Customer Ratings & Reviews

First of all, I would like to say that this review is being written in exchange for a paltry 25 Best Buy Rewards points. That is not why this product is getting a PRELIMINARY 4 star review. The points only influenced me TO WRITE the review. I hope that's clear. There is no way that the points are influentialin my review. [If anyone is still reading this, and needs me to draw a chart, please request one in the comments box.] ;-) The original MSRP of $99.99 would have prevented me from purchasing this speaker; I was on the fence for it at the sale price of $66.99. Once I applied the $10 (total) Best Buy Rewards certificates, I left the store with a $100 speaker for just under $62, with tax. Now that's a bargain! The sound on this speaker is great! I work on a factory floor, where hearing protection is required, and the speaker will be used most often in this environment. I will update this review if I find the noise level drowns the speaker out, but I don't think that will be a problem. Speaking of environment, I suppose this would be a good place to inform you that the speaker is IP67 Rated, which essentially means it's impervious to damage from inert liquids. I would not recommend submersion in sulfuric (or any other caustic) acid. However, if you drop it in a pool, a pond, or an ocean, you (and it) should be fine. It also floats, and has a nice little elastic hoop firmly attached to the top, so it should be easy to retrieve from said bodies of water. **Do not attempt to use this speaker as a floatation device.** It only takes a couple of hours to charge the battery from dead. There was enough charge out of the box to get in a few hours of listening at high volumes. I haven't run it completely down from a full charge, yet. I'll update this once that's happened. The packaging of this speaker was really nice. I took my time, and enjoyed the well-thought-out design. As I stated earlier, I work in a factory, and some of the packaging is atrocious, to say the least. There are pictures. Feast your eyes! The instructions were sparse, but there is an online manual/tutorial that I have yet to view. Update later... I'm still getting used to the controls, so (once again) I'll update later. These are woefully understated, but mercifully few in quantity. A giant (by comparison to the size of the speaker) '+' and '-' sign are on the face (see the pictures) but the minus is placed vertically, so something of the visual cue is lost. What we're actually left with is a '+' and a '|' which is just dumb; especially when the one considers the cylindric nature of the speaker's design. There's no flat spot or 'weighting' to cause the speaker to orient any particular way when put on its side, which seems contrary, somehow. So when it's put (as designed) on its bottom, it kind of leaves you with a cross motif. I mean, I'm not stupid, so I get it - I just can't help thinking someone who put so much thought into the design of their BOX would give the PRODUCT as much consideration... Another thing I noticed that was a (minor) annoyance: this speaker features an 'outdoor' mode, which does make the speaker noticeably louder, but it seems to sacrifice the bass to accomplish the task. Maybe an electronics engineer or an audiophile can help us understand how/why this is the case? Anyway, I doubt it will directly affect my enjoyment. Like this one (the black one) being cheaper than the red, blue, or gray models; makes no sense, but that won't stop me from enjoying the music!

I have other better sounding Bluetooth speakers, but at a cost much much more. For the price, this speaker, which has very decent loud sound, completely waterproof (I've literally used it floating in the pool), easy connectivity, and very portable, it's tough to beat! I have 3 of these in different colors, which can also be paired together, and also buy these as gifts.

Background for comparison sake: I’ve owned a lot of BT speakers over the years, I guess it’s a hobby. I tend to avoid the budget models but even sticking among the higher tier brands doesn’t always guarantee a great speaker. The “ok” speakers I end up giving to friends or family and the good/great ones stick around. Over the past 10 years I’ve bought JBL, Harmon Kardon, UE, Jawbone, Sony, Fugoo, Braven, and probably a few other brands. The only long-term keepers so far have a JBL Extreme (had to replace the battery but otherwise great) and an H/K Onyx which is just funky and dynamic enough find a home in the garage. The other UE Booms/JBL Flips/Sony/Braven/Fugoo, etc. we’re given away after they ended up going unused due to sound quality or battery issues. Compared to previous generations of UE Boom and Megaboom, this Wonderboom 2 speaker has better highs and mids, and overall better clarity. Compared to JBL Flip 4, this is probably not as bright but it has more bottom end, better battery life, and is more durable due to the somewhat fragile end caps on the similarly priced JBL speaker. Also the JBL and some of the other brands are directional speakers, meaning you only get good sound from the front of the speaker and if you are beside or behind it, the sound is degraded. The Wonderboom 2, like several other brands, has omnidirectional sound dispersion which is nice when you want music in the center of a room. Placing it in a corner or near a wall does help reinforce the bass response, similar to other speaker types, but it still sounds good out in the open. This is especially nice for my primary use cases which are paddle boarding, swimming, camping, or on the sand at the beach. The form factor is great to hang on a beach umbrella (or my favorite, dig a hole in the sand with my heels and place the speaker in there for more bass when needed), strap it to bike handlebars, or toss it into the bottom of a backpack and forget about it until you need it. Very durable and solid. Battery life, so far, has been very good. I’ve used it multiple days at a time on a recent camping trip before it finally needed a charge, and I had a battery pack available so I could keep the party going while it recharged. My only complaint is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone input. This is not a huge gripe, but that would bump it from 4.5 to 5 stars for me. For most people this may not be an issue, everything is wireless these days, but I intended to use it as an external speaker for a small LCD TV mounted in my Airstream and cannot due to lack of input. I didn’t realize this before I bought the speaker, I just assumed that it had one because the past few portable speakers I’ve purchased came equipped with one, and I was in a hurry to get on the road. That said, it’s a keeper for now because of the combination of great sound quality, battery life, and extreme durability (it even floats!). Time will tell, but this may end up being a long-term keeper.

I have purchased several of this same model for myself and for friends. Quality sound, very durable. I always take mine with me when I travel and it always performs. I add a carabiner so I can hang it up on beach umbrellas, clip it inside the pocket of my backpack, etc. (See pic.)

Lemme just say that pound for pound, this is the ultimate in size, sound, convenience, portability, shower buddy and punching bag. Do yourself a favor and go to hdtracks and get FLAC FILES of at least a few albums and if you have an iPhone put an app called doppler on it in order to organize and play them hoes easily and this will be your travel buddy. My personal favorite is “Far Beyond Driven” with the song I’m Broken in particular blaring from this bad boy sitting in the corner at about 55% volume and it changed my life. “Superunknown” sounds great as well with the EQ set to “vocal booster”. Literally gave me permanent chicken skin and I applied at chic fil V- My pleasure

Bass and quality good. Use it for my work laptop, no complaints.

The UE Wonderboom 2 is smallest entry in UE’s lineup. It replaces the outgoing Wonderboom. The overall design hasn’t changed much, but there are a few notable tweaks (see below). Design The Wonderboom 2 is a compact Bluetooth speaker that is slightly larger than some of its peers. Sound is provided via dual 40mm active drivers and dual 46.1 x 65.2mm passive radiators. The speakers and radiators are positioned around the body to provide a 360° sound stage. Only the charging port (Micro-USB) resides behind the gasket at the bottom-rear of the speaker. The cover must remain closed for the WB2 to keep its IP67 rating. The battery life receives a bump overall the original (10hr) to a 13hrs. Controls are divided up into 3 locations. The top of the speaker as the pairing, play/pause/skip/double up, and power buttons. The play/pause/skip/double up button works as follows: 1 press to play/pause, 2 presses to skip, and (with 2 WB2 units) press and hold to pair the speakers together to give you stereo sound. The signature UE oversized volume controls are located on the front body. Lastly the bottom carries the Outdoor Mode button. Activating this feature sets a custom EQ and boosts output designed for use in an outdoor acoustic setting. The entire unit fits in your hand with just under a 4” diameter. That diameter restricts you from using a cupholder to hold the speaker – i.e. in a golf cart or in a patio chair. Its small size makes it very portable, and easy to bring along in a bookbag, or purse. I like to go on camping and backpacking trips. Its size limits me on where I can store it. I cannot fit this into the mesh drink pouches on my pack. Instead I have to stuff it down in my pack (can’t use it then) or hang it off the side with a carabiner. Not ideal since I can feel it bouncing around while I'm walking. However, the speaker is light enough to hang from the canopy of my tent for some music (or white-noise) to fall asleep to. The 360° sound is really nice in this setting, and fills the tent with sound. The Wonderboom2 feels pretty rugged as well. The speaker carries an IP67 rating (submerged 1 meter, for 30 minutes), as well as some drop resistance (safe from a 5ft drop). The speaker can also float, like the original. The 2-tone cloth exterior looks great, and it feels like a nice quality exterior material. The bungie strap is well made, and it is securely attached. The rubber grip does more than just show the brand name, but it provides a decent amount of extra grip to the strap. It also helps to cup your finger a little bit and make it a more comfortable to carry. Sound The sound quality of the Wonderboom 2 is really good for such a small speaker. The 360° sound stage works well enough that you can tuck the speaker in a corner, in any orientation, and it still sounds great. As far as volume goes, it can jump up to 86 dB (as loud as a blender), which is plenty loud enough. I had no problem filling my basement (800 sqft) with the speaker at 75% volume, so I know it can keep up with even larger spaces. I never able to push the speaker to the point of clipping or distortion, so I assume the max volume cutout is doing its job. The bass had enough punch to be heard, but it wasn’t super deep or rumbling – pretty much what I would expect out of a speaker of this size. I played a decent variety of music through the WB2. Pop music sounds the best, and its apparent that the EQ is designed for that genre. However, rock, alternative, and hip hop also played well on the WB2. The bass isn’t as concentrated for hip hop, so you are going to get a deep rumble out of it. Instead the bass is a little more punchy, which is why pop sounds pretty good. Other Areas The Bluetooth connectivity works well. Reported range is up to 100ft – I have only tried it out to about 40 ft, and it was still working fine from that distance without cutting in/out. You can pair 2 different devices to it at the same time under a feature UE calls multi-host. The buoyancy of the speaker is pretty nice. About 1/3 of it floats above the waterline. Your sound is severely impacted at this point, but thanks to the 360° sound you can still hear it well enough. My kids brought the speaker into their bath, and had fun dunking it and hearing the music play under the water. That’s a cool novelty for most usage, but I can see this being a real benefit when used around a pool, or out on a float trip. Overall I think the UE Wonderboom 2 is a terrific little speaker. It has an attractive design, and a couple of nice features to have. I never had any issues with playback or pairing – it was dead simple and easy to use. The shape of the WB2 makes it difficult or impossible to stick in a cup holder, which is unfortunate for me if I want to bring it in a golf cart for a round. The extra size though allows the enclosure to house 2 speakers and 2 radiators, as well as keeping it buoyant. There are tradeoffs to consider, but this little UE unit has a number of things going for it. I truly didn’t find any issues with the speaker or its operation, and the only negative for me was not fitting in a cupholder. That’s a pretty nitpicky thing to be honest.

This is my new favorite bluetooth speaker. It doesn’t have a lot of things that other speakers have, but it nails everything a great Bluetooth speaker should be. It sounds great, it’s infinitely portable, and it can go pretty much anywhere you can. I’ve used it in so many more situations where I would usually not even bother to cart out one of my other speakers. I’m going to start off by listing things the Wonderboom 2 does NOT have: An aux input NFC A microphone An app Bluetooth 5 or any high resolution audio codecs I’d normally have something to say about most of these things, but using the Wonderboom has made me realize that I just don’t care about them. I’ve had NFC Bluetooth speakers in the past and I’ve maybe used it one time to pair something, but it doesn’t really add much convenience. I’ve never used any Bluetooth speaker to take a phone call. It’s getting to the point that almost everything has its own app now and it’s refreshing that I don’t need to download anything on my phone to unlock functionality or download a firmware update every few months. The aux input may be a big miss for some, but it’s another feature that I never really used on my speakers that have it. There’s no mention of what Bluetooth version is on this speaker - I have to assume it’s a 4.something variety based on the fact that it isn’t listed, but the Bluetooth version and audio codecs don’t mean a thing if the sound isn’t good in the first place and there’s no issues with that here. Going to what the Wonderboom 2 DOES have: A great design that’s compact, dust/waterproof, and durable Great sound, especially for its size A reliable connection and nice easy to press buttons Long battery life I love the design of the speaker. It’s got this stark simple look with the 2 giant volume buttons on the front of it. It reminds of something from IKEA. The main body of the speaker is covered in a fabric all the way around and the tops and bottoms are a rubberized plastic material. It’s about as tall as a soda can, but a bit fatter. The small size makes it easy to hold and easy to pick up and move around. It also feels like it could take a drop or two, but I did not test that firsthand. There’s a small loop for hanging the speaker; it can stretch a little, but you probably don’t want to hang it off anything much larger than its neutral size. The speaker is IP67 dust and waterproof - I took it in the shower with me and even sprayed it directly and it kept going, which is a nice peace of mind if you’re going to be at the beach or the pool (it also floats). The buttons are all easy to find and press, though the giant volume buttons on the front really aren’t all that giant as the actual pressable areas are more towards the center of each button. The sound quality was much better than I was expecting it to be. Lots of small speakers can get loud, but most of them don’t have that ‘big’ sound the larger speakers have and that always gravitates me back to larger less portable options. The Wonderboom doesn’t have that problem; the sound is crystal clear even at very high volumes and the bass is excellent, though certain surfaces you set it on can mute the base a little bit. It’s loud enough to fill most any room easily and there’s an “Outdoor Boost” mode that gets it even louder - it seems to sacrifice a little bit of audio clarity to get there, but it’s not a difference that I really noticed when I was outside with it. I generally kept my phone well within the 100ft stated range, but I didn’t notice any skips or dropouts as I carried my phone around with me. Battery life is also excellent. I’ve yet to run it down below 50% since I initially charged it and have had about 3 or 4 longer listening sessions lasting 1-2 hours each. It seems ontrack to make it’s 13 hour rated battery life, though I have not found a way to check the actual percentage battery left on it - you can check the battery on the speaker itself by pressing the up and down volume buttons at the same time, but it just gives you a single or two tone sound to indicate whether the batter is below or above 50%. My phone will often tell me the battery level of other devices connected to it, but it doesn’t show me one for the Wonderboom. If I had any real gripes with this speaker this would be it since you never really know where you’re at on the battery. This is what a Bluetooth speaker should be. It’s something I’m now using in my everyday life, not just when I’ve got people over. Even if you’ve got a little more to spend, I'd still recommend this one.

This little thing can really make good sound. My family love riding bike in the park and we take this with us and have lots of fun. Both indoor and outdoor play sounds great.

I love this speaker bcuz it light to carry around to any hangout I go to. The battery last long. I also love it bcuz u can Bluetooth it with another speaker.

Glad I purchased this item. It’s small and compact. But the sound is incredible. It’s really loud and battery life is great and Lasts a long time.

Speaker the sound is clear and o bought another one and paired them. Music sounds amazing and it’s shape is cute and the speaker is easy to transport.

The Wonderboom 2 is surprisingly small, about the size of a softball, and probably one of the smallest speakers that I own, but is also quite dense, weighing just under 1 pound. However, the sound it outputs is full and well-balanced with a decent amount of bass, and the volume can be turned up quite loud, more than enough to fill a small to medium sized room and for use outdoors. That being said, when paired with my phone, pushing the speaker to the max volume results in a bit of distortion, particularly in the upper ranges where cymbal crashes and female vocals can start to clash and sound a bit muddy. But even with the volume backed down a couple steps, the speaker is still plenty loud, and I really like how clearly voices and individual instrumentation are reproduced in general. With the speaker being a single-point source, it’s no surprise that left and right track separation is difficult to distinguish if not absent completely, but that can be resolved by pairing a second Wonderboom 2 speaker for true stereo output using its “Double Up” feature, which can be activated via a simple button press and doesn’t require a mobile app. I have to disagree somewhat that the speaker has full 360-degree projection though, because the sound isn’t exactly uniform depending where it’s facing. There’s definitely a difference listening from each “side” but thankfully, no clear dead zones; so even though you might hear a little more treble or bass from one angle to another, you can still enjoy the music no matter where you’re oriented in relation to the speaker. There’s a small pine tree shaped symbol on the button on the bottom for “outdoor mode” which boosts the levels, so the bass can travel farther in outdoor settings, but in my opinion throws off the balance and manages to make it sound “boxy” up close, though this is less noticeable from a distance. Even so I much prefer this setting off, and I think it sounds just fine outdoors without it. The speaker is pretty minimalist in terms of design and outside of the power button, Bluetooth pairing button, center button for playback control and button for outdoor mode, the only other functions you’ll find are the large plus and minus on the front for volume adjustments. The center button can play/pause a track, skip to the next track, or activate Double Up mode. As a travel speaker its compact form and lightness make it easy to pack. It also has a small rubber loop for hanging to a backpack or belt loop with a carabiner (not included). The best feature though is that the speaker is fully waterproof and floats in water with an IP67 rating. I tested this out in a swimming pool and it surely does float (though it doesn’t sound great while floating). It certainly isn’t afraid of getting wet! This means you can feel secure about using it by the pool, at the beach, or even in the shower/bath. The rubber and fabric wrapped exterior is also fairly durable making it rugged enough to survive an accidental fall to the ground, and it dries surprisingly quickly. A bit disappointing though, is that at its price point, it doesn’t have some more advanced features like built-in smart assistant support (e.g. Alexa/Google), NFC pairing, or even wireless charging for that matter. You’ll still need to open a rubber door to access the microUSB port for charging and make sure that door is fully closed before it makes contact with water, making this a potential failure point in terms of its water resistance. Interestingly, the speaker is able to pair with two mobile devices simultaneously, and is able to switch between the two, allowing two DJs the opportunity to share and take turns playing music. It also automatically shuts off after 15 minutes of inactivity, to save battery, though I found that a full charge is more than capable of lasting a full 12 hours at a moderate volume level. Overall, though, I think it’s a solid Bluetooth speaker with excellent sound performance, durability, and design.

Speaker itself I thought was great. Had good sound, easy to use, and handy clip so I could hook it to my kayak for outdoor sound. Plus that it was 'waterproof', it did get splashed on the kayak, but was NEVER submerged or even floated on the water! The speaker stopped working all together one day. I tried different micro-USB plugs and even tried throwing it in the fridge to charge (recommended online) and nothing worked. Finally I decided to tear it apart myself since it was out of warranty and I was getting ready to toss it away anyway. The circuit board was destroyed and covered in black and red melted plastics. I wanted to give 1 star because product should last more than 1 year (I was just outside of warranty period), but because I liked the sound, ease of use, and quality I gave it 2 stars. Overall crap shoot product, might/might not recommend. Take a chance maybe?

Great sound,super portability super easy to pair with other Wonderboom 2 to stereo sound.My other is the crushed ice gray.Perfect for the outside when you need something very portable and with 360 sound.

I have two of them they are fantastic. The wonder boom two is better, sounds better and has a better recharging system. The previous wonder boom speakers I had just died and could not be recharged. The bass beats larger speakers by far.

Best speaker every, it can get loud but still sound amazing and it’s been in the water a lot due to my nephew preferring the speaker than his toy lol. Still works amazing

Great sound for its size and easy to use. Purchase price was good and availability of color options was good too.

Works well. Has a setting for “outside”. Can be paired with multiple for surround sound. Bought it for my boyfriend to play his music at work in the kitchen. Has proved durability. He says only complaint is charger cord is awkward. A LITTLE difficult to plug in cord to speaker. Charges perfectly fine tho. Medium length cord. See photo for size reference . I don’t have a photo for the cord because he threw it away ._.

I was immediately impressed with the sound that this little thick block delivers. It gets very loud! I was also impressed with the bass it thumps, it isn't that rattling bass, you know, the kind that distorts sound? It's that low subtle bass that provides just the right amount of oompf to carry that bass note to your ears. Mids and highs are well balanced and this speaker is great for a wide variety of music genres in my opinion. The speaker has this "outdoor boost" button that you can toggle on and off on its underside which makes the speaker even louder! Build quality of the speaker is awesome. It is waterproof, dust proof, and floats in the pool! Lol honestly tho, trying to listen to music with this thing in the water is hard, water is going to muffle any speaker. BUT it's awesome not having to worry about your speaker falling into the pool and sinking to the bottom, or getting soaked while you chill with it outdoors. The battery goes on all day and it only takes about 2 hours to charge. I also like the loop that is built into the speaker, makes tethering it anywhere easy. This is my new favorite portable speaker. It's the perfect size for easy carrying and sounds great. I'm thinking about buying a second one to pair it with for stereo sound. Pros : Loud. Great sound. Tough and rugged. 100 ft Long range bluetooth. The ability to pair it to a second speaker for stero sound. Cons. Micro USB charger. (Mostly because it is being phased out) and I only want to carry USB C now.