At a look
Professional’s Score
Professionals
- Wonderful audio
- Highly effective, well-rounded sound
- Optionally available stereo pair (with second speaker)
- Optionally available ‘Out of doors’ and ‘Podcast’ modes
- IP67 mud and waterproof
- As much as 14 hours battery life
Our Verdict
Little has modified within the Wonderboom 4, however you get nice audio and lengthy battery life in a handsome, compact and sturdy design that’s excellent for events and picnics, tenting within the phrases or hanging out on the seaside, in addition to indoors, in fact.
Value When Reviewed
$99.99
Greatest Costs At the moment: Final Ears Wonderboom 4
$85.99
Ever because the great Wonderboom 2, Final Ears has made small however not main updates to this Editors Alternative Bluetooth speaker. From Wonderboom 2 to Wonderboom 3 there have been minimal modifications (elevated battery life and Bluetooth vary), and now the fourth technology will get the sunshine improve contact we’ve come to anticipate.
That makes the Wonderboom 4 not a vital improve even for house owners of the second gen mannequin however retains it on the high of the pile for moveable Bluetooth audio system.
The compact, waterproof and sturdy moveable speaker seems the identical and sounds the identical, however is enhanced with a brand new Podcast Mode and the welcome substitute of its fiddly MicroUSB charging port with extra up-to-date and easier-to-use USB-C.
Design, construct and colours
The Wonderboom 4 retains its cute chunky, colourful design, constructed with eco-friendly supplies. The texture of the mid-speaker part is a barely course material.
It’s small (95.3 x 104mm) and lightweight (420g) so you possibly can carry it in a backpack with out noticing, though it’s in all probability too chunky to slot in a briefcase or slim laptop computer bag.
It’s waterproof sufficient to take to the bathe, tub, pool or seaside—it even floats—with an IP67 mud and water-resistance score that guarantees security immersed in eater as much as 1m deep for half-hour.
It options drop-proofing to 5 ft (1.5m), in line with the producer. It ought to nonetheless work after such tough remedy however we assume it wouldn’t be with out some scuff marks after a fall.
On the high there’s an elastic loop so you possibly can hold the speaker from no matter’s close by.
Purchased direct from the Final Ears retailer it’s obtainable in Lively Black, Cobalt Blue, Hyper Pink and Joyous Vibrant (a light-weight gray with yellow accents). Relying on which nation you’re buying in, Amazon provides some further color choices, corresponding to Spruce Inexperienced, Digital Lavender and a much less joyous grey.
The controls are few and easy. The obvious are the enormous Plus and Minus quantity buttons on the entrance. On the highest are buttons for Bluetooth, energy, and Play/Pause and Ahead/Again songs. Pairing together with your cellphone or different Bluetooth gadget is simple.
You might want to flip the speaker the wrong way up to seek out the underside button that switches between the Out of doors Increase and Podcast Mode choices, or returns to Customary mode. It’s also possible to shortly examine the speaker’s battery stage utilizing the quantity buttons.
Its environmental friendliness is gained from its minimal of 31% post-consumer recycled plastic, and it’s wrapped in a sustainable material constituted of 100% recycled polyester. The packaging is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) licensed.
Sound high quality & options
Final Ears nailed the pure sound high quality with the second technology Wonderboom 2 and stored issues as they have been on the subsequent model. So far as we will inform, it hasn’t modified this speaker’s sonics in any respect, which is ok by us.
Its two energetic 40mm drivers and two 46.1-x-65.2mm passive radiators supply a 360° sound. Most quantity is 86 dBC in Customary mode and 87 dBC with Out of doors Increase turned on. That’s sufficient to fill a medium-sized room, and that further outside quantity increase will assist out within the wild, down on the park, or in your again backyard. You’ll lose a bit of bass in Out of doors mode, nonetheless.
The Wonderboom 4 delivers brilliant, well-rounded sound that’s tuned to go well with most genres. There’s sufficient bass so as to add depth and heat with out overpowering, rounded mids, and barely skinny high-end – however it does sufficient to get the job accomplished.
Related audio system can are inclined to lose bass, however the Wonderboom 4 retains its bass impressively for such a small gadget. Possibly there’s not sufficient oomph for hip-hop or heavy rock followers, who may want the Anker Soundcore Movement 300, which incorporates a BassUp mode.
Out of doors Increase mode pulls again on the bass and ups the treble, serving to the sound to hold additional in expansive outside areas, and supplying you with a welcome second sonic choice.
The brand new EQ Podcast Mode brings crisper, clearer vocals, though some customers have stated this will make an audiobook narrator’s dramatic voice sound reasonably skinny, monotone and featureless.
When you purchase a second Wonderboom (model 3 or 4) you possibly can join the 2 to double the quantity or create a two-channel stereo pair.
Bluetooth vary stays long-range at as much as 40m. There’s no bodily wired choice to attach, so that you’ll have to hold the battery charged to make use of the Wonderboom 4.
Battery & charging
The Wonderboom 4 can last as long as 14 hours on a full cost. Except you actually are a celebration animal, which means it ought to hold you going earlier than you drop. And it could actually in all probability final lengthy sufficient to maintain occurring a brief tenting journey.
Press the Plus and Minus quantity buttons on the identical time to determine the present battery stage.
Fortunately, the Wonderboom 4 now costs by way of USB-C reasonably than fiddly MicroUSB. Personally, I’d improve from the Wonderboom 3 simply to throw one other MicroUSB cable within the bin.
Final Ears
Final Ears
Final Ears
Value & availability
The Wonderboom 4 will set you again $99.99/£89.99, which is just below the road of what we think about a price range Bluetooth speaker. There are extra reasonably priced ones on the market, however as at all times you get what you pay for.
You possibly can choose it up from Amazon and Amazon UK in fact, together with the same old retailers corresponding to Greatest Purchase and Walmart within the U.S., or Argos, Currys and John Lewis within the U.Ok.
The Anker Soundcore Movement 300 is $20 cheaper (identical worth because the Wonderboom 4 within the U.Ok.) with an identical sound profile, however lacks the Wonderboom’s rotund appeal.
Take a look at our full rating of the very best low cost Bluetooth audio system we’ve reviewed for extra choices, together with reasonably priced choices such because the JBL Clip 4 and EarFun Uboom.
Verdict
The Wonderboom 4 is a wonderful, rugged moveable Bluetooth speaker with a implausible audio vary, lengthy battery life and easy controls. It’s barely modified from the earlier mannequin however the small modifications are welcome.