#Ue boom speakers best buy Bluetooth#

So, the Sonos Roam has far more flexibility when it comes to connectivity than the UE Boom 3 – though if you’re looking for a simple Bluetooth speaker, the Boom 3 might be the way to go. This means you can control music playback with your voice, and use it to set reminders, control smart home devices, or access your calendar. The Sonos Roam also comes with the Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants built-in, allowing it to double up as a smart speaker. Just fire up the Sonos app, and once set up and connected to the internet, all your sources appear over Wi-Fi. If you want to fire up a playlist on Spotify using Spotify Connect, that’s just as simple in-app as playing something you’ve ripped to a networked storage device yourself. The Roam works with lots of connected audio sources, online or stored on a local network. All you have to do is hold down the play button on the top of the Roam, and it works incredibly well. Unfortunately, we were unable to test this due to the issues we encountered with the Sonos Roam.Īnother feature introduced with the Sonos Roam is Sound Swap, which allows you to ‘throw’ the music from your Sonos Roam to the nearest Sonos speaker available, using ultrasonic frequencies to communicate with each other. The Sonos Roam, on the other hand, comes with Bluetooth 5 and Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) connectivity, with the ability to pair two Roams for stereo sound, and it can be integrated into a Sonos speaker system over Wi-Fi.Īutomatic Switching between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi means the Sonos Roam will automatically connect to your Wi-Fi network when in range, and re-pair with your phone when you’re out and about. We found the connectivity to be very good when we tested the Boom 3, with no significant pairing or dropout issues. You can pair two UE Boom 3 speakers for stereo sound, and up to 150 (no, reall7) Ultimate Ears speakers in mono. While Ultimate Ears doesn’t specify which Bluetooth version it uses, the UE Boom 3 has a wireless range of up to 150ft / 45m, and can pair with up to eight devices, with the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously. While the UE Boom is solely a Bluetooth speaker, the Sonos Roam comes with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can use it on the move and at home as part of a wider multi-room Sonos system. (Image credit: Sonos) Sonos Roam vs UE Boom 3: connectivityĬonnectivity is where the Sonos Roam and the UE Boom 3 differ most dramatically. Simply move the sliders up and down on the bass, mid, and treble tuners until you find a sound you’re happy with.Īs we mentioned, the UE Boom 3 offers 360-degree sound, so it might be better placed in the middle of a circle of friends than the Sonos Roam. Swapping between these presets didn’t have a huge effect on the audio output, although you can create your own custom equalizer settings with the adjustable tuner.

You can also amend the default EQ settings in the dedicated app – it comes with four different presets ‘The Standard’, ‘Cramped Spaces’, ‘Voices’, and ‘Bass Jump’. Saying that, the bass sounded decent, and the soundstage felt wide and spacious, with good frequency separation. However, we found that the mid frequencies sounded recessed, and there was a lack of clarity in the trebles.

#Ue boom speakers best buy drivers#

With a maximum volume of 90 decibels, this little speaker certainly packs a punch, and it has two 2-inch drivers and two 4-inch passive radiators for room-filling sound. Meanwhile, audio performance isn’t the UE Boom 3’s strong point. You can also use the magic button to directly access your playlists from a select few music providers – to do this you will need to set this feature up in the accompanying Megaboom app. You can also find control buttons on the top of the UE Boom 3, with an on/off button and a ‘magic button’, which can be used to pause, play, and skips tracks.

On the left end of the Sonos Roam (when oriented horizonatlly) is a control panel with tactile buttons for adjusting your music playback, with each end cap coming in a concave shape to protect the Roam from bumps and scrapes. The Sonos Roam’s drilled grille is limited to the front of the speaker, though its shape means you have a little more flexibility as to where you place it – you have the choice to position it horizontally for stability on uneven ground or vertically for a smaller footprint, with its triangular shape funneling sound upwards. However, only the UE Boom features a wraparound fabric grille for 360-degree music playback. In terms of shape and size, the Sonos Roam and the UE Boom 3 look fairly similar, with slim cylindrical builds and rubberized end caps.