This Tribit Stormbox Blast seems to be a boombox-style portable Bluetooth speaker ready to liven up your next party, just in time for this summer’s 1980s nostalgia fad. While the StormBox Blast’s nostalgic look pays homage to the tape boombox era, it also features battery life, flashing LEDs, and support for the most recent Bluetooth wireless communication technology. With the StormBox Blast, you can wear your Top Gun aviator sunglasses & Stranger Things music all day and night.
The StormBox Blast costs about $200, which is not as pricey as other extra-large Portable Bluetooth speakers like the UE Hyperboom and JBL Boombox 3, and it sounds almost as fantastic.
What will you see here?
Design
The Tribit Stormbox Blast Bluetooth speaker modernizes an outdated design for big portable music players by adding a grip. The 11.7-pound, 14.4 x 4.1 x 3.1-inch speaker is too heavy to be truly portable, but the sturdy grip on top makes it simpler to carry. It is still more portable than 14.3 x 7.5 x 7.5-inch, 13-pound UE Hyperboom, even at that size.
Black plastic surrounds the speaker, which features metal grills on the front and back. White lights are also present behind two drivers, and multicoloured LED lights along the front’s sides pulse in sync with the music.
You can choose between solid colour or a rainbow of lights, and you can also turn the lights off (mostly). Even if the light show can be turned off, the LEDs still flash as you change the volume / start playing music, so anyone who is photosensitive should stay away from this speaker, even though the lights are a nice bonus.
You can take the StormBox Blast to the pool without worrying that it will fry its electronics if it gets wet because it has an IPX7 waterproof classification, which means it can spend 30 minutes submerged in water up to 1 meter deep.
Features
Let’s start with physical connections because the Tribit has three ports on the back, all of which are protected by rubber caps:
- A power cable (a Stormbox Blast does not require a power source to operate, but it will require 3.5 hours to fully recharge if its impressive 30-hour battery is completely depleted).
- A USB-C is out for charging one’s device.
- A 3.5mm aux inside for wired listening.
A2DP and AVRCP, or a more basic Bluetooth streaming standard, are the protocols used here. Bluetooth 5.3 is also onboard for dual-device pairing or a wireless range of 40m (which is useful if two of you will be trying to organize the playlist from the dancefloor, say). Unfortunately, you are not getting aptX or AAC codec support.
Is it Tribit Stormbox Blast IPX7 waterproof?
Unexpectedly for today’s market, its Tribit Stormbox Blast might not be the ideal option for listening on the beach either, as it is only IPX7 rated, which means that it is waterproof instead of water- & dust-proof (you need to look for IP67 if you want both). And unlike the Sonos Move, there are no microphones or built-in voice assistance. If dirt is involved, it might not be ideal for a pool party.
Regardless of your preference, you receive 32 LED lights: 15 on either side of the metal grille & two behind the dual woofers. That is surrounded by two tweeters and is located in the top corners of the speaker’s baffle. There are three different ambient light profiles in total: one changes the colour of the speaker LEDs and the side panels that control volume, and another keeps the speaker LEDs white while adding a rainbow effect. A third disables all beat-driven light effects while activating those side panels whenever the volume changes. Even using the Tribit app, it is not feasible to switch off all lights simultaneously. However, more on that in a moment.
7 Buttons on the top plate
The seven buttons on the top plate for power, volume, Bluetooth pairing, playback, ambient light show profiles, & XBass seem to be fairly self-explanatory, but users feel the need to elaborate on that last one. You will probably adjust this most of the time here (volume and playback can also control from your phone). Although XBass may activate by pressing its button on the top plates. But do not advise doing so because the app works better. The purpose of this button is to increase the bass for us. It just adds a thin layer of tinniness to the otherwise excellent sound. And there’s a tonne more you can do!
You may select from jazz, audiobook, party, classical, or music EQ presets in the Tribit app, alter them using a five-band EQ tab, or create your own from scratch. The tool first feels a little thin but adds value. There is a lot of room for customization here, and while most of this review was written using pre-existing music profiles, we like the jazz & music presets.
Tribit hasn’t made a big deal out of its app, but maybe it should. Even though it’s a very straightforward process, it gives you access to the speaker’s battery life, which is useful if you’re throwing a party.
Sound Quality
The Tribit Stormbox Blast is stunning, even though the sound is not as well-balanced as what you get from the UE Hyperboom. A loud, bass-heavy sound is produced by the StormBox Blast and fills the room you’re in. Most of the time, It didn’t even need to turn on the additional bass to get a satisfying low end.
Jon Batiste’s “Freedom” has a bass rhythm that rumbles nicely behind his vocals, which are distinct and powerful in the mix. The horns, though, had a somewhat thin and brilliant tone. Its bass thumped, and Harry Style’s voice sounded loud on “As It Was,”. But the keys weren’t as distinct as when performed on the Hyperboom. Although they were a little bright, the heavily distorted guitars in Jack White’s “Taking Me Back” had a nice crunch. Its fingerpicked guitars on Fleetwood Mac’s “Never Going Back Again” were overly bright and lacked depth, highlighting the treble problem in acoustic music.
The StormBox Blast has an extremely loud volume. Its maximum output sound pressure was 100 decibels with 90 watts of power driving two mid/bass woofers & twin treble speakers. The treble sounded best about 85 decibels, which is still high enough to hear well above splashes at the pool. But at that volume, it was even harsher.
Set up and controls
The top of the Tribit Stormbox Blast has a row of sizable, responsive buttons for controlling the device. In addition to the standard power and volume controls, a multifunction button can play or pause a track and skip or rewind it. Additionally, there is a specific Bluetooth pairing button, and you may control the lighting.
Tribit doesn’t provide a sound-adjustment or feature-adding app. Pushing the XBass button will increase the bass and for a louder sound. You can also connect two StormBox Blasts. However, there isn’t an equalization to further customize the sound to your tastes.
Battery Life
The StormBox Blast, according to Tribit, could play for 30 hours on even a fully charged battery (though the manual says 20 hours). The UE Hyperboom claims a 24-hour battery life in contrast.
The StormBox Blast flawlessly for more than 20 hours without displaying signs that the battery was running low. Finding out how much battery the Blast had left is a problem; the power button will glow when the battery is low. But before that, you cannot check how much charge is left.
A useful bonus feature of the StormBox Blast is its ability to charge other portable devices via its USB-C port. Each charge you give a portable gadget will reduce its playback time. If you listen to music on your phone all day, that extra push can enable you to stay up late.
Keep track of the power chord that is there in the box. Because the Tribit Stormbox Blast recharges using a power cord rather than a USB.
Value
Sonically, this Tribit Stormbox Blast is not only excellent value but also unrivalled value. However, this is not a reserved and reticent speaker that you can put in your bike’s water bottle holder. People who listen to it will hear it and see those lights.
There are a few gaps in the feature set (no mics, no option for multi-room connectivity), & the software is standard instead of comprehensive. But few offerings at the level can match that in-depth, customized EQ presets.
We anticipated we could dislike it, yet our feelings were far from hatred. We adore the sound. And sincerely hope that you can hear how great it sounds; it’s very astonishing for a low-cost one-box speaker design.
You understand that you may hide it when you aren’t listening to it. But it may always be a guilty pleasure on evenings when you’re having a party for just yourself, with no other people there.
Is it worth purchasing Tribit StormBox Blast?
Despite being barely affordable, its Tribit Stormbox Blast Bluetooth speaker sells for $199, Canada ($260), and Germany (€230) are more regions that are accessible.
However, it doesn’t appear to be instantly accessible in the UK, and the sample arrived with an EU two-pin charging connection. So, the exact date of its release in that nation is yet unknown. That would not be good.
The JBL Flip 6 or JBL Charge 5 are great options if you want something more affordable and portable. The Bose Home Speaker 500 or
The JBL Boombox is arguably the device in this list closest to it in design and feature set. It would cost $450 / £400 (about AU$650) when released in April 2020. The Sonos Five is significantly more expensive (and a Wi-Fi-based home speaker).
Whatever way you look at it, the Bluetooth 5.3, 90W beast is a tonne of speaker for the money, is what we’re saying.
Conclusion
This Tribit StormBox Blast Bluetooth speaker seems to have a lot more going for it. If you’re searching for a large speaker that can resist the elements. Vocals sound clear, and the bassy sound fills your room. It is waterproof and boasts an all-day battery life. Therefore, you didn’t have to worry about getting wet or falling into the pool. It also puts on such a light show if you want additional pictures to accompany your songs.
The finest part, arguably, is how much less expensive it is than the alternatives. If you are outside among friends and having a great time, it might not matter that the sound quality isn’t as good as UE Hyperboom. Additionally, you can use the money you saved to buy extra drinks and food for entertaining.
