That box is split diagonally, but held together by another sticky tab – easily cut through, allowing the top and front to be folded back to reveal the speaker.Īpart from a tiny sheet with regulatory information in two languages and end-of-life dismantling instructions (presumably so one can remove the battery for proper disposal), and a minimalist diagram on the inside of the box there are no instructions.įor the most part I didn’t need them. Slicing the two transparent sticky tabs allows a colourful sleeve to be slipped off a black cardboard box. These speakers’ packaging is fine indeed. Buy a premium phone today and the chances are it it’ll be in a box of the kind introduced by the iPhone. One of the many interesting things that Apple did was make the packaging of quality electronic products sexy. UE doesn’t seem to apply the Australian dollar premium that we so often see in consumer electronics. The Australian price of $AU129 is actually better value at current exchange rates. One other thing I should note: if you were to purchase these speakers from the company’s US website, you’d pay $US99.95. UE says that the charge time is 2.8 hours. A short, bright yellow flat cable is provided to plug them into a computer or USB power supply for charging. Unlike some of UE’s other Boom models, two is the upper limit, nor is there a special app for controlling the Wonderboom speakers.Ī rubber cover near the bottom at the back covers a Micro-B USB port by which they are charged. One special feature is the ability to link two together to double the sound, so to speak. There’s no mention of particular codecs, so I’ll assume it’s SBC only.
There are no physical inputs on the Wonderboom it’s Bluetooth all the way. Each has a short cord loop coming out of the top rear (so you can hang it on things – it was a touch too small a loop for me to get my index finger into it), a “UE” logo on the top and a large symbol on the front, all in the same colour contrasting with the main body colour.
They are, respectively, Phantom, Stone, Fireball, Subzero, Cashmere and Lilac.
Of course, those colours have got to have special names. They come in half a dozen bold colours: black, grey, orange, blue, light pink and mauve. They project sound in all directions through the firm mesh with which their surfaces are finished. Bluetooth signals don’t penetrate water at all well. That means they’re totally dust proof and capable of being dunked in the pool for up to half an hour (but only up to a metre, so keep them at the shallow end).
These are real portable party speakers, with an IP67 Ingress Protection rating. They are weighted and tuned so that they will resonate at a chosen range of bass frequencies in order to strengthen and extend the bass.
If you’re looking for a travelling companion you can rely upon to share your taste in music, the Wonderboom makes a compelling alternative to the Roll 2 and a more affordable choice than the Wonderboom 2.īeing portable and rugged, along with decent sound quality, ensures this speaker will be heard no matter where you are in the world.Passive radiators are like loudspeakers, except that they’re not electrically connected. The Roll 2 might have a superior overall sound quality, but the Wonderboom faces up to the challenges of harsher environments just that little bit better. While it still gives the competition from other manufacturers a run for their money, compared to the Roll 2,the strings at the centre of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (opens in new tab) soundtrack don’t quite soar and the difference between the piano’s loud and quiet trills in Old Friends (opens in new tab) is less distinct.īut those differences aren’t enough to turn us off the Wonderboom’s sound – ultimately it’s a case of ‘different strokes’. Higher up the frequency range, the Roll 2 enjoys a little more dynamism.