That was a close one! I'll start by saying that I was fully set on buying the Ultimate Ears (UE) Boom 4 during Black Friday/Cyber Monday. I have an older version of the speaker from many years ago, and it was always my favorite thing to bring around small gatherings. However, after reading the reviews, I changed my mind and decided to go for this Sony ULT Field 1 deal instead.
The Sony ULT Field 1 was released earlier this year and retails for just $130. That's already not bad, but I prefer to stick to speakers under $100 if I can help it. Fortunately, this Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal brings the price down to $98, which is right at the top of my self-imposed price range (I'm cheap, so what?).
✅Recommended if: You want a portable speaker with great bass, long battery life, and a good design with support for high-quality audio codecs.
❌Skip this deal if: You want the best sound experience and want the option to utilize a 3.5mm audio jack or USB-C connection for audio playback.
I'm by no means an audiophile, so I see no point in paying top dollar to have the absolute best sound. I was hoping the UE Boom 4 would satisfy my need for a new Bluetooth speaker to have at get-togethers, as I remember really liking my older UE Boom. That said, Amazon warned me that the product is frequently returned, and upon reading reviews, many people noted that the speaker was pretty lacking when it comes to bass, which is something I do need (a guy's gotta twerk).
That's when I remembered our Sony ULT Field 1 review, which was done by Android Central contributor Tshaka Armstrong. I read through his review, as well as the reviews on Amazon, and decided this is exactly what I need. Granted, he is an audiophile, so his score is lower than the one on Amazon, but poor sound quality is not among his reasons. He notes a lack of USB-C audio and a 3.5mm audio jack as his main negatives.
As far as audio quality goes, Armstrong says the Sony ULT Field 1 sounds fine but a little flat if the UTL mode is turned off. However, he notes that "turning it on immediately imbues presence and depth to the sound, making the music fuller and more robust close-up and at greater distances like 50 feet." He even says the ULTE Field 1 is his new go-to take-along speaker.
Others in the Amazon reviews also note how it has good sound quality, with one review highlighting how the speaker is "LOUDDDDD as hell." That's all more than enough to convince me that this is the portable speaker that I need to buy.
