Ultimate Ears’ all-new Epicboom Bluetooth speaker is big, and so is the price
It’s a big day for Ultimate Ears fans and our best Bluetooth speaker buying guide. Both have been clamoring for another UE belter since 2019’s excellent Wonderboom 2 burst onto the scene and stole our hearts – and now, just four years later, it looks like we may have it. See! The ultimate ears epic tree.
Okay, so there was the February 2020 brutalist Hyperboom in the meantime, plus the new heat-to-fit 2022 UE Drops earbuds – which I loved. Then there was a minor refresh of the aforementioned adorable mug-sized Wonderboom series that UE and Logitech thought fit to call the Wonderboom 3, which I wasn’t impressed with (who charges via microUSB these days?) but this? This is certainly an intriguing all-new musical beast.
But brace yourself, because the UE Epicboom comes with an epic and explosive price tag to match its name.
Ultimate Ears’ progeny seems worth the wait – I wish I’d known to save up
Let’s get this out of the way: Ultimate Ears’ Epicboom is on sale starting today (September 6) in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific directly at www.ultimateears.com, priced at $349 / £340, which is about AU. $550 based on those US prices. On September 22, Epicboom will also be available at third-party retailers in the above regions. Not cheap, huh?
To be clear, the sonically gifted Wonderboom 3 will set you back an insignificant $99.99 / £89.99 / AU$149. Ultimate Ears is clearly ready to take on the big boys – the March 2023 Sonos Era 100 is a lot cheaper at $249 / £249 / AU$399, and as we noted in our Sonos Era 100 review, That is quite a bit more expensive than the Sonos One it replaces (which costs $219 / £199 / AU$319).
But the Sonos speaker also works well with your home Wi-Fi network and Sonos multi-room setup, and features 3.5mm and Ethernet connections – there’s a reason it’s right at the top of our best roundup of wireless speakers. What does the more expensive Ultimate Ears proposition offer? Well, Bluetooth connectivity, with a range of 55 meters.
That said, via the BOOM app (updated today) you can choose between several EQ presets including Signature, Bass Boost, Game/Cinema, Podcast/Vocal and the all new Deep Relaxation mode. You can also adjust the mids, highs and lows of the sound based on your personal preferences by dragging and dropping five different dots on the EQ tab to create your own tones – if your online yoga instructor speaks a little softly to your liking, for example .
With the fan favorite feature in the BOOM app, PartyUp, you can link multiple compatible Ultimate Ears speakers (read: Epicboom, Boom, Boom 2, Boom 3, Megaboom, Megaboom 3 and Hyperboom speakers) to boost your parties to give. notch – or if you link two Epicbooms you can create a stereo pair.
The Epicboom is made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester, a minimum of 59% post-consumer recycled plastic, and the all-new oval design promises 360° bassy portable sound that’s unexpectedly large for its size. apparently above 94 dB (think loud lawnmower).
There’s a new longer retractable fabric strap on the back for portability, the speaker weighs less than 2kg (despite being about the size of a shoebox, or about the same size as the Bose Home Speaker 500), and the popular Outdoor Boost button, first seen on the bottom of the Wonderboom 2, has been carried over – although for the first time you can also deploy it through the app. In fact, there are four buttons on the top plate for power, Bluetooth pairing, Outdoor Boost and a ‘magic’ multi-function button for playback, in addition to the traditional plus and minus buttons that run along the spine.
The company says the speaker’s oval design creates impressive internal acoustic volume, and the dual 1.5-in. drivers are paired with a 4.6 in. woofer for clear bass and immersive sound. With an IP67 rating, Epicboom is also waterproof (it even floats) and dustproof. And if you want to move the pool party inside for drinks or dinner, Epicboom’s internal microphone should dynamically adjust the EQ and balance the sound accordingly.
Epicboom is available in two colorways: Cotton White with Lipstick Red accents and Charcoal Black with Lime details. The speaker offers up to 17 hours of playback time and features a one-touch NFC function (available for NFC-enabled smartphones running Android 8.0 or higher). If you’re using a 15W charger, UE says it’s fully charged in two hours.
And yes, there’s finally a USB-C port for charging too. Will it be enough in this premium sector? Time will tell. Contact us soon for a full review.