"The hyperboom will be the life of every party."
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Easy setup, easy music playback
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Variety of source options
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Excellent battery life
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Impressive low end
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No Wi-Fi compatibility
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Less portable than its predecessor
A company needs Moxie to switch from a product that becomes the signature of the brand. In order for such a shift to be justified, the change must be necessary to meet the wishes of the fans. The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom achieves this.
Ultimate Ears & # 39; Hyperboom is a massive Bluetooth speaker and a departure from everything Ultimate Ears has produced so far. The Hyperboom is designed to completely fill your home with music, a contrast to the mantra of its predecessors on the go.
When the $ 399 hyperboom arrives in early March, it will in many ways represent a leap of confidence for the UE and catapult it into a different class of speakers with new competitors and challenges. Fortunately, Ultimate Ears has landed with an impressive new product.
Out of the box
The UE Hyperboom surprised me at first glance. I knew I would have a new UE product to review, but details beyond that were rare. I was expecting a speaker similar to the Megaboom 3, a two-pound, cylindrical unit designed for gripping and walking. But with a whopping 13 pounds, the huge hyperboom was an oversized surprise.
There is a reason for the larger space requirement. During a briefing about the speaker, Doug Ebert, Global Product Manager at Ultimate Ears, said his team had looked closely at how UE speakers are used by customers. Often, he said, they were used in a party setting at home. They worked, but often lacked the level of noise required for a real fiesta.
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"It was a great sound, but not enough to get people off the couch and really dance," said Ebert. "It has to be loud and it has to be quiet."
This gave rise to the UE Hyperboom. The elegantly manufactured device was delivered in its own styrofoam crib with a small cardboard insert with a charging cable and brief instructions. However, you do not need these instructions, because after turning off the speaker and pressing the power button, a clear voice prompts you to download the associated app from UE and follow the setup instructions.
The actual setup was just as it should be. It was to pair my mobile device with the hyperboom via Bluetooth and allow the appropriate permissions. The app also asked me to set up my start music (more on that later) by linking services from Amazon, Deezer or Spotify. Dead easy.
Design and connectivity
The Hyperboom is technically portable, but you won't get far. Ebert said it was designed as "home and next door home" and my experience confirmed this. The hyperboom is powerful, but can be moved from room to room or in the back yard to deliver grill music. However, I do not recommend hiking with it.
Most of the weight comes from the drivers packed into the 14-inch rectangular cabinet. The Hyperboom features a pair of 4.5-inch woofers, a pair of 1-inch tweeters, and two passive radiators, each larger than one of UE's earlier products, the Boom.
Riley Young / Digital Trends
There is a lot going on on the loudspeaker: an on / off switch, a microphone for the adaptive equalizer of the UE, the standard UE volume keys, a series of keys for switching between sources and what UE calls the “magic button”, one One-touch music controls that let you start playlists, play, pause, and skip tracks. There are several inputs on the back of the speaker, including a 3.5 mm jack, an optical audio input, a USB port for charging mobile devices and a charging port for the speaker.
In addition to the auxiliary and optical inputs, the Hyperboom also offers the option of switching between two connected Bluetooth devices.
portability
I enjoyed the ease of use as I was able to get out of the house, come back and continue the playlist I was listening to without picking up my phone.
My biggest problem, as is the case with most Bluetooth speakers, occurred when my music was interrupted by phone calls all day long. To be honest, it's okay if I'm alone because the music has to wane so I can still take the call. But in a livelier atmosphere with other people, it's annoying.
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That brings me to the one missing feature. The Hyperboom does not have WiFi. Granted, none of the previous boom speakers had WiFi (but UE's blast models did), but for a $ 400 speaker intended for home listening, the lack of WiFi is an enigmatic omission. Wi-Fi provides better sound quality and eliminates the problem of phone calls interrupting a jam session.
The Hyperboom offers 24 hours of battery life depending on how loud you play (I've seen a full day of moderate to loud playback without charging). It also has an IPX4 protection class that protects against spills and splashes, and the ability to connect to other speakers in the boom family. All of this corresponds to the mission of semi-portable music. It's easy to place the hyperboom in a room and not worry about it all day.
Audio performance
The hyperboom sounds good. Really good. Songs like Jolene from the Zac Brown Band or Wish You Were Here from Pink Floyd let the Hyperboom demonstrate its ability to glide elegantly through different frequencies and tones. It is by no means an audiophile quality, but it made for an entertaining listening experience.
The hyperboom was brightest when playing titles with a significantly low end. According to UE, the hyperboom can reach up to 45 Hz, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that it constantly reaches that deep in tracks like Rodeo by Lil Nas X. I also felt it after moving the speaker from my open living room to a closer office. Logics Everyday and Collboy Greens from Schoolboy Q gave me a familiar flutter in my chest. This speaker can rock you. Literally.
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UE uses the speaker's microphone to measure the room it is in and adjusts its EQ to the environment. Probably for this reason, I have not noticed any significant loss of quality when moving from different rooms in my house to the backyard, apart from an expected slump in the lower area outdoors.
The app also has a customizable EQ that allows you to customize the sound to your liking, as well as presets that specialize in cinema, podcasts, and bass boosting. The podcast setting drowned out low frequencies, which was a good help when you heard voices like Dax Shepard's low growl at Armchair Experts.
I haven't spent much time with the hyper boom connected to my TV. It was good. Just don't expect it to produce what a soundbar or home theater system could do. This speaker focuses on music.
Ultimate Ears Hyperboom vs. Sonos Move
In a showdown, I put the UE Hyperboom against a Sonos Move that I had on hand. Despite the obvious size differences (the Move is lighter at 6.61 pounds and just under 10 inches tall), the pair is priced at $ 399.
The hyperboom exceeded the move in bass-heavy songs; The Move just couldn't breathe as much air as the bigger hyperboom. Apart from the lower end, the move turned out to be a clear winner, with a more detailed, refined sound in my ears.
What you prefer depends on what you need. The Sonos Move is more sophisticated, but the UE Hyperboom is more suitable for larger rooms and parties.
Riley Young / Digital Trends
Warranty information
The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom comes with a two-year limited hardware warranty.
Our opinion
The UE Hyperboom is a big speaker and an even bigger step for the brand. Almost everything about this speaker, from its selection of functions to its roof noise, is designed to take the Bluetooth landscape of the home by storm. Even without Wi-Fi, competitors may want to close the hatches.
Is there a better alternative?
Although they may not have been direct competitors before, UE and Sonos seem to be shooting with Hyperboom and Move for the same corner of the market. For those who are looking for Wi-Fi functions, multi-room functions and smart home control, the Move is an appealing alternative.
At $ 285, the Riva Festival is currently another solid speaker that hovers in the same price range as the Hyperboom. But don't make a mistake. For the money, UE offers premium performance with the Hyperboom.
How long it will take?
The UE Booms family has proven to be one of the most durable Bluetooth speakers available. Although the hyperboom isn't quite as eco-friendly, I'm confident that this will be another speaker that's built to last.
Should you buy it
Yes. Despite its Wi-Fi shortcomings, the Hyperboom delivers the most dynamic sound we've heard from a Bluetooth speaker, and it's sure to be the life force behind every party.
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