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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

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 vs Sony LinkBuds Speaker

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4
Sony LinkBuds Speaker

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 20, 2024 03:25 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 04, 2025 12:25 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 Picture
Sony LinkBuds Speaker Picture

Variants

  • BOOM 4 (Active Black)
  • BOOM 4 (Cobalt Blue)
  • BOOM 4 (Enchanting Lilac)
  • BOOM 4 (Raspberry Red)
  • LinkBuds Speaker (Light Grey)
  • LinkBuds Speaker (White)

Our Verdict

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4

Sony LinkBuds Speaker

The Sony LinkBuds Speaker and the Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 have different strengths. The Ultimate Ears is very good for using outdoors. It's IP67-rated and will even float in water, so it'll withstand getting soaked on a rainy camping trip. It also gets noticeably louder than the Sony. On the other hand, the Sony is more of a home device. Its built-in microphone means you can use your phone's virtual assistant with it, and if you have a pair of LinkBuds headphones, you can automatically switch audio between your speaker and headphones. 

0

Check Price

Active Black
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Light Grey
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cobalt Blue
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Enchanting Lilac
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Raspberry Red
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.7
6.3

Soundstage 
 

9.1
6.1

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.7
6.5

Dynamics 
 

7.1
5.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 Style Photo
Sony LinkBuds Speaker Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No

Show text

Portability 
 

9.2
9.3

Dimensions Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 Dimensions Photo
Sony LinkBuds Speaker Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

58 in³ (953 cm³)
47 in³ (769 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.4 lbs (0.6 kg)
1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Build Quality 
 

9.0
7.0

Build Quality Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 Build Quality Photo
Sony LinkBuds Speaker Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Water-resistant (IPx4)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
No

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
No

Floats In Water 
 

Yes
No

Show text

Controls 
 

5.8
7.8

Controls Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 Controls Photo
Sony LinkBuds Speaker Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 Controls Photo 2
Sony LinkBuds Speaker Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Good
Good

Feedback 
 

Good
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
Yes

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

No
Yes

Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 In The Box Photo
Sony LinkBuds Speaker In The Box Photo

Show text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.7
6.5

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-1.26
0.81

Std. Err. 
 

4.07 dB
2.79 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

93.8 Hz
72.3 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

17.0 kHz
15.1 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 
 

9.1
6.1

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.72 dB
3.55 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)

Show text

Dynamics 
 

7.1
5.5

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

87.0 dB SPL
81.3 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

1.55 dB
3.24 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

8.8
8.6

Battery Life 
 

12.1 hrs
15.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.6 hrs
4.4 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
4.6

Alexa 
 

No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

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
Great

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
Great

Show text

App 
 

7.9
6.3

App Picture  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 App Picture
Sony LinkBuds Speaker App Picture

App Name 
 

Ultimate Ears
Sound Connect

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Graphic + Presets
Graphic

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
No

Multi-Room 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No

Show text

Bluetooth 
 

8.1
9.3

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
5.2

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

51 ms
10 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

112 ms
73 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

341.2 ft (104.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

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

Check Price

Active Black
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Light Grey
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cobalt Blue
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Enchanting Lilac
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Raspberry Red
BOOM 4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4

Sony LinkBuds Speaker

Comments

  1. Comparison

Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 vs Sony LinkBuds Speaker: Main Discussion

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