We all have our favorite song or favorite band that we listen to until we get sick of it. Music excites us, changes our mood, lets us recall memories, and it’s something that we seek.
With smartphones overtaking the portable MP3 market, the built-in smartphone speakers are mediocre at best, due to their small size. If we’re having a group gathering or want to play some music as we work out in the yard or inside the house, a durable portable speaker is desirable.
A while back I had the opportunity to review the outstanding Logitech UE Boom, a water-resistant, drop proof, and dust protected portable speaker. By competing against the existing brands from Beats, JBL, Bose, and Jawbone, the UE Boom put up a well fought fight.
The UE Boom has provided me hours of entertainment, so much so that it was a no-brainer to include it in my 2014 Christmas Gift Guide.
When scouring the web, I discovered the little brother to the UE Boom, the UE Mini Boom. Shaped to represent more of a brick, the UE Mini Boom appeared to offer the same great sound at a lower cost and, as the pictures showed, a suitable device for a college dorm room or inside gathering.
Welcome to my review of the Logitech UE Mini Boom. Throughout this review I will be discussing the following: the design, sound quality, and my overall thoughts. I would like to thank Logitech for providing me with the UE Mini Boom for this review.
The Design
Similar to its big brother, the UE Mini Boom is available in a wide range of color schemes and styles, one that should fit your personality. The colors on the unit are rich and vibrant and Logitech does a good job at blending the colors between the rubber and metal surfaces.
Its physical shape won’t be sliding into any jeans pockets or a handbag, but its small form factor does allow it to be placed on a table with very little room. The brick like shape with rounded corners means the UE Mini Boom wants to lie flat rather than on its side or face.
The building materials are a mix of a rubberized body with metal speaker grills. The rubberized body offers a slip-resistance that does a decent job, while the metal speaker grills offer a rigid strong frame. Although the unit appears to be able to handle the occasional drop, I would recommend not doing so.
Behind the metal speaker grills are two front facing 1.5”, 4 Ohm Drivers with a 3” x 1.5” rear passive radiator. Taking a tour around the unit reveals top mounted volume control and Bluetooth pairing buttons, while the back of the unit has the power switch, LED status indicator, a micro USB charging slot, and an AUX in jack. Furthermore, built into the top of the unit is a NFC chip so that you can pair phones over NFC rather than Bluetooth.
A slight drawback to the UE Mini Boom is the lack of water-resistance that is found on the UE Boom. Additionally, the UE Mini Boom lacks any power indicators. The UE Boom had an ingenious method of pressing both volume buttons to have the power spoken to you whereas the UE Mini Boom lacks this.
All in all, the design of the UE Mini Boom offers a great compact portable speaker that can fill any room with any type of music. I still prefer the UE Boom’s cylinder shape over this rounded brick-like shape, but the UE Mini Boom does offer a better stance while on top of a table.
Sound Quality
When it comes to the sound quality of the UE Mini Boom, it compares favorably with its big brother.
I played a mix of rock in roll, top 40 music, and even some country music, all of which allowed for clear voices, loud instruments, and a sound that you can sing along to. I didn’t have any complaints while listing to the UE Mini Boom and it met the same expectations that I had for the UE Boom.
The two front facing speakers can be turned up to eleven, with sound filling the entire room without sound distortion. Likewise, it can play at a low volume for enjoying some background noise.
The only downside is that the built in Bluetooth chip is limited when indoors. Walls, fireplaces, stairs, or basically any indoor object can block Bluetooth signals so if you move to a different room the music may stop playing or sound choppy. This is a limitation of the Bluetooth chip and not the device.
My Overall Thoughts
In the end, the UE Mini Boom is a great little speaker that is a must-have for music lovers. Priced at $99.99, it isn’t the cheapest unit on the market, but can compete against some of the big players in this market. Just like its big brother I am expecting hours upon hours of entertainment both indoors and out. It’s a product that increases the mood of the room or even be used as a living room movie speaker.
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