Music can help get any party going, whether it’s in your backyard or out in the woods. However, to do that you need a loud wireless Bluetooth speaker – and the Ultimate Ears Everboom will do just that for you. So, is this sturdy portable speaker something you should take with you on your next camping trip?
Price and Availability
The Ultimate Ears Everboom is available on Amazon and the Ultimate Ears website for $249.99. It’s available in four colors: Charcoal Black, Azure Blue, Raspberry Red, and Enchanting Lilac. I prefer Charcoal Black, but if you plan on taking the speaker on your adventures, you’ll want brighter color options so it’s easier to identify.
Tap to Connect
One of the best quality-of-life features of the Ultimate Ears Everboom is its tap-to-pair function that allows you to connect any Android phone to the NFC reader by tapping on the top of the speaker. In fact, I can switch between my Samsung Note10+ and Vivo X90 Pro by simply tapping on the Everboom when the screen is unlocked (and NFC activated).
Unfortunately, this function doesn’t work with my iPhone 14 Pro Max, even though I already have iOS 18 installed, so Apple users beware. Still, it’s still pretty easy to connect — just press and hold the Bluetooth button on the top of the speaker, navigate to your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings, and tap EVERBOOM.
Sound quality is in the name
Ultimate Ears is known for its great sound quality, and the Everboom doesn’t disappoint. When put on maximum volume, I recorded the Everboom at up to 110dB in my office, which makes it about as loud as a subway train or a food blender running at full speed. Despite this, the speaker delivered great audio quality at up to 80% of my Samsung’s volume, reproducing every little detail of all the tracks I played with sharpness and clarity.
When I cranked the volume up to 100%, the quality started to deteriorate a bit, but you might not notice it when you’re listening outdoors. You can also activate Outdoor mode, which boosts the bass a bit, so you feel the music more.
I compared the Ultimate Ears Everboom to my much larger Edifier D12 desktop speakers, and I can say that they have comparable sound quality, although the first speaker is smaller than the second. Still, the speaker I’m testing isn’t audiophile-grade, so don’t expect to get a cinema-like experience.
Long battery life, fast charging
The Everboom claims a battery life of 20 hours on a single charge, which is enough for a couple of days of listening. I haven’t even managed to use it for 20 hours continuously, but it lasted me about two to three weeks on intermittent use, as it served as my laptop speaker whenever I was working outside my home.
But what I like about the Everboom is how quickly it can charge – it took me less than half an hour to charge it from empty to about 80%. So, even if it’s low, you can plug it into a USB-C power source, and you’ll be ready to work in less than an hour.
Some Extra Features
Apart from the sound quality and ease of connection, the Ultimate Ears Everboom also has a few other tricks up its sleeve when you use the Ultimate Ears app, which is available for Android and iPhone. The first feature is Megaphone, where your phone can act as a wireless microphone, and you can then use the Everboom as a loudspeaker.
You can also change the speaker’s equalizer settings in the app. It offers five presets: Signature, Bass Boost, Cramped Space, Deep Relaxation, and Podcast/Vocal. But if you have your own preferences, you can use the app to create a custom profile.
Finally, you can connect multiple wireless Ultimate Ears speakers under the ‘Boom’ line, including the Boom, Boom 2, Boom 3, Megaboom, Megaboom 3, and Hyperboom speakers, with the PartyUp feature. You can use it to pair two compatible wireless speakers for a stereo effect or combine up to 150 different speakers to turn them into one giant loudspeaker.
Apart from that, the Ultimate Ears app lets you change the name of the speaker by going into the settings menu. It also lets you set an alarm so you can wake up to your own songs playing on the speaker. However, we recommend keeping the speaker charged and connected to your phone, as it goes into sleep mode after a few minutes when no music is playing to save battery.
Of course, I can’t forget the robustness of the speaker. It has an IP67 rating, which means it’s both dustproof and water-resistant. It also floats on water, so you won’t lose the speaker if you drop it in the pool. Furthermore, Ultimate Ears claims that the EverBoom is drop-proof, saying it was tested from a height of one meter. And, to highlight its robust capabilities, it comes with a loop and carabiner so you can easily hang it in different places.