“Music. Whenever, Wherever, Whatever” – This appears to be the motto for the new UE Boom 2 Bluetooth speaker from Ultimate Ears (a subsidiary of Logitech). I’ll admit, the old school Shakira song did pop into my head when I read that.
Following the first UE Boom, which launched back in 2013, the Boom 2 has significant improvements. While having the same playback time, the Boom 2 now has an IPX 7 driver – you can submerge the speaker in around a feet of water just fine (for 30 minutes, that is)! The upgraded speaker also allows you to be 100 feet away from the device while still having a flawless playback and can be paired up to 8 devices.
Build and Design
Durability wise, the Boom 2 is pretty sturdy. At 1.2lbs, the speaker isn’t too heavy and isn’t a nuisance to carry around. For its size, I was pretty impressed by the sound quality. I’ve never tried out a Bluetooth speaker of such a size, so, this was a good experience for myself. Traveling with the device is also comfortable too – I carried it with me on a trip to India recently and while not in use, it was like it wasn’t even there.
The Boom 2 advertises a full 360 sound, and boy does it deliver. You can keep the speakers placed horizontally as well, but that does affect the sound quality and it isn’t as surround sound as it usually would be when placed vertically. Upon using the speaker at its full volume, my mother promptly yelled at me to turn it down as it’s just as loud as the sound system in our home. It’s perfect for small gatherings/parties and I imagine it would be lovely during picnics too!
Sound and Performance
I’m not the biggest fan of using my bluetooth, but that’s just because I always try to save my phone’s battery life in any way I can. But this is so worth it. 15 hours of battery life (after constant use) is promised and while I haven’t listened to the device continuously for more than two hours, I have used it a significant amount without charging it and found that it lasts for around 11 hours. And this is only on 30 – 50% volume. I haven’t gone up to 100% without being yelled at yet. I can promise you that it doesn’t take away from how good the speakers are overall.
I think you all know by know that the first thing I keep my ears peeled for is the bass, and that was the first thing that hit me when I used it for the first time. Even my dad was shocked at how the bass was delivered through something of its size. I mean, I have small hands so this is perfect for me but you have to admit it’s quite small, even though very powerful. The Boom 2 is perfect for every genre. Want to live that teenage angst life and mope while your neighbor’s garage band is at it again? You got it. Having a small get together with friends that require some relaxing, but at optimal volume, indie music to fit the mood? Done. You can even have a mini-dance party right there in your living room (but maybe give your neighbors a heads up first).
Features
There is an app too! It’s not necessary to use the app, but it can be quite useful. The app allows you to play with the sound equalizer, check on the battery life without tapping the volume buttons on the device itself, and you can connect more than one Boom 2 speaker to the app to play the same music on more than one device for an even louder (and better) playback!
The app also lets you set alarms so that you can wake up and immediately jam to your favorite music. However, it doesn’t let you choose specific days – you either have it on for everyday or you don’t.
While holding the speaker, you can control playback by simply tapping on the top of the device. Tapping once pauses/resumes your music while tapping twice will skip the song. Now, I didn’t find this too useful as it only works if you’re holding the device, and not while it’s standing up by itself. The tapping also has to be hard enough and I found myself needing to use my palm to tap on the top of the device – a simple tap with two fingers won’t do the trick.
And of course, the big + and – signs on the device allow you to control the volume if you happen to be away from your phone. You can even press down on both buttons to find out how much battery the speaker has left.
Additionally, if you don’t want to use the speaker with bluetooth, you even have the option to use an AUX cable! Charging the speaker won’t require any fancy cables either. It comes with a standard micro usb cable, which is easily replaceable if you happen to misplace the one that comes with the speaker.
The Boom 2 also comes in 6 different colors – Cherrybomb, Yeti, Greenmachine, Tropical, Phantom and Brainfreeze.
Overall, the UE Boom 2 is certainly an impressive bluetooth speaker. For its size, it boasts a powerful sound and is perfect for audiophiles who like to travel with a handheld speaker. The speaker sells for $199 and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone in the market for a shiny new bluetooth speaker.
