Tribit StormBox Micro 2 Portable Speaker
The Tribit StormBox Micro 2 Portable Speaker delivers more than powerful music; it doubles as a power bank with Tribit’s exclusive SmartID technology. The Micro 2 features a USB-C charging port to charge your phone, tablet, and other accessories. Small enough to fit in your pocket, bold enough to be shown to the world with the integrated strap. The StormBox Micro 2 can be clipped to anything from your backpack to tree branches, bike handlebars, or a belt loop.
The Stormbox Micro 2 is slightly wider and longer (two millimetres each) than the first version and also slightly thicker (5 mm). It measures approximately 10×10 cm and is 4.5 cm thick. It is most likely to notice the slightly higher weight of 312 g compared to the 296 g of the first version. However, the slight design changes are more noticeable. In principle, the design is very similar, but you can see the facelift in many details, such as the now more concise controls and the shiny silver lettering. The keys are much easier to see, especially in darker environments. The IP67 dust and water protection has remained.
The upper shell still has a fabric cover in black with grey contrasts. The rubberized lower shell of the new version is now black instead of dark grey, which is a bit more elegant. The corrugations on the underside are also slightly different. The practical retaining loop on the underside of the Mirco 2 is a bit tighter, but this could also be due to the fact that it is a bit newer. This allows the box to be wonderfully attached to a bicycle handlebar, top tube or fence, for example. The rubber feet on the bottom have also remained, but they hold up a bit better. Thanks to the feet, the box does not vibrate on surfaces.
Tribit StormBox Micro 2 Portable Speaker Review
The new Stormbox 2 offers a number of advantages: a little more music power (10 W instead of 9 W), a significantly larger battery and the possibility to control the box with the Tribit app. Thanks to the larger battery, the box plays much longer on the one hand. Exactly how long depends heavily on the volume. At 50% volume, my 12 hours play, while my old Stormbox with the built-in larger battery wears out after 8 hours. However, the battery’s remaining capacity display is rather inaccurate. Although it is displayed in 10% increments via Bluetooth, it is very slow for the first few hours. Even after 11 hours of play, it is still 50%, while an hour later 20% is displayed where the box is already reporting a low battery.
In addition, the Stormbox Micro 2 can even be used as a power bank, so it charges external devices. However, you need a suitable cable on the one hand and on the other hand, I did not measure more than 6.5 watts of charging power (about 4.9 V 1.3 A). While a Xiaomi Mi 10 T-Lite 5G and Realme GT were charged, it didn’t work with a Sony Xperia XZ3, where the charging power was only 1 watt despite only half full smartphone battery. However, with the 60% and less battery capacity of the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2, the charging function for me stopped. According to the instructions, it should actually charge external devices up to 50% battery capacity during operation, and even down to 30% when switched off.
Time to test the charging: This is done via the exposed USB-C socket with 12 V and 1 A, i.e. 12 W. When it is completely empty, it takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to fully charge. 22.75 Wh was shown by my meter at the end of the charging process, with charging losses included. By the way, the Stormbox can also be used while charging. With an external power source, nothing stands in the way of unlimited music enjoyment.
Speaking of enjoying music: The sound of the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 is absolutely identical to the previous version, it only plays slightly louder at the top. Up to around 50% volume, it sounds very balanced with good bass, balanced mids and differentiated highs. At higher volumes, the bass no longer comes along. Speaking of bass, the frequency response starts at 70 Hz. It, therefore, does not play very low frequencies or only plays it very quietly. But I’ve only been able to find one piece of music where it’s easy to notice (Doin’ it Right by Daft Punk, in which the third bass beat is only slightly audible at about 27 seconds). For its small size, the sound is definitely wonderful and easily worth the money.
Speaking of money: Thanks to a 30% voucher that Tribit distributed to all interested parties registered by e-mail before the product launch, I only paid 42 euros. But the box would also be worth the normal price of 60 euros for me.
Since I also own the old Tribit Stormbox Micro, I also tried party and stereo modes. The user manual states that this only works with two Tribit Stormbox Micro 2, but it also works with a mix of the first and second versions. Holla the Forest Fairy, together they make a proper alarm!
However, the stereo mode only works properly if the Micro 2 is the stereo master. If, on the other hand, the old version is the master, the Micro 2 plays both channels and the old one only plays left. If Micro 2 is the master, it plays the left channel and the old Micro plays the right channel. As a couple, the two boxes sound even more wonderful! The control buttons work synchronously when two boxes are connected and both boxes play at almost the same volume level. The stereo base is shifted slightly to the right because the Stormbox Micro 2 plays slightly louder.
Speaking of buttons, the middle control button triggers different functions depending on the mode (listening to music or making calls). This allows you to pause the music, continue playing, skip to the next and previous track, or start a voice assistant (Siri & Co, not tested).
The Tribit app only works with the new Stormbox Micro 2, it can be used to display the firmware, my box is version 0.1.8. The future will show whether updates are also possible. Maybe Tribit will improve the battery indicator with an update, I would like that, and it is also possible to set equalizers that only affect the speaker directly, not on other audio devices, not even the old version. If you use a mixed pair in stereo or party mode, the equalizers will only work on the new version. In addition to the standard equalizer with raised bass and slightly raised treble, there is also an audiobook mode with raised mids and less bass and treble. In addition, a custom equalizer on the 80, 160, 320, and 640 Hz as well as 1.28, 2.5, 5, 9, and 15 kHz bands can be individually adjusted in the range of +/- 6 dB each. Another function of the app is the ability to switch the automatic switch-off to a fixed time, i.e. a sleep timer, so to speak.
Overall, the Tribit StormBox Micro 2 Portable Speaker is a goiod solid speaker.
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