The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a portable Bluetooth speaker that comes with built-in support for Alexa voice assistant over a Wi-Fi connection. It's small and lightweight, and it even has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, though we don't currently test for this. This stereo speaker has a pretty neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, though, like many small speakers, it lacks low-bass. Fortunately, there's a graphic EQ and presets available in the Ultimate Ears app to help you customize its sound to your liking.
Our Verdict
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is decent for music. Out-of-the-box, this speaker has a pretty neutral sound profile that's suitable for listening to lots of different genres. However, like many small speakers, it struggles to reproduce a thumpy low-bass, which can be disappointing if you like to feel the deep rumble in bass-heavy genres like EDM. You can also customize its sound profile using the graphic EQ and presets in the Ultimate Ears app.
- Graphic EQ + presets.
- Gets loud.
- Lacks low-bass.
- Some compression at max volume.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is acceptable for videos and movies. Its balanced mid-range can reproduce clear and accurate dialogue. However, it lacks low-bass, so you don't really feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed scenes. It can play stereo content, and its 360-degree design helps audio sound clear from all angles. While it gets pretty loud, unfortunately, there's some compression present when you play it at max volume.
- Graphic EQ + presets.
- Gets loud.
- Lacks low-bass.
- Some compression at max volume.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is very good for podcasts. It has a neutral sound profile, especially in the mid-range, so dialogue is reproduced clearly and accurately. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it has excellent directivity, so audio is clear from all angles. This portable speaker can also get pretty loud, but unfortunately, there's some compression when you play it at max volume. You can also only pair it to one device at a time, which can be inconvenient.
- Gets loud.
- Portable, well-built design.
- Some compression at max volume.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is amazing for voice assistants. It has built-in Alexa support over a Wi-Fi connection, which you can activate using your voice. Alexa can hear you clearly even if you aren't very close to the speaker, and it does a decent job understanding you in a noisy setting. You can also mute the microphone by pressing the Bluetooth and the volume down buttons at the same time.
- Mic mute function.
- Excellent far-field performance.
- Only available over a Wi-Fi connection.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is good for outdoor use. This well-built speaker has a portable design and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, though we don't currently test for this. It gets pretty loud, too, but unfortunately, there's some compression when you play it at max volume. However, its eight-hour battery life is just okay, and it may not last through long days outdoors.
- Gets loud.
- Portable, well-built design.
- Some compression at max volume.
Changelog
- Updated Dec 05, 2022: Added a market comparison to the Devialet Mania in the Voice Assistant box.
- Updated Mar 08, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Mar 03, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Mar 01, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST comes in several different color variants: 'Black', 'Blue', 'White', 'Red', 'Yellow', and 'Green'. We tested the Black variant, but we expect the other color variants to perform similarly. You can see the label for the model we tested here.
You can also purchase this speaker with a wireless charging pad. However, we haven't tested it with this configuration.
If you come across a different variant, let us know in the discussions.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a portable Bluetooth speaker that offers built-in support for Alexa voice assistant over a Wi-Fi connection. It has a pretty neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, and it's also compatible with the Ultimate Ears app, so you can customize its sound using its graphic EQ and presets. However, its battery life isn't as impressive as other speakers like the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3. See also our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers, the best waterproof Bluetooth speakers, and the best speakers for iPhone and iPod.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a better speaker than the Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3. The MEGABLAST has a fairly neutral sound profile, whereas the MEGABOOM's is boomy. It can also get louder, which is nice for playing music outdoors. Also, only the MEGABLAST has voice assistant support and Wi-Fi compatibility. However, the MEGABOOM has a much longer battery life, lasting close to eighteen hours. It also has a hook on its top edge, letting you attach it to your bag.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a better speaker than the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3. The MEGABLAST has a better-balanced sound profile out-of-the-box, and it also supports Wi-Fi connectivity. It also has built-in support for Alexa voice assistant over a Wi-Fi connection. However, the BOOM 3 has longer battery life.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a better speaker than the JBL Xtreme 2. The Ultimate Ears is better-built, and it comes with built-in support for Alexa voice assistant over Wi-Fi. It has a better soundstage performance, and it also has a graphic EQ and presets for greater sound customization. However, the JBL has longer battery life.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is a better speaker than the Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST. The HYPERBOOM can get louder with less compression present at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volumes. It can produce a more extended low-bass. It can also last almost 24 hours from a single charge, though this can depend on your usage. However, the MEGABLAST is smaller, making it more portable. It also offers fantastic voice assistant support with Alexa built-in, and can understand your commands from far and in noisier environments.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is better for most uses than the Devialet Mania. Both speakers have built-in Alexa support, and while the Devialet does better in noisy environments, both perform pretty well. The Ultimate Ears' battery life is longer, it gets louder, and it has a graphic EQ, meaning you can customize it across the range.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is better than the JBL Charge 4. The Ultimate Ears has a more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, and it has more sound customization features thanks to its graphic EQ and presets. It can play stereo content, and it has a better soundstage performance. It also has built-in support for Alexa voice assistant over a Wi-Fi connection. However, the JBL has longer battery life.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a better speaker than the Bose SoundLink Revolve. It supports stereo content, and it has built-in support for Alexa voice assistant over a Wi-Fi connection. It also has a graphic EQ and presets available in its companion app so you can customize its sound. However, the Bose has longer battery life.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a better overall speaker than the Bose SoundLink Revolve II. Though the Bose can produce a slightly more extended low-bass, the MEGABLAST's companion app features a graphic EQ with presets you can use to adjust its sound to your liking. It also has Alexa built-in, can support Wi-Fi connections, and can get louder with fewer compression artifacts at max volume. That said, you can pair the Bose to two devices at the same time, which can come in handy when you need to switch between audio sources quickly.
Test Results
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is a small, cylindrical speaker that looks very similar to the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3. It's meant to sit vertically, and it has two very distinct volume buttons on its front face. It comes in lots of different color variants. You can also purchase this speaker with a wireless charging dock, though we haven't tested it.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is incredibly portable. It's a bit bigger than the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3, but it's still very small and lightweight. Also, it's battery-powered, so you can bring it with you on-the-go without having to plug it into an outlet.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST has an amazing build quality. It has a rubber top and bottom base along with a rubber strip down the middle for the volume buttons. The rest of the speaker is wrapped in a tight fabric, which doesn't seem like it would rip easily. It also has a tripod mount underneath, which is handy. It even has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, though we don't test for this. While it doesn't have an advertised IK rating, the manufacturer claims it's drop-proof from a height of one meter, though we don't currently test for this.
This speaker's controls are middling. There are volume controls as well as buttons for Bluetooth pairing and powering the speaker on and off. You can also press the Bluetooth and volume down buttons at the same time to mute the microphone. There's some audible feedback when you power it on/off and activate Bluetooth pairing, and there are lights to indicate the power status and the battery status. Unfortunately, there isn't any way to keep track of the volume level. There also aren't any controls that let you skip to the next track.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST has fair frequency response accuracy. It has a pretty neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, making it suitable for listening to a wide range of audio content. However, like many small speakers, it struggles to reproduce a thumpy low-bass, which can be disappointing if you love to listen to bass-heavy music like EDM. The Ultimate Ears app offers a graphic EQ and some presets so you can customize its sound more to your liking.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST has an outstanding soundstage performance. It can play stereo content, and it has excellent directivity thanks to its 360-degree design, so audio is clear from all angles.
This speaker has a decent dynamics performance. It gets pretty loud, but there's some compression present when you play it at max volume.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST has a satisfactory battery performance. While it's advertised to last for sixteen hours, in our tests, it only lasted for a little over eight hours. However, battery life can vary depending on usage, so your real-world experience may vary. You can also use the app to set the power-saving feature to shut the speaker off after fifteen minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, or you can turn it off completely. You can charge it via the included micro-USB cable, or you can purchase a wireless charging dock separately. If a long battery life is important to you, check out the Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3, which can last over seventeen hours on a single charge.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST has an incredible voice assistant performance. It has built-in support for Alexa over a Wi-Fi connection, which you can activate using your voice. The speaker can hear you clearly even if you're far away, though it doesn't understand you quite as easily as other Alexa speakers like the Devialet Mania if you're in a noisier setting. You can also press the Bluetooth and volume down buttons at the same time to mute the microphone.
The Ultimate Ears app is very good. It's compatible with both iOS and Android, and it comes with a graphic EQ and presets so you can customize the speaker's sound more to your liking. You can also use the app to manage multiple MEGABLAST speakers by creating a stereo pair or amplifying your audio across a large space or a party.
This speaker can't be used wired. While it comes with a micro-USB cable, that's just for charging the speaker.
This speaker has great Bluetooth connectivity. While you can only pair it with one device at a time, it has an outstanding range, so it can receive audio from a paired device even if it's far away. Also, it has low latency when paired with iOS and Android devices, making it suitable for watching videos. Some apps compensate for latency differently, so your real-world experience may vary. If you're looking for a speaker that can be paired to two devices at the same time, check out the Bose SoundLink Revolve II.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is Wi-Fi compatible, so you can stream audio to it wirelessly over a Wi-Fi connection. However, it doesn't support Apple AirPlay or Google Chromecast.