you’re willing to tolerate. You’ll get everything you want at great volumes. Heavily layered electronic music to heavy distorted rock/metal comes through without losing anything you remember from all of those songs.

The short story is I've tried scores of battery powered speakers over the years. I was always disappointed for or more reasons. What's important to me is #1, the quality of the sound. #2, the battery life, #3 that I can connect it to my Alexa Multi-Room music groups. #1-The sound, it's fabulous, and you will find plenty of other reviews that agree. BTW, to me, it's not how good a speaker sounds when it's blasting. This speaker will blast for sure, but so do many others. For me, you judge a great speaker by the quality of the sound when the volume is very low. My Bose speakers have always smoked the others at low volumes. At high volumes, however, Bose loses quality. This speaker is equal to, maybe even better than my Bose speakers at very low volumes. #2-The battery life is reported to be 12-hours. I can't verify that, but it definitely lasts a very long time, longer than I've ever needed it. #3-Alex Multi-Room Music is the clincher for me on this speaker. While there are zillions of speakers with Alexa built in, none of them will work in Alexa's Multi-Room environment. Only Alexa speaker can be included in a group. This speaker has a very unique work-around. It has a powered USB port. The manufacture put it there so someone could attach their phone and keep it charging. That said, this little powered port can also power an Amazon Echo Dot! This means you can attach a dot (I used Velcro to mount the Dot on the top of the speaker) and the speaker's USB port will power it. Guess what? Dot's can be added to Amazon's Alexa Multi-Room Speaker Groups. Again, I've been searching for an all-in-one solution like this speaker and I'm guessing I'm not alone. Enjoy!!

I love good thumping music. Ever since my days at UNC, I have enjoyed hosting parties and providing the highest quality sound. Great music makes a party! These days, I have a big backyard with an Island Deck which would be difficult to hardwire. The Hyperboom provides Hi-Fi sound and a good heavy beat. It allows me to "Party-Up" with my Megaboom and Boom 3 speakers to bring deeper and richer sound to my back yard! For the price this is a great and reliable alternative to hardwiring speakers outside. The only downside I have experienced with the Hyperboom is that it is a little heavy. It does not travel well on a bicycle like Wonderboom, Boom3 and Megaboom. It does, however, travel well by car, in a bike trailer, or on a larger touring style motorcycle. I can attest to all of these modes of transportation. The Hyperboom mates easily with Boom, Boom 3, and Megaboom devices. Great price...thanks Amazon!