The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is the largest and loudest portable Bluetooth speaker in the Ultimate Ears lineup. Its 23-hour battery life and IPX4 rating for water resistance make it a great choice for outdoor gatherings as you can blast tunes all day without worrying about charging. You can easily switch between different Bluetooth devices at the press of a button, in case you and a friend want to take turns DJing, and there's an adjustable EQ available through the companion app if you want to customize the sound. There's even a handy carrying strap so you can bring it around with you one-handed.
Our Verdict
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is good for music. This speaker has balanced mid and treble ranges that can reproduce clear and accurate vocals and lead instruments, so it's well suited to a variety of genres. It gets really loud without a lot of compression, too, and it has an Adaptive EQ room correction feature that'll tailor the sound according to the environment. The Ultimate Ears app even offers a full graphic EQ and presets to help you customize its sound further to your liking.
- Graphic EQ and presets.
- Gets pretty loud.
- Good soundstage.
- Okay directivity.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is adequate for videos and movies, though it's designed more for streaming video from a device than for home cinema use. Though it struggles to reproduce the rumbly low-bass found in action-packed movie scenes, it can still reproduce dialogue clearly, thanks to its detailed mid-range. It has a good soundstage, and it can get loud without a lot of compression. Also, its latency with iOS and Android devices over a Bluetooth connection is low enough that you won't encounter sync issues while watching video.
- Graphic EQ and presets.
- Good soundstage.
- Okay directivity.
- Doesn't support Apple AirPlay or Google Chromecast.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is impressive for podcasts. Thanks to its balanced mid-range, dialogue sounds clear, accurate, and detailed. You can use its graphic EQ to customize its sound, and there's even a 'Podcast' preset available. This speaker gets loud, and you can easily bring it from one room to the next.
- Graphic EQ and presets.
- Gets pretty loud.
- Supports multi-device pairing.
- No Multi-Room feature.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM doesn't support voice assistants.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is great for outdoor use. This speaker has an over 23-hour battery life that's ideal for long days outside, and its built-in strap makes it easy to carry with one hand. It also gets pretty loud. Its default sound profile is quite neutral and suitable for lots of different audio content, though it struggles to reproduce low-bass. Its overall build quality is decent, and this speaker has an IPX4 rating for water resistance.
- Gets pretty loud.
- Lasts over 23 hours off of a single charge.
- IPX4 rating for water resistance.
- Okay directivity.
Changelog
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Updated Jul 16, 2025:
We mentioned the JBL PartyBox Encore Essential 2 in the Wired section of this review.
- Updated May 03, 2024: We've added a comparison between this speaker and the Brane X in Dynamics.
- Updated Apr 17, 2024: We've added a comparison between this speaker and the Sony SRS-XV500 in Frequency Response Accuracy.
- Updated Dec 19, 2023: We've updated this review to ensure the text remains consistent and added up-to-date in-text comparisons.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM comes in two color variants: Black and White. This review represents the test results for the 'Black' variant; you can see its label here.
If you encounter another version of Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM, let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is a large portable Bluetooth speaker with an outstanding battery life of over 23 hours. It can get louder than its more portable sibling, the Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM, without audio becoming too compressed. While you can't bring it around on a hike, its battery life is significantly longer. That said, it can't produce quite as much bass as speakers like the JBL Boombox 3, which is a better choice for fans of bass-heavy music like EDM and hip-hop.
See also our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers, the best home speakers, and the best waterproof Bluetooth speakers.
The JBL Boombox 3 and the Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM are similar speakers with different strengths. The Boombox 3 can produce deeper bass than the HYPERBOOM, and it offers five extra hours of battery life, lasting up to almost 30 hours in total. It's better built with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, certifying it to be dust-tight and immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. That said, the HYPERBOOM is a bit smaller and can get ever so slightly louder than the Boombox 3 with less compression at max volume, so audio quality sounds cleaner and clearer when you blast the speaker. It also offers a slightly wider-sounding soundstage. If you prefer a better-built speaker that can produce deeper bass, go for the JBL. If you tend to blast your music and want audio quality to sound cleaner at max volume, go for the Ultimate Ears instead.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is a more premium speaker than the Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM. The HYPERBOOM offers better sound quality, especially regarding dynamics, as it can get louder with less compression at max volume. Its battery life is longer-lasting, too, and it has lower latency over Bluetooth. It's larger than the EPICBOOM and not quite as well-suited for outdoor use.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is a slightly better speaker than the JBL PartyBox 310, though they have different strengths. The Ultimate Ears has fewer compression artifacts at max volume and better soundstage performance. It's also more portable than the JBL. The JBL can produce a much deeper low bass and gets louder than the Ultimate Ears. It also has inputs to connect it to a mic or guitar.
The Sonos Move 2 is a better speak overall than the Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM. It's more portable, better built, and has better directivity. It also has voice assistant capabilities and can be integrated with other Sonos speakers as part of a multi-room system. That said, it lacks the Ultimate Ears' ability to connect up to two devices via Bluetooth, and latency on both Android and iOS devices is higher, so you may experience syncing issues between audio and video.
Test Results
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is a tall speaker that's meant to sit vertically. Its simple, monochrome design helps it easily blend in with most home decor, and you can find it in either black or white. It's wrapped in a tight fabric with plastic on the top and bottom, and there's a carrying strap attached to one corner.
This speaker is impressively portable. It's tall and a bit heavy, but you can still carry it with one hand thanks to its built-in carrying strap. Also, it's battery-operated, so you can bring it outside without worrying about plugging it into an outlet. If you're looking for a speaker that's a bit smaller, check out the TREBLAB HD-Max and the JBL Xtreme 3, which come with a bottle opener built into their carrying straps.
This speaker has a decent build quality. The top and bottom are made of hard plastic, which feels solid, and the other sides are wrapped in a tight fabric that doesn't seem like it could rip easily. The built-in carrying strap feels durable and thick, and the speaker has an IPX4 rating for water resistance. Unfortunately, the weatherproof door for the input ports doesn't have a very tight seal, so it's susceptible to dust build-up over time. For a portable speaker with a better build quality, check out the Sony SRS-XG500, which is rated IP66 for dust and water resistance.
The controls are middling. On top of the speaker, some buttons let you power it on/off, adjust the volume, play/pause your audio, choose between different Bluetooth sources, and play audio over the AUX or Optical inputs. You can hit both volume buttons at the same time to get audible feedback on the battery level. There's also a tone that plays when you hit max volume, but no other audible feedback. Additionally, you can hit the play/pause button twice to skip to the next track and hold it to start playing the playlists you can set in the app. However, there isn't a way to return to the previous track.
The frequency response accuracy is decent. With its Adaptive EQ feature turned on, it reproduces balanced mid and treble ranges, so vocals and lead instruments are clear and accurate. The Adaptive EQ feature is often found in premium speakers like this. It analyzes the unique acoustic characteristics of your room and optimizes audio reproduction accordingly. You can customize its sound profile using the graphic EQ and presets in its companion app. However, it doesn't have as much bass as other portable party speakers like the JBL PartyBox Encore Essential or the Sony SRS-XV500, or even the smaller Bang & Olufsen Beolit 20.
Note: The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM can be powered by either AC or battery. This review represents the speaker's performance while battery-operated, and the results are only valid with these test settings.
The soundstage performance is good. It can play stereo content, so you can clearly hear a separation between the left and right channels when listening to music recorded in stereo. However, its directivity is just okay, so its soundstage may be perceived as a bit narrow, depending on what angle you're listening from. This is partly due to its rectangular design, which doesn't have a cylindrical speaker's consistent, 360-degree directivity, like the Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3.
This speaker has superb dynamics. It gets pretty loud, especially compared to the Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM. Plus, although it gets as loud as the Brane X, there isn't as much compression when you play it at max volume, so your audio reproduction remains clear and pure. This makes it well-suited to parties and large gatherings, whether they're in large rooms or outdoors.
The battery performance is incredible. The manufacturer advertises 24 hours of continuous playback, so you don't have to worry about recharging it daily, and we measured just under this. However, battery life can vary according to usage, so your experience may differ depending on your usage. The speaker also has a convenient power-saving feature that turns it off after fifteen minutes if it's not connected to a power source and it's not playing audio, which can help conserve battery life.
The Ultimate Ears app is very good. It offers a graphic EQ for sound customization, and there are also three different EQ presets you can choose from: 'Bass Boost', 'Game/Cinema', and 'Podcast'. You can even pair it with another HYPERBOOM or speakers from the BOOM and MEGABOOM series to create a stereo pair or amplify your audio across a crowded party.
This speaker has several wired inputs. There's an AUX port that lets you plug your phone directly into the speaker, as well as an Optical port and an AC cable port. The USB-A port is for charging only, and the Micro-USB port is just for updating the firmware. Though this speaker is great for parties, its lack of inputs for microphones and guitars means it won't work well for karaoke. If that's what you're looking for, consider the JBL PartyBox Encore Essential 2.
This speaker has outstanding Bluetooth connectivity. You can pair up to two devices to it simultaneously, and you can use the 'Bluetooth 1' and 'Bluetooth 2' buttons on the top of the speaker to switch between your different audio sources. This makes it easy for you and a friend to take turns playing tunes without the hassle of disconnecting and reconnecting. They have great Bluetooth range, so you can stay connected even in an adjacent room. Also, thanks to its low latency with iOS and Android devices, it's suitable for watching videos. However, some apps compensate for latency differently, so your experience may vary.