Test Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 : notre avis complet –

Like all mobile device manufacturers, Ultimate Ears must comply with European legislation. From January 2025, it will no longer be possible to manufacture portable speakers equipped with micro-USB ports, but only USB-C. This obligation, which aims to reduce electronic waste and simplify consumers’ lives, therefore obliges UE to replace the Wonderboom 3. This could have been an opportunity to improve certain technical aspects of the speaker, particularly acoustics, but the manufacturer seems to have rested on its laurels. The UE Wonderboom 4 is therefore a Wonderboom 3 with a USB-C port. Only? Answer in this test.

index title= »Technical sheet »)Technical sheet

The enclosure used for this test was loaned by the manufacturer

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 All in curves

The UE Wonderboom 4 is the smallest of the Ultimate Ears portable speakers and certainly the most aesthetically successful. Its proportions are well-felt, with about 10 cm in height and width. The first contact with this speaker is quite inspiring; it has all the makings of a toy and we can guess that it is not afraid of mistreatment. Moreover, UE certifies that it can withstand a fall of 1m50 and continue to work.

At the beach, in the absence of a ball, you can safely have fun throwing it, especially since it is not afraid of dust or immersion in water. Like its predecessor, the Wonderboom 4 is IP67 certified; it is therefore waterproof and can spend long minutes underwater without the slightest problem. However, this is unlikely to happen, because it floats. This is one of the advantages of this speaker, even if its acoustic operation in water is not ideal, because one of its two transducers is below the waterline; we then benefit from reduced sound quality. Still, it is still better than the Everboom, whose two transducers are submerged and play for aquatic fauna.

The Wonderboom 4’s body is curved and largely covered in nylon mesh, like acoustic fabric, on which there are two enormous volume buttons. The upper and lower faces are made of non-slip silicone. The control buttons are installed at the top (power on, pairing, etc.), while the front face houses the equalizer button (outdoor and podcast modes). The USB-C charging port is installed at the back, behind a waterproof hatch.

Another advantage of this speaker is that it has a stretchy fabric loop with a silicone section, which is just as practical for carrying the Wonderboom 4 on your finger as it is for hanging or attaching it.

Interior design of the Wonderboom 4

Although it may be very small, the Wonderboom 4 houses four transducers, to diffuse the music in all directions. In practice, only two transducers are active and diffuse all the sounds; they are installed on the sides of the speaker. The other two transducers are passive, placed in front and behind.

The latter mainly produce the low sounds and are driven by the active ones. This assembly is classic and allows to produce a more powerful sound in the low register.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 Four buttons and that’s it

The UE Wonderboom 4 is the only speaker from the manufacturer that does not work with a control app. You have to rely on the functions that are accessible with the buttons on the speaker. As a result, you cannot turn off the loud startup sound of the speaker, as is possible with the UE Boom 4, Superboom 4, etc.

The three buttons on the top of the speaker are designed to be easily identified by touch. This is handy for controlling the speaker in the dark or when you’re dozing at the beach, for example. The power button is small and hollow, the playback control button is large and flat, while the last one, for Bluetooth pairing, is small and rounded.

Pressing the main button pauses or resumes playback. Double-pressing it starts the next track. This is also the button used to pair two UE Wonderboom 4 speakers, for stereo listening. To do this, you need to long-press the main button on each speaker so that they pair.

The button on the bottom of the Wonderboom 4 gives you access to two EQ profiles, one optimized for outdoor listening and one for podcasts. The outdoor audio profile reduces the amount of low frequencies and makes the speaker play a little longer; it’s not very pleasant to listen to. The podcast-optimized profile increases the amount of midrange to make vocals more audible.

In short, the speaker is very easy to use, as long as you take care to press the center of the volume buttons.

Improved Bluetooth range

The Bluetooth controller built into the Wonderboom 4 is compatible with multipoint connection. In other words, you can pair the speaker with two smartphones and listen to one then the other without having to disconnect manually. As with the Wonderboom 3, Ultimate Ears has equipped its speaker with a more powerful radio link than normal, with coverage up to 40 meters. However, almost all smartphones offer coverage limited to 10 meters and only a few Bluetooth USB keys for computers are capable of transmitting beyond this distance. The advantage put forward by the manufacturer must therefore be put into perspective. In practice, the connection is perfectly stable up to 10 meters, even when thin partitions are placed between the smartphone and the Wonderboom 4.

As with all speakers, there is a bit of latency and this is felt in video games, where the sound arrives with a slight delay on the image. This phenomenon is perfectly compensated for in video playback. We can therefore use this speaker to watch a film or a series.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 Multi-directional sound

The UE Wonderboom 4 is a very small speaker, so you have to moderate your expectations regarding its acoustic performance. Its size mainly limits it to close-range listening, up to 2 meters maximum if you want to enjoy as much detail as possible in the tracks you listen to. Despite everything, its volume/size ratio is interesting. Another positive point is that the four-axis sound diffusion allows you to listen to it with several people, even if the front and rear parts of the speaker do not produce high-pitched sounds.

The Wonderboom 4’s main limitation is its 4 cm active drivers. In addition to not being very powerful and producing a moderately dynamic sound, they struggle to accurately reproduce the highest frequencies. It’s a shame that Ultimate Ears didn’t see fit to integrate a tweeter, because the benefits in terms of precision and detail would certainly have been appreciable.

The response curve of the Wonderboom 4 shows the limitations of the speaker in the bass register, which collapses below 80 Hz. Nothing abnormal here, no competitor does better, but it deprives the restitution of depth. We observe a peak in level around 300-400 Hz, which emphasizes the voices. The curve is then descending, with a late rise in the extreme treble, to give a little brilliance to the whole. It is a well thought-out curve and pleasant to the ear. Note that at full power (pink curve), the bass level does not follow the rest of the frequencies and the sound then loses its balance.

Dynamic behavior and sound scene

The dynamic range of the Wonderboom 4 is limited, but if you listen to it closely enough, it delivers a clear sound, even at low volume. When you push the volume, the dynamics are reduced and you won’t be able to count on this speaker to improvise a party.

In terms of soundstage, it’s all over the place and we don’t really know how to position ourselves to listen to the Wonderboom 4. The easiest thing is probably not to worry about it and enjoy the pleasant sound it produces.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 A valid autonomy

Like the Wonderboom 3, the Wonderboom 4 has a long battery life, announced at 14 hours. The count is almost there and at 50% of the volume, the speaker gave up the ghost a little after 1:30 p.m. Transducers and amplifiers therefore have a bird’s appetite, which ensures that you spend the day listening to music, far from any power outlet. It takes about 2 hours to fully recharge the speaker.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 Price and release date

The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is available in black, blue, pink or light gray for 99 euros. Its most direct competitor, although of a different format, remains the JBL Flip 6, now available for around 120 euros, more powerful and refined thanks to its tweeter.