Q Acoustics 3020c: Two-minute review

The Q Acoustics 3020c is one design in a five-strong range of (relatively) affordable new speakers from the British brand's 3000c series. Four different finishes are available, and no matter which one you prefer it will do justice to a braced, elegantly curved cabinet that’s just slightly longer than it is tall. Satin nickel driver surrounds behind magnetically attached grilles only add to the impression of a thoughtful and quite upmarket design.

A driver array consisting of a 22mm soft dome tweeter that’s decoupled from the main speaker baffle is bolstered by a rear-facing bass reflex port. Sat below is a 120mm mid/bass driver of the ‘continuous curved cone’ design that Q Acoustics first introduced in a far more expensive range of passive loudspeakers than this one. Claimed frequency response of 60Hz - 30kHz is the result and, if accurate, should be more than adequate for people who don’t prioritize ‘bass, and plenty of it’ over everything else. As well as the reflex port, the rear panel also features a single pair of extremely low-profile cable binding posts.

In action, the Q Acoustics 3020c prove a forthright, detailed and surprisingly assertive listen. No matter the type of music you listen to, and no matter its source, they sink their teeth in and let it know who’s boss immediately. Detail levels are high, drive and attack is plentiful, and both the tonal balance and the integration of the frequency range are completely convincing. Their stereo focus is impressive, their soundstaging abilities even more so, and the sort of momentum and urgency with which they can imbue a recording is always striking.

They’re not the heftiest speaker this sort of money can buy, it’s true – the low-frequency stuff they generate is taut and straight-edged, but could conceivably be punchier. And when it comes to dynamic expression, there’s a slight lack of headroom apparent. Because their default position is to be reasonably intense to start with, any changes in intensity are necessarily inhibited – just a touch, to be fair, but it’s a trait nevertheless.

Neither of these things prevent the Q Acoustics 3020c being a thoroughly enjoyable and quite invigorating listen, though, which warrants entry to our best stereo speakers roundup. Anyone with this sort of money for a speaker of this sort of size needs to hear them.

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Price & release date

• Released August, 2024
• Priced $499 / £399 / AU$899

The Q Acoustics 3020c are on sale now, and in the United States they sell for $499 per pair. In the United Kingdom, they go for £399, while in Australia you’re looking at AU$899.

It’s an eye-catching price, for sure, and exciting when you remember just how much excellence Q Acoustics has demonstrated at the loudspeaker entry level. But competition is fierce: from Dali and Elac to KEF and JBL, there are numerous well-regarded alternatives – and they're far from alone...

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Features

• 120mm mid/bass driver
• 22mm decoupled soft dome tweeter
• 60Hz - 30kHz frequency response

Like most passive loudspeakers, the Q Acoustics 3020c aren’t exactly overburdened with features. A couple of drive units, a helpfully positioned bass reflex port and some speaker binding posts are about all that can be expected – and sure enough, that’s about all the 3020c have.

Mind you, this being Q Acoustics those features are thoroughly implemented and entirely fit for purpose. The 22mm soft dome tweeter, for instance, is hermetically sealed and mechanically isolated from the baffle from which it protrudes. To all intents and purposes it’s floating, which prevents pressure modulations both from the energy it’s producing and from the mid/bass driver beneath it. The chamber it sits in is vented in an effort to minimize distortion, and has a lower-than-usual crossover point in order to make integration with the mid/bass driver as smooth as possible.

The mid/bass driver itself is a 120mm design of the ‘continuous curved cone’ type Q Acoustics first introduced on much more expensive loudspeakers than this one. Its continuous curve profile offers well-controlled frequency response, enhanced low-frequency dynamics and excellent dispersion characteristics – Q Acoustics suggests it offers the bass performance of a more common conic design with the midrange control of a flared cone design. The best of both worlds, in other words.

There’s a modestly sized bass reflex port venting from the rear of the cabinet, just above a single pair of extremely low-profile cable binding posts – Q Acoustics provides port bungs to help ensure the 3020c’s low-frequency activity is appropriate no matter where in your room they end up being positioned. The arrangement is good for a frequency response of 60Hz - 30kHz, according to the manufacturer, and with nominal impedance of six ohms and sensitivity of 87dB, the 3020c shouldn’t be any kind of problem for an amplifier to drive.

• Features score: 5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Sound quality

• Positive, upfront and informative sound
• Impressive powers of resolution
• Not as out-and-out punchy or dynamic as they might be

Sit up straight and pay attention – that seems to be the 3020c's attitude when it comes to sound. This is an assertive and direct pair of loudspeakers, and while it has a range of talents to reveal, what’s most immediate about the 3020c is, well, just how immediate it is.

Once through a copy of Fela Kuti’s Water No Get Enemy makes the point in unequivocal fashion. There’s plenty of harmonic dynamism on display, a really impressive amount of detail retrieved at every turn, but it’s the sheer bite and attack of the recording, the blare and the stridency, that the Q Acoustics really zero in on. This kind of positivity could, if imperfectly deployed, seem like raucousness – here it’s more a kind of urgency. Music-making is a serious business, according to the 3020c, and there’s really no time to pussyfoot.

If this makes the Q Acoustics sound in any way uncouth, be assured that’s not the case. Their tonality is judged nicely – they’re a neutral and uncolored listen, from the top of the frequency range to the bottom. The integration of the two drivers is smooth, the contributions of the bass reflex port are careful, and the inputs of each area of the frequency range are properly balanced and entirely convincing. Details both broad and fine are confidently identified and contextualized throughout, and the minutiae of tone and texture is readily available as a result.

The soundstage the 3020c can create is large and properly organized, and there’s great stereo focus even when a recording is as packed with contributors as Fela Kuti’s. Switching to something on a much smaller scale – Anastasia Coope’s Woke Up and No Feet, for instance – allows the Q Acoustics to demonstrate how adept they are at opening up a recording and making each element available. That's even if, as with this recording, it’s lo-fi and lacking in separation in the first place.

The lower frequencies aren’t the meatiest you ever heard from a pair of speakers at this sort of money, it’s true, but there’s no arguing with how well controlled they are. There’s an almost martial observation of bass attack and decay, and the result is a spring-heeled approach to rhythmic expression that keeps momentum levels high and means music really drives along. If that’s the trade-off for a slight lack of outright punch and substance, it seems fair enough to me.

What’s just a touch less easy to accommodate is a slight lack of dynamic potency. It’s not as if the 3020c ignore changes in volume or intensity during the course of a recording, but they don’t breathe quite as deeply as some alternative designs when it comes to making these shifts completely obvious. They’re direct and attacking by default, and it seems this doesn’t leave them quite as much room for manoeuvre as is absolutely ideal. In isolation it’s a shortcoming that almost doesn’t register, but when you’re competing in an arena as fierce as these Q Acoustics are, even the mildest weaknesses get pounced upon.

• Sound quality score: 4.5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Design

• 279 x 175 x 281mm (HxWxD)
• 5.5kg
• Choice of four finishes

The 3020c are not the first Q Acoustics loudspeakers to be longer than they are tall – but just because it’s a familiar design trope that’s based on sound engineering principles, that doesn’t make it seem anything less than slightly strange. It certainly rules out the possibility of positioning the 3020c on a regular shelf-sized shelf, and it means there will be significant overhang when positioned on a speaker stand with an ordinary top plate.

Where build and finish are concerned, we’re on equally familiar Q Acoustics ground, which is an uncomplicatedly good thing. The curved cabinet corners look good, the satin nickel driver trim gives a premium impression (as well as being a magnet for fingerprints) and the vinyl wrap covering the MDF cabinet is flawlessly applied. The outside is available in satin black, satin white or walnut as well as the oak of my review sample, while the inside features the point-to-point bracing the company has been perfecting for some time now.

There’s a final design flourish in the use of magnetically attached grilles. Not only do they cover slightly less than the entirety of the front baffle (leaving the casual ‘Q’ logo exposed), but they don’t require any visible fixings – the baffle looks unsullied when the grilles are removed.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Setup and usability

• Position the speakers securely on a shelf or stand…
• Attach speaker cable using plugs or bare wire…
• ... And away you go

Just as with ‘features’, there’s really not a lot involved in the set-up or subsequent usability of passive loudspeakers. It’s really not rocket science, and it shouldn’t take long before you’re up and running.

So, you’ll need to position your speakers securely – they are supplied with little rubber feet in order to decouple them from the surface on which they stand. Ideally, you’ll be further from them than they are from each other when you’re listening, and ideally they’ll be ‘toed in’ just a little towards you. You’ll need to attach them to your amplifier using half-decent speaker cable.

After that, it’s just a question of putting some music on and letting them do their thing…

• Setup and usability score: 5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Value

It’s hard to suggest the Q Acoustics 3020c don’t represent value for money. Even in terms of the amount of stuff your $499 / £399 / AUS$899 buys, they’re impressive – these are reasonably big cabinets by prevailing standards, build quality is impeccable and the standard of finish is top-tier, too.

And when it comes to sound quality, the 3020c – while being a quite specific flavor – have a whole stack of talents that will keep you listening long after you should have stopped and started doing something else.

It’s really only those listeners who want to be able to hear the low-frequency stuff from another room who might disagree.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Q Acoustics 3020c?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Also consider

The Elac Debut 3.0 DB63 have a rather ungainly model name, but at around $470 / £369 per pair they’re cracking value for money. Not as visually sleek as the 3020c if you ask me, but they have the all-around sonic talent to really take the fight to the Q Acoustics.

How I tested the Q Acoustics 3020c

• Connected to a Naim Uniti Star and a Cambridge Audio EXA100
• Connected using QED XT speaker cable
• Playing a wide variety of music from a number of different sources

During my time with the 3020c the only amplification to hand was, to be absolutely honest, somewhat overspecified. But by the same token I know the way they sound pretty well, so was perfectly comfortable hooking the Q Acoustics to both the Cambridge Audio and the Naim devices using a QED speaker cable that falls just as readily into the ‘overkill’ category.

I listened to vinyl records, CDs and music streamed from Tidal in the course of the test – of all styles and types.

First reviewed: November 2024

Read more about how we test at TechRadar

Dali Rubikore 2: Two-minute review

A longstanding concept in hi-fi (and indeed many other product categories) is that of ‘trickle down.’ The idea is simple enough; technology and design ideas that first appear in the flagship products is gradually made available at more terrestrial levels as time goes on. It’s a very important dynamic because, while many people will move upward through a product range as time goes on, rather fewer of them will make it all the way to the top. Bringing flagship technology down to a level more people can access is very important – and many of the best stereo speakers we've tested have been able to do just that. 

The Dali Rubikore range is a physical manifestation of the trickle down concept, indeed the ideal is so important to the their existence it is reflected in the name. The replacement for the long running and highly regarded Rubikon series of speakers and some of the advancements are derived from the Kore (stylised to 'KORE') technology that first saw use in the Kore floorstander which is yours for a brisk $110,000 / £85,000. The resulting speakers have their name revised to reflect this and are now the Rubikore range of which the Rubikore 2 is the only standmount model. 

The Rubikore 2 pitches in at $4,000 or a little over £2,000; a key price point for standmount speakers and one which is contested by a very large number of companies. To stand out from the pack, the Dali will need to be very good indeed. The omens are good; The Kore technology is used to improve some already very capable drivers, the claimed measurements look excellent and the range has some up to date thinking in terms of multichannel as well as having some very attractive finishes. Does this on paper ability translate to real world greatness? 

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Price and release date

• Launched in May 2024
• £2,200/$4,000/$4,200 AUD

The Rubikore range debuted in May 2024 with the wraps being taken off at the High End Show in Munich. The range comprises a pair of floortanding models, the standmount seen here, an LCR (a speaker engineered to be both a centre speaker and also operate as a stereo pair) and an on wall speaker. This range spans from £1,200 for the Rubikore On Wall to £6,000 for the Epikore 8. This is a fair amount of money but rather less than what Dali is asking for the Kore. 

The Rubikore 2 is available in the UK for £2,200. It is $4,000 in the USA and $4,200 in Australia. This price does not include a stand and neither does Dali make a dedicated version for the Rubikore 2. In a large number of the stock images, you’ll see the Rubikore 2 sat on stout bits of furniture which will work up to a point but you should budget for a pair of stands to get the best from them. I used a hefty if cosmetically unspectacular Custom Design stands throughout for testing. One positive attribute is that all four finishes have the same price, with none commanding a price premium.

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Specs

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Features

• Kore Technology 
• Clarity Cone Midbass driver 
• Continuous flare bass port 
• Lightweight dome tweeter 

As a passive speaker, the Dali is not as sophisticated as powered and active designs but, given it’s a relatively small speaker made out of fairly well established materials, there is a surprising amount going on inside them. Dali has used the enormous amount of data gained the development of the Kore speaker to improve the Rubikore models. Obviously, there are many parts of a $110,000 speaker that don’t make it down to this level, but a number of ideas do.

This is most apparent in the drivers. The Rubikore 2 uses a 6.5inch (155mm) mid bass driver that employs technology that Dali refers to as Clarity Cone. The cone itself is made from Dali's preferred wood fiber; something that have been doing for a very long time but here you can see a pattern on the cone itself. This increases the stiffness of the cone as a whole and improves the breakup behaviour. Behind the driver, Dali's Soft Magnetic Compound is used as it reduces eddy currents and other unwanted effects, lowering distortion overall. 

This driver is helped by a rear firing bass port that employs a continuous flare along its length (that is to say it isn’t the same diameter along its length). This helps to keep the flow of air out of the port quieter as the diameter increases as the air accelerates allowing it to expand. This port helps the Rubikore 2 to reach down to 50Hz at a +/-3dB measurement – a usefully demanding way of measuring this.   

This mid bass driver is partnered with a soft dome tweeter that is built around the principles of reducing mass; a very desirable attribute in a high frequency driver. Traditionally, tweeters used a substance called ferrofluid to cool them but this adds mass and increases the response time. The Rubikore 2’s 1.2 inch (29mm) dome does without this to reduce the mass. The Rubikore 2 is the only member of the Rubikore family to not partner the dome tweeter with a ribbon device although given that the quoted upper frequency roll off is 26kHz (or, quite a bit higher than human hearing actually goes), this is unlikely to be a huge issue. 

The crossover for the two drivers hands over between them at 2.8kHz (relatively high by the standards of many rivals) and is quite unusual in 2024 terms because it supports biwring should you wish. Sensitivity is in keeping with most things at the price at 87dB/w but this is achieved at a slightly trickier 4 ohm impedance which means this isn’t a truly difficult speaker to drive but needs a little power to do its best work. The cabinet that houses everything is a relatively conventional type made of MDF sections; although something that is quite unusual is that both the front and rear panels have a gentle curve to them. The cabinets are extensively braced and substantial things though and the whole speaker feels usefully solid. 

• Features score: 4/5

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Sound quality

• Excellent bass 
• Tonally superb
• Some limits to soundstage and quiet running 
• Consistently good fun 

Placed on stands with absolutely no toe in applied (Dali is adamant that its speakers should point dead ahead), the Rubikore 2 doesn’t need vary long to start to impress. The first and most immediately noticeable aspect of the performance is the bass extension and the scale that goes with it. The Dali gives Ben Howard’s Every Kingdom a weight and authority that makes the performance utterly convincing. This album is not a bass monster but plucked bass notes and the sparse percussion it possesses are given a weight you feel as well as hear and the effect this has on the believability of the track is considerable. 

Tonally, the Rubikore 2 is a class act. Across standard challenges like voices, violins, cellos and pianos, it has managed to sound consistently right. This is not a showy or attention grabbing speaker. It doesn’t go in for the sort of emphasis on parts of the frequency response that is superficially impressive but that becomes wearying after a while. Instead it presents a frequency response that feels even and consistent and allows the music to generate its own emphasis. The astonishing Emily King track Forgiveness on her Scenery album is presented with King being the absolute focus of your attention. Everything else that should there is there but it’s subsumed by what the recording regards as the important part and the Dali following those instructions perfectly. 

Something else that is very welcome is that the when the quality of the material being played drops, the Dali still maintains a level of realism and overall quality that is extremely impressive. A blast through Greta van Fleet’s Anthem of a Peaceful Army delivers a healthy dose of the ‘I can’t believe it’s not Led Zeppelin’ sound without drawing too much attention to the limitations of the mastering as a whole. Instead the Rubikore does a fine job of making things sound usefully exciting and energetic, with a very pleasing level of get up and go to its overall performance. 

So far so good, but there are some areas where the Rubikore 2 is less effortlessly composed. It had the misfortune of following Tannoy’s odd but immensely talented Autograph Mini through testing and while it convincingly beats the Tannoy in terms of bass extension, it simply doesn’t create the same almost three dimensional soundstage of the material being played. Some of this is a bit of a puzzle because viewed objectively, the Dali isn’t doing anything wrong. The handover between the mid bass and tweeter is seamless and there is no real perception of congestion to the sound, even when very complex material is being played. Nevertheless, the Dali tends to produce a sound that sits between the two speakers rather than extends beyond it. 

There is also an element of the Dali's performance that might be a benefit or a negative depending on your listening situation. For what is a relatively compact device, the Rubikore 2 is capable of playing impressively loud and sounding effortless while it does so. Even rivals that boast a similar driver complement can struggle to match the way that the Dali handles the huge crescendo of Public Service Broadcasting’s Broadcasting House. Without sounding strained or pushing the limits of the cabinet, the Dali simply keeps hitting hard and sounding utterly composed while it does so. The caveat to this is that at lower levels, the Rubikore 2 sounds a bit on the safe side. If you don’t have the scope to open the taps every now and again, some of the abilities of the Dali will be less easy to enjoy. 

When you do give them a bit of level though, the Dali is consistently good fun. This isn’t simply fun in the ‘play fast music and nod your head’ ideal but an ability to get to the crux of the emotional content of the material being played. It’s the difference between listening to My Baby’s Tribulations and thinking, ‘that’s a nice song’ and sitting there rapt at one of the most stunning vocal arrangements I’ve had the pleasure of listening to.  

• Sound quality score: 4.5/5

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Design

• Four finish options 
• 350 x 195 x 335 mm
• 9.5kg each 

Dali is a Danish brand and while I’m not sure that some sort of official document exists to the effect that no Danish brand is allowed to make unattractive equipment, it does seem to be a rule they all work to. The Rubikore 2 is elegantly proportioned, with a pleasing ratio to the width and depth that is balanced by the size of the drivers contained within it. There are four finish options, including two wood veneers that have been chosen to complement both the proportions and the drivers very well. Even the white of the review samples; a finish I’m not traditionally enthused about, looks good against the contrast provided by various sections of the speakers. 

This effect is enhanced by just how well made and finished the Dali is. These aren’t cheap speakers but even so, the care that has gone into how they have been assembled and finished is impressive. About the only thing I can really say against them is that, where the vast majority of rivals use magnetic tabs for the grilles, the Dali still uses lugs. They’ve cleverly used screw fittings to hide some of the holes but there is still a visible one above the tweeter which looks a little unsightly. 

• Design score: 4.5/5

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Value

As noted a few times so far, $4,000 is not the sort of figure that most of us lose down the back of the couch, but it’s hard to argue with the feel or quality of the Rubikore 2 for this money. This is a brilliantly made and finished speaker that is built in Europe and comes with a five year warranty. It does a fine job of avoiding the nagging feeling of buyer’s remorse when you unbox them which is no bad thing. They will require decent quality equipment to partner them but not to the extent where they won’t improve an existing system of slightly less expensive electronics, so long as there is sufficient power to drive them. 

• Value score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Dali Rubikore 2?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Also consider

The curious but lovely Tannoy Autograph Mini is the same price as the Dali. The product under review here completely demolished it in terms of bass extension and scale, but the stereo image it can produce is something that the Dali cannot match. The Monitor Audio Studio 89 is slightly less money but comes laden with technology and striking looks as well as an ability to resolve fine detail that very little near the price gets anywhere near. Outside of speakers we have looked at, Bowers & Wilkins, Neat and PMC are all formidable contenders at this price point and will keep the Dali honest. 

How I tested the Dali Rubikore 2

The Dalis were placed on a pair of Custom Design stands and run in a system built around a Naim Supernait 3 integrated amp; a slightly more expensive device than the Dali but able to deliver plenty of power and show what the Rubikore 2 was doing at any given time. 

Source equipment took the form of an Eversolo DMP-A8 streamer. This formidable digital front end offers superb UPnP streaming but also has an HDMI ARC connection allowing an LG OLED to be connected and routed through the system to the Dali. I tend to use the Eversolo via the Roon software platform because I control most things through that and tend to prefer it. 

I also made use of not one but two turntables under testing. The first is a resident Rega Planar 10 using the company’s newly released Nd7 moving magnet cartridge. The second was the newly released Pro-Ject Debut Evo 2 for which the Dali acted as a test speaker. Both turntables used a Cyrus Classic Phono for the phono stage. Material used has been a variety of styles and genres via The test material has been FLAC, AIFF, Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify as well as some vinyl. 

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Ultimate Ears Miniroll: Two-minute review

Parties in 2024 are about to get a bit bassier with the new Ultimate Ears Miniroll, a small-form Bluetooth speaker that wants to find its way onto our list of the best party speaker by virtue of the fact that it’s much smaller than all of its rivals.

A revival of the UE Roll from 2015 and UE Roll 2 from a year later, this is now Ultimate Ear’s smallest speaker by a country mile (and also a good few inches). It sits alongside the sonically superior, but much less totable, Wonderboom 4, as well as UE’s more pricy alternatives. Yes, that’s right, it’s not just small but it’s affordable too.

You only have to pay $79 / £69 / AU$99 for the UE Miniroll so it undercuts most of the competition, although a few other major audio brands also have lightweight party speakers like this for roughly the same (or less).

‘Miniroll’ is a funny name – the new UE speaker is bigger than the Roll and Roll 2, and probably doesn’t have any link to the sponge treat manufactured by former chocolate company (and now faux-chocolate company) Cadbury’s.

But while Cadbury’s has sadly gone downhill in the eyes of many, Ultimate Ears has only improved on the formula of its older speakers. The sound offers loads of bass, marking a notable improvement in audio capabilities over the previous two Rolls. The use of a USB-C port and a longer battery life also make this a more tempting option for people who may consider buying older tech.

Some of the best features of the Roll are here too. I found the carry strap incredibly handy, as I could attach the Miniroll to bags, pieces of furniture or even body parts (well, my wrist) to make it easy to carry around. 

The speaker isn’t perfect though, as there’s no smartphone app to bring extra features or offer customization. There’s no equalizer either, something many rival party speakers offer, which will likely put off people who’d find the bass just a little 'too much'. I also wished there was a way to skip or rewind songs, as many other speakers offer, to stop me having to use my phone for these tasks.

Some may also find the max volume a little too low for ‘parties’, especially since bass doesn’t carry as well as treble, though I guess ‘intimate social gathering speaker’ doesn’t have the same ring as ‘party speaker’. I can see this being a great pick for hikers or picnickers who want some tunes, or group runners who blast music to get everyone through that pre-breakfast 5k, rather than for traditional house parties or gatherings.

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Price and release date

• Released in September 2024
• Costs $79 / £69 / AU$99

The Ultimate Ears Miniroll was unveiled and released in mid-September 2024, ready for an outdoor party speaker to be almost obsolete in the wintery northern hemisphere.

The price of the Ultimate Ears Miniroll is $79 / £69 / AU$99, so it’s the cheapest wireless speaker currently offered by UE, and is one of the more affordable options on the market. It also undercuts the two UE Roll models which went for $99 / £99 / AU$149.  The Wonderboom is the closest sibling in price at $99 / £89 / AU$149.

In fact, if you’re looking for a party speaker as compact as the Miniroll, the market’s not burgeoning with good-quality options. Your best alternative is the even cheaper (but not quite as chic, and a little older now) Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 (now available for $59 / £59 or around AU$85) followed by the JBL Clip 5, which sells for $79 / £59 / AU$89, so both are actually a bit cheaper in most regions.

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Specs

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Features

• Can link up to other Minirolls
• No equalizer or app
• 12 hour battery life

The Ultimate Ears Miniroll struggles most in the features department because… well, there barely are any.

Unlike with some other UE speakers, the Miniroll doesn’t have a smartphone app, so it doesn’t let you utilize features of some of its rivals. There’s no equaliser, for example, or even different EQ presets for you to toggle between. You can’t change audio codec, fiddle with Bluetooth options or use a ‘find my speaker’ function.

There’s no outdoor mode either, which in other UE devices (it's the 'tree button' on the underside of the Wonderboom 4) strips bass in favor of treble to make the speaker easier to hear over distance. Of all the missing features this is the one I would have liked to see most – as with any bassy speaker, quality (and audibility) quickly drops off if you walk away from the Miniroll.

One thing you can do is connect the Miniroll to its siblings, in order to sync up multiple speakers. However unlike many other UE devices (but like the Wonderboom), you can only pair it to others of its make – ie, other Minirolls. So while your Boom, Megaboom, Everboom, Epicboom and Hyperbooms might all be having their own little party, the Minirolls will have to form their own shindig. According to UE the Miniroll can pair to an unlimited number of other Minirolls though, as long as your budget is equally infinite.

The battery life stretches to 12 hours on a single charge, which is longer than most parties I get invited to. Its a lasting power which positions the Miniroll as a handy device for people going on hikes or camping, as does its design.

Charging is done via USB-C, with a little port just above the strap.

• Features score: 3/5

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Design

• Small compact body
• Incredibly handy carry strap
• IP67 protected, survives up to 1.2m drop

The key selling point of the Ultimate Ears Miniroll is its design – it’s mini and feels lovely in your hand. A little pebble of a gadget, it weighs only slightly more than a smartphone at 279g, and measures 122 x 105 x 48 mm so it’s incredibly slender.

If you don’t trust measurements, trust me: it’s really easy to carry around whether it’s in the hand, strapped to a bag, inside said bag, or even slipped into a pocket (yes, it fits in my pockets, although that really muffles the audio).

Strapping it to a bag comes thanks to a rubbery strap, which is locked to the Miniroll at one end and is hooked and removable at the other. This gives you lots of versatility in how you attach the Miniroll to things, especially with a gap in the strap letting you hang it from objects. This was my preferred way of using the speaker, hanging it from doorknobs or cupboards – the multitude of ways to position the speaker is great for positioning it in rooms or attaching it to various rucksacks. Ultimate Ear's promotional material even shows someone attaching it to a dog.

One annoying element of the design comes into play here though, in combination with the speaker’s heavy bass (more on that later). Sometimes when on certain objects, the natural vibrations from the bass would cause the speaker to wobble, and it fell off boxes I put it on several times. Likewise when I hung it up, it’d sometimes shudder from the bass and start to sway – I can’t put it on my bedroom door because the bass makes it repeatedly knock into the wood panel. It’s an odd situation and I had to always think about where I placed the Miniroll.

On the top of the Miniroll are a volume up and volume down button, which should surprise no-one given that the buttons are a giant + and -. The edge of the speaker has the power button as well as the play/pause one, which can also be held to enable pairing with other Minirolls (more on that later). There’s no button to skip or restart tracks so you’ll have to rely on your phone for that.

If you’re worried about damage, the speaker is IP67 rated – that means it’s totally protected from dust particles and can be immersed in water for a depth of a meter for up to half an hour. It’s drop-proof but only up to 1.2 meters, which is something else to bear in mind when placing the speaker – my rucksack is higher than that off the floor and so are most of the tables I’d put it on.

As you can see from the pictures, I tested the pink Miniroll – Calming Pink, as UE calls it – and there’s also black (Gentle Black), blue (Majestic Blue) and white (Revive Gray).

• Design score: 4/5

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Sound quality

• (No need to) turn up the bass
• Volume not suitable for large parties
• Lack of equalizer limits appeal

I’ve referred to the Ultimate Ears Miniroll as a ‘party speaker’, but I should qualify that ‘party’ part of the phrase – this isn’t for big gatherings in Beverly Hills mansions or beach parties with hundreds of people. Think ‘D&D party’ size – this isn’t the loudest speaker in the world and it will best suit medium- to small-sized groups.

In my (very studious) tests, the Miniroll sounded decent at up to 5 meters distance, but when I got to 10m it was hard to hear parts of the song (partly from the volume, but partly from other sounds being more prominent). I found the Miniroll great for playing music in my bedroom, but unlike some other speakers I’ve tested, its sound didn’t carry through my entire (two-person) flat. If you’re going on a trip with this attached to your bag, you’d better keep your friends close if they want to hear music.

The UE Miniroll isn’t so quiet that it’s going to disappoint you, but you need to temper your expectations in keeping with its size – UE does have bigger speakers if you want to entertain a large number of listeners.

In terms of the audio itself, the Miniroll is a bassy little creature, and I was pretty surprised by just how much bass the thing eked out. I’ve already written about how it literally vibrates from what it’s putting out!

The bass is admittedly a little muddy, and the sheer nature of physics means it doesn’t carry that far (thanks, physics), but bass-heads near to the speaker will really pick up what it’s putting down.

As with any bass-heavy speaker, treble and mids suffer the consequences of this heavy lean, and both lack an extra ounce of detail – they also distort a little at higher volumes. However, balanced treble and audiophile-quality mids aren’t something it'd be truly fair to demand from party speakers at this price. It’s certainly not necessary for the Macarena.

• Sound quality: 3.5/5

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Value

• Form factor makes it appealing for portable music
• Some users might prefer other speakers

The Ultimate Ears Miniroll fits its niche really well: it’s cheaper and more portable than many other Bluetooth speakers, with a decent battery life, sufficient protection from life’s bumps and a really handy strap. With that in mind it’s hard to argue that the Miniroll isn’t good value – it’s much better for a certain type of user than other options in the market.

However, if you’re just looking for an affordable Bluetooth speaker for your house or garden, you can find options with better audio and a couple of extra features for a similar price. They just lose portability as a trade-off.

• Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Ultimate Ears Miniroll?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Also consider

How I tested the Ultimate Ears Miniroll

• Tested for two weeks
• Tested at home and on some trips

I tested the Ultimate Ears Miniroll for over two weeks, during which time I used them alongside my Android smartphone.

Most of the testing was done at home but I also took it on a few day trips and picnics to see how well it works outdoors. Mostly I used the speaker for music streaming but I also tested it with spoken word podcasts a little bit as well.

I've been reviewing audio products at TechRadar for 5 years, including other Ultimate Ears products.

• First reviewed in October 2024

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee