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 Xtreme 2. There is a huge difference in their price range as well as in their features and performances. To know which one has better features, and which one is worth buying, go to the detailed review.

Ultimate Ears Megaboom	JBL Xtreme 2
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Solid audio quality across most of the range. Everything-proof.	Clean, clear sound. Balanced bass. Solid design.
CONS	CONS
Struggles with deep sub-bass. Expensive.	Big. No wi-fi or multi-room. Presentation too grown-up for some.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

Ultimate Ears is one of the popular brands in the market for its best sounding technology. Among all the speakers from the Ultimate Ears, the Megaboom is one of those speakers, which became popular from the day of its launch itself. This speaker is retailing for around a hundred and thirty dollars.

JBL Xtreme 2

The JBL Xtreme 2 is the updated latest generation Bluetooth speaker from the Xtreme series. JBL audio systems are one of the best soundings audio systems in the market. The JBL Xtreme became very popular on its launch itself and now the Xtreme 2 also became popular in the market. This speaker is retailing for a higher price of around two hundred dollars. 

DESIGN: 

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

As far as the button controls, on the top of the speaker, you have got your power button and when you turn it on it makes a drum sound and on the other side, there will be a Bluetooth button. You have got a huge plus and minus button to increase and decrease the volume. On the other side, you have got your micro USB charging port as well as your 3.5-millimeter audio jack and also there is a loop on it so that you could carry around it with you and also you can hang it wherever you want.

This speaker is made of nice mesh fabric material at the same time very hard and rigid. The speaker is available in four different colors including charcoal black as well as lava red, electric blue, and plum. There is a rubber strip that goes down vertically from the top where id loop and also Ultimate Ears Logo.

JBL Xtreme 2

As far as the design there are a few touch-ups here and there. This Xtreme 2 is slightly bigger than the Xtreme but the mainframe is not changed and the speaker looks pretty much the same with just minor touch-ups here and there. You still have your buttons up there, the only difference is that instead of the JBL Connect, you now have the JBL Connect Plus on the new JBL Xtreme 2. It is fantastic because that means you are able to connect all the new JBL Connect Plus enabled speakers with the new JBL Xtreme 2.

The radiators have a new design on them with a 3d JBL logo print and you still have your strap hooks up there but they are slightly redesigned. They look bigger and I personally think they actually look better than the old ones there. Since this is a waterproof speaker, they now have all your ports behind the flap. There is also Xtreme 2 there on the flap and that is where you will find your charging ports, next to that is one USB port for charging your other devices, a service port, and lastly a 3.5-millimeter audio input.

Always make sure you have this completely sealed off pretty tight before you submerge or expose the speaker to water otherwise, it’s gonna not work properly and your warranty will not cover it. They still have your power indicators right down at the bottom just like the Xtreme and they have different feet in this and they look nice. There’s not really any difference in the grip on the surface but they are different. As far as the material we all know that’s what JBL has been doing for the last few speakers that they’ve been making with the fabric material, so that is still there.

FEATURES:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

The Ultimate Ears Megaboom is waterproof rated which means if it is under 1-meter water for 30 minutes it will not affect your speakers’ working. One of the features which I like most is it does float so if by mistake you drop this in your pool as this will not go down in the pool, you will be able to find and take it out easily. I put this in my sink water and it does work fine. But that doesn’t mean you can put these in water for hours. It just means if this fell down in the water by mistake as soon as you take it out in 30 minutes it will work well.

As far as the battery life on this, this speaker has 20 hours worth of playtime as the Ultimate Ears advertised. By my test, I was able to get around 10 hours with maximum volume. But you are not going to use this at maximum volume all the time because this is that loud. You will definitely use this at a medium volume only max to the max, so at the medium volume, you will get the battery life on this speaker for around 15 hours.

For the pairing process, you need to hold down the Bluetooth pairing button on the top of the speaker for a few seconds so that it goes into pairing mode. Then go to your phone Bluetooth setting and select Megaboom from the list and pair it on that’s it you are done. As far as the Bluetooth connectivity, these works really well, there was no lag latency at all even while watching youtube also this works really well.

JBL Xtreme 2

The unboxing experience is going to be like any other JBL speakers, nothing fancy and in the box, you find the JBL Xtreme 2, a power adapter, the paperwork stuff, and a strap which is kind of been improved. It has a bottle opener but they are giving the same black color strap with all different colored speakers.

The JBL Xtreme 2 is slightly heavier than the JBL Xtreme by about half a pound and they updated from Bluetooth 4.1 on the JBL Xtreme to Bluetooth 4.2. I was hoping for something like 5.0 as far as Bluetooth version but these still have 4.2. The Xtreme 2 is completely waterproof, you can submerge it into the water and it will not be affected at all that’s in comparison to the JBL Xtreme which only is a splash-proof IPX5 rating whereas this one has an IPX7 rating.

They have shuffled around the sizes of the drivers to hear a little bit. We have 70-millimeter drivers in the JBL Xtreme 2 comparable to the 63-millimeter drivers that we had in the JBL Xtreme. We had 35-millimeter tweeters in the JBL Xtreme and they have downscaled that to 20-millimeter tweeters in the JBL Xtreme 2. The next thing that is probably affected by the changes in the drivers is the frequency of response rating, we only had 70 Hertz lowest-rated on the JBL Xtreme but the lowest rating on the frequency curve on the JBL Xtreme 2 is 55 Hertz which is good.

SOUND QUALITY:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

As far as the sound quality, the mid-range is slightly pushed forward which I very much enjoy on speakers, vocals stand out, instruments are pushed slightly in the forefront, and for its price range, it’s clear, it’s not muddy, simply a very good experience all around. The high notes are high enough to be enjoyed without being ear-piercing, testing this at even 90% volume level, vocal work snares still retain its resolution and detail. It doesn’t get ear piercing, it doesn’t get distorted when you’re standing at a pretty much reasonable distance from the Megaboom.

JBL Xtreme 2

The sound performance of the JBL Xtreme 2 is better than that of the JBL Xtreme. Overall, I think the JBL Xtreme 2 sounds better, it has a wider dynamic range in its sound, it sounds cleaner and overall I think the JBL Xtreme 2 sounds better. As far as loudness, when the Xtreme 2 is plugged in it’s about as loud as the JBL extreme, they’re about the same. But when the JBL Xtreme 2 is running on its batteries and no cords attached the Xtreme is louder than the JBL Xtreme 2.

WHICH ONE IS WORTH BUYING?

In my opinion, the Ultimate Ears Megaboom is worth buying than the JBL Xtreme 2 because at a price lower than the JBL Xtreme 2, the Megaboom sound better, has better battery life, Bluetooth performance was better than the Xtreme 2, and the Megaboom app has better feature than the JBL Connect app.

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 Xtreme 2:

By What Hi-Fi?
One of the best portable speakers around, the Xtreme 2 offers sonic subtlety you wouldn’t expect from first impressions

By Sound Guys
The JBL Xtreme 2 is for a specific kind of person and if you got to this point in the review then chances are that person is you. If you want a speaker that gets loud, sounds good, and will last you a full day of listening to music then the Xtreme 2 is hard to beat. Its tough IPX7 build means you don’t have to worry about it getting destroyed at the beach or the park…

By PCMag
The portable JBL Xtreme 2 speaker can be submerged in water and still pump out loud tunes with intense bass depth, making it ideal for outdoor use

By TechHive
The JBL Xtreme 2 is an excellent portable Bluetooth speaker. Setup is a snap, and it sounds surprisingly good for such a small speaker, though the bass can be quite boomy. I wish the JBL Connect app included EQ (even if only simple treble and bass controls), which would help overcome that problem. The Xtreme 2 exhibits virtually no stereo separation by itself, but you can use two of them as a stereo pair. You can also wirelessly…

By cnet
The JBL Xtreme 2 is a jumbo-sized Bluetooth speaker that trades light and easy portability for much fuller sound, both indoors and outdoors.