Ultimate Ears - EPICBOOM Portable Wireless Bluetooth Waterproof Speaker with 17 Hour Battery and 180 ft Range - Charcoal Black

Coming from the Megablast I was a bit skeptical before purchase. For some odd reason, the Megablast stopped working out of nowhere and man was I sad. I had been keeping up with the new versions coming out, the one before this being super huge was not convenient for carrying around so I did not pull the trigger on purchasing it. I was even disappointed that I no longer had the Alexa feature to look forward to. But in the words of LL Cool J, "I can't live without my radio" and the day came when I couldn't take it any longer having no speaker to blast my tunes with. I was going to go ahead and get the big bulky blaster with the crazy price tag. I rushed to Best Buy with only a half hour left and looked on the shelf to play around with the big speaker. That's when I saw this one, the Epic Boom with the perfect size. I checked the pricing and it was a bit cheaper than the monster version. I pressed the demo button to hear if the sound was comparable to my old favorite the MegaBlast. Oh my goodness it sounded crappy. I said to myself no way this is their new model and it sounds worse than the priors. I carefully started reading the box to find out about all these wonderful features but it just did not make sense. I had not much time left til closing time and said to myself "Well, I guess I will take it just to have something to listen to my music on". I reached down to the shelf to find there was no more there. I wanted to shed tears at this point. A representative walked over to remind me the store was closing soon and I asked do you have this model in the back. She looked it up and yes, there was one left in the store somewhere. I hesitantly told her to go get it and I will make the purchase. After leaving the store I decided to open the box in the car to hear the model once more. The device was dead and nothing happened on the button press. I rode back home and sat the box on the bed thinking the whole time, that maybe I should just return it and get the huge one, at least it would sound better than what I had heard in the store. It took. me hours to decide if I was going to open the box and charge up the device. I talked myself into breaking open the package and went through the routine of setting up and plugging in chords for charging. The device made no peep nor did an indication of led lights show up. I was now upset, I paid for a defect I thought. I walked away from the thing and went outside for some cool off the anger time. A few hours went by and I returned to the room to see there was now a light. I pressed the on button and the familiar sound of it turning on just like the Megablast was what I heard. I may be wrong here but I could have sworn my Apple phone began giving instructions on how to download the device's software and firmware updates. I jumped in every turn to make sure the setup was correct. Once finished I now had the opportunity to listen to the music and man oh man the sound was incredible. This device sounds way better than my old favorite. I do not know how the company made something that was this good, better than ever. I rocked out all night and did not even turn it off to sleep. This is one amazing speaker. The new features are pretty decent as well. I do miss the Alexa feature though it did not work correctly all the time. With Alexa, you were able to sit with friends and family and play games when you tire from music listening. That is the only reason I left out one star. Overall this speaker is worth the purchase. You can carry it anywhere, throw it in the drink, and let it auto-adjust sound to its atmosphere. The workers at Best Buy should be trained to set these features up on store demos because at first, I was going to pass it up because of the crappy sound. They did not adjust anything and just sat it on the shelf.

Sound takes some equalization jimmying to sound good, but once you get the sweet spot with high quality streaming, it sounds pretty awesome. The only thing negative was the very high price. Fits on a bookshelf.

Fantastic speaker, sound quality is ultimate as the name goes. It can become loud as well without producing noise, sound quality is just near perfect, you can hear various instruments used while creating the music meticulously. It is more than worth its price.

Over ten years ago I had my first foray into the world of Ultimate Ears with their (imo) flagship UE Boom. It was the first time I had ever experienced the ability to connect one portable speaker to another without the tethering of cables. And for its size, the Boom was a great little speaker. Then the world of portable speakers was turned upside down with one company after another putting forward their versions of the portable speaker, and it seemed as though UE was overshadowed by the sheer number of alternate speakers out there. And now comes along the Ultimate Ears EpicBoom Wireless Bluetooth Speaker. And what a pleasure this speaker is! When I ordered the EpicBoom, I thought it was a larger speaker, so I was a bit surprised when it arrived on my doorstep. It seemed so much smaller than I thought it would be. But when I picked it up, I was just as surprised by how hefty it was, weighing in at a little under five pounds. That may not seem like a lot, but in a speaker that is roughly 10x6x5, its impressive. The speaker came very well packaged in a very durable shipping-proof box. It was well-wrapped and intelligently packed. Kudos to UE for their foresight. As I unpacked the speaker, I noted the box contained the speaker, USB cable, an already-attached carrying strap, and of course, a quick-start guide. Before I forget, I want to point out that the speaker is predominantly made from recycled materials! Another shout-out to UE for their consideration of the environment. The overall design of the EpicBoom is quite simplistic...minimalistic. There aren't a bunch of different buttons or controls to deal with. In fact, the controls are limited to Power, Bluetooth Pairing, Outdoor Boost, and Play/Pause. There is of course their trademark +/- on the front of the speaker, and a very-well protected/waterproof USB port. The speaker itself is covered in a superior-quality seamless cloth mesh that makes holding it in your hands a very soothing and pleasurable experience. This may sound a bit odd, but I couldn't help but allow myself to simply get lost in the alluring shape and the textures, observing the almost other-worldly engineering and design. No matter where this speaker is placed, it will be noticed, and people will talk about it. Continuing the topic of design, the EpicBoom's base is constructed of what I'm guessing is rubber, complete with little white speckles that remind me of the night sky, adding to its other-world design. The base will absolutely keep the speaker from sliding on almost any surface. And, as if to say "We're not done yet!", UE includes a magnetized strap that makes sure the speaker will always keep its impeccable appearance. But what about the sound? UE boasts the EpciBoom comes with two 1.7" (45mm) active mid-high frequency transducers and one 4.6" (120mm) woofer, and is capable of 360 degree immersive sound. So what did I think when I tested it out? In all honesty, I was astounded by just how loud this little speaker would go! I live on three acres, and so I placed the EpicBoom in the middle of my yard and put it to the test. I placed the speaker approximately 150' from the house under a tree and returned to my front porch. I already had it connected via Bluetooth. When I got to the porch, I noticed it still had a very strong BT connection. So, I disconnected and then reconnected, and had no problems doing so. I went to my playlist and chose a song to try out, and hit play. I was quite pleased with how good it sounded, even from so far away. No, it wasn't loud enough to blow out my eardrums, not by any means. But the sound was clear, not garbled. I had it turned all the way up and had the Outdoor Boost enabled. No distortion whatsoever. And again, this was from 150' away!! As with any speaker that is turned up to Max, the closer I got to it, the more difficult it became to hear what my friend was saying. It became just a bit uncomfortable from the loudness. Before I actually walked back to the speaker, I did a 360 degree walk around to test its boast of 360 degree immersive sound. By golly, it is indeed a 360 degree speaker...sounded the same no matter where we were. I then went through all the presets on the equalizer, which, by the way, is disabled in Outdoor Boost mode, and noticed very distinct differences in each setting. You can also create your own equalizer settings, so I experimented at length with many various settings. So as far as the sound goes, taking into account its size, I am 100% sold on the EpicBoom. It delivers sound and quality found in speakers that far exceed its own rather sizeable price point. But as if the sound quality is not enough, the EpicBoom is also waterproof AND floatable, and can handle depths up to a little over three feet underwater. I absolutely struggled with this, but I decided if I am going to write a complete review, I had to test this part out. So, I filled up the bathtub and tossed it in. In all honesty, I felt as though I had made a terrible mistake, and that I had just ruined a $350 speaker. After submerging it twice (once without music playing and the second time with music playing), I was relieved to find it was still working perfectly. It took a lot of shaking before almost all of the water had been removed, and then I placed it in front of an air mover for a couple of hours. All the water is gone and its still working great. When it is all said and done, this is the portable speaker everyone needs if they are looking for one. It sounds great, its extremely well-built and amazingly aesthetic, has fantastic range, and is even waterproof. Its connectable to other speakers, and has a speaker life of well over 15 hours. I've heard people balk at the somewhat hefty price, but the fact it can fall into the pool and survive makes it well worth the price point. This is a speaker I am going to tell everyone about, and I will be recommending it highly as well.

The Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM is an amazing and versatile Bluetooth speaker that can easily function as the life of the party. During my testing, I was blown away by its performance, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a powerful speaker to pair with their favorite media. The first thing I noticed about the EPICBOOM was the size and weight of the box it arrived in, which is pretty substantial for a Bluetooth speaker. Ultimate Ears did an excellent job of packaging the product, and unboxing is an enjoyable and straightforward process. In the box, you'll find the speaker, a USB-C charging cable, and various bits of paperwork with instructions and warranty information. Build quality is very nice with the EPICBOOM, as the majority of the speaker is a durable dark grey/black fabric-like material, with sections of plastic and rubber. The bottom of the EPICBOOM is rubberized, and is a different color and texture. On the top are the main controls, along with big “+” and “-“ signs on the front that control volume. On the bottom of the speaker are some grips for standing, and printed information on the underside panel. There are also 3 LED lights above the volume controls, that light up to let you know the charge level. While the EPICBOOM is on the heavier side for a Bluetooth speaker, it’s still light enough to easily be considered portable. There is a carrying loop on the rear of the speaker as well, for when you want to take your speaker with you on the go. The controls are simple enough, with a power button, a button used to pair the speaker, an “Outdoor Boost” button, and a play/pause button. There is also a Near Field Communication (NFC) icon, yet this only works with Android phones (and I was testing with Apple products). Connecting to my phone was done in seconds, and there is an Ultimate Ears BOOM app that I downloaded to further customize the EQ and sound settings of my speaker. Pushing the power button will quickly turn the speaker on or off, and automatically connect to your device’s Bluetooth. The pairing button is used by holding it in until the light starts blinking; this means that the EPICBOOM is now discoverable. The play/pause button is used to start or stop music playback, as well as skip forwards and back to different tracks. When I used the EPICBOOM in my backyard, it seemed that the Outdoor Boost button slightly lowered the bass frequencies, making it easier to max out the volume. While the EQ on the app is not very complex, I thought it was more than adequate for finding the best possible sound in every situation. This model also has adaptive EQ that tailors the sound based on your environment, and it seemed to work well. I admittedly did not notice a huge difference between leaving this setting on and then turning it off, but I would imagine that this also depends on where you’re playing the speaker. To test the EPICBOOM, I played a variety of music, from hip-hop, electronic, rock, classical, country, and reggae genres. I also connected the speaker to my TV and watched an action movie with the EPICBOOM as the sole audio source, to see what it could do. While the EPICBOOM has an amazingly clear and well-defined sound, it truly excels at reproducing bass in music and movies. On bass-heavy genres like hip-hop and electronic music, the low end was impressive, and remained strong even with the volume nearing 100%. The mid-range frequencies were also stunning, and really shined on rock, metal, and classical music that I listened to. The highs were crisp and clear, and were never impacted by the bass or mids. I do not know how many speakers are actually used inside the EPICBOOM, but it sounds as if it has dedicated high and low drivers. Also, the EPICBOOM gets loud! It's rated as a max volume of 94 decibels, and I do not doubt that this is accurate after spending some time with it. What impressed me was how good the sound remained even at high volumes – even when pushed, the bass was powerful, and every frequency came through beautifully. When I watched an action movie, I could clearly hear dialogue when quieter scenes were playing, and during action sequences, the impact of the EPICBOOM provided a great theatre-like sound. Other things about the EPICBOOM: - Charging is relatively quick with the included USB-C cable. I love that the 3 lights let me know how full the charge is. - It is rated as IP67 water and dust-proof, and can spend 30 minutes submerged in water. - You can use a “Party Up” feature to connect to other Ultimate Ears speakers, and play music in sync at even crazier volumes. - The battery life is rated at 17 hours, which I found to be a REALLY long time! I have been able to charge it, and then use it for hours before I even need to think about recharging it. I also like that the app has a battery life gauge to keep me informed as well. - The EPICBOOM has cool little sounds for when you turn it on, connect it to Bluetooth, etc. These can be turned off in the app. - Updating the firmware is also done using the app. I found that it took about 10-15 minutes to apply an update shortly after I first started using the EPICBOOM. - EQ has 5 presets, and is a 5-band EQ system. Overall, I have been astounded at how well the EPICBOOM has performed with anything I’ve thrown at it. The only possible downside I can think of is that it may be a bit on the larger side for a Bluetooth speaker, but it’s still compact enough to be put into a backpack, in my opinion. Even though it’s not tiny, it feels extremely robust, well made, and could easily be used to entertain a group of people. Additionally, the Ultimate Ears BOOM app is responsive and easy to use, and makes customizing the sound of your EPICBOOM even more streamlined. If you are looking for a Bluetooth speaker that can deliver on huge, impressive sound, I would definitely recommend the Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM!