At a lookSkilled’s Score
Professionals
- Glorious audio
- Highly effective, well-rounded sound
- Optionally available stereo pair (with second speaker)
- Optionally available ‘Outside’ 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.
Ever because the fantastic Wonderboom 2, Final Ears has made small however not main updates to this Editors Selection 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 count on.
That makes the Wonderboom 4 not an important 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 appears to be like 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 cloth.
It’s small (95.3 x 104mm) and lightweight (420g) so you may 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, bathtub, 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), based on the producer. It ought to nonetheless work after such tough therapy 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 may cling the speaker from no matter’s close by.
Purchased direct from the Final Ears retailer it’s obtainable in Energetic Black, Cobalt Blue, Hyper Pink and Joyous Brilliant (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 along with your telephone or different Bluetooth system is simple.
It is advisable to flip the speaker the wrong way up to search out the underside button that switches between the Outside Increase and Podcast Mode choices, or returns to Normal mode. You may as well rapidly test 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 cloth constructed from 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 saved 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 Normal mode and 87 dBC with Outside Increase turned on. That’s sufficient to fill a medium-sized room, and that further out of doors quantity increase will assist out within the wild, down on the park, or in your again backyard. You’ll lose a little bit bass in Outside mode, nevertheless.
The Wonderboom 4 delivers vivid, 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 executed.
Related audio system can are inclined to lose bass, however the Wonderboom 4 retains its bass impressively for such a small system. Perhaps there’s not sufficient oomph for hip-hop or heavy rock followers, who may favor the Anker Soundcore Movement 300, which includes a BassUp mode.
Outside Increase mode pulls again on the bass and ups the treble, serving to the sound to hold additional in expansive out of doors areas, and supplying you with a welcome second sonic possibility.
The brand new EQ Podcast Mode brings crisper, clearer vocals, though some customers have mentioned this may make an audiobook narrator’s dramatic voice sound moderately skinny, monotone and featureless.
Should you purchase a second Wonderboom (model 3 or 4) you may 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 possibility to attach, so that you’ll must preserve 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, meaning it ought to preserve you going earlier than you drop. And it might probably 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 expenses through USB-C moderately 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
Worth & availability
The Wonderboom 4 will set you again $99.99/£89.99, which is slightly below the road of what we contemplate a funds Bluetooth speaker. There are extra inexpensive ones on the market, however as all the time you get what you pay for.
You possibly can decide it up from Amazon and Amazon UK in fact, together with the standard retailers corresponding to Greatest Purchase and Walmart within the U.S., or Argos, Currys and John Lewis within the U.Okay.
The Anker Soundcore Motion 300 is $20 cheaper (identical value because the Wonderboom 4 within the U.Okay.) with the same sound profile, however lacks the Wonderboom’s rotund appeal.
Try our full rating of the most effective low cost Bluetooth audio system we’ve reviewed for extra choices, together with inexpensive choices such because the JBL Clip 4 and EarFun Uboom.
Verdict
The Wonderboom 4 is a superb, rugged moveable Bluetooth speaker with a incredible audio vary, lengthy battery life and easy controls. It’s barely modified from the earlier mannequin however the small modifications are welcome.
