The smaller sibling to UE’s Epicboom offers plenty of punch for its size. But it’s a little thin on features to justify $250.
The Ultimate Ears speaker lineup is getting quite crowded, having now reached six products with the recent introduction of the $249.99 Everboom. This speaker is a smaller, more portable take on the Epicboom that I reviewed late last year. And its core appeal is the same as any other UE speaker: you’re getting a rugged, waterproof speaker that’s cut out for both indoor and poolside parties. You can link the Everboom up with other UE speakers in party mode to play music in sync across all of them. The controls are easy to use — especially the company’s signature, oversized volume buttons.
So what makes the Everboom different? You get a fully customizable EQ, which not all of the company’s speakers offer. Like the Epicboom, there’s an outdoor mode that layers some extra volume and power onto the sound when needed. And UE includes a carabiner, which makes it easier to carry the Everboom on your bag or hang it in creative ways.
Both the Epicboom and Everboom dial up the overall audio fidelity compared to UE’s cylindrical speakers. Like those, they output 360-degree sound, so you don’t have to worry about hearing them from a certain sweet spot — in theory, anyway.
As it turns out, the Everboom is often most clear when you’ve got either the left or right side of the speaker directly facing you. Straight on, vocals can lack crispness and detail since the drivers seem to be side-firing — though the stereo separation is impressive as a result. For indoor listening, I typically kept the volume level between 30 and 40 percent, and that was plenty loud. Outside you can crank it further, though the speaker starts to strain and sound overly compressed once you’re at the 70 percent mark.
That said, the Everboom met the moment when I brought it upstate for a brief lake cabin getaway. Listening to Zach Bryan’s new album, the Everboom did a good job separating John Mayer’s guitar licks on “Better Days” from the bulk of the mix. Nathaniel Rateliff’s South of Here was also a pleasant listen, though I again found myself pointing one of the speaker’s left / right sides towards me for the best clarity.
But some genres can prove a little much for it. The Hold Steady’s The Price of Progress sounded more muffled than I’d like. This is where the larger Epicboom fares better, since it’s got larger drivers (and more bass growl) to work with. But on the flip side, the Everboom is far easier to take on the go since it’s lighter and considerably smaller. Battery life is more than adequate at 20 hours of continuous playback.