Quick Review: Ultimate Ears’ MEGABOOM Bluetooth Speaker is the real deal

Update (10/28 7:30am): Amazon currently offers the UE MEGABOOM in Charcoal Black for $232.45 shipped. That’s good for roughly $68 off the list price and the lowest offering we’ve seen in any color.

We’ve reached the point where there’s generally parity in both sound quality and feature sets across most popular portable Bluetooth speakers. It really takes a special speaker to stand out from the pack. Ultimate Ears’ MEGABOOM does just that by offering huge sound in a waterproof design with all-day battery life.
I know most speakers claim to offer big sound, but the MEGABOOM truly does. I used it as the sole source for music at the after-party for my wedding in an wine vineyard and didn’t even come close to turning it up to max volume. The 360-degree design pumped out classic rock, pop, and acoustic music loudly, and most importantly, clearly in every direction. My friends and family were dumbfounded that this (relatively) small speaker could put out that type of sound.

Speaking of size, it is the biggest portable Bluetooth speaker in the UE lineup, but by no means is it a nuisance to travel with or keep in tow on a daily basis. With IPX7 waterproofing, this speaker can withstand dunks in the pool and blasts from a garden hose. I don’t look to get my speakers wet, but it’s nice to know if it happens there’s nothing to worry about. My only knock on the MEGABOOM is that it takes so long to charge that I just put it on the charger overnight, but I can live with that since it lasts up to 20-hours.

MEGABOOM is normally priced at $300, but Amazon currently has the blue model available for $257.86 with free shipping. It’s rated 4.5 out of 5 stars from 275 Amazon reviewers.

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