Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3: Still a solid buy despite only minor improvements
MSRP $100.00
“A few small updates to this great pool and beach companion.”
Avg
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Excellent persistence
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Lightweight and portable
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Balanced 360-degree sound
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Affordable price
Against
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The bass is somewhat lacking
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It is not as thin as other competitors
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Some minor connectivity issues
Ultimate Ears (UE) names all of its Bluetooth speakers with an emphasis on power and bass: Boom, Megaboom, Hyperboom, and now the latest installment, the Wonderboom 3. The tricky thing is that “boom” isn’t really all that impressive in the third generation of small-format speakers. Built in a cylindrical shape with dual 40mm active drivers positioned to deliver 360-degree sound, the $100 Wonderboom 3 fills the space admirably, ensuring that no one sitting around your campfire or on your beach towel will be left without a directional earshot. However, the bass is not quite as full and rich as the name “Wonderboom” implies.
The third generation of the Wonderboom series brings a slightly longer battery life (14 advertised hours compared to the 13 of the second generation), plus an updated Bluetooth protocol for extended range. Ultimate Ears is also putting an emphasis on the environment by using green and recycled materials in this new build.
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I was excited to see and hear the improvements on the Wonderboom 3 because the Wonderboom 2 is, for all intents and purposes, one of my favorite small form factor Bluetooth speakers on the market. Ultimate Ears always does a good job with build quality, durability and sound response right down the middle. UE kindly offered me a pair of Wonderboom 3 speakers in “Performance Blue” to test and so I put them through a week of work, play and hanging out at the beach. Read on to see if the Wonderboom 3 is the right Bluetooth speaker for you.
Design: bold and loud
Ultimate Ears is taking a page out of JBL’s book, placing a strong emphasis on loud colors and sporty accents for its range of Bluetooth speakers. The Wonderboom 3 brings four new colors: Hyper Pink, Active Black, the annoyingly named Joyous Bright (which is actually just gray), and the color I got: Performance Blue. But the main color is really only part of the story — Ultimate Ears always adorns its portable speakers with loud, contrastingly colored volume plus/minus buttons and accents.
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The Wonderboom 3 certainly has a distinctive look, with a shape that consumers will find similar to smart speakers (especially the Homepod Mini). This rounded canister-style construction is quite nice to look at and sits nicely on a table or picnic blanket, but I think it’s a bit awkward for slimmer backpack pockets. Take, for example, the Bose SoundLink Micro or JBL Clip speakers: these enclosures can be laid flat, so they’ll fit nicely in the front pocket of your bag or even in your back pocket. So while the Wonderboom 3 is certainly portable, it’s not the most portable.
Sound quality: good, but lacks penetration
I loved the sound quality of the Wonderboom 2 and the Wonderboom 3 has almost identical audio performance to my ears. So if you liked the second generation, you’ll like this one too. If you haven’t experienced the Wonderboom 2, I can sum it up in a few words: Tuned for balanced music. The Wonderboom 3 delivers just enough bass to drive a pop or Top 40 mix without blowing out the lower registers and burying detail in the mids and highs.
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Sound quality is in many ways a subjective point. The JBL Clip line always pushes the bass more than I expect, and Bose’s comparable SoundLink Micro offers a polish that I like. While the Wonderboom 3 sounds full and balanced, it seems to lack a bit of low-end power compared to what I’m used to. This is not necessarily a bad thing; for those who listen to podcasts or more vocally intensive music, the Wonderboom 3 will do just fine, but if you want the loudest bass in the world, make sure to get it here.
One thing Ultimate Ears does well with its Bluetooth speakers is provide a one-touch button (the little tree icon at the bottom) that puts the speaker into “outdoor mode.” This setting boosts the bass a bit and pushes the overhead sound to a slightly higher volume — 87 decibels, to be exact, as opposed to 86 dB in normal mode.
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Ultimate Ears also advertises a pairing mode that lets you pair two Wonderboom 3 speakers together and play the original sound as a stereo image (or duplicate the same sound) from a single device. This goes a long way towards expanding the sound, expanding the soundstage and boosting the volume for larger gatherings. True stereo mode provides a really traditional experience — like having a pair of bookshelf speakers — and I really enjoyed working on my laptop with the Wonderbooms in this mode. But if you just want to double the sound and spread the speakers around the room, it will do that too.
I ran into Bluetooth issues when pairing my two Wonderboom 3 speakers. The user manual asks you to press both center buttons on the two speakers, but it doesn’t state that you need to first hold one and then press the other (although the user guide website is a bit more detailed). When I tried this the first time, it completely disconnected both speakers from my device and I had to re-pair them to get it to work. Since then it has worked as expected, but given that there is no app support for the Wonderboom series, I can’t help but think that the average user will find some minor frustrations in this process.
Durability: Really like a tank
One thing that is quite impressive about the Wonderboom 3 is how durable it is. Ultimate Ears is rated IP67 for water and dust resistance — meaning the Wonderboom 3 is nearly waterproof and can handle dust and debris without any problems. This makes it the perfect companion for a day at the beach, camping or even a quick shower. Ultimate Ears also promises that listeners can submerge the speaker for 30 minutes. Oh, and it also floats, so if you drop it in the pool, you’ll still be rocking – just give it a good rinse under fresh water when you’re done with your adventures.
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Ultimate Ears further ups the ante by adding lab-tested drop resistance to the clamshell. According to UE’s website, you can drop the speaker on hard surfaces from up to 5 feet and expect it to keep crawling. While most speakers in this class have rugged rubber bumpers and durable shell grills, the Wonderboom 3 is one of the few that puts its drop-resistance promises where its mouth is. In practice, I’ve taken one of my Wonderboom 3s to the beach for an afternoon of sand and sun, and the other for a long hike in the rain, and both look as good as new out of the box.
What’s New: A few obscure additions
While most of my feedback above is mostly positive, one of the most disappointing factors about the Wonderboom 3 is how little it has been updated. While it may be a little excessive to hold a consumer electronics brand to a certain standard of improvement for a new generation, I can’t help but think that more significant updates could make my record almost superlative.
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On paper, the improvements come in three key places. First, Ultimate Ears makes the Wonderboom 3 from 100% recycled polyester fabric and 31% consumer-recycled plastic from previous electronics. This is an important choice in the ever-growing world of e-waste, but it doesn’t really improve the day-to-day experience.
Battery life is also increased, but only by literally 1 hour. In my tests, my Wonderbooms were even closer to 13 hours instead of 14 (in line with the Wonderboom 2), but your mileage will certainly vary. I honestly feel that the battery life is equal for the two.
There’s also improved Bluetooth range — 40 meters compared to the Wonderboom 2’s 30 or so meters. Again, this is objectively a positive improvement, but how many listeners will find themselves in situations where 30 meters isn’t enough, but 40 is? All in all, if you can find the Wonderboom 2 at a cheaper, refurbished price, it could be a good way to go 90% of the way for less money.
Verdict: Still a solid buy
The Wonderboom series remains a reliable small format Bluetooth speaker aimed at listeners on the go. The Wonderboom 3 brings some marginal improvements over its predecessor, but still retains its balanced music-focused sound, superior durability, sporty design and solid performance. If you’re in the market for even a few of the above priorities, the Wonderboom 3 will suit you.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn