Amegaboom

Thankfully, the speaker sounds just as fun, punchy and capable as we’ve come to expect from an ultimate ears speaker.

Free forex bonuses

Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 review, amegaboom.

It’s a hugely enthusiastic sound that favours excitement while still keeping an eye on balance. Alternatively, you can dock it on a power up charging stand. It’s a touch pricey at £34.99, but it’s quite nice to plonk the speaker on to.

Ultimate ears megaboom 3 review

A refined design, new features and a great, punchy sound keep the megaboom 3 at the top of its game. Tested at £170

Our verdict

Punchy, exciting and full of fun, the megaboom 3's design tweaks and new features make it even more exciting to use than before.

Loud, punchy, solid sound

Excellent sturdy and portable design

Fun features and easy to use

Against

With the megaboom 3 portable bluetooth speaker, ultimate ears continues its enviable run of five-star products.

It builds on an already-excellent reputation, and design tweaks, sonic boosts and nifty new features make it even more enjoyable to use.

Build and design

The portable megaboom has always been designed for outdoors use – by the pool, at a festival, muddy camping and other adventurous activities – and so the high-density fabric protecting the latest version of the speaker has been reworked.

It’s now IP67 rated, which means it’s dustproof as well as waterproof (up to three feet of water for 30 minutes), and not only is it sturdy, it also floats. Like the petite wonderboom, this third-gen boom speaker can bob next to you in the pool while still playing music – just don’t leave it in for too long.

Cosmetically, the big strip that housed the giant volume buttons has been removed to the back. This allows the speakers’ 360-degree sound to be delivered more freely, and leaves a cleaner look, too.

In fact, the UE megaboom 3 has a more sophisticated appearance overall, especially thanks to a flatter top panel and dual-tone finishes of the new fabric. You can get the bluetooth speaker in the colours night (black), sunset (red), lagoon (blue) and ultraviolet (purple), and two apple-exclusive colours of denim (deep blue) and cloud (light blue). We really like the shimmery, iridescent sheen of the new fabric surrounding the trademark cylindrical design.

The speaker itself feels chunky and indestructible as ever, but it’s still light enough to carry around in your backpack or just around the house.

One of the banes of the older booms and megabooms – turning it upside down to plug the charging cable in underneath – is something the company has finally changed. The charging port has been repositioned, now letting you charge the megaboom 3 upright, as you normally would.

Alternatively, you can dock it on a power up charging stand. It’s a touch pricey at £34.99, but it’s quite nice to plonk the speaker on to.

The UE megaboom 3 lasts 20 hours on a full charge – a decent amount that’s unchanged from the previous generation.

Features

The redesigned top button - called the “magic button” - has learned some new tricks. You can play and pause songs with a single tap, skip tracks with a double tap, and, with a long press, summon a playlist.

That’s right, the speaker can play your favourite playlists without you having to reach for a smartphone. The megaboom 3 doesn’t even need to be turned on; it just needs to be connected to your smartphone.

You’ll need the accompanying ultimate ears app to set up multiple playlists, and you can also skip through them with more long presses. It’s a nice little addition, and gives you a slightly quicker access to your music without wasting precious few seconds tapping away at your screen.

The new playlist feature is fun, but it does have limitations. Currently, if you’re an ios user, you can only import playlists from apple music, while android users will have to use deezer. No spotify? We’ll join you in that outcry, but ultimate ears says that it’s in talks with other streaming services to join in.

Other staple ultimate ears features such as partyup and stereo can also be controlled through the free app. You can link up over 150 megabooms (and booms, and of any generation, so don’t throw away that first-gen boom from 2014) for an almighty party, and you can pair up two megaboom 3s for stereo mode. Its bluetooth range has been increased from 30m to 45m, too.

Sound quality

With megaboom 3 boasting so many features, it’s easy to forget that it’s “just” a portable bluetooth speaker.

Thankfully, the speaker sounds just as fun, punchy and capable as we’ve come to expect from an ultimate ears speaker. It’s a hugely enthusiastic sound that favours excitement while still keeping an eye on balance.

The 360-degree dispersion of sound is impressive, easily filling up a room. Push it too hard and you’ll clearly hear its limit, but the sound is satisfyingly solid, has well-defined edges, a great helping of detail and a terrific sense of rhythm.

The megaboom 3 has been given a bass boost thanks to popular demand, with ultimate ears enhancing its passive radiator to give deeper bass.

Sure enough, the wireless speaker sounds a lot bassier and punchier, especially compared with its stablemate, the alexa-powered megablast, which is now at a similar price. The megablast sounds distinctively thinner and coarser in the treble next to the new speaker, with the megaboom 3 filling in the lower midrange to make it a weightier, smoother listen.

Basslines are deeper, charge the song along with more momentum and grip, and that solidity runs through the entire frequency range, too. It can sound a touch thick thanks to the added bass weight - in some tracks, voices could sound cleaner - but overall the megaboom 3 is a more enjoyable and easier listen compared with the megablast.

At its aggressive price of £170, there really isn’t much to rival it. While the audio pro addon T3 is a more nuanced, refined listen, its boxy, more domestic design will attract a completely different audience from the rugged megaboom 3.

Verdict

There’s no shortage of weatherproof portable speakers, but ultimate ears has carved out a niche for themselves by combining great design and fun features with an entertaining sound.

The megaboom 3’s new playlist features, sleeker design and improved sound are definitely worth your time.

Amegaboom

To recharge your ultimate ears speaker, plug the included charging cable into the micro-USB port located inside the weather door. Use the included power supply and USB cable for quickest recharge. Never charge your speaker if the micro-USB port, charging cable or connectors are wet, dirty or damaged.

If you’ve used your speaker in a swimming pool or the ocean, we highly recommend that you thoroughly rinse your speaker with fresh water after using it. Once clean, allow the speaker to air dry completely before charging it. While the speaker is waterproof, the chemicals and salt in your pool or the ocean can damage the waterproof seals over time if not rinsed off after use.

The micro-USB charging cable included with your speaker is not waterproof. Always charge your speaker with a clean, dry micro-USB connector. If you think your cable or connector has been compromised in any way by water or other contaminants, do not use it to charge your speaker. Contact us for a replacement cable.

After updating to ios 13, you will need to allow the app to access bluetooth.

To do so, in your ios settings, go to your speaker’s app settings and turn on the bluetooth access.

In case you have installed the app after the ios update, you will be prompted with a message requesting bluetooth access for the app. In this case, just click on “OK” to give access.

Update using the app

Your ULTIMATE EARS speaker gets better all the time through regular, over-the-air updates. These updates are quick and easy and can be wirelessly downloaded through your ULTIMATE EARS speaker app. To get started, connect your ULTIMATE EARS speaker to your smart device, open the app for your ULTIMATE EARS speaker, and tap on “more” to see if there are updates available. If there are, just tap to begin the update and the app will take care of the rest.

Update without the app

While it is quickest and easiest to update over-the-air with the app for your ULTIMATE EARS speaker, if you can’t update using the app or you simply prefer to use an old-school desktop updater, we’ve still got you covered. Click on the mac or windows download link below to download the update utility.

After you download the app, run it and follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll need to connect your ULTIMATE EARS MEGABOOM to your computer to complete the update.

REQUIREMENTS: this update supports windows 7 and above, mac OS X (10.8.X) and above.

For the best experience, we recommend connecting to one speaker through bluetooth. However, industry-wide, for all bluetooth devices, there will always be some latency (audio lag) when viewing videos, and the amount of the audio latency is specific to the video application and OS. The lowest latency, with a single speaker, is around 250 milliseconds. To most people, this is not a noticeable latency that negatively affects the video viewing experience.

If you are connecting to one speaker using a 3.5mm auxiliary cable, check that your speaker has the latest firmware. You can update your speaker firmware using the BOOM or MEGABOOM app.

If your ultimate ears speaker looks like it needs a pick me up after a few too many long nights and crazy adventures, try the following to renew it.

CLEANING THE ACOUSTIC SKIN (I.E. THE FABRIC)

You’ll need a water wand or a spray bottle, dish soap, and soft bristle brush.
Make sure your ultimate ears speaker is turned off
moisten the fabric on your ultimate ears speaker with water using a water wand or spray bottle.
Wet a soft bristle brush with soapy water and lightly scrub the skin of your ultimate ears speaker.
Quickly rinse the soap off or wipe with a damp cloth.
Once clean, allow the speaker to air dry completely before charging it.

CLEANING THE RUBBER SPINE

You’ll need a cotton or microfiber cloth and a common household cleaner, like isopropyl alcohol or window cleaner. Or you can use disinfectant wipes.
Apply some cleaning solution to the microfiber cloth.
Wipe the rubber strap as well as the top and bottom caps.
Wipe any excess cleaning solution off with a dry cloth.
Once clean, allow the speaker to air dry completely before charging it.

The micro-USB charging cable included with your ultimate ears speaker is not waterproof. Never charge your ultimate ears speaker if the micro-USB port, charging cable or connectors are wet, dirty or damaged. Always charge your speaker with a clean, dry micro-USB connector. If you think your cable or connector has been compromised in any way by water or other contaminants, do not use it to charge your speaker. Contact us for a replacement cable.

While we encourage you to take your ultimate ears speaker wherever the party goes, we also want it to look great and last as long as possible. We highly recommend that you thoroughly rinse your ultimate ears speaker with fresh water after using it in a swimming pool or the ocean. Once clean, allow the speaker to air dry completely before charging it. While the speaker is waterproof, the chemicals and salt in your pool or the ocean can damage the waterproof seals over time if not rinsed off after use.

Overall playtime depends on how you use your ultimate ears speaker, with things like the type of music and volume level all affecting the overall playtime. However, when played at roughly mid-volume, you can expect you can expect up to the listed hours of playtime from one full charge.

Using the USB cable provided, and a standard USB port (e.G. Laptop) it will take approximately 5 hrs. 30 mins to recharge your ultimate ears speaker to 100%. Megaboom can also be charged with most USB chargers and times will be faster depending on the output of the USB charger you use.

Never charge your ultimate ears speaker if the micro-USB port, charging cable or connectors are wet, dirty or damaged. Always charge your speaker with a clean, dry micro-USB connector. If you think your cable or connector has been compromised in any way by water or other contaminants, do not use it to charge your speaker. Contact us for a replacement cable.

Your MEGABOOM can sometimes get into a state where it doesn’t charge. To get your MEGABOOM back to a normal charging state, do the following:

Connect your speaker to the charger and leave it connected for a few seconds.

If the charge LED fails to pulse continuously, disconnect the cable from your speaker, then reconnect it, and leave it connected for a few seconds.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 until your speaker gets to a normal charge cycle – the LED should continue to pulse. (this could take up to 25-30 times.)

Once your speaker gets to a point where it charges normally, continue to charge it until the battery is at 100%.

Be sure to update the firmware on the speaker so that the issue does not re-occur.

To update your MEGABOOM software:

Download the latest app for your speaker.

Connect your speaker to your smartphone and open the app.

Tap more, then tap the update prompt.

While updating your ULTIMATE EARS app on an android 6 (marshmallow) mobile phone, you may see the following error:

If you experience this issue, please follow the instructions below:

In the google play store, tap on UNINSTALL button

Agree to uninstall the speaker app – it only takes

5–10 secs

Once the speaker app is uninstalled, the INSTALL button will appear

Tap INSTALL and the speaker app should install successfully

In order to access the latest and greatest features for your ULTIMATE EARS speaker, make sure you update:

The ULTIMATE EARS app

Your speaker

To update the ULTIMATE EARS app:

Ios: open the app store and tap on updates to see if you need to update your ULTIMATE EARS app.

Android: open the google play store, open the menu (usually the three bars next to google play in the search box), then tap on my apps to see if you need to update your ULTIMATE EARS speaker app.

Note: some features also need to be turned on in settings (for example: tap controls).

Open the ULTIMATE EARS app > more > settings and turn on the feature you’re looking for.

You can double up your MEGABOOM and BOOM. However, they can only play back in standard double up mode, and cannot switch to stereo mode. Using the speakers in stereo mode won’t give you the best experience, as the sound signature for each speaker is different.

Please see the immersion guide in the app for more details on the difference between stereo and double modes.

Yes, some smart devices (smartphones and tablets) come equipped with a newer technology called bluetooth smart (or bluetooth low energy, BLE). This feature is required to turn your speaker on and off remotely within the MEGABOOM app.

Go to the following page to get a comprehensive list of bluetooth smart and bluetooth smart ready devices.

Note: this list may not contain all of the latest devices that are compatible with bluetooth smart. Refer to your device’s support documentation or contact your device’s manufacturer for more information.

Make sure bluetooth smart is on

Connect your BOOM or MEGABOOM to your smart device

Open the BOOM or MEGABOOM app (make sure you have the latest version of the app, check the apple app store or google play store for the latest version of the BOOM or MEGABOOM app)

Tap more, then settings

Find the bluetooth smart setting at the bottom of the screen and make sure it is set to “on”

Additionally, not all speakers will support this feature.

MEGABOOM

BOOM with firmware 8.1.121 or 7.1.133 and later

BOOM with firmware 6.8.58 or 5.8.58 and older

MINI BOOM

The volume on your ios device and MEGABOOM are synchronized, but because your speaker has double the amount of volume steps, it will take twice the number of button presses on your speaker to reach max volume.

If you adjust your volume on your ios device, there are only 16 volume steps, so from the lowest volume setting to max volume, it will take 16 presses. Your MEGABOOM has 32 steps from lowest to max, so 32 presses are needed to reach max volume from the lowest volume setting.

Yes. Your MEGABOOM has been tested to withstand up to 1 meter of submersion for up to 30 minutes. Make sure the weatherdoor for the 3.5mm auxiliary port and micro USB port is on securely before bringing your MEGABOOM near water.

Your MEGABOOM will stay on without an active stream for 15 minutes before it powers off to save battery life.

You can remotely turn your MEGABOOM on and off using the MEGABOOM app. This feature is automatically enabled the first time you connect your MEGABOOM to your smartphone and run the app.

To turn your MEGABOOM on and off remotely, open the app and tap the power button.

NOTE: this feature is only supported on bluetooth smart ® enabled devices. Check with your device manufacturer to see if your device supports this feature.

There are two ways to check your speaker’s current battery level.

Press your speaker’s ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ buttons at the same time. An audio message will play telling you the current battery level. You can change the language of the message from within settings section of the app.

Open the MEGABOOM app.

Tap the +/- area on the MEGABOOM on the home screen to display the battery life while your speaker is on.

A backup alarm will play on your phone or tablet.

When you cross different time zones, your MEGABOOM alarm will NOT automatically change to the new time zone even if the clock on your phone changes. You have to adjust the alarm time in the MEGABOOM app manually.

If your alarm played on your phone instead of your MEGABOOM, check the following:

Your phone may be out of range of your MEGABOOM – make sure the two devices are within 100 feet of each other.

The bluetooth connection is off on your phone or your phone is in airplane mode – make sure you keep the bluetooth connection on.

Your MEGABOOM has no power – be sure the battery on your MEGABOOM is charged or the MEGABOOM is connected to a power source.

Someone else is using your MEGABOOM when the alarm is scheduled to go off.

Your alarm will still activate as you have it set.

If your alarm played the backup alarm sound instead of the music you selected, check the following:

The music service or internet radio app you selected may not have activated.

Your phone may be out of range of your MEGABOOM – make sure the two devices are within 100 feet of each other.

The bluetooth connection is off on your phone or your phone is in airplane mode – make sure you keep the bluetooth connection on.

Your phone may be off or out of battery – make sure your phone is on (your alarm will still play if your phone is locked)

Your phone may have lost the connection to the internet/network.

That song will repeat until you turn the alarm off. After 1 hour, the alarm will turn itself off. If you snooze your alarm, it will play for an hour from the last snooze.

Snooze by tapping the snooze icon.

Turn off your alarm by swiping the arrow from left to right.

Snooze by pressing the bluetooth button once.

Turn off the alarm by pressing the power button.

Snooze will delay the alarm by 10 minutes. If you don’t snooze or turn your alarm off, your music will continue to play for an hour.

Most music services work with the MEGABOOM alarm, including popular services like spotify and pandora. To use a music service with the alarm:

Play the music you would like from the music service. This can be a specific song, a playlist or a radio station.

Then go to the alarm settings in the MEGABOOM app and select “last played”.

You have two options when selecting the alarm music on your MEGABOOM:

Choosing this option allows you to set the alarm music with the last song that was played from your phone or tablet. This can be music that is stored on the device itself or it can be music that was played from a music service (e.G. Spotify, pandora, deezer, etc). In the case of music services, you can select a specific song, a playlist or even a radio station.

Choosing this option allows you to set the alarm music with any song(s) from the local music library on your phone or tablet.

No. Your alarm will play on the primary MEGABOOM that it was connected to when the alarm was set up. It will not play on two megabooms, even if you last used them in double up mode.

You can set your alarm to repeat daily by selecting “daily repeat” in the app alarm settings, but you will not be able set multiple alarms for the same day.

Before you can set an alarm on your MEGABOOM, you will need to make sure that you have the MEGABOOM app.

To download the app, please visit google play or the ios app store.

Once you have the app installed, open it and tap ALARM to set it up.

Unfortunately, MEGABOOM cannot double up with MINI BOOM.

Yes, but make sure your BOOM has the latest BOOM software. BOOM update version 7.X and 8.X allow for compatibility with MEGABOOM, but versions 5.X and 6.X do not.

Your BOOM and MEGABOOM double up in the same way as they would with another BOOM or MEGABOOM. See “using the MEGABOOM double up feature” for more information.

If you have two MEGABOOM speakers, you can use them together to amplify your sound. Here’s how:

Connect your first MEGABOOM to your bluetooth device.

Open the MEGABOOM app and tap the “double up” icon then tap start in the double up screen.

Turn on your second MEGABOOM.

Tap start in the MEGABOOM app.

Press the bluetooth connect button on your second MEGABOOM twice (quickly).

The two megabooms will now be connected to your bluetooth device.

Note: you can also use the app to “lock” the double up connection so when you power both of your MEGABOOM speakers up, they’ll automatically reconnect in double up. See “activating sticky double up” for more help.

Connect your first MEGABOOM to your bluetooth device.

Press and hold the volume + and bluetooth button simultaneously until you hear a tone.

Turn on your second MEGABOOM.

Press the bluetooth button on your second MEGABOOM twice.

The two megabooms will communicate and once they connect you will hear an audible confirmation.

Use the MEGABOOM app to manage the two modes:

Double – expands the audio to the two MEGABOOM speakers for double the sound.

Stereo – turns the two MEGABOOM speakers into left and right speakers (you can also swap the left and right designation using the app).

IMPORTANT: you can only use the “double up” feature with one connected bluetooth device.

If you have multiple MEGABOOM speakers connected to one or more ios devices, you might not be able to select which speaker to use with the ios airplay menu.

If you have two bluetooth sources, try disconnecting the second source and use only one source.

For the best experience, install the MEGABOOM app to manage switching between speakers.

Not only can you name your MEGABOOM anything you want, you can make the MEGABOOM app reflect your chosen name, too. Here’s how:

Connect your device to your MEGABOOM.

Open the MEGABOOM app.

Tap MORE, and then settings.

Tap speaker name and enter the new name for your speaker.

NOTE: you might have to un-pair and re-pair your speaker for the changes to take effect.

For android, you can also change the display name of your MEGABOOM in the bluetooth device menu. Here’s how:

Open your bluetooth device menu.

Locate your MEGABOOM and tap the settings icon next to it.

Tap rename and enter the new name for your speaker.

Connect your device to your MEGABOOM.

Open the MEGABOOM app.

Tap MORE, and then settings

Tap speaker name and enter the new name for your speaker.

You can’t change the display name of your MEGABOOM in the ios bluetooth device menu.

NOTE: you might have to un-pair and re-pair your speaker for the changes to take effect.

The MEGABOOM was designed to be used with a 3-pole (non-microphone or inline remote cable) auxiliary connector. You may experience unexpected behavior with controls if you use a 4-pole (with inline microphone and/or inline remote) auxiliary cable.

Only use a 3-pole cable with your MEGABOOM.

Some devices will hold a connection with MEGABOOM even when the stream is paused or the connection is idle.

To fix this issue, try the following on the device you no longer want to use:

Disconnect from the MEGABOOM.

Turn off the bluetooth connection.

This should allow another device to connect to your MEGABOOM.

If your ios device no longer connects to your MEGABOOM, try the following:

Turn your MEGABOOM off and then back on.

Turn your ios device off and then back on.

If your ios device still won’t connect, you should re-pair your device with the MEGABOOM. Here’s how:

In the bluetooth menu on your ios device, locate MEGABOOM and tap the arrow next to it.

Tap forget this device.

Turn your speaker on.

Hold down the bluetooth button (above the power button) until you hear a tone.

NOTE: the bluetooth connection button will blink rapidly, meaning the speaker is ready for pairing.

On your device, go to the bluetooth menu and scan for devices.

Tap MEGABOOM to pair.

The volume settings between your MEGABOOM and apple device can sometimes get out of synchronization. If this happens, try the following:

Turn the bluetooth connection on your device off, and then back on again.

Turn your device off, and then back on.

You may experience audio problems if one of the two devices keeps requesting the connection while the current device is streaming. If so, try the following:

Pause the stream from the second device that isn’t currently being used.

Turn bluetooth off on the second device.

If the primary bluetooth device is a mac computer, click on the “X” next to the MEGABOOM from the bluetooth preference pane in system preferences.

NOTE: you’ll have to go through the pairing process again to pair your MEGABOOM to your macintosh computer if you do this. (see “pairing additional bluetooth devices with my MEGABOOM” for help.)

You can connect your MEGABOOM to a mac or PC that has bluetooth capabilities.

Turn the speaker on.

If this is the first device you’re pairing to your MEGABOOM, it will already be ready to pair, otherwise, hold down the bluetooth button (above the power button) until you hear a tone.

NOTE: the bluetooth connection button will blink rapidly, meaning the speaker is ready for pairing.

From the apple menu, select system preferences.

Open the bluetooth preference pane.

Find and select MEGABOOM in the available devices list, then click on pair.

Turn the speaker on.

If this is the first device you’re pairing to your MEGABOOM, it will already be ready to pair, otherwise, hold down the bluetooth button (above the power button) until you hear a tone.

NOTE: the bluetooth connection button will blink rapidly, meaning the speaker is ready for pairing.

Open your control panel.

Select hardware and sound.

Select devices and printers.

Select bluetooth devices.

Click add a device.

Select MEGABOOM from the list of devices, and then click next.

NOTE: if the bluetooth device control window opens, expand the headset type menu and select “my hands-free device MEGABOOM does not have a display” and then click apply.

Once your speaker is paired and connected, you’ll have to select the MEGABOOM as the default playback device in the windows sound settings. Here’s how:

Open your control panel.

Select hardware and sound.

Select manage audio devices (under sound).

Select “speakers bluetooth hands-free audio” and click set default.

Ultimate ears megaboom review

Just another bluetooth speaker or an UE classic? Tested at £250

Our verdict

Megaboom in name, not megaboomy in nature, this bluetooth speaker is a talented performer

Solid, waterproof build

Good looks

Fires out a punchy, exciting sound

Good battery life

Against

Difficult to charge and listen at the same time

Treble sounds a little unrefined

The ultimate ears megaboom is one of the first flush of wireless speakers in what has become an impressive bluetooth-powered range.

Its brethren include the wonderboom, boom, blast, megablast, and the list of ultimate ears wireless speakers rolls on. Suffice to say, we've been enjoying UE's work over the recent years.

Video review

Build and design

To look at, you’d think this was simply a larger version of the much-loved boom. And you’d be pretty much right. It shares the same cylindrical design and styling, including the natty ‘plasma-coated’ finish, which UE claims is stain and water resistant.

The speaker is topped and tailed in a rubberised, matte material, which also runs down the middle of the unit, incorporating a couple of volume controls as it goes. On top of the speaker are power and pairing buttons (you can also pair using NFC on compatible smartphones). On the bottom, you’ve got a 3.5mm auxiliary input and a micro-USB socket for charging.

One thing to point out here is that it’s tricky listening to the speaker while it's charging. You really need to lie it on its side or position it upside down, neither of which does the sound any favours. On the plus side, once charged, you should be able to enjoy around 20 hours of uninterrupted playback, unless you need to take a phone call using the built-in mic.

The speaker is designed to stand upright, so using the volume controls means gripping the speaker and giving them a firm press. Press and hold both buttons and the speaker chirps up, telling you the percentage of battery life left.

Of course, you’re more likely to alter the volume via your smartphone, which also shows a battery-life indicator.

Features and settings

You’ll need to download UE’s app for ios or android, which opens up all the speaker’s extra features such as the alarm clock function and “double up”. Double up does what it says on the tin, and allows you to hook up two megabooms together (or one mega and one normal boom) to listen in stereo.

The app also gives you access to the UE’s sound settings. There are four presets in total: ‘the standard’, ‘bass jump’, ‘cramped spaces’ and ‘voices’. We’d steer clear of the last three. They play around with the sound balance, but in our opinion don’t improve sound quality – indeed, in most instances, they make it sound worse.

We’d stick with the standard or, if you want to turn the bass down a notch, tap the custom mode and drop the EQ levels to zero.

Performance

Start with some classic hip-hop - grandmaster flash’s white lines does the trick - and the UE’s punchy, energetic delivery comes straight to the fore. The track’s bassline sounds weighty and taut (but never megaboomy, happily) and the speaker never skips a beat.

The megaboom’s ability to disperse sound really stands out too, and you’re able to enjoy a decent spread from various positions. Even with this great expanse of sound, the UE still manages to keep its composure and focus.

There’s solidity and precision through the bass, the midrange and treble. It’s an enthusiastic listen, bristling with life. Music is well balanced, even if the very high-end isn’t the ultimate in refinement. Playing a spot of classical music proves the megaboom has a more subtle, delicate side too.

Sooth your senses with a few excerpts from swan lake and the UE’s happy to slow the pace, and let its excellent dynamics take over. Strings and woodwind instruments rise and fall as the tune flows along.

Verdict

The megaboom is a great addition to UE’s family of wireless speakers. It's one of the more polished performer in the range.

Battery life and build quality are excellent, and whether you use it indoors or outside, you’re in for a musical treat.

UE megaboom 3 review

Refining an already-great speaker

Our verdict

The UE megaboom 3 doesn’t stray from the company’s tried and true formula but it doesn’t have to. The megaboom 3 is one of the best waterproof speakers you can buy thanks to its rugged design, long battery life, and audio performance, plus the new DJ feature is a clever way to get your friends on the action.

Against

Recessed mids

Bass sounds loose at high volume

Charging dock not included

The UE megaboom 3 strikes an excellent compromise of portability, power, and sound quality in its class.

Sure, some speakers around the same price like the LG PK7 sound even better, but it’s huge and cumbersome to carry around. Ultra portable speakers like the UE wonderboom sound great for the size but just can’t match the battery life and sound quality that the megaboom 3 provides.

The previous generation UE boom 2 was one of our favorite waterproof speakers of all-time and for good reason – it had a rugged design that could take a beating, got incredibly loud, and sounded great for the money.

For the third generation UE megaboom 3, ultimate ears didn’t change the formula of the bluetooth speaker very much, but that’s not a bad thing. The design is slightly more refined, battery life is still excellent, and buyers can get the speaker at a lower price.

All said, for $200 / £170 / AU$300, you get a lot for your money, even if it is getting a little long in the tooth now – and that price is likely to drop over black friday and cyber monday.

Design

The design of the megaboom line of speakers hasn’t changed much over the years - but why mess with something that works? The UE megaboom 3 is the same cylindrical shape we know and love, but feels more refined overall. The stiff buttons of previous models are gone and replaced with more tactile ones.

There’s also the addition of the “magic button” at the top which allows you to control music playback and launch one-touch playlists from apple music or deezer. This means you can get your music nearly instantly if you use either service, however, the button doesn’t support one-touch playlist support for spotify, nor does it activate your phone’s voice assistant.

UE moved the charging port to the bottom base of the speaker for easier access – and, unfortunately, you still have to use the dated microusb connector for charging the speaker. If you don’t want to deal with cables at all, you can purchase the optional $40 (£35, AU$50) power up wireless charging dock that also serves as a docking station when you bring the speaker home for the day.

The other new feature UE added is DJ mode, which lets you invite up to two other friends to help you take turns controlling the mix. This utilizes the speaker’s multipoint bluetooth pairing and it can all be controlled via the megaboom app. It's a gimmick, sure, but certainly a clever way to allow your friends to control the music.

Performance

The first thing that you notice about the UE megaboom 3’s performance is just how incredibly loud the speaker gets – half volume is enough to fill a medium-sized room. Crank the speaker to 100%, and you’d better be outdoors where you have to compensate for ambient noise. This speaker really kicks.

Thankfully, it not only gets loud, but the sound quality is good as well with boosted bass that has good impact and highs that never sound harsh. That said, however, we found the mids to be more recessed than we’d like, letting vocals take a back seat to the speaker’s bass and highs. Compared to the similarly priced JBL pulse 3, the JBL manages to project sound much wider, punch harder at the low-end, and makes vocals stand out. However, the megaboom 3 wins out in terms of durability and battery life (20 hours here vs the JBL’s 12).

Speaking of battery life, the UE megaboom 3 offers a staggering 20-hours of playtime and we found that number to be accurate if you’re playing music around 25% volume. Crank it up and expect the battery life to drop several hours.

Final verdict

The UE megaboom 3 is an iteration on an already great speaker, with small refinements across the board making it the best waterproof speaker UE has made to date. The speaker features a rugged drop and waterproof design, all-day battery life, and gets incredibly loud. On top of it all, UE lowered the price, making the megaboom 3 excellent value for money.

If there’s one thing we can nitpick about the UE megaboom 3 it’s that, while it’s sound is good, it could be improved. The speaker provides good bass extension but we think there’s room for more impact, and its mids are recessed, making vocals less exciting than on other speakers.

The JBL pulse 3 sounds better to our ears thanks to its ability project farther and put vocals front and center. The JBL also punches harder at the lower frequencies. However, the UE has it beat on battery life, with 20-hours of playback vs the JBL’s 12 (slightly longer if you disable the light show).

Ultimate ears megaboom 3 review

Energetic, entertaining sound

360-degree delivery

Good battery life

Rugged but attractive design

New play/playlist button

Key specifications

Review price: £169

360-degree sound

20 hours' battery

IP67 rating for dust and waterproofing

45m wireless range

Dimensions 225mm (height) x 87mm (diameter)

What is the ultimate ears megaboom 3?

The first ultimate ears boom was a landmark audio product when it launched back in 2014. At a time when bluetooth speakers were just beginning to flood the market, it stood out with its 360-degree sound and rugged form factor. Soon after came the bigger, tougher megaboom. The ultimate ears megaboom 3 is the latest version of that model.

It’s fundamentally the same product, but with improvements in build, functionality and performance – all of which add up to a significant upgrade. Factor in a lower price tag, £170 instead of £250, and it’s clear that ultimate ears intends to remain a key player in the world of portable audio.

Note that there was never a megaboom 2. Ultimate ears has skipped a number in order to align the megaboom 3 with its smaller sibling, the new boom 3.

Ultimate ears megaboom 3 – design and features

The core design of the boom range hasn’t changed much over the years. The latest boom remains a cylinder covered in a tough fabric, capped at both ends with copious amounts of rubber.

The cylindrical shape aids 360-degree sound – more on that later – while the unit’s ruggedness will ensure the speaker is able to withstand abuse in all manner of scenarios. Ultimate ears’ marketing campaign lays bare the fact that this speaker is aimed at an extremely careless (and perhaps mildly sadistic) crowd. If you’re looking for a festival speaker that will survive being splashed with all manner of substances – baked beans, for example – this will do nicely.

In fact, the megaboom 3 promises to be the toughest yet. It can survive being dropped from a height of 1 metre. Its IP67 certification means it’s dust-proof, and the megaboom 3 will emerge from a dunk in 1 metre of water for 30 minutes in tact. To test the latter you’ll really have to hold the unit down, though, because the speaker is designed to float.

The tough outer fabric is made by a swiss company that also makes industrial materials for motorcyclists and firefighters.

This latest iteration is a little prettier than its predecessors, with a slight iridescent finish that appears to shift a little under different lighting conditions. My review sample came in the subtle night (black) finish, but there are bolder options: sunset (red), lagoon (blue) and ultraviolet (purple), plus the apple-exclusive cloud (light blue) and denim (dark blue). Note that ultimate ears has a habit of releasing new colours and designs after launch, too.

There’s been a shift towards minimalism. The recent ultimate ears blast and ultimate ears megablast already opted for harder edges and fewer contours, but ultimate ears has gone further here.

On the megaboom 3 the volume buttons no longer sit on the thick rubber strip upon which they’ve sat since the first generation. Those buttons retain their comically large ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ appearance, but are now built directly into the speaker’s body.

A rubber strip remains, apparently necessary to cover up the seam in the fabric, but it’s now thinner and flush with the sides of the canister. The base of this strip can be peeled away to reveal the micro-USB charging port (cable and mains adapter included). Battery life is rated at 20 hours.

Ultimate ears has moved this from the bottom to the side for two reasons. First, customers didn’t like having to upend the old speaker to charge it; plus, the old flap kept breaking. The bottom of the speaker now houses a silver contact point for wireless charging. You’ll need the power up attachment, sold separately for £34.99.

That contact point displaces the old tripod mount, but ultimate ears has added a fabric loop at the top, which is ideal for carabiners. If you’re the type to hang speakers on trees or backpacks, you may continue to do so.

Sadly, ultimate ears has taken a leaf out of apple’s book and removed the 3.5mm input entirely. It’s wireless or nothing – which is just as well, since the w ireless range has been bumped up from 30m to 45m.

The megaboom 3 uses bluetooth 4.2 – I’m told ultimate ears experimented with the superior aptx bluetooth format, but decided against it. To be fair, I wouldn’t expect aptx to make a big difference at this (lower) end of the speaker market.

There is a new button layout. The power and bluetooth pairing buttons remain where they are, but ultimate ears has added a third, dubbed the ‘magic’ button.

At its most basic, this button handles playing, pausing and skipping forward (there’s no rewind function as yet). That’s super-useful as it is, but it also handles playlists, which you can set up in the refreshed boom app.

The idea is that you can turn on the speaker and jump straight into songs you’ve lined up, without digging into your phone and finding the right menus. It’s a great idea, and it works well. Unfortunately, at launch this function is limited to apple music and deezer. Integration with spotify would make it a killer feature.

The app’s partyup feature returns, allowing you to link up multiple speakers for simultaneous playback – theoretically up to 150 booms. With the boom 3 and megaboom 3, ultimate ears has also added stereo pairing.

Note that the megaboom 3 doesn’t have any online functionality, so it doesn’t feature smart assistant support such as amazon alexa. For that, you’ll want to check out the blast or megablast. Those speakers sit separately from the bluetooth-only boom family.

Ultimate ears megaboom 3 – performance

The megaboom 3 sounds better than its predecessor.

The key thing for me is that the sound is clearer than ever. The frequency range feels less cramped. The performance is more eloquent, particularly in the bass department. Overall, there’s a greater sense of separation – which is clearly noticeable with dynamically dense tracks such as toto’s rosanna. Enunciation isn’t as clear with the old megaboom.

A quick dig into the specs sheets throws up a few plausible causes for this improvement. The passive radiators, which do the heavy-lifting in the bass department, have been modified. The dynamic range of the speaker is slightly wider, too – the megaboom 3 gets as low as 60hz – down from the original 65hz. This isn’t significant, but extra dynamic headroom is always a good thing.

I also note the megaboom 3’s sound is a little more spacious and less boomy than the original. That might have something to do with the removal of the thick rubber strip. The sound is definitely more evenly dispersed. Walk around the speaker and it’s far harder to spot a dead zone.

Elsewhere, the overall characteristic remains the same. This is an exciting, energetic sound. It’s fine at low volumes, but it’s happiest when cranked past 50% volume, when you can really feel that kick.

Don’t forget to go into the boom app and tinker with the EQ settings, because the default setting can be a little too bass-heavy for those looking for a more neutral sound. I’d also advise running the speaker in for a couple of hours before ‘proper’ listening. That really helps to loosen things up.

Why buy the ultimate ears megaboom 3?

The original megaboom was great, but it had a few flaws. The megaboom 3 has addressed these weaknesses and made up for them by adding useful elements, such as a play/playlist button and a greater wireless range.

All that, and ultimate ears has seen fit to lower the price. At £169, the megaboom 3 is competitively priced. You’ll have a hard time finding another speaker that’s simultaneously this good and this rugged.

If that’s too expensive, there are other options within the boom family. The boom 3 is the smaller sibling to the megaboom 3, and it costs £129. We’ll be reviewing that soon. Meanwhile, the ultimate ears boom 2 has been out for a few years, and it can regularly be found for under £100.

Those looking for a speaker with smart functionality should check out the blast and megablast. These support amazon alexa.

Verdict

Not bigger but definitely better – the megaboom 3 is probably the best speaker ultimate ears has released so far.

UE megaboom 3 review: the new bluetooth speaker to beat

The UE megaboom 3 has what you want in a portable bluetooth speaker: good sound quality, long battery life, ruggedness and more.

Our verdict

The UE megaboom 3 has what you want in a portable bluetooth speaker: good sound quality, long battery life, ruggedness and more.

Big bass and full vocals

Good battery life

Waterproof

Can pair with older megaboom and boom models for stereo sound

Against

Speakers featuring virtual assistants such as alexa and google assistant have eclipsed regular old portable bluetooth speakers as the audio trend of the moment. But not everyone wants to have AI eavesdropping on their lives — though almost all of us want to have a great-sounding portable speaker on hand.

If it's time for you to replace or upgrade your speaker, the $180 UE megaboom 3 makes a strong case as the one to get. It refines the experience of the excellent megaboom and has impressive sound, battery life and ruggedness — plus it's cheaper. It's not ideal for everyone — it's too big to go everywhere with you — but for most people, it's the best bluetooth speaker you can buy right now.

Design

The 8.9 x 3.4-inch, 2-pound megaboom 3 simplifies the cylindrical aesthetics from the previous generation, improving on most aspects of the design.

The new model integrates the large volume buttons on the side into the mesh covering and moves the charge port from the bottom to the side, making that port much more accessible. On top, you'll find small power and bluetooth-pairing buttons and a large button in the center that UE calls the magic button.

The magic button can be programmed to launch playlists on apple music or deezer streaming services, but it's more useful for just controlling playback. A single touch pauses or plays the current track; double tap skips to the next song. The magic button replaces the megaboom's touch-sensitive top, and the button works more consistently than the touch top did.

The megaboom 3 lacks an auxiliary input, so you can't have a wired connection, something that UE removed in the redesign. The company also took away the speakerphone from the new model.

Performance

The megaboom 3 has nicely balanced bass, mid and treble tones. It has slightly more bass than the megaboom and fuller overall sound than the fugoo style-S. UE's speaker plays a variety of music styles well.

The throbbing bass line of cardi B's "I like it" rumbled without sounding muddy or overwhelming the vocals. On the 1975's "love it if we made it," the bass propelled the song as matthew healy's singing was easy to hear. The acoustic guitar on lady gaga and bradley cooper's "shallow" sounded sharp and realistic, while gaga's soaring vocals were full and clear.

The throbbing bass line of cardi B's 'I like it' rumbled without sounding muddy or overwhelming the vocals.

The megaboom 3 gets seriously loud. I measured it at almost 100 decibels when turned up to max, but at that volume, the sound gets fairly distorted.

Ruggedness

The megaboom 3 has an IPX67 rating, meaning it's waterproof for up to 30 minutes in 3 feet of water. I left the speaker in a sink full of water for 5 minutes, and it continued to play fine after that.

I left the megaboom 3 in a sink full of water for 5 minutes, and it continued to play fine after that.

Battery

UE says the speaker can play for 20 hours on a full charge, and that might be conservative. After about 10 hours of use at low and moderate volume, the megaboom 3 still had 77 percent of its battery left.

Wireless and setup

The megaboom 3 paired with my iphone quickly. The signal strength was impressive, working through several walls indoors.

The new boom and megaboom app (free for ios and android) brings several useful features, but it also takes away a couple. It allows you to pair the megaboom 3 with the older model, as well as UE's boom 2 and boom 3 speakers, something I wish more bluetooth speaker apps would allow. You can pick playlists to assign to the magic button; once one is assigned, you press the button for 3 seconds to start playback. You can also choose from preset equalizer settings or create your own. However, there's no longer an alarm feature in the app, and you can't engage siri or google assistant on your phone through the speaker anymore.

Bottom line

For most people, the UE megaboom 3 is the best portable bluetooth speaker to buy. It has excellent sound, can handle the elements, plays for a long time on a charge and can pair with other UE speakers for stereo sound.

If you plan to take your speaker with you a lot, this one may be too big. In that case, the $130 UE boom 3 might be a better match. On the other hand, if you don't ever plan to move your speaker, you can get better sound from larger (and more expensive) speakers, such as the $250 riva arena or $250 marshall acton II. And, of course, if you want a speaker that supports alexa or google assistant, the megaboom 3 isn't for you. But if you pick the megaboom 3, you won't be disappointed.

Ultimate ears megaboom 3 review

A refined design, new features and a great, punchy sound keep the megaboom 3 at the top of its game. Tested at £170

Our verdict

Punchy, exciting and full of fun, the megaboom 3's design tweaks and new features make it even more exciting to use than before.

Loud, punchy, solid sound

Excellent sturdy and portable design

Fun features and easy to use

Against

With the megaboom 3 portable bluetooth speaker, ultimate ears continues its enviable run of five-star products.

It builds on an already-excellent reputation, and design tweaks, sonic boosts and nifty new features make it even more enjoyable to use.

Build and design

The speaker itself feels chunky and indestructible as ever, but it’s still light enough to carry around in your backpack or just around the house.

Alternatively, you can dock it on a power up charging stand. It’s a touch pricey at £34.99, but it’s quite nice to plonk the speaker on to.

The UE megaboom 3 lasts 20 hours on a full charge – a decent amount that’s unchanged from the previous generation.

Features

Sound quality

With megaboom 3 boasting so many features, it’s easy to forget that it’s “just” a portable bluetooth speaker.

The megaboom 3 has been given a bass boost thanks to popular demand, with ultimate ears enhancing its passive radiator to give deeper bass.

Verdict

There’s no shortage of weatherproof portable speakers, but ultimate ears has carved out a niche for themselves by combining great design and fun features with an entertaining sound.

The megaboom 3’s new playlist features, sleeker design and improved sound are definitely worth your time.

UE megaboom 3 specs and user manual

User review

UE megaboom 3 is a bluetooth speaker 8.9 x 3.4 inch and weight 2 pound cylindrical with nice design, on top there are buttons for power, bluetooth pairing and magic button. With magic button you can do setting to launch playlist apple music and also to control playback ( to pause or play next track ).

The megaboom 3 has nice bass sound, treble and mid tones, but little more bass than predecessor. Megaboom 3 has an IPX67 it’s mean this bluetooth speaker is waterproof for up to 30 minutes in 3 feet of water. Megaboom 3 battery life at last up to 20 hours.

Megaboom 3 has good signal strength and pairing to iphone quickly, this bluetooth speaker can be good choice for portable speaker to buy. You will get excellent sound, battery life last up to 20 hours.

UE megaboom vs UE megaboom 3 - reviewposition.Com

4. Verdict. The megaboom is a fine speaker, but, in our verdict, it’s definitely worth upgrading to the megaboom 3. First of all, it’s more resilient in terms of travel; you can take it literally anywhere, whether it be a desert or in proximity to various water-scapes, without panicking about damage.

MEGABOOM 3 bluetooth speaker| ultimate ears speaker with .

MEGABOOM 3 portable wireless bluetooth® speaker is the ultimate speaker, redefined: super-powerful 360° sound, thundering bass, water, dust & drop proof, and stunning high-performance fabric.

UE megaboom 3 specification

Specification	description
dimension	diameter: 87 mm (3 3/8”). Height: 225 mm (8 7/8”). Weight: 925 g
battery	rechargeable lithium-ion battery for up to 20 hours of battery life* between micro USB charges.
Audio	maximum sound level: 90dba. Frequency range: 60hz - 20khz. Drivers: two 50mm (2 in), 4 ohm full range drivers and two 55mm x 86mm passive radiators.
Wireless capabilities	pair up to 8 bluetooth enabled source devices - connect up to two source devices at the same time. Mobile range of play is up to 45m (150 ft).
Customizable EQ	select the best sound for different occasions with 4 different presets and a customized tuner.
Compatibility	for audio playback: smartphones, tablets and other devices that support bluetooth and bluetooth® smart wireless audio profile [advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP)].

UE megaboom 3 review video

Ultimate ears megaboom review

Just another bluetooth speaker or an UE classic? Tested at £250

Our verdict

Megaboom in name, not megaboomy in nature, this bluetooth speaker is a talented performer

Solid, waterproof build

Good looks

Fires out a punchy, exciting sound

Good battery life

Against

Difficult to charge and listen at the same time

Treble sounds a little unrefined

The ultimate ears megaboom is one of the first flush of wireless speakers in what has become an impressive bluetooth-powered range.

Its brethren include the wonderboom, boom, blast, megablast, and the list of ultimate ears wireless speakers rolls on. Suffice to say, we've been enjoying UE's work over the recent years.

Video review

Build and design

Of course, you’re more likely to alter the volume via your smartphone, which also shows a battery-life indicator.

Features and settings

We’d stick with the standard or, if you want to turn the bass down a notch, tap the custom mode and drop the EQ levels to zero.

Performance

Verdict

The megaboom is a great addition to UE’s family of wireless speakers. It's one of the more polished performer in the range.

Battery life and build quality are excellent, and whether you use it indoors or outside, you’re in for a musical treat.

So, let's see, what was the most valuable thing of this article: ultimate ears maegaboom 3 review: a refined design, new features and a punchy sound make for a brilliant bluetooth speaker - read at what hi-fi? At amegaboom