UE Wonderboom 4 Review

Likes

We've personally owned a Wonderboom 4 speaker for several years, even before “formally testing” it. It's taken many tumbles around the back of a van, been camping across multiple states, and been taken out on the water many times, and it still sounds the same as the first day we bought it.

The Wonderboom 4 has survived many camping trips over the years without any connectivity or sound issues after lots of time in the dirt and the rain.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

The Wonderboom 4 is highly water resistant.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

This lightweight 0.9 pound speaker comes with a small loop that makes it easy to carry around.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

We can even strap it to the side of a backpack with a carabiner.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

The Wonderboom 4 is great on the go.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

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The Wonderboom 4 can survive a drop of up to 5 feet and has a dustproof and waterproof IP67 rating. The Wonderboom 4 even floats on top of the water when we drop it in. It's one of the most durable speakers we tested, and we feel confident taking it just about anywhere.

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Extreme portability is another reason we ended up taking this speaker along on so many adventures. It's compact, weighs just under a pound, and the little carry loop came in handy when we wanted to clip it to our backpack or a patio umbrella, though you'll have to BYO carabiner.

The Wonderboom 4's sound excels the most in the mid-range, especially with vocals. When listening to She & Him's sparsely elegant cover of “You Really Got a Hold on Me”, the voice is rich and warm for a mini speaker, floating over the acoustic guitar with clean separation and great clarity. We preferred listening to soft ballads with this speaker, so it could be a good option for those who enjoy warm, gentle music or artists like Norah Jones and James Taylor. We also loved using it for listening to podcasts, as vocals sound clear and lifelike.

Of the mini speakers we tested, the Wonderboom 4 has the closest to a 360-degree soundstage we've heard. Sound wraps around the circular speaker evenly and projects a decent amount upward as well. However, such a small speaker still has its limitations, and it can't compare to larger models.

The Wonderboom 4 has a decently long battery life of 21 hours and 8 minutes, which is enough to go almost a week without a charge depending on your listening habits.

Dislikes

As expected, this speaker is quieter, emitting sound only up to 83.9 decibels, which is about as loud as a garbage disposal. And if you play it at the highest volume, it sounds almost as bad as a garbage disposal too. Ok, we kid. But the bottom line is that the Wonderboom 4 only maintains decent sound quality into the upper mid-volumes; anything louder, and we noticed a good amount of distortion.

We also don't love this speaker for pop or electronic music. When listening to “Closer” by Tegan and Sara, the beats sound more like static radio than synth drums. Pop and electronic are such popular genres that a few songs are bound to sneak onto everyone's playlist at some point, so the fact that this is a weak spot for the Wonderboom could be a dealbreaker for many listeners.

The speaker comes with three modes: standard, podcast, and outdoor. The outdoor mode gives the speaker a good boost to prevent outside noises from drowning out the music, but the podcast mode was pretty terrible. We used this feature to listen to the “Dear Hank and John” podcast, and the voices sound like they've been put inside a box with the top taped shut. We found that the standard mode sounds much better for podcasts.

There's a slim chance that you'll be able to find these settings anyway. The control is hidden at the bottom of the speaker, which we found unintuitive. Aside from these three modes, we couldn't customize the sound, which is unusual for a speaker at this price. Most have an app that lets you fine-tune your tunes.

While it didn't take long to pair our Bluetooth, it wasn't entirely clear which button to press to pair it to our phone without reading the manual or looking up instructions online. It also lacks convenient features like voice controls and the ability to take phone calls.

Should You Buy the UE Wonderboom 4?

The UE Wonderboom 4 isn't crazy expensive, but it's not exactly a budget speaker either, and we found ourselves continually disappointed by the lack of features that we enjoyed from other speakers in the $100 price range. Sure, it could work if you only like listening to soft, vocal-forward music and podcasts. But most of us have a more eclectic taste in music, and if you're going to spend a Benji on a Bluetooth speaker, you can find a more well-rounded option.

What Other Bluetooth Speakers Should You Consider?

The Wonderboom 4 might be tempting for those who want an ultra-portable option. But again, you can do better - enter the JBL Clip 5. It is just as rugged, waterproof, and dustproof as the Wonderboom, plus it weighs a little less, and the clip is included, so we can hang this speaker just about anywhere. It's comparable in sound quality and costs a bit less than the Wonderboom too.