Tribit Stormbox Mini+ Review: A Great Cheap Portable Speaker

Ultra affordable. Has speakerphone and 3.5mm inputs. Clear, balanced sound. Fun LED lights. Stereo pairing pinch aggregate units.

A spot dense for nan size. No particulate protection rating.

If you’re shopping for a portable Bluetooth speaker, it’s a fixed that you want bully sound. With a fund of $75-$150, location is nary shortage of awesome options, including WIRED favorites for illustration nan JBL Flip 7, Beats Pill, and Tribit StormBox 2.

If your recreation ambitions person already soaked up astir of your cash, you person less choices. Spending little ever involves a tradeoff, but Tribit’s StormBox Mini+ ($40) involves acold less compromises than you mightiness think, and it moreover throws successful a fewer features nan much costly models lack.

I spent a week pinch nan StormBox Mini+, utilizing it arsenic a backyard and recreation companion, and I’ve grown rather fond of its versatility. I’d still urge spending a spot more, but if that’s conscionable not an option, this speaker won’t disappoint.

What’s nan Plus?

The StormBox Mini+ follows nan now-familiar creation look popularized by JBL and Ultimate Ears (UE). Its cylindrical assemblage is wrapped successful wear-resistant cloth weave and capped astatine some ends pinch rubbery silicone. It comes successful 3 colors: black, green, and blue.

If you’re acquainted pinch nan Tribit StormBox Mini, nan Plus exemplary is almost identical. It adds compatibility pinch nan free Tribit companion app (which sports an equalizer and a fewer different settings), and introduces nan AAC codec (for arguably amended audio, particularly on iPhones).

An IPX7 standing intends it should past immersion successful h2o down to 3 feet for 30 minutes, but fixed that it floats (upside down), I uncertainty you’ll ever put that to nan test. It surely handled a spot of bobbing successful my room sink. Just support successful mind that nan “X” successful IPX intends nary particulate resistance. Tribit says that soil grains are excessively large to beryllium considered particulate and frankincense not an issue, but I’m a spot skeptical of that claim.

On nan speaker’s spine, you’ll find backlit buttons for power/Bluetooth pairing/LED control. Then, connected nan front, embedded successful nan cloth grille are oversized measurement controls, inspired, nary doubt, by UE’s iconic Boom family of speakers. Like nan UE speakers, you tin brace 2 Stormbox Mini+ models for amazingly bully stereo sound, and nan Bluetooth fastener connected nan backmost besides serves to brace speakers. Unfortunately, connecting nan 3.5mm aux-in larboard disables nan Bluetooth connection, truthful nary stereo pairing is imaginable erstwhile utilizing an analog source.

Between nan measurement buttons is simply a multifunction fastener that controls playback and sound adjunct access. You publication that right: There’s a speakerphone for calls, aliases you tin usage nan built-in mic to talk to Siri (or whoever responds connected your peculiar phone). You won’t find that connected immoderate of JBL’s portables. Another characteristic you won’t find is nan StormBox Mini+’s 3.5mm AUX input, which sits down a protective rubber gasket. These ports are a rarity among each waterproof portable speakers. Tribit includes a USB-C charging cable, but nary 3.5mm analog spot cable.

LED lighting seems to beryllium everyplace these days, and nan StormBox Mini+ has a mini LED halo connected top, pinch your prime of 2 music-synced patterns: breathing aliases blinking. These tin beryllium controlled (or disabled) by nan Tribit app, aliases nan dedicated fastener connected nan speaker’s spine. The ray effects are fun, but what amazed maine was really soothing I recovered nan breathing shape erstwhile nary euphony was playing astatine all. It’s sewage a lava lamp-like charm.

Speaking of that LED ring, Tribit has a spot of a missed opportunity connected its hands: The StormBox Mini+ has nary ocular parameter for measurement level, and nan only artillery denotation happens erstwhile nan level drops to 20% aliases little (the powerfulness fastener blinks). The LED ringing could beryllium utilized for both.y

Portable speakers should beryllium portable, which intends size and weight some matter. Measuring 4.69 x 3.58 x 3.58 inches (a hairsbreadth taller than nan 4.09 x 3.75-inch UE Wonderboom 4), nan StormBox Mini+ should beryllium easy capable to propulsion successful a backpack aliases carry-on. However, astatine 1.3 pounds, it’s amazingly weighty. By contrast, nan Wonderboom 4 is only 0.9 pounds.

At that weight, nan StormBox is astir nan aforesaid arsenic JBL’s much powerful Flip 5 (1.2 pounds), which you tin still buy connected Amazon for $80. My constituent isn’t that it’s excessively heavy, it’s that if weight is much important to you than things for illustration artillery life and sound quality, it mightiness beryllium worthy looking astatine ultra-portables for illustration Soundcore’s Select 4 Go ($25/9.8 ounces), JBL’s Go 4 ($50/11 ounces).

Surprising Sound

Thanks to its 2 48mm drivers, nan StormBox Mini+ tin reproduce stereo sound. Realistically, because nan drivers are horizontally opposed, you’re ne'er going to get existent stereo separation. But don’t interest astir that; it’s astir intolerable for immoderate speaker of this size to do existent stereo. What you do get is 360 degrees of sound dispersion. Place it successful nan mediate of a room aliases plot and location isn’t a bad spot successful nan house.

It can’t rather lucifer nan midrange clarity of UE’s Miniroll ($80), and yet I didn’t find it lacking clarity. In fact, whether I played jazz classics, popular hits, aliases vocal-forward tracks, I was impressed by really good nan compact speaker handled each genre.

Massive levels of measurement aren’t successful nan cards for a speaker of this size, but dissimilar immoderate portables I’ve tried, you tin ramp nan StormBox up to 100% pinch almost nary distortion. At that level, you’ll easy annoy your neighbors. Battery life will besides return a awesome deed erstwhile playing that loud, and nan speaker will amusingly bounce itself around, yet it’s still a very enjoyable listen.

Likewise, you’ll person to support your expectations successful cheque erstwhile it comes to bass. Despite its festive LED ray show, it’s not a statement speaker. You’ll perceive immoderate lows, and if you spot nan speaker connected a ample aboveground for illustration a non-marble room counter, you whitethorn consciousness them. For its size, I person nary complaints. Moreover, if you spot nan StormBox Mini+ successful a area aliases up against a wall, nan bound summation effect tin connection important bass enhancement.

Tribit’s recently added, app-based EQ usability is worthy experimenting with. The disposable nine-channel civilization equalizer is overkill for specified a mini speaker, but I’ve sewage to manus it to Tribit: If you’re going to connection an equalizer, you request to fto group prevention their favourite mixes, and this lets you prevention 15 of them. I had amended luck pinch nan 5 built-in presets (Music, Audiobook, Classical, Rock, and Jazz).

Stay Close for Calls

The speakerphone usability useful well. That said, nan summation connected nan built-in mic is simply a tad connected nan debased side. If I moved further than astir 2 feet from nan speaker, my sound became a batch fainter. Other reviewers person tested nan StormBox Mini+ for telephone calls and noted that nan speaker disconnected. I had nary specified problems. I besides had nary problem summoning Siri. A agelong property connected nan multifunction fastener was followed by 2 tones, 1 to corroborate nan agelong property and a 2nd to fto you cognize Siri was now listening.

Tribit claims you’ll get 12 hours of playtime connected a azygous complaint (you’ll request 2.5 hours to complaint it from empty). If you support nan measurement astatine 50% and move disconnected nan LED ring, you’ll astir apt get beautiful adjacent to that number. In my testing, utilizing a assortment of measurement levels (mostly supra 50%), pinch nan ringing lit continuously, it was person to 9.5 hours. These aren’t the champion specs for a portable speaker, but fixed that you tin get almost a full time retired of a charge, they aren’t a deal-breaker, either.

The StormBox Mini+ has nary shortage of competitors successful nan portable Bluetooth speaker market. You tin spell smaller and little costly pinch nan Soundcore Select 4 Go, you tin walk much for somewhat amended sound successful UE Wonderboom 4, and nan sky’s nan limit for much powerful options, including nan fantabulous JBL Flip 7 ($150), Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 ($150), and Marshall Middleton ($320). However, I’d reason that for its unsocial operation of price, sound quality, and features, you’d beryllium difficult pressed to find different waterproof exemplary that checks arsenic galore boxes.