The UE Boom 2 has inherited its design from the last years UE Boom model that my colleague reviewed. Just a little twitch in push buttons, the power button has no markings now and the charging and auxiliary jack acquire a rubber flap, that's all, in form factor only.

Robust build; Loud and clear sound output; Waterproof; Can be connected with unlimited UE boom 2; Amazing battery life; Full control over sound settings

Sound distorts at high volume; Costly

As with the UE Roll, the Boom2 and Megaboom have a solid build, minimalistic design, along with variations of vibrant colours. There is very little difference between the two units, with the Megaboom, almost simply, just a larger Boom2.

The UE Boom has been a mainstay at the top of CNET's best portable Bluetooth speakers list the past couple of years, so we were very curious to see what UE (Ultimate Ears) had in store for its successor, the UE Boom 2, which retails for $200 (£170; AU$250).

The UE Boom 2 is a compact, durable wireless Bluetooth speaker that plays louder than the original Boom and sounds a little better; It's stain-resistant, shock-resistant and now fully waterproof; Battery life is a strong 15 hours, and it can be paired with a second UE speaker for stereo sound

Somewhat pricey

The UE Boom 2 delivers crisp, clean, loud and powerful audio, alongside being light and quirky. It is one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers we have tried of late.

Very clean audio delivery; Good audio balance; Warm; wholesome soundstaging; Ample loudness levels; Good battery life

Slight muddle at highest volume

The UE Boom 2 is the follow-up Bluetooth speaker to Ultimate Ears' 2013 UE Boom – a waterproof speaker that made a splash with its insane maximum volume and stellar battery life. It fell slightly flat on audio quality, however.

Super loud maximum volume; Colourful design; Good sound quality; Great Android and iOS app

Distorts at high volumes; Expensive

Great boom! Many available base settings to choose from, including your own custom tuning option. Easy to tune to my iPhone Bluetooth. Their is an app available in most app stores to do all of the above, plus more.

The Boom 2 represents an incremental upgrade over the original. The best additions are the gesture control that allows you to play and pause music without needing your mobile device, and the improved toughness.

Waterproof and drop-proof; App extends functionality; Vocals sound full and clear

Muffled speakerphone

Love it! So great to have music around the house.

Great speaker, there are lots of technical reviews on why UE is awesome, so I won't dive into details; Awesome sounds, sleek design, easy to use

FLUORESCENT YELLOW CABLE I bought the black speaker so that I can put it on a shelf and not have it stand out; With its sleek design it fits in nicely with decor, HOWEVER it comes with a bright yellow charging cable! Apparently this is what it comes with...

Ultimate Ears proved it can put out capable Bluetooth speakers with the UE Boom  a couple of years ago, and its output has gotten steadily better with the larger UE Megaboom  and the tiny UE Roll ( at Amazon) . Now the original Boom is getting a refresh, and it's the company's best speaker yet. The $199.99 UE Boom 2 is almost visually indistinguishable from the original, but it's now completely waterproof, and has a few tiny, welcome design changes. More important, it sounds better than the first Boom. The same-price Editors' Choice Bose SoundLink Mini II ($170.00 at Amazon)  is still an excellent-sounding speaker with more crisp high-end, but the Boom 2 produces a fuller sound and more satisfying bass. Ultimately, your own musical tastes will determine which speaker is the better choice for you, but the Boom 2's rugged build pushes it over the top in the functionality department, making it our new Editors' Choice for portable Bluetooth speakers. DesignThe Boom 2 ($159.99 at Ama...

The new UE Boom 2 Bluetooth speaker from Ultimate Ears packs powerful sound in a colorful, rugged, waterproof build.

Full-sounding bass; Get impressively loud for its size; Waterproof

Tap-based gesture controls aren't very reliable; No playback controls besides tapping

Adam got a chance to check out the James Reka special edition UE Boom 2, but great art aside is it better than the original

Waterproof; Strong Bluetooth connection; Great app experience

Sound; Price