Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker review
The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom is one of the best affordable Bluetooth speakers on the market right now. Here's why
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THE Ultimate Ears Wonderboom sets the bar pretty high for affordable Bluetooth speakers.
It’s now available for less than £70 on Amazon and I think it’s well worth a look if you want something to bring the noise while you’re out and about this summer.
First of all, I think it looks brilliant with its simple rounded design.
The model I tested was a subdued green - which was nice enough - but there are bolder designs if you want something that stands out at a party or a festival.
The mesh outer layer feels nice in the hand and the little hoop attachment on the top is convenient if you want to hang the speaker off a backpack or some bike handlebars.
It sounds good too. It’s got two 40 mm active drivers and two 46.1 mm x 65.2 mm passive radiators that can get pretty lively when cranked up to the max.
The sound quality is good without being amazing, but it’s plenty good enough for the price tag.
Although the features that impressed me the most about the Wonderboom are a little less obvious: namely, that it’s impact-proof and waterproof.
- Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker - £59.99 from Amazon -
It’s drop tested to five feet which means it can handle being dropped onto the patio at a barbecue (which I didn’t test) or being flung into a lake from a sail boat (which I did) without picking up a scratch.
Thankfully, considering the lake experiment, the Wonderboom floats well and was no worse for wear for bobbing in the water for 30 seconds until it was reeled in.
Officially it’ll last up to a depth of 1 metre for 30 minutes - meaning you should be able to take it in the shower or out in a kayak without worrying about water damage.
Another neat feature of the Wonderboom is that it’ll easily sync up with a second Wonderboom speaker to give you even more sound.
I used a pair of them while outdoors at the park with a few friends and between them, they produced enough sound to hear across half a football pitch.
They’ll last the afternoon as well, with the batteries managing around 10 hours between charges.
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In all, I think the Wonderboom is a great little speaker.
It does everything you want from a portable sound system and seems to be hard-wearing enough to survive even the muddiest of British summers.
Plus, considering its modest price tag, I think you'd struggle to find a better Bluetooth speaker for less.
- Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker - £59.99 from Amazon -
If you're on a budget and you want to check out some other options, here's our list of best Bluetooth speakers under £150.