Ultimate Ears Blast Bluetooth Speaker, Portable Wi-Fi/Loud Waterproof Wireless Speaker with Alexa built-in - Graphite Black

Ultimate Ears has peculiarity in finding the right combination of sound, design and features in its portable Bluetooth speakers, and it does so again with the Blast.The Blast’s cylindrical 360-degree design means it throws sound evenly around the room. It’s a loud, clear and focused performance regardless of where the speaker is placed. It may not go as loud as the more substantial Megablast but, if you want to summon Alexa, you and your friends will end up shouting to be heard over the music.With flocks of manufacturers getting in on the new smart speaker craze by integrating Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant into their speakers. Ultimate Ears has the distinction of being the first to offer the feature in a portable speaker. Tested in multiple scenarios, outdoors and indoors, wind/no wind, crowded, silent areas.It never misfires or disappoints.Need to download the bespoke app (free for iOS and Android) to connect the Blast to your home network and get Alexa up and running. Set-up is painless and the app is neatly designed, although you’ll also want to download the dedicated Alexa app to properly customise settings, skills and routines.For a speaker of its kind and size, the Blast punches hard. Great bass, loud and clear. The timing is snappy, and there’s a great sense of dynamism and momentum that keeps us hooked. Voices are projected cleanly, cutting through noisier moments even when the music reaches a crescendo.

We already had one of these which is mainly used in the garden. My daughter was looking for a Bluetooth speaker for beach parties so it was a no brainier to get another of these. Waterproof and really good sound for £100 ish. Worth it, definitely. You can also pair up for stereo (two blasts). Found this ok but can drop out which is annoying. Alexa is ok but not as good as echo products and with less functionality (can’t drop in or announce ‘dinner’) so we mainly use connected to phones. Buy the wireless charger, makes a big difference

The sound quality of this speaker is magnificent for the price - it's loud, well rounded and warm. It's also capable of reaching quite a wide space. Connectivity options are good (Wifi and Bluetooth, there's no aux-in) and the Alexa functionality is mostly useful.However the antenna and software solution they have used for the speaker is below-par. There are connectivity audio cues (a series of drum beats that you're somehow supposed to be able to interpret/remember) but they don't help to understand why the connection sometimes drops. The WiFi connectivity is especially bad (presumably because it's a sealed/waterproof unit) and requires quite particularly placement if using in a bathroom as it would seem there's a lot of interference from pipes and wires in intervening walls.I would advise *only* setting one WiFi network for the device in the relatively sparse app, as switching seems to cause the speaker even more problems. Be careful also if moving to a different WiFi network - when I took this device on holiday I had to factory reset it before I could use it - and try not to disconnect/reconnect the Bluetooth too often as that also seems to cause it to fail; once again needing a reset.One final point - the speaker has its own "voice" which is similar to but not the same as Alexa, and is much quieter. It's a bit disconcerting when it tries to tell you it's connecting (the connection speed seems to be slow) and then suddenly switches to the usual Alexa voice. Given that Alexa can give connection messages I'm not sure why they didn't just use the Alexa voice for all declarations.

I like the sound quality and the fact it fills a room. I purchased this for being a good quality bluetooth speaker with added Amazon Alexa and on that basis its great. It can connect to the Amazon TV thingy and easily connects to my mobile phone (I have downloaded the devices app think that helps a lot).The only negative for me is its in the Kitchen and sometimes it seems to have difficulty reaching the house wifi signal where our mobile phones or other devices have no problem in the same spot. However I know where to position it so this is not an issue, but it might be for some.My annoyance with Amazon is that its Alexa software should connect to a Spotify FREE account and not just a paid account. However Alexa does connect to TuneIn radio which is great.

I miss being able to ask Alexa to do things when I’m away from home but always take my Roll speaker by Ultimate Ears with me as I hate tinny sounding music. This solves the Alexa problem beautifully and the sound is amazing. I have Sonos speakers at home and don’t expect the same quality when I’m away but this sounds really good. Decent enough bass and clear sound. I’ve tried a selection of different music styles and all are good. I’ve also tested a few Alexa commands and all have worked flawlessly. It’s neater in size than I expected but I still might think twice about carrying it as and when air travel picked up again for me. The Roll might come back into use then!

I own other UE products and brought this to enable me to take Alexa around the house and garden. I can listen to music and audiobooks, in the bathroom, in the garage and out in the garden. Battery life seems good. I have had not had any reliability issues. Sound is very good for the price and has a slightly different balance to an Echo, which some may prefer.Overall a well thought out and good value product that should give years of service. Just look out for a good deal and buy with confidence.

L'enceinte est de très bonne qualité , les fonctionnalités sont parfaites,le son très bon

rien à redire, tant la livraison que le colis bien emballé.L'enceinte est top et restitue un super son. Je recommande ce produit

Baulich bedingt weniger Bass als Flip4, da dieser ja an beiden Enden Basslautsprecher hat. Klingt aber dennoch für die Größe beachtlich. Ich hatte mir das Teil vornehmlich für die Büchervorlesefunktion von Alexa gekauft. Diese Funktion konnte ich leider damit nicht gewinnen.

Zur Musik Wiedergabe: Klang super, Bässe super.Keine Probleme mit BT Verbindung.(Vielleicht durch die Firmware Updates?)... alles bezogen auf den Preis von 79.- (seit längerem im Angebot)Dafür (Musik über BT) klare Kaufempfehlung - würde das Teil wieder kaufen.Die Alexa - Integration kann man getrost vergessen.Wenn man Alexa möchte - dann Alexa kaufen ;-)Hab mich für die Alexa - Integration durch mehrere Firmwareupdates des Lautsprechers gekämpft - war anspruchsvoll - würde ich nicht empfehlen. ... war halt neugierig und wurde insgesamt von diesem Feature enttäuscht/frustriert.Aber trotzdem 5 Sterne für die Musikwiedergabe über BT für den aktuellen Preis von 79.- unschlagbar - nach meiner Meinung.

I have three of these and they are amazing. Alexia works very well. Sound is great for the size. I connect two together to have the music playing in two different rooms. Super for a travel speaker. And the price for a premium speaker is great value.