These days the Bluetooth speaker market can feel overcrowded. This has caused many manufacturers to add lots of gimmicky features that may catch attention at first, but don’t actually matter in the long run. That’s why I was refreshed by the thought of Tribit’s latest portable Bluetooth speaker, StormBox 2. It focuses on the basics and not much else. This is what I’ve loved about the StormBox Micro that I purchased four years ago. It has delivered solid battery life and a surprising amount of power despite its compact form factor. So when Tribit offered to send a review unit of StormBox 2, I was thrilled to accept. Continue reading to get my hands-on impressions as part of the latest entry to the Tested with gadgetnewsonline series.
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Hands-on with the Tribit StormBox 2 Bluetooth Speaker
The new Tribit StormBox 2 Bluetooth speaker arrived at Amazon back in April for $99.99. With 34W of power, that was a great price when compared with something like the 40W JBL Charge 5 that goes for $180. Despite that, StormBox 2 pricing appears to have settled quite a bit lower than that, having spent well over a month now listed at $67.99. It packs a ton of value for that amount of money and I’ll explain why further down. But before I do, I want to call out that there’s an on-page 10% off coupon right now that brings the price down to $61.19, which sweetens the pot even further. Enough said. Continue reading to learn about my hands-on experience with this delightful little speaker.
Take a closer look at the specs:
- Detachable modular design is aim to provide a versatile and portable power solution for travelers, you can use this charging station in 3 different ways: a 4-Port USB C wall charger, a 5ft extension cord with 2 outlets, or a 5 in 1 travel power strip. It’s compact & lightweight that you can carry it anywhere in your bag!
- USB C fast charger power up your MacBook Pro 14″ to 42% and an iPhone 15 to 50% in just 30 minutes with an impressive 67W power output. Also supports Programmable Power Supply (PPS) for compatibility with Samsung Super Fast Charging 2.0.
- Houses 3 USB-C ports, 1 USB-A port, 1 AC outlet and 5ft detachable extension cord, powering up 5 devices simultaneously to save your precious time on charging.
gadgetnewsonline’ Take
With all the reviews I’ve done lately ranging from JBL’s 36-pound speaker to UGREEN’s new 2-in-1 MagSafe charging station, and most recently, Baseus’ power strip with a detachable USB-C wall charger, I’ve had plenty of chances to unbox this type of gear and get an idea of what to expect during that experience. Unsurprisingly, Tribit is right on the money here, with packaging that looks great, and gets the job done without being too over the top about it.
In the box there was the speaker, manual, and a short USB-A to Type-C charging cable. I could tell before I even opened it that it was likely going to be well built, given the heft of it. I even pulled out my scale for this one, and it weighs in at 1.3 pounds. This is about half the weight of my beloved YETI Rambler once filled with water, and it stands roughly 1.5 times taller than Tribit StormBox 2. Taking my own measurements, this speaker stands roughly 7 inches tall and is about 2.5 inches in diameter.
Around the back of Tribit StormBox 2 you’ll find four buttons, an AUX input, and a USB-C port for charging the speaker. The four buttons are used for power, Bluetooth pairing, XBass mode, and pairing with another Tribit StormBox 2. The front has three buttons as well used for raising or lowering the volume, and a play/pause button that can also be used for activating a Siri/Google Assistant, answering/ending a phone call, skipping music, and more.
I’ve found everything about this speaker to be very intuitive. There hasn’t been one time where I was wasn’t sure what a button would do, how to enter Bluetooth pairing mode, etc. This makes it a solid option that just about anyone can enjoy without being overwhelmed by unnecessary features, even if they aren’t a very tech-savvy person. The only tricky thing about using this speaker for the first time was peeling back the rubber seal to access the USB-C charging port. It was quite tricky to open up, but after I did it first time, it hasn’t been a problem since.
A cool little visual feature that I noticed (and liked) right away was that on the top and bottom of the speaker there you can see the bass in action. Little rubberized pieces vibrate and thump with the beat and it’s pretty neat. And really, that’s about it in terms of gimmicky features. You won’t find RGB lighting or anything like that onboard. There is a companion Tribit app that you can download, but it’s mainly used for firmware updates, equalizer settings, viewing battery levels, and that’s about it.
Having used many speakers over the years, Tribit has left me impressed with both StormBox Micro back in 2020 and now StormBox 2 in 2024. The one feature StormBox 2 is missing that Micro has, is a rubber strap that can be used to quickly attach a speaker to something. Yes, StormBox 2 has a fabric strap up top, but outside of acting like a small lanyard, it can’t do much else. So, overall, I love this speaker and highly recommend it. It’s a solid value for the price and features a design that just about anyone will consider easy to use.
Buy the Tribit StormBox 2 Bluetooth Speaker
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