There's no doubting that a great Bluetooth speaker is a neat addition to your home. Whether you like to listen to music, or relax with an audiobook or podcast, you can enjoy an elevated sonic experience with relatively minimal outlay.
There are also a lot of options on the market. Now, popular brand UE have unveiled a new speaker to fight for your hard earned cash. It's called the UE Epicboom, and it's packed with features to make your listening experience more seamless.
Before we get into that, though, lets quickly run through some key specs. The Epicboom weighs just 1.9kg, making it perfect for taking with you on your travels. There's also a handy carry strap on the back, with a magnetic attachment for holding it down when not in use.
Inside, a trio of speakers help to achieve the 360° sound which UE is known for. A 4.6-inch woofer is paired with a duo of 1.5-inch drivers, for brilliant representation across the audio spectrum. That can be adjusted in the Boom app, too, with five pre-configured EQ settings and a customisable five-band EQ for shaping your own sound.
If none of that sounds like your bag, you can always use the Adaptive EQ. That reads the environment around the speaker, and automatically adjusts the EQ to suit the surroundings. Other notable specs include a 17 hour battery life, and 55 metres of mobile range.
Elsewhere, you'll find a host of really cool features, designed to maximise the potential for listening in different environments. For starters, there's an NFC tag built into the top of the device. That allows Android phone users to hover and pair, taking over DJ duties in the process. Sadly, it wont work with iPhones.
You'll also find the PartyUp feature built-in here. That allows you to pair up with other UE speakers to extend the projection – great for parties and larger gatherings. You can connect up to 150(!) devices using this feature – though you'd need a pretty big house for that.
Then there's Outdoor Mode. This intelligently optimises the sound for use in – yep, you guessed it – outdoor spaces. That removes some of the low- and high-end frequencies which would be lost to the elements anyway, and directs the power they would consume into ones you can actually hear. It even saves battery in the process! And you can turn it on from a button on the device, or in the app.
It's made for the elements, too. The UE Epicboom is IP67 rated for water and dust resistance. It has also been designed to float, meaning if you drop it in a body of water, you don't have to go chasing after it in a panic.
So, what will all of this sonic goodness set you back? In the UK, you can expect to pay £329.99. That's certainly not cheap, but good audio quality rarely is. Given the breadth of features on offer – and the level of sound quality we expect from UE – that's probably a fair price.
