This is the review of the comparison between the Ultimate Ears Megaboom and the JBL Xtreme. Both of these speakers are from popular brands and also both of these speakers the first generation speakers. There is a huge difference in their price range and also in their features and performances. To know which one is better for the price, go to the detailed review.

Ultimate Ears Megaboom	JBL Xtreme
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Solid audio quality across most of the range. Everything-proof.	10,000mAH battery. Splashproof. Good Sound.
CONS	CONS
Struggles with deep sub-bass. Expensive.	Heavy. Expensive.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

The Ultimate Ears Megaboom is the first generation Bluetooth speaker from the Megaboom series. The Ultimate Ears are one of the popular brands in the market for their great sound quality and this one also got popular for its sound quality from the day of its launch itself. This speaker is retailing for around a hundred and thirty dollars currently on Amazon.

JBL Xtreme

The Xtreme from the JBL is the predecessor of the JBL Xtreme 2. This is a very big Bluetooth speaker, it’s one of the biggest on the market and definitely the bigger one that JBL sells. They do offer a wide range of sizes for their Bluetooth speakers to fit different people’s needs. The JBL Xtreme is retailing for around two hundred dollars currently.

DESIGN: 

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

As far as the design, they’ve gone with the cylindrical shape here and the Megaboom is pretty consistent all the way across. Also, the Megaboom is designed to sit on its end vertically. If you’re gonna be taking this with you around the Megaboom is definitely the easier one to store in a bag. The biggest benefit of having this speaker is that it’s waterproof. A lot of other Bluetooth speakers say that they’re waterproof but this one is big and waterproof, so if you’re at the pool or you’re at a party or just anywhere where there’s liquid involved you can have the speaker right there next to you rather than showed off into a corner.

JBL Xtreme

The Xtreme has also got a cylindrical shape and is kind of tapered at the ends. The Xtreme really does better as it is designed to sit on its side. If your speaker is gonna remain stationary most of the time, the Xtreme is gonna stay in place better to be fair. The Xtreme does come with a shoulder strap to help with portability but the feet on the bottom of the speaker and its overall larger size make it tougher to pack if you’re not using the strap. It’s pretty big, it’s not going to fit in many bags if it does fit in a bag it’s probably going to take up the most room and you won’t be able to fit anything else. 

At the top of the speakers, we have some nice tactile buttons. There on the left we have a Bluetooth pairing button, next, we have the volume down button, then we have the power button, next to the power button we have a button that is used to pair to other JBL speakers, then we have the volume up button, and also the play and pause button. Another nice thing located along the top is the two little hooks. Inside of the box, they give you a strap where you can clip onto those hooks and throw the speaker over your shoulder, if you’re bringing it to the beach or if you’re just carrying it around your house.

This is good, as this speaker is a little bit awkward to carry and also can slip from your hands pretty easily because it’s so large. At the sides of the JBL Xtreme, we have two radiators, they move when you’re playing music which is cool to look at. This is where the bass is produced and it does give you some good low-end. Most Bluetooth speakers really don’t have the best bass coming from them, so hearing the bass from this was nice refreshment. At the back of the speaker towards the bottom, we have the ports located inside of a zipper. Once you unzip it, on the Left we have a service input, aux input, two USB outputs, and then also a power input.

FEATURES:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

These are also water-resistant and can be fully submerged in water. If you’re going to be in a situation where the speaker may be fully submerged in water the Megaboom is the way to go. Another thing to consider when you’re looking at a portable speaker is how long the battery is going to last. It’s not always going to be exactly what the manufacturer tells you as you probably already know and the times will vary based on how loud you’re playing your music. The Megaboom will give you up to 20 hours’ worth of playtime at a reasonable volume. The 33 percent increase on the Megaboom is something to note though if you’re someone who’s consistently using this when it’s not plugged into a power source.

These are obviously Bluetooth enabled which allows you to play music wirelessly through them and these also have an auxiliary input to accommodate an analog source if you need. They can also be used as a speakerphone and they also have USB connections but it is a micro USB and it’s only for charging the speaker. This speaker has an app that you can use in addition to the onboard controls. But the Megaboom allows for much more functionality than the JBL Xtreme. This app allows you to set alarms and adjust equalizers.

JBL Xtreme

The Xtreme is water-resistant and handles splashes and range is fine which is typically all you need. As far as the battery life, the Xtreme is capable of going 15 hours worth of playtime at reasonable volumes. The Xtreme has dual USB ports that can also be used to charge external devices. The app for the Xtreme is really just for controlling the volume.

The two USB outputs serve to charge a device it has a 10,000 milliamp-hour battery inside. So, with the battery inside you’ll be able to charge your phone or a tablet or anything that you might be listening to music from. The zipper keeps your ports nice and dry. This is actually a Bluetooth speaker that is waterproof, which is awesome to have especially for a portable speaker, if you’re around the pool, or you’re at a party with people having open cup drinks you’re not going to get this destroyed or anything, and it’s nice having it there.

At the front of the speaker towards the bottom, on the reverse side where the ports were, we have the little LED indicators we have five lights, and once you hit the power button it’ll show you how much battery you have. Each of these little LEDs indicates 20% of power and once you start blinking red that means you’re a little bit under 5%. To charge these up we are getting the brick and the cord that plugs into the brick. I wish it was charged by micro USB but I guess because the battery is so damn big, you have to use something else that provides a little bit more power.

SOUND QUALITY:

Ultimate Ears Megaboom

As far as the sound quality, these provide big sound, much bigger than their physical sizes. The Megaboom offered more range and clarity as well as a deeper base, however, the sound quality can be pretty subjective. For those of you looking for a lot of power as well as a good amount of low-end, this is a speaker that you’re going to want to go with.

JBL Xtreme

The JBL Xtreme offers more loudness and power. This doesn’t pack as much power in the low end as the Beats Beatbox did but it still does a good job with two woofers on the sides. Even though it might not be the loudest speaker out there compared to a surround set of speakers or a speaker that comes with a subwoofer, it’s really nice to have it right there with you because it really sounds pretty good for its size.

WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR THE PRICE?

In my opinion, the Ultimate Ears Megaboom is better for the price than the JBL Xtreme because for a lower price currently than the Xtreme, the Megaboom does produce a loud and great sound, has better battery life, and also its app functions are better than the app for the Xtreme.

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:

By GoodHouseKeeping
The JBL Xtreme can make a lot of noise without compromising on sound quality. With its splash-proof design, you don’t need to worry about surprise rain showers, and it can even be rinsed off under running water. Using the JBL Connect mode, you can pair…

By Tech Radar
JBL’s Xtreme isn’t as good at pumping out high fidelity sound as its cousin, the Infinity One, but at that, it’s still a fantastic speaker. Sound quality, battery performance, and the splashproof design are on-par with what you’d expect for the…

By What Hi-Fi?
We’d certainly recommend you take a listen; you may find the Xtreme’s fortes, of which it has many, justify a little of your own work to find the right balance. If so, this is a versatile wireless speaker with which you can certainly have a lot of…

By Alphr
I always thought having lots of basses was a great thing, but the JBL Xtreme proves there is such a thing as having a touch too much. This isn’t a massive issue, but it does somewhat tarnish the appeal of the Xtreme, especially at its hefty £250 price…

By Sound Guys
The pros definitely outweigh the cons if you can get past some of the more annoying problems with the…