TheBluetooth speakermarket is altogether pure . Between high - end options from the like of Bose , home base options from companies likeSonos , and budget options from Anker ’s Soundcore brand , there ’s well and truly something for everyone . Tribit has been around for some meter now , but the party seems to have regenerate focal point with some of its recent discharge — and with speaker like the new Tribit StormBox Lava , it look poised to severely dispute Anker ’s dominance .
The StormBox Lava is kind of built to do it all . It ’s big , but not massive . It has a hold for portability , and an understated look for it to fit out by nature in a home . Those are often the variety of utterer that fail stunningly , really not servinganyuse - case . Can the StormBox Lava overpower that , and truly be a majuscule all - rounder at a sane cost ?
Tribit StormBox Lava: Specs
Design and features
The Tribit StormBox Lava certainly is n’t built for extremist - portable use , but it ’s also not to a fault crowing and bulky like theTribit StormBox Blast 2 . Measuring 12.2 by 5.8 by 6.0 inches and weigh in at 5.1 Pound , it could suit in a backpack if you want it to ( though you probably would n’t use it this way ) , and its the perfect size for throw in the back of the automobile with your other picnic supplying .
It ’s not of necessity the most alone - looking speaker unit , though . With an all - black-market exterior , the utterer is a petty more subtle than the likes of theSoundcore Boom 2 , with its lightsome - up light-emitting diode . Some , of course , will opt that access anyway though .
The StormBox Lava packs a solid 24 - hour barrage life , which is on the upper end of Bluetooth speaker battery lives . For even heavier drug user , you ’ll get at least a few days of succus from the speaker , while wakeful substance abuser might stretch days into weeks . On top , you get a helpful solidification of controls , including great power , Bluetooth mating , volume , playback , an “ XBass ” clitoris for extra thump , and a button to link it up with another speaker for TWS ( True Wireless Stereo ) mode . There ’s also a playback button that can roleplay and hesitate audio frequency when it ’s press once , skip to the next track with a duple - press , or to the premature cart track with a treble press .
Flip it around , and you ’ll regain a rubber - sealed door covering the ports . There ’s a USB - C port to charge the speaker , a USB - A poweroutputport to excite up your other devices , and a 3.5 millimetre AUX input if you require to go wired . The chassis feels relatively durable , with a cloth meshing masking that seems like it can handle most twenty-four hour period - to - sidereal day utilisation . A rubber eraser groundwork on the bottom go along it stable on bland surfaces too , which is ready to hand .
Thanks to its IP67 rating , the StormBox Lava can take a bit of approximative treatment . Technically , that paygrade mean it can survive a dunk shot in the water at up to 3 foot , though it ’s not build for that and you credibly should n’t intentionally submerse it . That said , rest assure that you could utilise the utterer near the kitty or at the beach without having to worry too much about it getting tight . you may even use it in the rain , if you ’re one of those concern - free people that hangs out in the rain ( I sprint from my front threshold to my car ) .
In the box , you get a braided nylon grip and a shoulder joint shoulder strap , making it well-off to persuade around , plus a USB - A to USB - C cable’s length . A square USB - carbon to USB - C cable’s length would ’ve been gracious , but I do really appreciate the inclusion of both the handle and the shoulder strap .
Tribit app
The Tribit app is well - designed and easy to voyage , break up into a few different tabs for dissimilar vista of command the talker . The main screen shows you the battery level of the Lava , let you check playback , and lets you upgrade utterer microcode .
The 2d yellow journalism is for EQ . You ’ll get six presets , but beyond that , you may create a tradition EQ curve with 10 bands swan from 50Hz to 13kHz . That ’s telling — it ’s rough-cut for budget Speaker to offer a five - isthmus EQ , if they have a customs EQ feature film at all .
The final tab is the context menu , where you could tweak basic features like motorcar - shutdown and vocalization prompts . While the app is n’t the most feature article - rich out there , it looks good and works well .
Sound and performance
Under the goon , the Tribit StormBox Lava offers three-fold 70 mm 30 - watt neodymium woofers , and dual 30 mm 10W silk covered stadium tweeters , for a total yield of 80 watt . It dally in two-channel , and has a frequency reach of between 43Hz and 20kHz . It also offers Tribit ’s own TI amplification microchip , which Tribit says help deliver a exculpated and balanced auditory sensation . The speaker affirm the AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs , but unluckily there ’s no hi - Ra support here .
in the main , the audio response was actually pretty percipient , though to make good on those claims of “ balance , ” you ’ll want to mess with the EQ a little . Some of the presets are fine , but none of them really voice like what I wanted . create my ownmostlyfixed that .
Of course , even produce your own EQ curvature ca n’t as if by magic make the speaker produce frequency it physically ca n’t get . Overall , the speaker offered good bass response , but on some tracks that lean into sub - bass , some of that lower content was miss . A respectable example of this was Trentemøller’sChameleon , which has a mass of submarine sandwich - bass throughout the track — much of it was completely lose here . That ’s not to say the speaker does n’t handle sea bass well though — that track in particular is unforgiving in the bass section , and frankly , the speaker performed intimately than the immense majority of alternatives this size of it and this terms .
On other end of the spectrum , the speaker delivered pretty good particular . To be clear , you ’re not going to get the high-pitched - end detail characteristic of much more expensive speaker system , and the StormBox Lava does n’t supporthi - res audio . But , with a usance EQ curve that pushed the high up a little , I was pleasantly surprised with what itwasable to deport . On a caterpillar track like AC / DC’sBack in Black , the how-do-you-do - chapeau was decently vibrant , and the guitar unaccompanied extend plenty of bite .
As far as bulk goes , the StormBox Lava should get forte enough for 95 % of user in 95 % of use - pillowcase , but do n’t wait the huge speech sound of the with child StormBox Blast 2 . At family , I mostly stuck to around 50 - 60 % , occasionally pushing it when a track I was really emotional about came on . I never take heed at 100 % , except simply to essay the speaker for a few second — and afterwards , I immediately institute it back down for veneration of discompose the neighbors . It ’s deserving noting , however , that most of my listening was done at only around six feet away from the speaker .
I did note a little distortion in the bass starting at around 75 % book , but it was n’t over the top , and I surmise most hearer wo n’t really discover it . What you might mark also is n’t a big deal , but is a flake of a quirk — when you modify volume , the loudspeaker kind of foreshorten out for a tear mo , then aline to the Modern volume . It felt a small choppy , and initially I was worried I was having Bluetooth issue , but then I noticed this only happened when the volume was shift — both on my telephone set , and on the speaker itself .
Despite the quirkiness and the frequency reach limitation , the StormBox Lava soundsexcellentfor a speaker in this price range . Perhaps the good direct rival is the Anker Soundcore Boom 2 , which I ’ve in person tested too . While I did n’t have the Boom 2 handy to A / B test with , the StormBox Lava propose better bass and eminent - end annex than I remember the Boom 2 offering .
The bottom line
The Tribit StormBox Lava proves that Tribit means commercial enterprise . For $ 130 , you ’re catch a speaker that can really go quite good with a short effort put behind the impost EQ , plus you ’ll get a solid assault and battery life-time , a well - design app , and extra feature like a USB port to send your phone with . Again , perhaps its best competitor come from theAnker Soundcore Boom 2 , and while you might like the more interesting facial expression of the Soundcore speaker , the Tribit StormBox Lava beats Anker in sound quality and connectivity , while offering the same denounce battery living . Not only is the Tribit StormBox Lava is the best mid - size of it Bluetooth utterer in the $ 130 price kitchen range , it ’s the best pick for anywhere up to $ 200 .
