Logitech’s subsidiary Ultimate Ears has been in the portable wireless speaker market for over a decade now, gradually building out a full set of models across a range of sizes, powers and price points. The most recent addition to the lineup is the EVERBOOM, a mid-range speaker that debuted a few months ago. I’ve been testing one and I’ve found it to be a handy and capable speaker in a variety of settings.
Priced at $249.99, the EVERBOOM sits in the middle of the Ultimate Ears lineup, which currently ranges from the Wonderboom 4 at $99.99 to the Hyperboom at $399.99. Like many ultimate ear speakers, the EVERBOOM is designed for an active lifestyle, offering IP67 water and dust resistance that can withstand not just splashes but full immersion in water. The speaker even floats, and it has been drop tested from a height of one meter.
The EVERBOOM is roughly an elliptical cylinder, measuring 8 inches (200 mm) high, 4.3 inches (110 mm) wide, and 3.25 inches (85 mm) deep. Aside from the plastic on the top and bottom of the speaker, it’s completely wrapped in a speaker mesh, with Ultimate Ears 360-degree sound. In reality, the audio basically comes from two sides of the speakers, but with them firing in opposite directions, you really get pretty solid sound projection all around. EVERBOOM features a pair of full-range transducers with two customized passive radiators to help deliver full sound from a relatively small form factor.
I found the sound quality to be quite good, with 360-degree sound easily filling a fairly large room and being quite audible and well-balanced outdoors. It can get pretty loud if you turn it up, though distortion becomes a bit of an issue when you start maxing it out in more enclosed environments.
Volume can be easily controlled from the speaker with the large iconic plus and minus buttons on the front. They’re a bold design decision, but they’re instantly recognizable as an Ultimate Ear Speaker. Pressing both at the same time while the speaker is on gives you a general idea of the battery level with some lights hidden behind the mesh at the top.
An outdoor boost mode can be activated with a button on the speaker or from within the UE Boom app, offering a bit more punch with sound output optimized for outdoor spaces. Bass growth is definitely noticeable when it’s turned on.
Speaking of UE | The Boom app offers an array of functionality for controlling one or more speakers from the Utimate Ear lineup. You can certainly use the Everboom as a standalone Bluetooth speaker from your iPhone or other device options, but the app also has features like an equalizer, the ability to link multiple speakers, and more. With PARTYUP mode, you can sync up to 150 speakers from the UE lineup to maximize your sound. The app offers convenient controls for changing tracks and volume, turning the speaker on and off, activating Outdoor Boost, and activating a microphone mode that lets you broadcast your voice through the speaker through your phone.
The Equalizer panel offers five preset configurations: a Flat Signature Curve, a Bass Boost setting that does exactly what you’d expect, a Cramped Space option that drops the mids a bit, a Deep Relaxation mode that drops the treble way down, and a Podcast/Vocal Setting that drops bass. Any of these presets can be customized with five sliders spanning different frequencies.
Another simple aspect of UE | The Boom app manages the Magic Button, which is a function of the Play/Pause hardware button on the speaker. The Play/Pause button provides normal functionality with a single press playing or pausing music, a double press skips forward and a triple press skips. But there is also a fourth function and that is a long press to activate the magic button.
In the app, you can configure the Magic Button to activate a playlist from Apple Music or Amazon Music. It requires UE connection Boom app for those services, at which point you’ll be able to see all your saved playlists and select up to four of them to link to the Magic Button. A long press on the speaker button immediately starts the first playlist you configured, and subsequent long presses will cycle through your selected playlists.
Overall, the app only gets middling reviews from users, citing some Bluetooth connectivity issues and ads covering important controls, but I didn’t experience any of these issues in my testing, so hopefully they’ve been resolved.
EVERBOOM has an NFC chip under the top buttons that allows for quick pairing and switching with Android devices It doesn’t currently work with iOS devices, but it likely will at some point in the future as Apple gradually opens up the NFC capabilities of its devices.
EVERBOOM offers up to 20 hours of battery life and a Bluetooth range of up to 55 meters (180 feet), providing solid flexibility on the go. A small loop on the back of the speaker and an included carabiner make it easy to hang the Everboom from a backpack, tent, or other convenient location. It recharges via USB-C, with the device port located at the bottom behind a flap that helps prevent water intrusion.
The EVERBOOM is available now in Azure Blue or Charcoal Black from Ultimate Ears and Amazon for $249.99. Lilac and Raspberry color options are currently sold out. In addition to the EVERBOOM launch in June, Ultimate Ears has refreshed its WONDERBOOM, BOOM, and MEGABOOM speakers with new colors, USB-C ports, and 100% post-consumer recycled fabric. The BOOM and MEGABOOM also get improved deep bass radiators while the WONDERBOOM adds an audio mode optimized for podcasts.
Note: Ultimate Ears provided MacRumors with EVERBOOM for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an authorized partner with Ultimate Ears and Amazon. When you click on a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps keep our site running.
