The Ultimate Ears speaker lineup is getting crowded, now reaching six products with the recent introduction of the $249.99 Everboom. This speaker is a smaller, more portable version of the Epicboom I reviewed late last year. Its core appeal is the same as any other UE speaker: you get a rugged, waterproof speaker that’s perfect for indoor and poolside parties. You can connect the Everboom with other UE speakers in party mode to play music simultaneously across all speakers. The controls are easy to use, especially the company’s signature extra-large volume buttons.
So what makes Everboom different? You get a fully customizable equalizer, but not all of the company’s speakers offer this feature. Like the Epicboom, it has an outdoor mode that adds some extra volume and power to the sound when needed. UE also includes a carabiner clip, making it easier to carry the Everboom on a bag or hang it in creative ways.
Both the Epicboom and Everboom improve overall audio fidelity compared to UE’s cylindrical speakers. Like these, they output 360 degrees of sound, so you don’t have to worry about hearing them from a certain sweet spot – in theory.
It turns out that the Everboom is generally clearest when the left or right side of the speaker is facing directly toward you. Directly speaking, vocals may lack crispness and detail, as the drivers appear to be side-firing – although the stereo separation is impressive. For indoor listening, I usually keep the volume between 30% and 40%, which is loud enough. Outdoors, you can increase the volume further, but once you hit the 70% mark, the speakers start to strain and sound too compressed.
I don’t think the Everboom’s sound performance is anywhere near that of established (and more affordable) competitors like the JBL Charge 5, Bose SoundLink Flex, or even the recently released Beats Pill. In terms of sound quality, I’d rate it higher than something like the Sonos Move, but there are countless alternatives worth looking at before you spend more than $250.
That said, that’s what happened to the Everboom when I took it north for a brief lake house vacation. When listening to Zach Bryan’s new album, Everboom did a good job of distinguishing John Mayer’s guitar lick on “Better Days” from much of the mix. Nathaniel Ratliff south of here It was also pleasant to listen to, although I once again found myself pointing one of the left/right sides of the speaker towards me for optimal clarity.
But there are types that prove it. remain stable the price of progress Sounds deeper than I’d like. This is where the larger Epicboom performs better, as it has bigger drivers (and more bass growl) to work with. But on the other hand, the Everboom is easier to carry because it’s lighter and smaller. The battery life is more than enough for 20 hours of continuous playback.
That said, I don’t know if anyone buys UE speakers for critical listening. The brand has a reputation for making durable products that last for years. (Fortunately, now, the entire range has finally switched to USB-C.) The Everboom is IP67 dust and water-resistant, and if you throw it in a pool, it’ll float and keep playing music.
But don’t expect any exciting bonus features. The Everboom at least includes multipoint functionality, so you can pair two phones to the speaker at the same time. It also supports NFC for quick pairing. Still, I can’t help but feel like Ultimate Ears is resting on its laurels when other companies offer you more. For example, Beats Pill offers lossless USB-C input, and JBL is starting to adopt forward-thinking Bluetooth technologies like Auracast. Meanwhile, the Everboom doesn’t even work as a speakerphone. UE’s app has a new speakerphone feature that lets you speak into your phone and broadcast it to the Boom speakers, but how often does that come in handy?
Buying an Everboom isn’t a bad choice. If all you’re looking for is a decent-sounding, very reliable speaker, look no further than anything from UE. But we’re in an era where I expect more from a $250 wireless speaker than “yeah, this sounds good.” The Everboom doesn’t perform well enough to warrant such a price, and I’d wager that most people will stick with the company’s better-known Boom 4.
Photography by Chris Welch
