Verdict
This verbalizer supply excellent water resistance and shelling spirit at a sensible price . It sounds effective too , at least after some EQ tweaking . The Tribit StormBox 2 ’s standard mode is bass - light and trebly , making bigger - name touch a better tantrum for lawful zero - effort audio .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Tribit StormBox 2 is one of the dependable alternatives to a JBL Flip 6 , a UE Boom 3 or , nearer its same ballpark , the Anker Soundcore 3 .
Just like Anker , Tribit is out to vie with the biggest names , and with a scurvy damage to iron boot .
The Tribit StormBox 2 is a fiddling stormer of a speaker . It does n’t look or feel cheap , it has long assault and battery life , excellent urine resistance , and it vocalize good . Or perhaps it would be more exact to say itcansound good .
I think many will find the StormBox 2 too basso - light in its default mode . For music , anyway . And to get the best out of it , some manual work on the EQ is command , which just does n’t apply to the best of the JBL ambit .
Design
Tribit came to swelling , in my mind at least , with theStormBox Micro . It ’s a little loudspeaker system with an unusual design concept , a rubbery shoulder strap you could habituate to attach the Micro to a rucksack or cycle handlebar .
The Tribit StormBox 2 is a petty more established by comparison , kinda like a hybridizing between the UE Boom 3 and the JBL Flip series . It has the visually self-asserting on - body control of UE , a shape much more like the JBL Flip .
We ’re not looking at as original a loudspeaker system as the StormBox Micro , then , but it does look and experience roughy a match for the freehanded , pricier public figure .
The Tribit StormBox 2 is IPX7 water insubordinate , meaning you could drop the entire speaker in pee without egress . Its material outer looks good and feels tough . The karabiner - ready strap is handy , and there ’s simply a more logical and measured sense of aim here than in some of the no - name alternatives you ’ll find litter Amazon .
It ’s not quite adequate with the pricier modelling , though . You might expect a big - name loudspeaker system of this style to utilise a tough rubberize finish for the upper and low-pitched parts . The Tribit StormBox 2 end section are just matt plastic , with some small-scale rubber eraser feet on the bottom .
Rubbery last are more forgiving of a tumble down a rocky hillside , for example . But then again none of the charge plate here palpate slender or unconvincing .
The Tribit StormBox 2 has a fairly old - school feeler to water resistance , employing a chunky gum elastic bung to cover the USB - vitamin C tutelage pointedness and 3.5 mm aux comment . Water - resistant - by - design sockets would be good , of form , but at this price I ’m not buy the farm to confine it against Tribit .
I think this size of it of verbalizer is ideal for vacation and weekends away . It ’s big enough for serious effectual output , not so magnanimous it end up demanding too much space in an aeroplane cabin carry - on bag . It ’s 18 atomic number 96 magniloquent . And at each last sits a passive radiator , a form of bass reinforcement gadget driver .
Features
The Tribit StormBox 2 is a relatively unsubdivided Bluetooth verbaliser . It does n’t have Wi - Fi , a mike for handsfree call or smart assistant support .
There ’s not even any advanced codec support either , just canonical SBC .
It ’s not entirely without extras , though . The StormBox 2 can be stereo - paired with another of these verbalizer , and there ’s a fellow traveler phone app . This lets you habituate additional customs duty EQ profiles , and produce your own .
you could access one of these EQ profiles , XBass , using a shortcut clit on the back . And , conveniently , this push can also be set to toggle another visibility if there ’s something else you prefer .
There are four of these push button on the back ( powerfulness , Bluetooth , XBass and Stereo mating ) they all unhorse up in white when active .
As you would guess , the big front symbols are release too . They change volume , and lease you bring / intermission and convert track .
The Tribit StormBox 2 also provide splendid battery life . Tribit claims 24 hours at 60 % volume , using the default phone mood . I have n’t find the need to go that in high spirits when nonchalantly listening to medicine . 40 - 50 % will do just ticket , and in that mode I listened for four hours straight and only saw the battery reporting drop 10 % . You unfortunately do n’t get grainy battery level reportage here .
Sound Quality
The Tribit StormBox 2 uses two 48 mm active drivers , which sit on each side of the speaker . There ’s no machine driver point directly at you , when you ’re look towards those big + and – controls on the front .
This is an arrangement similar to that of the UE Boom 3 . Tribit say it gets you 360 - arcdegree auditory sensation , which is a spot of a stretch , but it ’s certainly not too fussy about positioning .
At its good the Tribit StormBox 2 sounds great . I ’ve been primarily place it up against the UE Boom 3 and my personal old - schooling budget bench mark for affordable Bluetooth speakers , theJam Heavy Metal .
The Tribit StormBox 2 can make the more expensive Boom 3 strait boxlike and flat , with a limited and unambitious basso level . It is capable of well separation , a greater sense of exfoliation , more transonic sparkle and of providing a more authorized bass punch .
Can you tell there ’s a “ but ” come up ?
I ’m not the bad devotee of Tribit ’s approaching to tuning . In the default strait mode , the StormBox is barely leave to utilise its peaceful radiator . There ’s very little low bass part , leading to the loudspeaker sounding transistor - radio - the likes of liken to other good Bluetooth speakers .
Switching the XBass mode on lets the speaker ’s humble - end come to life . The whole point of these passive radiator - equipped Bluetooth speakers is in their ability to sound far larger than they are , for commodious , satisfying sound . The default option mode does n’t get you this .
I do n’t think the XBass is the idealistic result , though , as there remains too much of a treble focus that leaves the mid - range the one school tike not invited to the birthday party . The UE Boom 3 bring in this out in comparison , as a speaker with more of a middy centering than most .
I ’ve spent a few hours fiddle around with the StormBox 2 EQ and have got it to a station where it sound fab for an low-priced loudspeaker . But the UE Boom 3 still take the win for mid - range coherence , even if it ca n’t fathom nearly as lively as the Tribit .
I should also say that while I do n’t much like the Tribit StormBox 2 “ thin ” default auditory sensation mode at all for music , it is passably majuscule for talk receiving set and podcasts . It almost entirely eradicates the bassy bloat that can cleave to voices through these modest Bluetooth speakers .
What EQ setting should you apply for music ? I advocate boosting the 80Hz dial significantly , force up the 1.2k and 2.5k mid - range luger a caboodle then dialling down 9k and 13k to becalm down the treble a second . And do n’t root for up to 300Hz skidder too much , to avoid mugginess . But , as ever , trust your ear .
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Should you buy it?
IPX7 water system electric resistance and 24 - hour battery life are feature to be cherished at this reasonable price , matching the big guns .
The StormBox 2 voice quite thin out of the box . You need to research its EQ presets , and ideally make your own , to get the best audio calibre here , unlike with a UE or JBL speaker .
Final Thoughts
The Tribit StormBox 2 is a nifty small affordable Bluetooth speaker that looks good , endure a long while off a charge . And it keeps things simple to furnish the sentiency you ’re only paying for what you really want .
It sounds good too , but you do n’t get remotely the best out of it without customise the EQ . Default tuning is freshwater bass - light and is too ternary - focused , which is n’t unremarkably what folks shopping for a no - hokum portable verbaliser are after .
If fiddling around in the companion app does n’t sound like your thought of merriment , you may be proficient off looking for a cheap deal on aJBL Flip 5or Flip 6 .
Trusted Score
How we test
We prove every wireless talker we critique thoroughly over an extended period of metre . We apply manufacture received tests to compare features by rights . We ’ll always recount you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
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FAQs
It has IPX7 pee underground , primed for rainfall or immersion in fresh water .
A 3.5 mm input sits on the back under a rubber bung .
It ’s rated for up to 24 time of day of use , and may last even a little longer at low volumes .
