I've gone thru countless BT speakers, from JBL Extreme 2,3. UE Megaboom, Hyperboom. Soundcore Motion Plus. Sony XB43. All were non keepers and were sold or one that was sub par was given away. Oh yeah, Marshall Kilburn 3 too.
I have one now, the Sony ULT 5 its the only speaker that 100% percent sound balanced. Its plenty loud and can bring it with bass, clarity. I don't even use the Ult 1 or 2 features as I find it bass heavy already its in standard sound mode. I clearly as you can tell love it.
Edit, well you can't get one for 150, but there are refurbished ones on ebay for 83 shipped.
Being able to group them over Bluetooth is HUGE if it works. My UE Hyperbooms had that feature but it was so inconsistent and unreliable that I sold them for Sonos Move 2s. Sounds like the Sonos Play has the potential to be a Sonos Move 2 but even more portable. Exciting
I have heard a few over the last year. I have found the UE (Boom, Megaboom, etc.) series to have the best sound quality.
The UE Hyperboom is the goat. It sounds much better than those giant Sony ones or Boom Blox or whatever. But that might be bigger than you'd like.
I tried several models during my search - Bose SL Flex (1 Gen), UE Hyperboom 4 and B&OExplore. The Bose by far sounded the best (out of the box - there’s no EQ) then the others (with EQ). I believe the 1st Gen can get a bit lower bass than Gen 2. If you can get a refurbished gen 1 direct from Bose it’s a pretty good price! If you get a pair I’m sure it will sound even better. I enjoy EDM and beats that have a bit more thump. Obviously the low, lows won’t produce in this size of speaker but the mid thumps are definitely there. For the size, the Bose (IMO) is the best sounding.
UE Hyperboom is very nice. But you do need to think about the fact that the bigger a speaker gets, the easier it is to achieve better sound, at least in the bass department.
The ratings are done mostly from people who are not aware of what a good sounding speaker is like. Also, it’s hard to rate something when you’re not comparing it to anything else - if you never put the UE Boom side by side against a JBL charge, you’d always think your UE sounds great
I don’t think it has a better design. Many would say it’s based on preference, but in reality, the UE Boom is much more compact and rugged (the whole point of a portable speaker), and its a shame really that they’re not pushing the sound of a JBL
That’s the thing. You think they’re amazing until you put your megabooms against a JBL charge. You’re of course going to think they’re insanely good. It’s like giving someone a sweet, and they think that’s the best thing ever, until you give them hardcore drugs like heroin, they’re gonna love that shit much more than they love sweets
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