MH Tech Review: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Mini Portable Bluetooth Speakers
How can something so small project such incredible volume? You’ll have to ask Ultimate Ears because they’ve created a convenient and sharp speaker that will be on your family Christmas shopping list.
Opening the package, the first thing you notice is that this is a compact instrument that can fit in the palm of your hand. Despite appearing small and fragile, the gadget feels solid and has shock-absorbing qualities to minimise impact in case of a drop. Ultimate Ears suggest it can cope with falls of up to 5 ft, so you can rest easy if you do happen to drop it.
We managed to test out the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom and here is what we found:
Setup
There wasn't much in the way of setting up. Its 4 button feature was extremely handy and self-explanatory. Connecting your device via bluetooth followed the same standard process and I found no difficulty in linking my device with the speaker.
Sound
Previously, I owned the much larger version of the speaker, and that was purely down to being fearful the smaller versions wouldn’t provide the sound I was after. Within moments, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom quickly quashed those fears. It certainly exceeded my expectations and produced awesome sound.
Typically, my smaller speakers haven’t been able to reach the volume I was after outdoors, and at BBQs, the sound was often drowned out by chitter chatter and the lack of acoustics outside. The first thing I wanted to do was this test this, and with flying colours it passed.
The base is unreal but given it’s size, the base and sound in general can be compromised at the top end of the volume. Considering its uses, that won’t bother the average punter.
Waterproof
It’s also waterproof: there’s no reason to be nervous when your mates ask you to bring it to a bbq by the pool. And if it does get a couple stains, there’s no harm in giving the speaker a wash.
Other features
On top of being a great speaker, the Ultimate Ears has some other great features such as the app and the ability to link up speakers to mimic that concert feel. It has a range of about 30m and a battery life of around 10 hours. For it’s price and size, those specs are excellent.
The pros
The sound completely exceeded my expectations given the size of the speaker. Compared to it's rivals on the market, it's quality is superb for a micro-speaker. It's also extremely robust so this is the perfect outdoor speaker given it's ability to survive the harsh terrain of the outdoors.
The cons
Perhaps it's biggest drawback comes as a result of it's design: the small size means it can be lost. Fortunately, it's thick body means it should stand out in the grass. The quality of sound may also be distorted at the top of its volume range and unfortunately, there is also no speaker-phone capability.
The round-up
At just $99.99, this speaker is an extremely affordable option and at it's price point, exceeds expectations. A perfect gift for your children if you’re not sure they’re responsible enough to handle a big-ticket item. The speaker offers incredible quality and only really lacks in more technical aspects that wouldn’t concern you or I.
Realistically you can’t expect much from such a small item. But the Wonderboom goes beyond what I expected. Having owned other Ultimate Ears speakers, perhaps there’s an element of bias but I have no reason to shift my loyalty while they continue to perform.
Thumbs Up
- Extremely affordable for its quality
- Compact size makes it easy to carry around while also durable
- Waterproof features makes it more versatile
Thumbs Down
- Can be misplaced - but that risk applies to any small speaker
- No speakerphone capability
- Feels like a ball in my hand and I constantly feel like throwing it around like a cricket ball
