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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 vs Bose SoundLink Flex
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3
Bose SoundLink Flex
Tested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Sep 30, 2024 02:43 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Oct 31, 2024 02:49 PM
Unavailable
Missing store
BluetoothYes
Wi-FiNo
SpeakerphoneNo
Voice AssistantNo
Battery PoweredYes
BluetoothYes
Wi-FiNo
SpeakerphoneYes
Voice AssistantYes
Battery PoweredYes
Variants
- 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)
- SoundLink Flex (Black)
- SoundLink Flex (Carmine Red)
- SoundLink Flex (Chilled Lilac)
- SoundLink Flex (Cypress Green)
- SoundLink Flex (Stone Blue)
- SoundLink Flex (White Smoke)
Our Verdict
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3
Bose SoundLink Flex
The Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 is slightly better than the Bose SoundLink Flex, though have different strengths. The Ultimate Ears can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, and its soundstage is perceived as wider and more open thanks to its 360-degree design. You can customize its sound with the graphic EQ in its companion app, and it has a longer-lasting battery life of over 13 hours from a single charge, though this can depend on your usage habits. That said, the Bose offers a better-balanced sound profile that can produce a deeper bass out-of-the-box. It also supports voice assistants through your smartphone.
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Dusk
BOOM 3
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Finding storeBlack
SoundLink Flex
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Finding storeGreen
BOOM 3
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Finding storeCarmine Red
SoundLink Flex
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Finding storeJungle Grey
BOOM 3
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Finding storeChilled Lilac
SoundLink Flex
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Finding storeLagoon Blue
BOOM 3
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Finding storeCypress Green
SoundLink Flex
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Finding storeNight Black
BOOM 3
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Finding storeStone Blue
SoundLink Flex
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Finding storePeach
BOOM 3
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Finding storeWhite Smoke
SoundLink Flex
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Finding storeSunset Red
BOOM 3
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Finding storeUltraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
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Finding storeUnicorn
BOOM 3
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Finding storeMain Differences forMusic
Music
Threshold
Music
6.4
6.3
Frequency Response Accuracy
5.4
6.9
Soundstage
9.0
5.5
EQ
Graphic + Presets
No
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
RGB Lights
No
No
Portability
9.2
9.2
Dimensions Photo
Volume
59 in³ (966 cm³)
57 in³ (942 cm³)
Weight
1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)
1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)
Power Source
Battery & USB
Battery & USB
One-Hand Carry
Yes
Yes
Build Quality
9.0
8.7
Build Quality Photo
Material Quality
Great
Good
Water Resistance
Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)
Dust Resistance
Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Impact Resistance
Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Floats In Water
Yes
Yes
Controls
5.8
8.4
Controls Photo
Controls Photo 2
Ease Of Use
Good
Okay
Feedback
Good
Decent
Music Play/Pause
Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)
Call Answer/End
No
Yes (Physical)
Volume Up/Down
Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)
Track Next/Previous
No
Yes (Physical)
Microphone On/Off
No
Yes (Physical)
Additional Controls
Yes
Yes
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Sound
Frequency Response Accuracy
5.4
6.9
Frequency Response Graph
Slope
-1.49
0.22
Std. Err.
5.41 dB
2.85 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
92.4 Hz
60.8 Hz
High-Frequency Extension
15.8 kHz
15.6 kHz
Raw Frequency Response
Raw Frequency Response Graph
Binaural Recording @ 1m
Binaural Recording @ 2m
Soundstage
9.0
5.5
Directivity Graph
Directivity Index
1.82 dB
4.59 dB
Stereo
Yes
No (mono)
Dynamics
6.9
6.4
Dynamic Range Compression
SPL @ Max Volume
86.9 dB SPL
87.5 dB SPL
DRC @ Max Volume
1.91 dB
3.02 dB
Active Features
Battery
8.9
6.7
Battery Life
13.7 hrs
7.2 hrs
Charge Time
2.6 hrs
2.7 hrs
Power Saving
Yes
Yes
Charging Port
Micro-USB
USB-C
Battery Powered
Yes
Yes
Voice Assistant
0.0
5.7
Alexa
No
No
Google Assistant
No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)
Speakerphone
No
Yes
Siri
No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)
Voice Assistant
No
Yes
Voice Activation
No
No
Microphone Mute
No Microphone
No
Far-Field Performance
No Microphone
Excellent
Ambient Noise Performance
No Microphone
Excellent
App
7.9
6.6
App Picture
App Name
Ultimate Ears
Bose Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
EQ
Graphic + Presets
No
Stereo Pair Mode
Yes
Yes
Party Mode
Yes
Yes
Multi-Room
No
No
Connectivity
Wired
Aux Input
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Other Ports
No
No
Bluetooth
8.9
8.0
Bluetooth
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth Version
Unspecified
4.2
Bluetooth iOS Latency
7 ms
236 ms
Bluetooth Android Latency
34 ms
109 ms
Bluetooth Range
259.2 ft (79.0 m)
255.9 ft (78.0 m)
Multi-Device Pairing
No
2 Devices
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
Check Price
Dusk
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeBlack
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding storeGreen
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeCarmine Red
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding storeJungle Grey
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeChilled Lilac
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding storeLagoon Blue
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeCypress Green
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding storeNight Black
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeStone Blue
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding storePeach
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeWhite Smoke
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding storeSunset Red
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeUltraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding storeUnicorn
BOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
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Ultimate Ears BOOM 3
Bose SoundLink Flex
Comments
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 vs Bose SoundLink Flex: Main Discussion
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