Logitech UE Boombox

We've seen plenty of earphones from Logitech since the company bought Ultimate Ears a few years back, and now the UE brand is being expanded into a speaker line. The Logitech UE Boombox ($249.99 direct), has a sleek, minimal design, and streams wireless audio via Bluetooth. It's also portable and packs quite a punch for its size, with a markedly boosted low-end response. At lower volumes, the bass-heaviness of the frequency response is quite noticeable, but at top volumes, it is the UE Boombox's undoing?it distorts on deep bass tracks, which shouldn't happen in this price range. For most genres, however, the UE Boombox delivers quality wireless, portable audio for those who like a bit more bass in their mix.

Design
The UE Boombox design seems inspired by a silver bullet, with all matte metallic surfaces, rubberized sides, and smooth, rounded edges along its 6.5 by 15.2 by 3.1-inch contour. The right-hand panel houses a rubberized blue surface with large Plus and Minus icons for volume, while the left, which is also blue, houses the Bluetooth Pairing button, Power switch, battery indicator, and 3.5mm aux input.

Behind the speaker grille, two 0.5-inch tweeters, two 3-inch woofers, and four 2.6-inch passive radiators deliver the audio, with the radiators playing a key role in the significantly bass-heavy frequency response. A handle for easy carrying runs along the length of the 4.4-pound system, and a rechargeable battery is housed in a compartment along the bottom panel. Logitech estimates battery life at roughly six hours per charge.?The UE Boombox supports audio streaming from Bluetooth A2DP devices. The pairing process with an iPhone 4S was simple and quick, and re-pairing was just as easy.

Performance
Audiophiles expecting a balanced frequency response will probably want to look elsewhere?as mentioned above, the Logitech UE Boombox delivers a seriously bass-heavy experience. At moderate-to-loud volumes, the system sounds full and powerful?surprisingly so, given its fairly modest size. There's not a whole lot of sub-bass presence here, but the lows and low-mids are quite boosted. This focus on low-end unravels at top volumes?on tracks with extremely deep bass, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," the UE Boombox distorted pretty heavily.

The good news is this distortion does not occur with tracks with more moderate bass content. Regardless, distortion shouldn't really enter the equation in the $250 price range, and it leaves us wondering whether it would even be an issue if the bass response were just a smidge more tempered.

Luckily, the extra bass generally sounds more powerful than muddy. The added low-end doesn't do wonders for tracks like John Adams "The Chairman Dances," which doesn't sound awful on the UE Boombox, but does have moments of slightly comical exaggerations of the deeper bass percussion.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the low-end thump sounds intense without feeling over-the-top, though at maximum volumes the speakers do begin to sound a bit overwhelmed again. When the volume isn't maxed out, the UE Boombox does a nice job balancing the highs and mids with the low-end thump on tracks like "Default," the new single from Thom Yorke's side band, Atoms for Peace. Classical, jazz, and folk tracks tend to feel a bit too loaded in the lower frequencies, but pop, rock, and hip hop sound fine.

The UE Boombox sounds exciting at moderate volumes?like something you might want to crank up to power your next party. That makes its issues at higher volumes all the more frustrating. If you're looking for more oomph awithout distortion from a Bluetooth system, the $500 JBL OnBeat Xtreme is our current Editors' Choice. If your budget is more modest, consider the Iriver Blank Sound Donut , which isn't a masterpiece or all that powerful, but is very portable and provides good audio quality for its size.

If portability is you main concerns and this general price range works for you, consider the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker?, which is a bit more compact. Overall, at $250, the Logitech UE Boombox offers a good-looking design and impressive output, but beyond moderate volumes, it's a threat to distort.

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