Inexpensive Portable Sound.
Enjoy sound the Tribit way. The StormBox Micro 2 speaker promised IP67 Waterproof housing, Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, enhanced 10W output, TWS pairing options, Runstretch technology, and a built-in power bank to charge your phone. I was impressed with the inexpensive price tag for the visually appealing packaging, easy-to-pair setup, and reactive button layout/features. Unfortunately the weaker bass, average sound output, and failed power-output charging system limited the utility of the device. Alas, I would not rely on this device for emergency power.
- DESIGN
- EASE OF USE
- SOUND OUTPUT
- BATTERY LIFE
- POWER OUTPUT
The StormBox gives users inexpensive sound in the palm of your hand
With on-the-go tech increasing in popularity, many rely upon iPads, iPhones, Slates, tablets, or Android phones for entertainment. Some may utilize onboard sound, while others prefer to employ headphones, earbuds, or stand-alone speakers for music, movies, and mobile gaming. When not using my AirPods Pro, I may use several portable Bluetooth speakers for a family dance party, a quick streaming session, or some easy listening.
Over the past few years, I have grown to appreciate Tribit products’ quality of sound, durable, water-resistant shells, and budget prices. So when I heard about the StormBox Micro 2, I was excited to compare it to its predecessors.
The StormBox Micro 2 speaker arrived in a 5 1/8 inches square by 2 5/8 inches thick retail box. The emergency-cone orange-colored company name and slogan were displayed along the top left corner of the cover panel, while “Portable Wireless Speaker Micro In Size, Macro in Sound” was displayed along the bottom left. The bold StormBox Micro 2 name was listed just beneath the company name in a vivid, bold, black font.
The orange and black accents contrasted nicely against the clean white background, as did the slightly raised, glossy, photo-quality image of the Tribit StormBox Micro 2 device. The front panel displayed five product-defining features: 1. IP67 Waterproof. 2. Bluetooth 5.3. 3. Long Battery Life. 4. Superior Sound. 5. Stereo/Party mode. The top panel and right side panels displayed the product name, while the left panel showed logos for the Tribit App on the Apple App and Google Play stores.
The orange rear panel provided the company name, product name, generic portable wireless speaker information, and ink outlines for the speaker and charging cable at the top. The mid section listed the BTS12 model, SKU, IC, FCC ID, Made in China Information, a brief thanks to the buyer, and the support@tribit.com address. The lower segment of the panel provided product manufacturing labels, an SKU barcode, US/EU/UK/JP addresses, and a generic compatibility image.
I lifted the top panel, removed the 80-page multilingual instruction manual, and then the 10.9-ounces Tribit speaker from the plastic wrap. Before you dispose of the outer packaging, remove the 24 5/8 inches long black, round, USB-C to USB-C charging cable from the lower cutout.
The attractive Tribit StormBox Micro2 speaker measured 4 inches square by 1 1/2 inches tall and had a thatched black/silver tweed-like surface. The Tribit logo was placed at the center of the panel upon a 1 inches wide by 3/8 inches tall plaque. I like the chrome letters upon the grey base and the contrast with the black/dark-grey thatched background.
The bottom surface of the main panel provided three grey-colored 3/8 inches long buttons: “-”, a circular MFB button, and a “+” button. The front panel had a 3/8 inches tall by 3/8 inches wide hexagonal power button, a blue led power indicator, five white LED power indicators and a 3/8 inches tall by 3/8 inches wide Bluetooth connection button. The USB-C charging port was present on the left side panel.
When I placed the StormBox speaker face down, I evaluated the 2 1/2 inches x 2 1/2 inches hexagonal heat sync/bass cutout and the central informational segment. The panel provided similar information to that found on the back of the packaging. You will discover hexagonal, raised, rubberized feet at each corner of the hexagonal region. Lastly, you will also find a 7/8 inches wide rubber strap attached to the front of the speaker, just beneath the LED indicators.
The heptalingual instruction manual was arranged into English (1-13), German (14-24), French (25-35), Spanish (36-46), Italian (47-57), Japanese (58-68), and Chinese (69-80) sections. Interestingly, the page numbers reported within the table of contents did not link to the appropriate sections within the manual.
The manual provided ink outline drawings of the speaker, charging cable, user manual, and detailed each button (-,0,+, power, status indicator, Bluetooth pairing button), and the charging port. The third and fourth panels detailed the 5V charging ability of the speaker, the ability to charge other devices via USB-C, and the battery indicator status.
The convenient bank of five LED lights showed full charge when all lights were extinguished, 80-100% with four illuminated and one flashing, 70-80% with three illuminated and one flashing, 50-70% with two illuminated and one flashing, 30-50% with one illuminated and one flashing, and 0-30% power when 1 LED flashed. I liked the display method and found the battery life quite generous.
The fifth and sixth pages detailed the power on/off function, the ability to reset, the blue-colored Bluetooth indicator (flashing=pairing, solid=connected), and the ability to reset the speaker to factory default. The panels also detailed the ability to pair with the most recently paired devices or to switch between paired devices.
This feature allowed me to pair to my iPad and iPhone and allowed me to play/pause and then resume on another machine as desired. Pages seven and eight detailed the button functions (below), while pages nine and ten detailed the party mode, stereo mode, and the ability to switch between the two modes. Unfortunately, with only a single speaker, I was unable to test the paired/TWS features.
The last few pages detailed the product specifications (BT version 5.3, 10W output, 70Hz-20KHz, 3.6V/4700mAh battery, dimensions, IP67 waterproof rating, 2.402GHz-2.480Ghz frequency band), FCC statements, and IC caution.
The pairing process could not have been easier. When you press the power button, the speaker will play a jingle to alert the user to the powered-on status. Press the hexagonal Bluetooth button, then navigate to Settings on your smart device, select Bluetooth, and then select the Tribit StormBox Micro 2 from the list.
To adjust the volume, you can short press the volume down/up buttons to gain an incremental change or press the button continuously to change the volume. Additionally, you can press the volume up/down on your phone to affect the speaker output. You can press the MFB button to play/pause a track or answer/end a call.
I loved that the button/feature proved to be sensitive and quick to respond. While in music mode, you can double press the button to proceed to the next track, triple press to return to the previous track, or press and hold to activate Siri. While in phone mode, you can press and hold the MFB button to reject a call, short press the button to pause the call and answer another, or switch between calls.
To test the charging output, I plugged a Klein Tools Multimeter into the USB-C port and then a USB-C to Lightning cable between the multimeter and my iPhone 13 Pro Max. The multimeter displayed 4.56V/1.29A while my iPhone displayed 53% power at 8:33 PM. During this test, the Tribit speaker had 4 LEDs illuminated, suggesting 70-80% power available.
After about fifteen seconds, the screen on my iPhone illuminated, the lightning bolt went away, and the multimeter turned off. I plugged the multimeter back into the speaker and found that the speaker would not charge the iPhone. I removed the multimeter from the link and plugged the USB-C to lighting cable directly between the speaker and iPhone. Like the previous step, the phone would not charge.
I tried turning the StormBox speaker/battery off and on again and then tried three other USB-C to Lightning cables. The speaker would not charge my iPhone again. I made sure that this was not a fault of the iPhone by plugging a USB-C to Lightning cable into a Joto hub and found the iPhone charged easily. Next, I plugged a USB-C to USB-C cable between the speaker and my iPad Pro 12.9” (gen 5).
Again, I found it charged for about ten seconds before the lightning icon turned off. I plugged the Multimeter back into the link, and the setup would not turn on. I tried to charge my son’s iPhone 11 and found the same result as those mentioned above; the phone charged momentarily before failing. I was impressed/excited by the idea but found the product did not meet the expectations or promise.
When it comes to Bluetooth headphones, earbuds, and speakers, quality sound and output must be one of the main goals for a manufacturer. I can understand that fit and comfort may edge out sound quality for some of the in-ear options, but a stand-alone speaker must provide high-quality, full-spectrum, rich sound. I loved the IP67 nature of the speaker and found it to be a reasonable companion for a jacuzzi, bath, shower, or pool.
The posterior retention strap will allow you to attach the StormBox speaker to a chain-link fence or a shower line. The rubber clip attached to my son’s bicycle handlebars but proved insufficient for the wider handlebars on my mountain bike. Essentially, the strap should easily attach to anything about the size of an average thumb. For fun, we attached the Micro 2 speaker to a small branch on a nearby tree, stuck a stick into the ground and attached the speaker to the pole, and found several other options including a loop of paracord lashed to a larger branch.
I liked the rubberized loop and found it was more rugged than that of the original StormBox Micro speaker. After re-reading the original StormBox Micro speaker, it appeared that this device may suffer from a similar failure point as the original. Even though the strap has proven to be more durable than the original, it is still not removable or replaceable. Once the strap breaks, the defect remains permanent. Despite the concern, the speaker may be a wonderful addition to your golf cart, bicycle, boat, etc.
I tried to pair the device with the StormBox Micro and StormBox Pro devices and found the manual was correct, and the party mode did not work. Unfortunately, without a second StormBox Micro 2 device, I could not test either of the TWS modes. I tested the speaker with a variety of songs including bass-heavy Acapella favorites, Pop, Rock, R&B, Oldies, Country, and instrumental options.
I turned the speaker down to 0 and pressed the “+” button a single time. I was pleased to find a quiet output but found the sound lacked bass support. Pressing the button again, the speaker made a noticeably large jump in sound output. Similarly, the jump between a second and third press activated significantly more bass. I repeated the test with Ring of Fire Home Free at various volume levels and found ~50% to be optimal. At higher levels, the sound became a bit harsh, while lower levels seemed to lack bass support. Similarly, Holly Cole’s Train Song lacked the bounding opening bass line I have come to love/enjoy.
To test the actual output, I navigated to the audiocheck.net website and used the Audio Tests. I started with the Low-Frequency Response and Subwoofer Audio Test (10-200 Hz) and heard the bass at about 40Hz. Unfortunately, the lower range of human hearing will go down to about 20Hz, and the speaker did not accommodate the lowest registers.
The results were similar to those above for bass-heavy songs, which suggested a mediocre support structure. Next, I compared my ability to hear with my 3/7/10/13-year-old children using the High-Frequency Response and Hearing Audio Test (22-8 kHz). As we get older and experience damage to our ears, we start to experience loss of higher frequencies. I can hear at about 15 kHz on most speakers, and this was present with the StormBox Micro 2 device.
My ten and three-year-olds could hear the high-pitched buzzing at 18 kHz, while my other two heard sounds at 16 kHz. We then used the mosquito sound test, and they all said that they were able to listen to it. Unfortunately, I was not able to hear the mosquito test track.
The StormBox speaker will likely work well for a teenager room, a dorm room, a small office, a pool house/room, a jacuzzi suite, etc. I would not rely upon the micro device for larger outdoor venues or, for times you want big, deep, bass-rich sound. I watched several episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ms. Marvel, and The Orville, and found the speaker worked okay for my small office, bedroom, or living room.
I would have loved a bit more bass support, but I liked the ability for quiet output without forcing headphones/earbuds. As a bonus, my kids recently requested to camp outside with an iPad Movie. We turned to Disney Plus and played Big Hero 6 for them. We cranked the sound up to about 70%, placed the speaker behind the iPad, and the kids enjoyed the experience. For a sub $60 speaker, I felt that the sound was acceptable, but the Bluetooth connection was excellent.
The internal battery still had three stars after my above tests and an entire movie. Thanks to the USB-C charging, the device could charge rather quickly (~1.5 hours) and provided an ~11-hour total life. This meant that my kids could enjoy the sound for a longer period of time. Lastly, the speaker provided a 15-minute auto-off-feature that was not mentioned on the website/instruction manual.
Summary
The Tribit StormBox Micro 2 device provided a visual upgrade to the gen 1 speaker, while also increasing from 9W to 10W, increasing total battery time, and decibel output. It still relied on the same retention strap design, and had similar size limitations for the bass. My wife and children care little for audiophile-grade sound and felt that the experience was good and average.
We loved the packaging and felt that the company did a great job at presenting the product. The button layout, function, and Bluetooth connection provided a marked upgrade to the gen 1 speaker. Similarly, the phone conversations were quite clear and easy to initiate/cancel.
The easy-to-pair process added a great deal of goodwill to the overall review and should work very well for those who need a bit more help with tech. I would rate the StormBox speaker at 7.5/10 for sound, 8/10 for design, 9/10 for battery life, 8/10 for accessories. Unfortunately, the packaging/ manual/website promised the ability to provide power output to my phone or tablet.
For Power Output, I would have to rate the device at 0/10 as it did not function as a battery. I made sure to charge the device to full before first use, and then again before testing. I cannot recommend the device for emergency backup power when it did not charge my iPhone 13 Pro max, IPad 12.9” Pro, or my son’s iPhone 11, even after fully recharging the device. Unfortunately, the speaker was simply not able to support this feature and my overall review was reduced.
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