UE Megaboom is a portable speaker created by Ultimate Ears. Find out everything you need to know about the UE Megaboom today in our review.
What Is UE Megaboom?
The UE Megaboom is a pricey wireless speaker that offers clear sound, excellent bass, and great balance. The speaker is made by California-based Ultimate Ears and was released in 2015.
The goal of the UE Megaboom is to offer big sound in a small package. On that promise, the Megaboom certainly delivers. Although it’s priced higher than most portable speakers on the market, it delivers powerful sound across the range.
Interestingly, the speaker is also IPX7-rated waterproof, which means it could potentially survive a dunk underwater (for up to 30 minutes, assuming the water isn’t too deep). UE specifically advertises “waterproof” as a feature.
Still, the UE Megaboom has a lot of competition in the portable speaker market. Let’s take a closer look at the feature list to see if the speaker is worth the price.
UE Megaboom Features
The Megaboom features a unique cylindrical design. That shape is about more than just style: it also allows the speaker to continue functioning well in a variety of positions.
It sounds great on its head or toe, rolled onto its side, or even hanging from a tree (there’s a metal clip on the bottom of the speaker that lets you easily hang it from something).
Other features on this speaker include:
- 360 degree sound with deep bass
- Waterproof (IPX7-rated protection)
- “Shockingly light” (1.93 pounds)
- 100 foot Bluetooth wireless range
- 20 hour rechargeable lithium ion battery
- Ultra-fast micro-USB charging
- Access the UE Megaboom app to control the speaker remotely and access additional features
- Speaker receives wireless, over-the-air updates that continues improving the device
- Can be paired with another speaker to double up the sound
- Setup a musical alarm with the UE Megaboom app
- Use gesture control features, including tap to play or pause, and tap-tap to skip songs
- Supports up to 2 different Bluetooth devices simultaneously, letting you seamlessly switch between your phone and one of your friends’ phones to play different songs (pairs with up to 8 different devices)
- 3.5mm audio jack for plugging in audio sources
What makes the UE Megaboom different from the other two popular UE speakers – the Roll and the Boom 2? The Roll only has a 65 foot range, while the Boom 2 and Megaboom have a 100 foot range.
The Megaboom also promises to provide the best sound and the longest battery life (20 hours on the Megaboom compared to 15 hours on the Boom 2 and 9 hours on the Roll).
UE Megaboom Tech Specs
- Diameter: 8.3cm (3.3”)
- Height: 22.6cm (8.9”)
- Weight: 877g (1.93 pounds)
- Waterproof: IPX7 waterproofing (can be immersed in liquid up to 1 meter (3 feet) deep for up to 30 minutes without ingress of water).
- Battery: Rechargeable lithium ion battery (20 hours of battery life per charge / 2.5 hour charge time)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth (100 foot range)
- Audio: Maximum sound level of 90 dBA
- Frequency Range: 65 Hz to 20 kHz
- Drivers: Two 2” drivers and two 2” x 4” passive radiators
- App: Available for iOS or Android
UE Megaboom Reviews
What do real customers have to say about the UE Megaboom? Since the speaker is sold on Amazon, there are plenty of reviews to be found online.
So far, the UE Megaboom speaker has received 45 reviews on Amazon, giving it an average rating of 4.6 stars out of 5. We’ve combed through these reviews to come up with the pros and cons listed below:
Pros
- Amazing sound for a small, battery-powered Bluetooth speaker
- Works great outdoors, indoors, at barbecues, beaches, and all other settings where you would use a Bluetooth speaker
- Waterproofing is a nice feature for when you’re at the pool, beach, or other environments that would be hazardous for a conventional speaker
- Very good Bluetooth range
- Long battery life (20 hours, rechargeable)
- Excellent bass
Cons
- “Cops are in the yard right now”
There are only two negative reviews on Amazon, both of which are problems with firmware or app updates. The problems appear to have been fixed. Overall, the speaker is very well-reviewed, and has also earned high praise from tech blogs across the internet.
About Ultimate Ears
Ultimate Ears is a US-based audio hardware company founded in 1995. The company is based in Irvine, California and sells its products around the world.
In August 2008, UE was acquired by Logitech. Today, the company continues to operate as a subsidiary of Logitech.
UE was originally founded by Jerry Harvey (Van Halen’s touring monitor engineer) and his ex-wife Mindy Harvey.
During his time as audio engineer for Van Halen, Jerry became well-known for creating a custom-molded earpiece for drummer Alex Van Halen that helped him block some of the stage noise while focusing on the desired sound.
That earpiece contained two tiny speaker drivers (one for high frequency and the other for low frequency). Using the earpiece, Alex could block out stage noise while focusing on the noise created by his drums.
Jerry later sold these earpieces to other artists touring with Van Halen, including Skid Row and pop star Engelbert Humperdinck.
Fueled by the success of his earpiece, Jerry launched Ultimate Ears and began selling custom-molded earpieces before branching into other audio hardware.
UE Megaboom Speaker Summary
Overall, the UE Megaboom is a popular, well-reviewed speaker.
If you can afford it, then most reviews agree that it’s worth the price – especially if you’re the type of person who goes camping, goes to the beach, has barbecues, or does other activities that can benefit from a good, waterproof Bluetooth speaker.
