SPEAKERS
ISSUE 381|COMPUTER SHOPPER|NOVEMBER 2019 91
IĴ’Ħ EEãĴŠOyears since the release of
UE’s fully waterproofspeaker,the
Wonderboom (Shopper354). It became a
favouriteamong many,includingShopper,for
its fun sound signature,affordability and its
ability to float in water.Following on from its
success, the American manufacturer is back
with arefresh: the Wonderboom 2.
The Wonderboom 2isinmany ways
similar to its predecessor.It’s abaseball-sized
Bluetooth speaker that is not only
waterproof, but also floats if you drop it in
water –handy forretrievalifitaccidentally
drops intoabath or swimming pool. It comes
in aselection of similarly vibrant colours, too.
GET OUTSIDE MORE
However,there have been afew changes. The
Wonderboom 2has anew mode that boosts
mid to high frequencies foroutdoor listening,
it now lasts 13 hours on asingle charge,up
from 10 hours last time out, and it can also be
paired with another Wonderboom 2speaker
forstereo audio.Itdoesn’t work with the
same PartyUp feature as the Boom 3, so
only pairs with another Wonderboom rather
than dozens of UE speakers across arange
of models, but that’s really all you need for
anything short of agiant house party.
Despitethe similar look overall, there are
afew subtle differences in the Wonderboom
2’s design. It’s 3mm taller and 5g lighter at
425g and, on the rubberised topplate, a
circular,multifunctional button replaces
the UE logo.Atthe top, you’ll also find
aredesigned hanging loop that’s
more reinforced than the bare string
of the first Wonderboom.
UE has retained the woven fabric
that wraps the speaker,but this
year’s model has atwo-tone
finish reminiscent of the UE
Boom 3(Shopper371).
It’s available in black,
grey, red and blue,with
apeach-coloured
version coming
later this year.
On the
underside,there’s a
small illuminated
button used for
enabling the
speaker’s outdoor
mode,and arubber
flap covering asingle
Micro USB charging port.
It’s ashame UE hasn’t moved
UEWonderboom2
★★★★★
£85•From http://www.amazon.co.ukVERDICT
Evenifit’sonlyaminorupgrade,thewater-
anddust-proofWonderboom2isafinego-
anywherespeaker
to USB Type-C charging
with the second-
generation
Wonderboom, and it
means charging times
are quiteslow; this
speaker takes nearly
three hours to fully
charge from empty.
At least battery lifeis
good, however; you’ll
get 13 hours of playback
with the speaker fully
charged, anotable
improvement over the 10-hour
stamina of its predecessor.
As with the original model,
the Wonderboom 2can be submerged
in up to ametre of water forupto30
minutes, but gets one over its predecessor
by adding dust ingress protection. As such,
it’s now IP67-certified instead of merely IPX7,
the same as the Boom 3.TWO’S COMPANY
As forconnectivity,the Wonderboom 2
works solely over Bluetooth. Once again,
there’s no 3.5mm auxiliary jack, and it also
disappoints by not including support for
advanced Bluetooth codecs such as aptX,
aptX HD or AAC. You’re limited to the
lowest-quality SBC codec.
It does, however,havethe aforementioned
pairing trick up its sleeve.When connected to
another Wonderboom 2, it can playaudio in
stereo,splitting leftand right channels –yet
another upgrade.The original also works in a
pair,but can only output in mono.
One of the Wonderboom 2’s more
interesting features is its outdoor mode,
activated using that illuminated
button on the bottom.
While this sacrifices bass
response,itemphasises
the mid-to-high
frequencies, making
the Wonderboom 2
easier to hear
outdoors. In this
mode,vocal tracks
sound noticeably
louder and can thus
be heard from
further afield.
Turn the mode off,
move indoors and you’ll
find the speaker delivers
afun, well-rounded soundthat’s similar to its predecessor.The
Wonderboom 2delivers full-bodied, 360°
audio,thumping bass, and aclear,detailed
mid-range that belie its small size.
However,there are afew subtle
differences. Where the original Wonderboom
prioritises the mid-bass, the newer model
produces acleaner lower mid-range.Toour
ears, the older model is atouch more exciting.
Neither truly matches the mid-range clarity of
the Boom 3, however: this has more expansive
audio reproduction in general. The only
drawbacks are that it’s more expensive,at
£99,and, being atall, cylindrical speaker,is
slightly trickier to carry around.
However,the Boom 3will still easily fit
in abag, or can just be carried in asingle
hand, so the Wonderboom 2’s smaller size is
only apartial advantage.SPHERETO STAY
While individual differences between the
new Wonderboom 2and the original are
small, theyadd up to make aworthwhile
upgrade.UEhas set out to improve things
iteratively and, in principle,ithas achieved
exactly that. The new outdoor mode,added
dust protection, stereo functionality and
longer battery lifeall make what was already
agreat speaker even better.
The concern, however,isthe price of £85.
Forjust alittle more you could buy two
original Wonderboom speakers, or get
the better-sounding Boom 3instead.
The Wonderboom 3isstill agood
alternative,especially to more expensive
or less weatherproofedspeakers such as
the JBL Xtreme 2and Marshall Kilburn II,
but it will be even better if you wait forthe
price to inevitably fall.