Ultimate Ears Hyperboom Portable & Home Wireless Bluetooth Speaker, Loud Speaker, Big Bass, Water Resistant IPX4, 150 Ft Range – Black

The product description emphasizing the heavy bass and ability to annoy the neighbors made me think that I might not be the target market for this product. My musical interests do not run to genres where extremely loud bass is key, like hip Hop or Electronica or club mixes for big parties. I do listen to genres where bass is appreciated (blues and rock) as well as some where over-emphasized bass might be a problem (like jazz and vocal heavy genres often characterized as Americana or Singer Songwriter). I am so glad I gave it a try!The bass is certainly prominent, but rich and warm, unlike the fake bass boosts on some other products. More importantly for my purposes, it has beautiful, clear, well defined mids and highs. It can be very loud with minimal distortion, and still sounds great at both more normal and even low volumes.The other feature that was a pleasant surprise was the Adaptive EQ. I assumed it would just be a gimmick. I don't know how it works, but it maintains a very consistent sound in radically different environments, from a small contained room, to a greatroom open to a loft, and even outdoors on the deck. Another good feature is the fact that there is no change in sound quality and volume between powered and battery modes.The soundstage is amazing for a single speaker. I can't imagine why you would need more volume than this speaker produces. In terms of sound quality, I think it easily beats out the Bose Soundplay 30. I would give a slight edge to my Audio Engine HD6's, but that is to be expected from more expensive, powered, dual speakers. The Hyperboom may even handle bass better, and of course it is portable.Other good points - it has good bluetooth range, and has never dropped or crackled. The battery life is excellent.The app was easy to use, and set up was seamless. I did not try to connect additional speakers, so cannot speak to that function. The EQ function was a nice touch. The ability to pre-load a couple of play lists was interesting, though more would be better, and since you have to have your phone there anyway I am not sure how much it adds. But compared to the abysmal apps shipped with other products, it was a nice change of pace.The negatives - these don't matter to me but they might to you. It is pretty heavy (maybe just awkward because of size/shape and crappy rubber handle). Plenty portable, but I wouldn't take it on a hike or public transportation. I am not sure how water resistant it really is. There is a hole on top for the Adaptive EQ (where the ads show drinks being spilled, etc.), and it only arguably splash proof when being battery operated. Attaching power or other components requires removing the rubber cover on the electronic inputs. That cover is also a little fussy to get properly reattached.Overall, this is an excellent speaker and well worth the price.

OverallThis is a great sounding speaker with long battery life. I considered sending it back because it's not as loud as the JBL 310. HOWEVER, this speaker does way too many things right to disregard.Sound Quality -This is a great sounding speaker! The bass is deep and musical (it's not "boomy" for the sake of being boomy). UE has done an amazing job tuning this speaker to get the most out of it's enclosure. The gain stage is set so that you can play at full volume without clipping the amplifier (this is probably done to avoid damaging the speakers). The volume is more than adequate in most situations (indoors is GREAT, outdoors is really good though the bass takes a hit without having the benefit of being against a wall, to help the passive radiators). I also think you may not consider this speaker "loud" because it plays so cleanly at full volume. The EQ in the app is helpful but I find myself leaving it flat most of the time, this may be because the adaptive EQ is really effective. I have not tried the optical input yet. This speaker has a huge soundstage and easily fills a decent sized room - I think this can be attributed to having speakers on two sides - most speakers only utilize one face - this seems really effective.Bluetooth / Battery Life -The Battery life is GREAT. I play this speaker all week thru the day on a single charge (volume around 50%). The Bluetooth has awesome range as advertised, of course going thru walls cuts it down somewhat. It never loses connection. We have not tried the 2nd BT input.Form Factor -This is a decent sized speaker, though very portable and easy to move around (especially compared to the JBL 310 or the Sony XP500/700). The handle is a clever idea and works great. I think having a 2nd one paired in Party mode would be unbelievable - I will likely pick another one up when I get another $400 :) Idea - UE should create an 8" bluetooth sub that has an optical output that could feed a stereo signal to the Hyperboom (a 2' pole mount on both would be super cool).I had hoped to audition this speaker at the local big box retailer but of course their display wasn't working, I'm very happy though and would purchase this speaker again. If anything changes (quits working, battery life falls off dramatically, etc.), I'll post an update to this review.

It's now April 2025. I've had this speaker for at least 3 years.I abuse it in wet weather.I put it in my golf cart and get the course vibing. Everyone is like"damn that sounds good" I bought it when it was 450. The new deal is better.