I'll admit it - I've always been a speaker scab. Not since I had one of those funky vertical CD players with the wired speakers have I legitimately owned my own.
Wild, I know. So when Logitech hit me up to try out their new EpicBoom, I was keen, to say the least.
I'm familiar with the UE Boom family, of course, having enjoyed my flatties' and borrowed my friend's ones for years. But this is the newest offering, and having tried it for a week, I'm pretty sure everyone's going to be looking to nick this one from me this summer.
What's so special about it?
Probably what stands out the most about this new boom is that it floats! It's waterproof and is totally sweet with sand and dust, so it can go from beach, to festie, to pool and beyond. Until I marry rich, I'll be using mine in the bath or a Bunnings paddling pool, but still.
It also has some pretty fancy new tech built-in, including microphones which monitor the area it's in and change the sound levels to match, and an 'outdoor boost' function, which gives you an extra decibel of sound when you're outside, and makes a noticeable difference to the bass.
You can hook it up to any other Booms you have around to really get the party going, and it's got a 17 hour battery life, which isn't quite as long as some of the smaller Booms, but will definitely see you through a whole day-sesh without having to charge.
How does it look?
Preeeeetty.
Seriously, it's very aesthetically pleasing. It comes in charcoal black and cotton white, with a different colour pop accent on the buttons for each. I am genuinely shocked at how good it looks sitting on top of my fridge.
The EpicBoom (far right) with the rest of the UE Boom fam
It's not as massive as the HyperBoom, but quite a bit bigger than the MegaBoom we all know and love - still, though, it's very portable. It's also made with recycled plastic, which is definitely a green flag.
Is it exactly the right size for me to cradle like a baby and weirdly get great comfort from that? Yes. Do I need to unpack the reasons behind this with my therapist? Also yes. Everyone I've shown it to so far couldn't help but go 'ooooh!', which isn't *the* reason to buy a speaker, but it doesn't hurt.
How does it sound?
For a pretty small bit of kit, this thing packs a punch. It claims to offer "huge 360 degree immersive sound, big bass and adaptive EQ", which means it can literally read the room.
When it was first delivered to Edge HQ, we chucked on a Skrillex song and basically stopped the whole floor of our entire warehouse-sized office in its tracks. And trust, it's a loud office. We went outside pretty quickly.
It's probably not likely to get noise control called at a huge house party, but it will more than do the trick for a decent gathering. I had friends over in the backyard this weekend, and everyone was pretty bowled over by the intensity and quality of the sound - and the outdoor boost function, obvi.
How much does it cost?
Ok, we better get this part out of the way now, cos it's gonna hurt. At the moment, the EpicBoom is set to retail for $599.90 in NZ, which is NOT CHEAP. However, if you factor in how durable this thing claims to be, and that it comes with a two year warranty, it starts to look like a pretty good investment.
*Logitech provided Mon with a UE EpicBoom for this review.*
