This is the review of the comparison between two Bluetooth speakers from two popular brands. The comparison here is between the Ultimate Ears Megaboom and the JBL Charge 4. There is around twenty dollars difference in their price range currently. There are differences in their features and performances also. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

Ultimate Ears Megaboom	JBL Charge 4
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Solid audio quality across most of the range. Everything-proof.	Powerful audio performance with rich bass. Gets quite loud for its size. Waterproof. Long battery life. Can charge your portable devices. USB-C charging.
CONS	CONS
Struggles with deep sub-bass. Expensive.	No speakerphone function. Basically the same sound as the Charge 3. The buttons that aren’t lit up are hard to see in the dark.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

The Ultimate Ears are known for their best-sounding Bluetooth speakers. Among all other Bluetooth speakers from the Ultimate Ears, the Megaboom is one of the best. The Megaboom is the original version or the first generation Bluetooth speaker from the Megaboom series. This speaker is retailing for around a hundred and forty dollars currently.

JBL Charge 4

The JBL produces a great portable Bluetooth speaker, to be honest with you, they are straightforward to work with, and great in sound quality as well. This Charge 4 JBL Bluetooth speaker is no exception to the great sound quality. The JBL Charge 4 is the latest generation speaker from the Charge series. This speaker is retailing for around a hundred and twenty dollars currently.

DESIGN: 

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

The controls on this speaker are actually fairly basic. On the top, you’ve got your power button and when you turn it on it makes a little drum sound it goes very subtle and on the other side of it is a little Bluetooth button. The charging port is right at the bottom of this speaker and if I did have to have one complaint with this device it would be that it charges via micro USB.

The material used in this is a kind of mesh fabric, definitely feels like a fabric texture but at the same time very very hard and rigid, and this is a very rough device. This feels a lot more rigid, this feels like a baseball bat that doesn’t feel like there’s anything moving in. When you do get this wet, sadly the fabric kind of absorbs a lot of that water, it still sounds fine but probably the best way to get rid of all the water is just to blare music out of it. Form factor wise I actually don’t like it when speakers are too small or too light because then it feels like phones and tablets. With speakers though it’s kind of like I want something that’s a bit firm and a bit heavy because that way you can feel the music and the bass in it.

JBL Charge 4

All the necessary control buttons are available right on the top, starting with the JBL connect button, volume increase and decrease button, power button and the Bluetooth button in the middle with the status indicator light, and the play and pause button which is a simple multifunction button. This speaker also comes with the microphone input, so it can work as a hand free. In the front of the speaker, you have blind drivers and a JBL logo following that the battery status indicator light down below showing you the battery life, and a very nice rubber base too.

All the necessary ports of this Charge 4 are covered with an IPX7 waterproof compartment, where you can have excess for a USB Type-C for the charging, a 3.5 mm auxiliary port for non-Bluetooth supporting devices, and the USB output if you would like to charge your mobile phone using the battery available in this Bluetooth speaker. Make sure when you’re using this Bluetooth speaker around the water to cover up this compartment very nicely. In terms of build quality Charge, 4 is fantastic and as far as design the fabric around is fantastic and you can have a multiple choice of colors as well if you’d like to go for it.

FEATURES:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

The Megaboom is actually water-resistant, so it’s the same water resistance as an iPhone 10 meaning as long as it’s not more than a meter deep in water for over 30 minutes it should be fine and the Megaboom does float and it will keep playing the music as well while it’s floating which is really hilarious. I held it under my sink for a little bit and it still performs fine.

As far as the battery life, this thing has a 10-hour playback battery that’s what it’s advertised as. I’ve actually had a better life for this thing that has gone far beyond 10 hours. It’s ten hours at a certain volume because you definitely do not want to be playing this thing at full blast for long periods of time just because it’s so loud. So, most of the time I was playing this in a 50 percent volume or lower because even that is plenty loud.

For the pairing process, you need to hold down the Bluetooth button, and go to your phone Bluetooth setting and select Megaboom, you are done. It just makes it more discoverable when you hold the Bluetooth button on the speaker so that you can connect this to your TV, mobile, etc, and transitioning them has been fairly simple. If you want this to just be a stationary speaker and you don’t really have the intention of taking it anywhere with you, it does in fact have a headphone jack at the bottom. So, if you wanted to plug this in to a monitor or to a dedicated desktop, you could do that as well.

If you want this to be your main speaker for your television, you can just put this right underneath the TV and it sounds great. Also, if you’re going on a trip, you’re going into town, you’re going on a picnic, whatever this thing can easily slip into your backpack or your bag. Because this thing is so durably built, you can just drop it on concrete, drop it wherever you are, and start playing it will sound great.

JBL Charge 4

Some of the key features which are mentioned on the packaging itself are 20 hours of playtime with one charge, ipx7 waterproof rating with Powerbank features so you can use this Bluetooth speaker to charge up your mobile to full along with the JBL connect plus. So, the JBL connection means that you can connect multiple JBL portable speakers together and enjoy the full party music with a click of a button. If you’re considering buying multiple speakers I would highly recommend going with a single brand like a JBL.

Within the packaging itself, it also explains how the JBL connection works, which is the click of a button available on the speaker itself. Inside the box, with the JBL Charge 4 portable Bluetooth speaker you get the quick start guide explaining each and everything you wanted to know about the speaker and how to set it up following with one USB Type-C charging cable.

Connecting this JBL Charge 4 with your mobile phone is an easy and straightforward job. Simple as that power it up you’re going to see the steady power light as well as the notification on a speaker, at the same time as a battery status indicator light which will be available for you all the time. Then put the speaker in pairing mode press and hold the Bluetooth button you will hear the notification and a flashing Bluetooth light on it. Then open up your mobile phone and go down into the Bluetooth settings of it, make sure that your Bluetooth is in discovery mode and within the available devices you should be able to locate JBL Charge 4, and once you selected click on the pair button that’s it.

You can also download the JBL Connect application from the Google Play Store which would help you to connect multiple JBL speakers on a click off of one button. You can also select the mood as well in the app there, so you can put it into the party mode or you can put it into the stereo mode if you want to. At the same time, if you’d like to upgrade the firmware of your Bluetooth speaker by going into the settings you can do that as well.

SOUND QUALITY:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

What I like about this speaker is simply that what it is meant to do, it does right. This is not a smart speaker like Home Pod, this is simply a wireless one, and what it’s meant to be for me and I hope for you as well is just a really good sounding speaker.  This thing can easily fill your home with that crisp sounding audio from end to end and in fact, it shakes the walls when you turn it up a little loud with those obvious volume rockers.

JBL Charge 4

JBL Charge 4 is better in the audio department. It’s bass-heavy, it’s brighter, and more for those vocals sing and has more emphasis. Even those high notes hit with a bit more snap and it’s simply satisfying, it’s not as though the Charge 4 sounds leaps and bounds better. Right out of the box, it does sound good as its predecessors. The Charge 4 sounds really great, and this speaker effortlessly fills every room with really good sounding audio.

WHICH TO BUY?

In my opinion, the JBL Charge 4 is good for you to buy than the Ultimate Ears Megaboom because within a price less than the Megaboom currently the Charge 4 provides us USB Type-C for charging to make the speaker future-proof while the Megaboom provides micro USB. Also, for a lower price than the Megaboom, Charge 4 offers the same battery level and same sound quality as the Megaboom. 

Expert Reviews of Ultimate Ears Megaboom:

By Macworld
Ultimate Ears slammed down the gauntlet with its Megaboom portable Bluetooth speaker. This loud-and-proud, thoroughly weatherized speaker produces enough sound to fill the average backyard, and it comes with a richly featured app that will make it the…

By GoodHouseKeeping
This speaker provides big, high-quality sound from a compact, lightweight unit. It comes in some funky, colorful designs and is waterproof, and will float on water. Using the Ultimate Ears app you can access the added features like “Block Party,” which…

By TechRadar
The UE Megaboom is easy to recommend based on its sound and battery improvements over its smaller Boom brethren. But, at $299 (£249, AU$379), this speaker is in need of a killer app to best the…

By MacNN
Ultimate Ears (now owned by Logitech) has found great success in the marketplace with its “Boom” series of Bluetooth speakers, a modest tube about the size of your typical energy-drink can, that puts out sufficient volume to provide a wireless…

By TechPowerUp
The MEGABOOM covers most listening scenarios better, but it is slightly worse off when it comes to portability, so if your primary concerns are sound quality and volume, the MEGABOOM will fit the bill better, but if you want something to reside in your backpack, you will find yourself wanting the BOOM instead.

Expert Reviews of JBL Charge 4:

By Expert Reviews
Despite cutting a couple of handy features, the Charge 4 is an impressive fourth entry into JBL’s mid-range Bluetooth speaker series…

By What Hi-Fi?
Great sound plus rugged design and handy features equal a top Bluetooth speaker…

By TheStreamingBlog
JBL’s Charge series just gets better with every new release. With Charge 4, we’ve seen that its audio quality has highly improved compared to the previously released Charge 3. It delivered cleaner, clearer, and more refined sounds with mids and…

By Tech Radar
For the money, the JBL Charge 4 is a definite no-brainer. For just $150 (£160, AU$200), you get a speaker that lasts all day, sounds great, can put up with all kinds of abuse, and tops your phone up in a pinch. Yes, there are better sounding speakers…

By PC Mag
The JBL Charge 4 is an excellent option for those who want a waterproof, powerful-sounding portable Bluetooth speaker in a moderately sized frame.