BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

UE Wonderboom Waterproof Speaker Review

This article is more than 6 years old.

Ian Morris

Along with the craze for waterproof phones we're also now in need of things to pair with our phones so that we have something to do when we're splashing around in the tub. So enter Ultimate Ears newest speaker, the Wonderboom, a speaker that's designed to be suitable for almost anything you throw at it.

If you don't already know, Ultimate Ears is a brand of Logitech. It's designed to give a geeky computer company a way to sell earphones and speakers to a crowd that's heard of Beats and not much else. It's a pretty good idea, because no one wants headphones designed by people who make Bluetooth keyboard. Interestingly, this review is being written on one such keyboard.

The unique sell for the Wonderboom though, is that it can be used on the beach, in the bath or even in the shower.

Design

The Wonderboom is a simple enough design. Two large volume controls on the front, a power button on the top and a button to put the speaker in pairing mode. Around the back of the device is a small rubber cover that conceals the USB charging socket. There's also a button under the "UE" logo that allows you to pause or skip forward through tracks.

Ian Morris

The pairing button also allows you to join two speakers to each other, to give an enhanced sounds. There's no app to navigate here, just the controls on the speaker - which is different to most of the other UE speakers.

There's a little hook made of fabric, although finding anything small enough to hook it on was a major challenge. The top and bottom of the speaker are made of a tough rubber, and the grille a sort of tough plastic that feels really durable.

Sound quality

From previous experience I've always found that UE has a sound profile that favours the low-end. That works okay with headphones, but with little speakers that can be a disaster. What you don't want is an under-powered speaker that tries to do bass and distorts. But that's not what's going on here with the UE Wonderboom. Instead, this speaker seems to play some subtle tricks that really help the sound.

Firstly, UE seems to have done some good frequency management here. The bass response seems to be perfectly tuned to the abilities of the speaker. That gives you a clean, crisp sound that never distorts. There's good low-frequency response, but I feel like the speaker is somewhat tricking you into thinking that without actually hitting the lowest notes. None of this matters though, there are no losers when a speaker works like this.

Ian Morris

The general sound quality is excellent though. High end treble seems nicely balanced, lyrics in the middle are clean and crisp and it's balanced with that mid-low sound that feels a lot bigger than it actually is.

If you just want a nice-sounding Bluetooth speaker and have no interest in the rugged nature or water resistance then I'd still say the Wonderboom is worth buying. There might be other speakers out there that offer similar quality for the price, but I feel like this little device certainly earns its crust.

If you need something more rugged than most though, that's when this speaker really earns its keep.

Water resistance

I was somewhat nervous about testing the Wonderboom in actual water. I suppose this has something to do with the fact that water resistance is flaky in phones. It works well, but one would be ill-advised to treat it as a feature. Instead it's better to view it as emergency insurance against being dropped in the sink.

Ian Morris

But the Wonderboom was demonstrated to me as a rugged, waterproof speaker. So I tested it in the bath and I tested it in the shower. In both situations it performed amazingly. In the bath - or pool - the speaker floats. That's useful because you can't really use a speaker that sinks, because it will be inaudible. So the Wonderboom bobs about on the surface pumping out music.

Obviously water has a dramatic effect on the sound you hear. In the bath, when you hold it under the water the audio is reduced in volume, and becomes almost entirely bass. This is entirely predictable, and absolutely unavoidable. But while the speaker floats, that's more of an anti-loss feature, it's far better to keep the speaker out of the water where it can be heard better. And naturally, when a Bluetooth device goes underwater you're massively attenuating the signal that can reach it. This will mean that it will drop out quite easily.

In the shower the speaker also earnt its crust. But here's one are where I feel like the UE Wonderboom needs an extra feature - shower mode. What you get when the water is flowing is a much more boomy sound. Presumably this is related to the water having more of an impact on high frequency sound waves than on low frequency ones. But it's a noticeable effect. It would be good if there was a button to tweak the sound slightly and drop a chunk of the bass.

Verdict

Great little speaker this one. Heartily recommend it. Sound is good, clean and powerful with plenty of volume. You can pair two of the speakers together if you like, but even on its own there's enough volume here for most activities. Outside it will get a little lost, so perhaps consider two if you're planning outdoor parties.

There's no app here, unlike other UE speakers. It's a simple pairing process and it takes a couple of seconds and has clear audible tones that tell you what's going on. You learn how to use the speaker really quickly, and it's great to use.

The water and life proofing is also excellent, and I now have a speaker I can take in the shower to listen to podcasts on - it's awesome. Plus my kids are captivated by this plucky little bluetooth speaker.

Follow me on LinkedIn