How much sound can a portable, autarkic speaker produce.
What are the compromises, caveats, disadvantages? And
how much should such a speaker then cost? Can Logitech
deliver what it promises with the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom?

Disclaimer and important notice:

No, Logitech did not sponsor this post nor did I get any discount on the product whatsoever. This product has been purchased all by myself and there are no sponsorships afterwards. So you can expect a true, honest test here!

Intro and product showcase

First, let’s start of with some pictures to give you an impression of what to expect:

touch surface	The speaker…	…compared to a Megaboom 3

The speaker comes with it’s iconic plus minus element as well as with a big power button and a control element that lets you control the playback device inputs (Aux, optical, BT1, BT2) as well as the possibility to select from 4 playlists (requires UE app from the respective app store) and the control of the BT connected playback devices (Play, Pause, Stop). Nothing too fancy or complicated at all.

So then let’s have a look at the speaker’s outer appearance. A nicely surrounding driver mesh protects the two tweeters and low-mid-drivers from outer natural impacts. But still keep in mind that the speaker has only IP 4 rating which makes it resistant to light splash water or rain. It’s NOT intended to take a dip in the pool with you at all. The third image show it’s huge size compared to a Megaboom 3 that is already a large speaker and IP 67 certified thus making it also suitable to take a short dip in the pool.

Tech specs Now let’s dive into the tech specs. measurements and weight: The Hyperboom is equipped with two 4.5 inch low-mid drivers and two 1 inch tweeters that allow stereo playback (requires the minus sign pointing towards you to experience the full stereo soundfield). The back sides are each dominated by a passive speaker membrane measuring 3.5 inch by 7.5 inch to allow a rich bass reproduction. A total RMS power of 45 watts make this a pretty loud speaker that runs on a 14.4V, 3080mAh LiIon battery pack consisting of 4 18650 cells (non-replaceable, that is!). Recently this speaker got an update and thus can be charged with 65 watts. This allows a full charge within 2:45h allowing a 24 hour playback session when used at approx. 60% volume setting and still a whopping 8 hour playback session when at full load!. Speaking of loudness, we face a speaker peaking at 92dbA which doesn’t sound too impressive for now when compared to a Teufel Rockster or other large competitors. But we’ll come to that later on. When it comes to portability, the speaker isn’t a lightweight but isn’t an unmoveable rock either. With 5.9kg / 13lb it’s as heavy as a gaming notebook with power brick and accessories. Thank god, this speaker comes with a handy carrying strap that snuggly retracts when not used! These are the dimensions of the entire speaker: 364 mm X 190 mm X 190 mm! So this isn’t quite the small speaker the product page could suggest but rather makes the product name “Hyperboom” more realistic. The Hyperboom is the largest portable speaker of the UltimateEars family.

The following images are courtesy of Logitech:

Backside connection panel	carrying strap pulled	carrying strap retracted
Control panel on top
The power supply is a compact 65W power brick that outputs maximum 20V at 3.25A. As the plug is USB-C it also allows you to charge other USB-C devices that stay within the 65W limit.
The other end allows the connection of a IEC 60320 C5 connector often referred to as mickey plug.

Now that you got all the tech specs, let’s head to it’s features. The touch surface with it’s two function buttons and two large touch areas to control the volume represent a nice clicking sound with a white LED to show readyness. If the speaker runs out of battery, the power LED turns, what else would you expect, red. The touch controls are reacting precisely and have little to no delay so you won’t rush into a loudness nightmare if you try to raise the volume with your finger resting on the plus sign. Once you release the touch element, the control stops instantly. You may also use your playback device that is connected via bluetooth to control the volume from within the Ultimate Ears app, Apple Music, Spotify (Android only) or Deezer Premium. When I connected it to Apple Music, the playback just worked as intended and lossles music is also no problem for the speaker. The Ultimate Ears App allows you to assign four playlists on your phone to the control button which you can cycle through but it only works if you have properly set up these in the UE app.

Playback times vary using different volume settings but 24 hours at 60% which is already quite loud isn’t bad at all and allows some camping music session abroad without a power outlet. Thanks to it’s USB-C power input you can expand battery life with a battery pack supporting 65W output. There are quite some packs out there that will most likely enhance playback time by another 12-16 hours. So all you have to do is to pack an additional battery pack and a USB-C cable supporting 20v/5A (100W) and you’re good to go! if you raise the volume to 100% then this definitely is sufficient to bring music in a good volume to a living room or even a porch. Make sure with your neighbours that they don’t feel disturbed when you try this volume out for yourself!

When it comes to input possibilities then the Hyperboom gets you covered: 2 Bluetooth channes allowing to switch between two devices wirelessly and an additional TOSLINK-equipped playback device, was well as a device fitted with a 3.5mm jack make the Hyperboom a multitalent. Note, however, that digitally encoded music (dts, Dolby Digital etc.) isn’t supported as the Hyperboom has no integrated decoder for these sound formats. However if your playback device can decode these and is connected via Bluetooth, then you’ll still have a very good stereo effect.

When it comes to portability, then again I have to say that 5.9kg/13lbs is quite a weight. But autarkicity and long battery life paired with good and loud music quality have their price tag. But you get a good reward for carrying this weight to your destination. If you ask yourself if you can bring this speaker onto an airplane, then yes you may as the integrated LiIon battery does not hit the limitation for battery capacity. However keep in mind that LiIon batteries must be carried on person and do not go into the luggage compartment of the plane. You’ll want to make sure with your flight operator if you can bring this big buddy onto the plane with your carry-on baggage.

What happens if your mobile playback device runs out of juice? Well then the Hyperboom also gets you covered. There’s one USB C output connector that allows you to charge your device on-the-fly using a suitable cable. I was unable to find any information about how much power the output connector can handle but keep in mind that you reduce battery life if you “misuse” the Hyperboom as power bank. however for some emergency charge with 10W it should go well. maybe the outlet can handle even more. Will put that to the test with an iPad Pro soon.

And when it comes to haptics, the Hyperboom isn’t shabby either. Although it’s plastic all over, it really looks sturdy. I’d yet not consider letting it drop it on a concrete floor let alone drop it from quite some height as we all know that electronic devices aren’t keen about being handled rough! What I don’t like much, is the fact that the battery is irreplaceable. So once the battery gives in and dies, you have to get in touch with the support of Logitech and figure something out. I’ve read in some reviews that Logitech is quite generous when that occurs within the warranty time and sends you a replacement. Yet it’s environmentally not optimal. However my Megaboom 3s are now a good 10 years old and battery is still working well. I hope that Logitech has also found clever battery management tricks to keep the integrated battery pack alive for some time!

Sound check

Let’s dive into the listening tests now, that’s what many of you are here for I suppose.

Techno:

You definitely can say that techno is the kind of music the Hyperboom is designed for. The bass is simply stunning for a portable speaker and one would rather expect a power-outlet-connected speaker instead. By no means the bass is too hefty or tends to overdrive. That is not a matter of course! The mids tend to be a bit more silent opposed to the highs. One could say, the speaker applies a classic V equalizer here lowering the mids. The highs are quite present. And while some reviews state that the bass is overdriven and or highs tend to crackle, I cannot say the same. But I also applied the newest firmware update to the speaker which could also have seen some under-the-hood-optimizations in general.

Trance:

Similar to techno, the Hyperboom is reflecting the full audio spectrum just fine and I cannot complain about it. It really is a pleasure listening to the Hyperboom and your favourite trance tune. And with the wide stereo field (assuming you have positioned the speaker correctly) tracks from Schiller (i.e. Schiller & Tricia McTeague – Universe ) just sound awesome! I never thought I’d attest a speaker other than Apple HomePod such a good sound quality. This really makes a good start so far.

Hard Rock / Metal:

Let’s switch over to a different music genre. This is where many party speakers trimmed to pure bass are failing as they try to represent bass over the guitars and drums. To my surprise, despite some other reviews, the Hyperboom again delivers quality over quantity and this is where the Hyperboom outwits its cometitors big time. I must, however, add that the Apple HomePod still sounds an idea more punchy here while not loosing focus on guitars, vocals and drums. All in all, the Hyperboom is still doing great here!

Classic:

Now this is a challenge. Let’s try a well-known artist here: (W. A. Mozart – III. Rondo. Allegro moderato ) has been selected for this and it comes in Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Lossless quality. Note that Apple Classic is included in your Apple Music subscription so if you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you also have access to Apple Classic! You can clearly say that the Hyperboom is by far no High-end speaker reproducing every nuance of classic audio tracks such as the one selected for my test but again the Hyperboom is far from sounding shabby wit comes to this section! Clear instruments and the piano sounds rich. So the Hyperboom is also suitable for listening to some classic music if desired. It can’t fully compete again with the Apple HomePod yet it doesn’t have to hide at all!

Pros & Cons

	Portable and suitable for outdoor activities
	Rich sound compared to size and weight
	Endurance with one battery charge
	Light splash water resistancy (IP 4 rating)
	Easy handling
	Remembers 8 devices
	Has Optical In(!)
	Has classic AUX jack
	Comes with automatic EQ adjustment microphone
	Is equipped with USB C instead of Micro USB now!
	Can be party-paired with other UE devices from the Boom universe.
	UE app is quite stable and allows you to playback music from your playlists as well.
	Equalizer has only subtle change on settings
	No display for battery capacity (either push plus/minus simultaneously or look it up in the app) or volume level
	Power brick comes with either Schuko or UK plug but no Swiss plug cable (Hey Logitech you are located where again?   )
	Does not decode digital audio formats
	Crashed once with noisy sound when checking on battery level with touch field method!
	Coarse volume control
	Battery dies and it’s drapes for the Hyperboom as you can’t replace it

Verdict

So let’s rate it finally:

★★★★★★★★★☆	Sound (60%)
★★★★★★★★★☆	Engineering Quality (20%)
★★★★★★★☆☆☆	Connectivity (10%)
★★★★★★★☆☆☆	Flexibility (10%)
★★★★★★★★★☆	Overall Score
	The Hyperboom indeed is a remarkable speaker and with the release of the second version with updated interfaces and some minor interior changes it really is one heck of a party monster. Rich sound and good sound quality at a MSRP of 399 US$ / 359€ / 369 CHF is very reasonable. The fact that this is achieved without bigger compromises makes this a great choice if you seek for a party speaker that does not excel in just one category but performs great overall. This makes the Hyperboom receiving one of my Best Choice Awards with a score of 9 out of 10 stars! Great work, Logitech!