The Ultimate Ears Megablast and Blast have taken things up a notch from the previous generation of Megaboom and Boom products. They have been reengineered with custom drivers and pack in more powerful mid-range output and even deeper bass.

Sleeker design; improved sound quality; rugged and water resistant; Amazon Alexa built-in

Charge port hard to get to on the base

Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is the newest addition to their expanding smart speaker line-up. Like the BLAST, the new MEGA-version packs a well-performing voice-pickup system and is hooked up via WiFi to Alexa.

Audio quality; Build quality; Waterproof and relatively easy to clean; Available in many different colors; Looks good; Good battery capacity; Alexa enabled

Barge-in performance could be better; Power Up base missing from bundle; Missing multi-speaker / PartyUp feature

Ultimate Ears announced two new speakers last month, the BLAST and MEGABLAST. These are kind of replacements for the BOOM 2 and MEGABOOM Bluetooth speakers, but not really. You see, these two are part of a new lineup, hence the changed names.

REVIEW – It's been a while since I reviewed a wireless speaker. I've heard good things about Ultimate Ears speakers, and I wanted a speaker that was portable, waterproof and could replace the Echo Dot that I currently use in my living room.

Cool design; Portable; IP67 waterproof; Durable; Built-in Alexa; Works with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; Very good room filling sound; Power Up wireless charger (sold separately

I like the addition of Alexa functionality to the Ultimate Ears lineup, but I do wish Ultimate Ears hadn't sacrificed so many features to add it. People accustomed to Ultimate Ears products are going to miss the auxiliary input, the ability to pair two or more speakers together, and the other fun...

ImageTagInstance gallery-c4d69082-4431-4663-b716-efe1a054f929 The portable Bluetooth speaker market is absolutely overflowing with options, but actual competition often comes down to a handful of brands. Ultimate Ears started out creating tailor-made earphones for popular touring bands to use while on stage. Later acquired by Logitech, UE transitioned into the Bluetooth speaker market and quickly made a name for itself among the top competitors. Speakers like the original Megaboom, which touted “intensely rich sound” and deep bass to match, as well as the ability to daisy-chain over 100 devices, served to make their speakers a fan favorite. But does the Alexa-toting, Wi-Fi-enabled Megablast deliver on the “thundering bass” and “stunning clarity” the company promises? Or, at $300, does it yield to more established competitors?Design ImageTagInstance gallery-60f8048c-0844-4314-b9df-68c8752a78ec The Megablast uses the same cylindrical design that UE has employed for years. This shape comp...

Sturdy IP67 water-resistant build; Loud, crisp highs and mids; Alexa integration;

Could use more low-end bass response; On-device music streaming over Wi-Fi offers needs better services; Companion app could use a bit more functionality; Cannot daisy-chain as you can with Megaboom;

Indestructible and sleek with high quality sound

Can't do everything an Echo can