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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bose SoundLink Color II vs Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose SoundLink Color II
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 26, 2024 02:36 PM

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Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 30, 2024 02:43 PM

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Bose SoundLink Color II Picture
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Picture

Variants

  • SoundLink Color II (Aqua Blue)
  • SoundLink Color II (Citron)
  • SoundLink Color II (Coral Red)
  • SoundLink Color II (Polar White)
  • SoundLink Color II (Soft Black)
  • BOOM 3 (Dusk)
  • BOOM 3 (Green)
  • BOOM 3 (Jungle Grey)
  • BOOM 3 (Lagoon Blue)
  • BOOM 3 (Night Black)
  • BOOM 3 (Peach)
  • BOOM 3 (Sunset Red)
  • BOOM 3 (Ultraviolet Purple)
  • BOOM 3 (Unicorn)

Our Verdict

Bose SoundLink Color II

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

The Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 is a better speaker than the Bose SoundLink Color II. The Ultimate Ears has a more spacious soundstage, and it can get slightly louder with less compression present at max volume. You can also customize its sound profile using the graphic EQ and presets in its companion app. However, only the Bose has voice assistant capabilities.

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Aqua Blue
SoundLink Color II
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Citron
SoundLink Color II
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Coral Red
SoundLink Color II
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Jungle Grey
BOOM 3
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Polar White
SoundLink Color II
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Lagoon Blue
BOOM 3
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Soft Black
SoundLink Color II
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Night Black
BOOM 3
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Sunset Red
BOOM 3
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Ultraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.0
6.4

Soundstage 
 

6.9
9.0

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.9
5.4

EQ 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

Dynamics 
 

6.3
6.9

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Style Photo
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.3
9.2

Dimensions Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Dimensions Photo
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

56 in³ (917 cm³)
59 in³ (966 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.0
9.0

Build Quality Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Build Quality Photo
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Great

Water Resistance 
 

Water-resistant (IPx4)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Yes (IK rating unspecified)

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Yes
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
5.8

Controls Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Controls Photo
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose SoundLink Color II Controls Photo 2
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Good

Feedback 
 

Great
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II In The Box Photo
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.9
5.4

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.15
-1.49

Std. Err. 
 

3.11 dB
5.41 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

88.5 Hz
92.4 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

7.1 kHz
15.8 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

6.9
9.0

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

5.94 dB
1.82 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.3
6.9

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

84.4 dB SPL
86.9 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.41 dB
1.91 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

7.9
8.9

Battery Life 
 

9.7 hrs
13.7 hrs

Charge Time 
 

4.2 hrs
2.6 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

Micro-USB
Micro-USB

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

5.1
0.0

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
No

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
No

Siri 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
No

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No
No Microphone

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Great
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

6.6
7.9

App Picture  

Bose SoundLink Color II App Picture
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Connect
Ultimate Ears

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.9
8.9

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

43 ms
7 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

118 ms
34 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
259.2 ft (79.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 
 

No
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

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Aqua Blue
SoundLink Color II
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Citron
SoundLink Color II
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Coral Red
SoundLink Color II
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Jungle Grey
BOOM 3
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Polar White
SoundLink Color II
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Lagoon Blue
BOOM 3
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Soft Black
SoundLink Color II
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Night Black
BOOM 3
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Sunset Red
BOOM 3
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Ultraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
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Bose SoundLink Color II

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bose SoundLink Color II vs Ultimate Ears BOOM 3: Main Discussion

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