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So for awhile now the JBL Boombox has been a fan favorite for a lot of people looking for a large portable bluetooth speaker. But now, ultimate ears has put out a very formidable contender… their new UE Hyperboom. Now just keep in mind that the new JBL Boombox 2 is set to be released in the next few months… but for now lets see how the new Hyperboom stacks up the original JBL Boombox.
Now first off lets address pricing… unfortunately the Boombox’s retail price has increased from $450 to $500. But it does routinely go on sale for $400 currently. Where as the Hyperboom has a retail price of $400. Personally I would only recommend that you pick up the Boombox if you can get it for $400 cause I don’t want you to suffer buyer’s remorse later on. But regardless if you want to pick either of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below. And if you want to learn more about either of these speakers please watch their full reviews cause we’re only going to be going over their main differences.
But now lets go over these speaker’s designs cause its a bigger deal than you’ll might think. Now both of these speakers have fabric bodies so they can stand up to constant bumps and scrapes and they both have built in carrying handles so you can easily take them on the go with you. And they both aren’t afraid of a little bit of water. But the important thing to take note of here is that the boombox is a horizontal speaker where as the hyperboom is a vertical speaker. And personally I’ve found that I prefer the Hyperboom’s vertical form factor cause it takes up less surface area on a table or when its on the floor. So I’ve found that I have more options when it comes to placing my Hyperboom in my cramped studio or bedroom. Where as with the Boombox I don’t have that same flexibility. So if you’re someone that lives in a small or cramped place and wants big sound in a condensed package I highly recommend the Hyperboom in that case.
Now when it comes to battery life these speakers are evenly matched. They both have an advertised battery life of 24 hours but with real world use with their volumes set at 80% they’re both good for around 8 or 9 hours of playback time. They both even have USB A out ports so that you can charge your own devices. The only major difference here is that the hyperboom has one USB A out port where as the Boombox has 2 USB A out ports.
But while we’re discussing ports, I do want to point out that the hyperboom has a built in optical port where as the boombox just doesn’t. So if you want to you can hook up your hyperboom directly to your TV or gaming console. Making the hyperboom a little more versatile over the boombox in my opinion.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, the hyperboom is using bluetooth 5.0 where as the Boombox is using bluetooth 4.2. But more importantly both of these speaker can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ.
But now lets talk about speaker set ups… the Hyperboom dual four and a half inch woofers, and dual one inch tweeters shooting out the front of this speaker and there’s dual three and a half inch by seven and a half inch rectangular passive radiators shooting out the back. Where as the Boombox has dual four inch woofers and dual ¾ inch tweeters shooting out the front of this speaker and dual passive radiators shooting out the sides of this speaker. And for curiosity sake im also going to be including the JBL Xtreme 2 in this sound test which just has a similar speaker set up as the Boombox but just smaller. But before we jump into this sound test I do want to point out that the hyperboom has an adjustable EQ, but for this sound test im using its stock flat EQ. Where as with the boombox its EQ isn’t customizable like the hyperboom but you can switch between indoor mode and outdoors mode. So you’re going to hear both in this sound test.
So like you may have just heard, the JBL Boombox is definitely brighter than the Hyperboom when its in both indoor mode and outdoor mode. But like I mentioned earlier, the hyperboom has a fully customizable EQ. So if you want to bring the mids out a little bit more you can also do that. But when it comes to overall performance, the Hyperboom does get louder than the boombox and it also has more bass than the boombox. The hyperboom’s most stand out characteristic is just the sheer amount of bass it has. Where as with the Boombox when you increase the volume on it, the boombox gets to a point where it stops increasing its bass but just makes the highs louder. Making the Boombox sound very bright at max volume by comparison to the hyperboom which sounds fuller and warmer at max volume. But something that the Boombox does have going for it is that you do notice a performance bump when its plugged in versus when its not. Its get louder and you get a little bit more bass. Where as with the hyperboom I don’t notice any really performance difference when its plugged in versus when it not. But non the less I do feel the Hyperboom still out performs the Boombox even when the Boombox is plugged in.
But now this leads us back to these speaker’s speaker setups. Since both of the passive radiators are placed on the back of the hyperboom, if you place it against a well than its bass is going to get amplified cause the bass has something to bounce off of. Where as with the Boombox since its radiators shoot out its sides it a little harder to achieve the same affect. And finally since the Hyperboom has an adaptive EQ even if you were to place this speaker up against a wall its not going to get over powered by its own bass cause its EQ will automatically readjust itself so it still sounds as balanced as possible. So overall over the last few weeks that ive had both of these speakers side by side in my studio… I tend to reach for the Hyperboom when im going to play music.
But finally this leads us to these speaker’s speaker pairing protocols. So the hyperboom is using party up so you can pair it up to another hyperboom or you can pair it up to a meagboom 3 or boom 3. And PartyUp still supports some of UE’s older speakers. Which is nice. And also very quickly while we’re here is also want to point out that you can remotely power the Hyperboom on or off straight from its app which is something you can’t do with the Boombox. But getting back to the Boombox, the boombox is using JBL Connect plus. So you can only pair the boombox up to other JBL connect plus speaker like the Flip 4, Charge 3, Charge 4, Pulse 3, Xtreme 2 or to another Boombox. But unfortunately JBL Connect plus is technically last gen cause JBL’s newer speakers like the Pulse 4, Flip 5, and the soon to be released JBL Boombox 2 are using JBL Partyboost. So you can’t pair a JBL Connect Plus speaker to a JBL Partyboost. And a lot of people including myself feel like this is forced obsolescence. But in my testing I did find JBL Partyboost does have some significant performance improvement over JBL Connect Plus. But non the less im just trying to give you a heads up for the future if you plan on picking up a JBL Boombox today.
But overall I really do prefer the UE Hyperboom over the JBL Boombox here. It think it sounds better, it performs better, its easier to place around the house thanks to its vertical lay out, its more versatile thanks to that optical port, and you can make it sound however you want thanks to its customizable EQ. The Hyperboom is a great speaker that you can use at home and then just as easily take it on the go with you. So for today the UE Hyperboom is the clear winner. But that could all quickly change cause the JBL Boombox 2 is on its way.