Logitech owns the Ultimate Ears (UE) range of rugged wireless speakers that are affordable and portable.
The Wonderboom Freestyle is the latest product added to its lineup in India and for Rs 6,995 you’re getting a budget-friendly device that promises a lot. Traditionally, the UE speakers have been renowned for their water and dust-friendly traits and we expect similar capability from the Wonderboom Freestyle as well.
After using the device for over a week, here’s what we feel about the Wonderboom Freestyle from UE. It’s worth the buck, for anyone who’s looking to buy a portable speaker in this budget.
Pros:
- 360-degree audio experience
- Portable and rugged design
- Loud and clear music quality
- Connects with multiple devices
- Affordable
Cons:
- No 3.5-mm audio jack
- No microphone for calling support
- Average battery life
What’s Good?
It’s hard to dislike the look and feel of the Wonderboom Freestyle. Weighing 425 grams, the speaker is small in size, making it easy to carry around, which is the essence of a true portable speaker.
The power button is on the top of the speaker, accompanied by the Bluetooth button. The volume rockers are placed on the side of the speaker, with two giant plus and minus symbols visible to anyone.
The USB 2.0 port is neatly hidden underneath the speaker, enclosed to make sure that no water comes close to the port.
The 360-degree audio output claimed by UE works to good effect. With this support, anybody sitting close to the speaker can hear the audio coming out of the unit, something, which we haven’t seen with other speakers in this price range.
Compared to UE Roll 2, the Wonderboom Freestyle feels like a better use of design, to offer optimum audio.
Speaking of which, don’t be fooled by the size of this speaker, because it gets really loud. Whenever I’ve tried cranking up the volume, I was fairly content with its mid-range decibel levels.
You can rely on the Freestyle for regular classics and indulge in some deep-bass tracks if you’re keen. It was surprising to see the speaker carry so much bass inside, especially for its size. The vocals are fairly crisp too, as long as you keep it to mid-levels. Audio gets distorted if you turn it up fully though.
This gave me a fair indication that Wonderboom Freestyle can be relied on for pool parties. But that’s not all, in addition to being a party-starter, the speaker can easily handle a dip or two in the pool and come out of it unscathed.
UE has given it the IPX7 treatment, which means it can be immersed in water up to one metre for up to 30 minutes, and able to float on its own as well. For this price, you can’t ask for much more.
What’s Bad?
The rugged nature of UE speakers have resulted in the omission of an external audio input jack. In a market like India, where people still like to go wired for their music sometimes, this tends to be a big deal breaker for buyers.
Also being a Bluetooth speaker, UE doesn’t prescribe the Wonderboom Freestyle for hands-free calling purposes, because it doesn’t come with a built-in microphone.
And finally, the claimed battery life of 10 hours for a portable wireless speaker does feel quite average. We’d expect anywhere around 15 hours to be the standard, especially when it’s a tru-blue portable audio device.
Why Buy It?
For Rs 6,995 you’re getting a portable and rugged speaker that offers 360-degree audio and is water-resistant. It’s very hard to find a package that caters to all kinds of music listeners, without needing to break the bank.
Wonderboom Freestyle from UE is a competent product that only misses out on audio jack and voice-calling support. If those aren’t big omissions for you and you’re in the market for an affordable speaker that can handle a bump and dip or two, then go for it.
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