Right off the bat, the Ultimate Ears UE Wonderboom was weaving its spell on me. “Cute” was the first word that came to mind, which usually spells trouble for a tech product.
The simple packaging gave way to the grapefruit-size Wonderboom. It fit neatly in the palm of my hand, and there’s a comforting heft to the compact Bluetooth speaker. But, as with most things in life, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts, and the Wonderboom has the goods to deliver rich, rewarding 360-degree sound.
Oh, and it happens to be waterproof and drop-resistant. Cute was maybe an understatement.
Judging a Bluetooth speaker by its cover
There’s a little carrying loop, two large volume buttons, and a knit enclosure on the outside of the Wonderboom. It's a smart design that looks and feels great. The speaker's sturdy construction means you’ll feel confident carrying it around wherever you go without worrying how it gets there. Throw it in your bag, toss it to a friend, or leave it by the pool. Whatever. It’ll be fine.
On looks alone, the Wonderboom is a hit. The Bluetooth speaker comes in an array of colors like the vibrant "Fireball" that combines orange with blue (almost a a Mashable blue) for a contrast that truly stands out. Even the more understated colors, like Avocado, are crowd-pleasers.
Controlling the Wonderboom is simple enough. It’ll look to pair with a device right out of the box. All the buttons you need to control the device are right there, even if it’s a touch too minimal. The big “+” and “-” symbols on the Wonderboom’s face are pretty self-explanatory.
On top, you have a slightly indented power button and a raised Bluetooth pairing button. Tapping the words “Ultimate Ears” will let you play, pause, or skip songs. Those magic words can also be used to be pair the Wonderboom with another Wonderboom via a long press for even bigger sound.
I’m fine with minimal button setups, but it has to be intuitive. Otherwise I can get grouchy and wish for the days where everything was spelled out on a clunky, ugly speaker.
The Wonderboom does a fine enough job with setup, with a few caveats. You have to press the volume buttons near their center for them to actually work. That’s a little annoying because those buttons take up so much real estate. Let me press where I please... please.
Next, I’m not a huge fan of a button in disguise, as is the case with the Ultimate Ears button controlling playback. It works fine, and you’ll get it if you read the box (which you should always do), but you'll have to reveal the secret to every friend the first time they want to skip a song.
Lastly in the “too neat for its own good” design category is the battery status. Maybe one of those lights up top changes color? Nope. You need to press both volumes simultaneously to get the power status in the form of an auditory cue: a rising sound means you’re in good shape, and a sad, falling tone means it’s time for a recharge.
Speaking of charging, there’s only a microUSB cable included with the Wonderboom and no power plug. As most of us have plenty of chargers around the house by now, this should be fine. UE says it takes 2.8 hours to charge, which feels pretty accurate. Playtime is around 10 hours depending on your volume.
I'll bet you’ll see the Wonderboom quite a bit this summer. It’s a fun mini speaker that, at $99.99, is a tad steep if all you want is just a solid Bluetooth speaker, looks be damned. There are great options out there, but the Wonderboom has a lot of tricks that help to justify the price tag.
If there’s a nit to pick on the outside (beyond buttons), it’s the fabric loop. It adds a design continuity to the fabric enclosure, but there could have been a better choice to improve portability. You’ll need another clip or carabiner if you want to hang it from somewhere. Still this is just a quibble, and I’m happy they offered a loop at all.
Because you’ll be taking the Wonderboom everywhere, it’ll likely get some dirt or sand on it at some point. Well, you can wash that off with a quick rinse.
To recap: I mostly like what’s on the outside. It looks and feels good, and the only real knocks against the Wonderboom are the buttons. It’s a surprisingly rugged little thing after is all said and done.
Boom goes the speaker
For the spec-heads out there, the Wonderboom packs two 1.6-inch active drivers and two 1.8 x 2.6-inch passive radiators for its 360-degree sound. That means you won’t have to worry about the Wonderboom getting lost in the crowd.
Sound is rich -- vibrant, even -- with enough bass to satisfy anyone looking for a little punch. The Wonderboom gets surprisingly loud and there’s not too much distortion at higher volumes. Classic rock fans will feel like they’re back at Laurel Canyon, while EDM fans will be pleased by the drop. Outdated references aside, the Wonderboom sounds good and full. Bright is another way to describe the sound coming out from the Wonderboom.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear and feel how much oomph was coming out of the Wonderboom. I don’t need the bass to rattle my chest or brain, but I enjoy having it round out the overall listening experience. And the Wonderboom definitely delivers on the second half of its name. The bass is never overpowering, but fans of the low end will be very happy.
High or low, the Wonderboom never sounds tinny or muddy. You’ll get a rich, satisfying listening experience even if it’s slightly under-appreciated. After all, you’re not going to be sitting near the speaker and noticing that all the subtle layers of a song, crisply defined, at a party. Appreciate the sound when you’re alone and know you made a solid choice.
Perhaps what makes the Wonderboom a great party companion is the 360-degree sound design. Place it wherever you want and you’ll never miss a beat. That coverage means you don’t have to raise the volume to compensate for a front-facing speaker or make sure the speaker is facing the right way. Place it on a table and let it entertain the crowd -- you’ll never have to wonder if it’s loud enough for everyone.
In sum, it sounds great! Bring the Wonderboom to a party or a picnic at a park and you’re going to get a speaker that cuts through all that ambient noise. The Wonderboom is also a solid workhorse speaker if you don’t happen to have a Bluetooth speaker already. There’s enough bass to go around and whether you like rock or rap or pop, the Wonderboom will make your genre of choice sound good.
Wonderboom also has a few noted features to further entice listeners. You won’t notice all of them, but they are nice to have.
Even more under the hood
There are a lot of portable Bluetooth speakers that are waterproof, or at the very least water-resistant, nowadays, so it’s pretty much an expected feature for a speaker at Wonderboom’s price point. An unexpected storm or a quick dunk in a pool can ruin a party, so it’s nice that Wonderboom can be submerged up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. I recommend Wonderboom as your new shower speaker whenever you’re not hosting a party.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to drop things. Like, a lot. I usually have the bulkiest Otterbox available protecting my phone and it’s a near-miracle my laptop is in working order. What I’m getting at is that I’m not perfect and I appreciate anything that can handle a few drops. The Wonderboom is drop-proof tested up to five feet, so it can handle that fall from your dining table with ease. Not that I have experience with that first-hand -- I’ve only dropped it from my coffee table and it’s still working fine.
Those are the two features you’ll likely use the most, even in a passive sense. The Wonderboom can pair with two devices, meaning you and your friend can swap playlist responsibilities. You can also pair two Wonderbooms together for more robust sound for those ragers.
In a nutshell
All in all, the Ultimate Ears UE Wonderboom feels like the ideal summer speaker. It has a great look, sturdy construction, and it sounds great. I enjoyed the minimalist nature of it, and it’s nice there was no associated app because those tend to be underwhelming at best. Just let me play music as quickly as possible, thanks. I would have liked more intuitive controls and a battery level indicator, but those are more gripes than deal-breakers. Summer is still young and chances are you’ll have a lot of fun with the Wonderboom.
