Logitech brand Ultimate Ears has announced its latest wireless Bluetooth speaker: the UE EpicBoom, which launches in Aotearoa with a RRP of $599.
It's a bigger, pricier, louder speaker than many of the wireless options currently on the market from UE along with the likes of JBL, Sonos, Bose and Sony.
"Made of 100 percent post-consumer recycled polyester fabric and a minimum of 59 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, EpicBoom showcases an all-new, innovative, oval design that makes loud, 360-degree bassy sound more portable, unleashing an unexpectedly big sound for its size," said UE in an announcement.
I've been trialling the new speaker ahead of its launch and for a speaker this durable and portable, I've been very impressed with the sound quality it outputs.
The EpicBoom emphasises bass, but not in that artificial way that makes the overall sound sub-par. It does depend whereabouts the speaker is sitting and what surfaces are around it, but in general, this thing is capable of a nice, big sound that I've generally only gotten from wired speakers.
Powering that bass is a 4.6-inch woofer, which supplements the main two 1.5-inch drivers.
The device has an 'outdoor boost' button which pulls an EQ trick to try and enhance the audio quality when outdoors, which does seem to help, but it definitely sounds its best indoors and near a wall or two.
Outdoors, though, it still sounds a lot better than most battery-powered Bluetooth speakers I've heard, and the IP67 rating is great. That means it can withstand dust, sand and dirt, as well as water of course - plus it even floats, so it'll handle a dip in the pool with no problems.
UE has also talked up the features of its updated Boom app, which allows for a lot of customisation. But this wasn't available pre-launch so I haven't tried it out.
That price of $600 makes it a bigger investment than many alternatives and for plenty of people a cheaper option will comfortably do the trick. For others, the balance the EpicBoom strikes between sound quality and portability - especially with its impressive durability - will make the higher price worth it.
When BBQ season comes around, I'd be very interested in using one of these on the deck and seeing if it is indeed powerful enough to replace the annoyingly wired, cumbersome speaker I normally cart out to blast tunes while the charcoals roast.
UE EpicBoom tech specs:
- Height: 6.3 inch (L) x 4.6 inch (W) x 9.4 inch (H)
- Weight: 4.36 lbs / 1.98 kg
- Input sources: Bluetooth 5.2 spec
- Bluetooth range: 180 ft / 55 metres
- Battery life: Up to 17 hours
- Charge time: < 3 hours (with 5V/0.5A or more than 0.5A adapter)
- Drivers: Two 1.5-inch active mid-high frequency transducers and one 4.6-inch woofer
- Maximum Sound Pressure Level (SPL): 94 dBC(normal) and 95 dBC (outdoor)
- Frequency range: 50Hz to 20kHz.
Newshub was supplied with a UE EpicBoom for this article.
