Dave's Take: UE Wonderboom Bluetooth Speaker - REVIEW

[GolfSpy Dave]

Golf Tunes?

With a new golf with music thread developing, it seems timely to talk about another speaker option for playing music while you golf.

 

You are free to debate the pros and cons of playing music while you play in that thread, but here, I'll just be focusing on a speaker you can use, should you decide that your round requires a soundtrack.

Today, I bring you Dave's Take on the Ultimate Ears (UE) Wonderboom. This is the fifth model of UE speaker that I have run through my sound trials. For the curious, you can find reviews of the UE ROLL, UE BOOM, and UE MEGABOOM, by clicking on those links. My Recreational Golfer blog article last summer included the UE Boom 2 and MEGABOOM as well.

Only UE Speakers at Casa Dave

While testing the UE Wonderboom, I came to the realization that all of the non-headphone music in my home is currently being played through UE speakers. That trend was emerging back when I reviewed the UE ROLL, but now the UE domination is complete.

Phone paired with UE speaker is the music mechanism for my wife, son, and daughter as well. All of them are currently “borrowing” one of my UE speakers. Ah family…

Additionally, until I scratch together the scratch to replace the dead factory car speakers, the UE MEGABOOM has been the audio delivery device for my ‘99 Z3 as well. I just drop it into the cargo net in the passenger footwell and all's good. The sound is definitely loud and clean enough for top down driving. I may never replace that car stereo.

 

Anyway, today's speaker, the UE Wonderboom, is priced at $99. For reference, the MSRPs on the ROLL 2, BOOM 2 and MEGABOOM are $99, $149 and $299, respectively. This puts the Wonderboom in direct competition with the ROLL 2, and that is really how I tried to approach its testing. It's probably not fair to put the Wonderboom up against the more expensive speakers, but that ROLL is definitely in its crosshairs.

Shape and Portability/Golfability

 

The UE Wonderboom is cylindrical, but at the same time rounded. Imagine that the ROLL and the BOOM had a baby. It's a squatty, rounded cylinder. I find the shape to be very visually appealing, and comfortable to hold. Think large ball, with a bit less rounded geometry, and a flat bottom that allows it to not roll away.

For day to day usage, aka non-golf, I would definitely pick the shape of the Wonderboom over the ROLL, maybe even over the BOOM. On the course though, the choice is not quite as clean cut.

First of all, as I said with the ROLL, I think that the narrower cylindrical shape of the BOOM works a bit better for the riding golfer, as it will fit into a cup holder in a cart, or even into the drink pocket in a golf bag. You can see from the photo that the Wonderboom just doesn't fit into the cup holder.

 

 

The saving grace for the Wonderboom though is the loop on the top. Add a carabiner to the loop and you have a very stable attachment system, one that I trust way more than the elastic strap found on the ROLL. With the clip, I was able to attach the Wonderboom to the cart windshield as well as to my golf bag. That nylon loop seems to be very stable and strong. I'd be shocked if it broke or pulled out of the unit, even with that friend driving the cart like a maniac.

 

 

Battery will fully charge in 2.8 hours and provide you with music for ten hours. That seems like magic! Technology is amazing. You'll easily get two, maybe three rounds on a charge. The Wonderboom had no problem keeping my team musical though a slow charity scramble a week ago.

Should you drive your golf cart into the water hazard, the Wonderboom will just keep on playing. This little thing has no problem in the pool, or the pond (IP67 rated: 1 meter deep for 30 minutes). Splash away!

Sound

 

Like every other UE speaker I have used, pairing the UE Wonderboom is very simple, and super fast. No technological barrier here.

Like the ROLL, the volume produced by the Wonderboom is pretty amazing for a small speaker, and similarly only distorts once you are above comfortable listening volume anyway.

Again, like the other UE speakers, volume is controlled by the large + and - buttons on the front. At the top of the Wonderboom, you'll find three additional buttons, one for power, one for Bluetooth pairing, and the new one in the middle that controls playback. That new play/pause/skip/double-up button is a great addition, especially when golfing. You can just hit it to quickly pause the playback, not needing to find your phone or completely power down the speaker.

 

You can still check battery level as well by simultaneously pressing both volume buttons, but gone is the voice that tells you the percentage of battery remaining. Instead, you get different tones for high/medium/low charge levels. It's still totally functional, but I'll admit that I miss the soothing voice telling me the exact percentage of charge.

 

Charging the Wonderboom is done via the included USB cable, with the port hidden behind a little waterproof flap.

 

 

On to sound. When I fired up the UE Wonderboom, I knew not to expect the MEGABOOM, or even BOOM sound quality, but I was still initially a little disappointed. The Wonderboom is a small speaker, and it sounded like one. The bass was a little soft, and the highs a little tinny. This was the first UE speaker that didn't give me that Damn! feeling when sound first poured out of it.

As I continued to use the Wonderboom in various locations around the house, course, and so on, my impression of the sound output improved. It seems like there is a critical minimum volume for the Wonderboom, and once you turn it up enough, the sound improves. This could just be my delusion, but I'd swear it's the case. During that scramble, we played the music a little louder than we would on a normal round, and the Wonderboom delivered all that we needed, sounding great. Full disclosure: BEER.

The question of Would I recommend the UE Wonderboom? can be answered with a simple yes, assuming that you only have the $99 to spend. I do prefer it to the ROLL at that price point. Now if you can scrape up another $50, I tell you that the BOOM 2 would be the better choice at it's new cheaper price of $149, down from $200. The UE BOOM was the first UE speaker that I used, and I think that it's still the best speaker in the UE lineup.

That said, I bet that you'll be pretty happy with the UE Wonderboom. All in all, it's a solid addition to the UE family, and should provide you with years of portable audio action, at home, at the beach, on the course, in the pool, in the shower, in the grocery store, on a plane, and so on, and so on...

[null]

UE Boom is an absolutely awesome bluetooth speaker. Unless I needed something smaller for some reason, I agree with you and am going Boom every time

[GolfSpy Dave]

UE Boom is an absolutely awesome bluetooth speaker. Unless I needed something smaller for some reason, I agree with you and am going Boom every time

Envy of my brother's UE BOOM is what got this whole speaker thing started for me. Granted we were playing frisbee golf rather than traditional golf, but the speaker was amazing.

[Sparksjr]

So, in the end, this sounds better than the Roll?

 

 

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[GolfSpy Dave]

So, in the end, this sounds better than the Roll?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Similar. I think that this one does a bit better at volume than the roll, but I definitely like the Wonderboom shape more for golf and as a around the house speaker. I currently use the Roll on my kayak. The low profile sits next to the boat nicely.

[Sparksjr]

Similar. I think that this one does a bit better at volume than the roll, but I definitely like the Wonderboom shape more for golf and as a around the house speaker. I currently use the Roll on my kayak. The low profile sits next to the boat nicely.

I like the roll but mine is getting old and unreliable. Thinking about finding the boom on sale somewhere

 

 

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[Mr_Theoo]

I need to get one of these for the summer

[bkelley3769]

These things are awesome love them.

 

 

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[GolfSpy Dave]

I like the roll but mine is getting old and unreliable. Thinking about finding the boom on sale somewhere

 

 

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Solid idea. Actually just found a refurbished on on amazon for $98. No experience with the refurbished ones but the price is right.

https://www.amazon.com/BOOM-Wireless-Speaker-Black-Refurbished/dp/B00U8FJUDU/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493256393&sr=1-6&keywords=ue+boom

 

Brother snagged his first on craigslist.

[PunkRockDoc]

I really liked the portability, but ended up returning it due to mediocre sound quality. For less than $40 I bought a Xiaomi Mi off Aliexpress that has at least equal if not better sound quality than the UE. 

[georgetalkative]

Guys, I just want your opinion about which one is the better choice between UE Boom 2 vs UE Wonderboom?

 

I know all the Pros and Cons, but I can't decide which one to get. And it would be useful to hear from the actual owners who know what it's like to have one or another in the real life.

 

I know that Boom 2 is bigger and has the bigger battery life. It has bigger drivers and passive radiators, but the Wonderboom has lowest frequency of 80Hz where Boom 2 has 90Hz.

 

I actually love the sound quality of both speakers. And the design of Boom 2 is remarkable. Am I missing something? I need a little reassurance that I'm making good decision. Thank you! 

[GolfSpy Dave]

Guys, I just want your opinion about which one is the better choice between UE Boom 2 vs UE Wonderboom?

 

I know all the Pros and Cons, but I can't decide which one to get. And it would be useful to hear from the actual owners who know what it's like to have one or another in the real life.

 

I know that Boom 2 is bigger and has the bigger battery life. It has bigger drivers and passive radiators, but the Wonderboom has lowest frequency of 80Hz where Boom 2 has 90Hz.

 

I actually love the sound quality of both speakers. And the design of Boom 2 is remarkable. Am I missing something? I need a little reassurance that I'm making good decision. Thank you!

They are both solid but I use my Boom 2 more than the wonderboom.

However the Costco near me had two Wonderbooms for $99 and that's pretty spectacular

 

 

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[TSauer]

Glad this got bumped. I've been trying to decide what Bluetooth speaker to pick up for a float trip at the end of this month. I've heard nothing but great things about the Boom 2. Couldn't decide between that and the JBL Flip

[fozcycle]

My wife gave me a Sony speaker for my birthday las5 year, it's small but fits nicely in the cup holder of the golf cart AND it has excellent sound!

 

 

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[Hula Rock]

Best buy had last year Mega Boom for 149.00 which is a steal....    picked one up, one bad thing is that it does not fit in the golf cart cup holder

[GolfSpy Dave]

Best buy had last year Mega Boom for 149.00 which is a steal.... picked one up, one bad thing is that it does not fit in the golf cart cup holder

The Megaboom is my daily around the house speaker. For parties, we pair two together and it's perfect for indoor outdoor music.

If I didn't have any of these and was budget limited I probably go Wonderboom just because of the two for $99 deal.

Best Buy will also have a BOOM 2 around Christmas for $79

 

 

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[Hula Rock]

The Megaboom is my daily around the house speaker. For parties, we pair two together and it's perfect for indoor outdoor music.

If I didn't have any of these and was budget limited I probably go Wonderboom just because of the two for $99 deal.

Best Buy will also have a BOOM 2 around Christmas for $79

 

 

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its a great speaker for sure.  I used it indoors and on my patio before I got my Sonos system for the house.