UE Wonderboom
One of the best-sounding waterproof speakers today
$99.99 Manufacturer Ultimate Ears, ultimateears.com Features IPX7 waterproof rating, 360° sound, 10-hour battery life, 100 ft Bluetooth range
Recently when anyone has asked us for recommendations of a waterproof speaker, the UE Roll 2 has recently been on the top of our list. We love the Roll 2’s unique form factor, 50-foot wireless range and, obviously, it sounds good too. Where it’s lacking is in the bass department.
Logitech, UE’s parent company, has fixed the Roll 2’s lack of bass by creating the appropriately named UE Wonderboom. This diminutive speaker is smaller than the Roll 2, yet pumps out much more bass than its sibling. Moreover, the Wonderboom is still IPX7-rated, which means you can submerge the speaker in up to 3.3 ft of water for up to 30 minutes. It also conveniently floats, so you won’t have to dive in after it should it fall into the pool at your next party.
The Wonderboom does away with the saucer-like form factor of the Roll 2 and opts for a stubby soda-can shape. This means that where the Roll 2 projected sound upwards and out, the Wonderboom projects sound from every side, allowing everyone the same listening experience no matter where they are. It’s proper 360-degree projection.
As the Wonderboom is waterproof, all its controls are sealed by a rubberized membrane, which can stand up to abuse. On top are buttons for power, pairing and playback; in fact, the playback control is actually the entire UE logo, which left us initially confused. On the front, mesh fabric surrounds the speaker and volume buttons. The speaker comes in six different colors, too.
There’s one small drawback to the speaker’s design, though. Whereas the Roll 2 featured a handy bungee cord that wrapped around the speaker, the Wonderboom has a very short elastic loop. This makes mounting the speaker on things more of a challenge.
The only connection on the speaker is a Micro-USB charging port, which is covered by a waterproof flap. It would have been nice to see UE offer USB-C charging, but this isn’t what we’d consider a deal-breaker.
The Wonderboom sounds excellent and fixes the muddy bass from the Roll 2. Sound is warm, favoring mids and mid-bass. Highs sounded good, but slightly uncontrolled at higher volumes, leading to some sibilance. Bass is also good, but not class-leading.
JBL’s Charge 3 sounds better, but it’s twice the size. Bose’s Color II is a little better with vocals, but isn’t fully waterproof. And the Fugoo Go costs the same but doesn’t sound as balanced, lacking bass depth and punch.
Battery life is about average, lasting 10 hours or so at moderate listening levels; knock off a couple of hours if you’re listening with the volume cranked up.
the bottom line. The UE Wonderboom sounds great, is fully waterproof, can pair to two devices simultaneously, and can be paired to a second Wonderboom unit. What’s not to like?