Jalen Sigh Tech

REVIEW – When reviewing portable Bluetooth speakers, it’s hard not to develop a favored brand. One of my favorites is Tribit. I was immediately blown away by the first Tribit speaker I reviewed—the StormBox Micro followed by the improved StormBox Micro 2. These small speakers sound waaay bigger than they are. I still use one in the shower and it hasn’t failed me yet. Through the (not many) years, Tribit has introduced many sizes of portable speakers in many price ranges—all affordable. Tribit has also challenged the “big boys” in audio quality—and it’s only gotten better. Their designs can sometimes be a bit derivative, but I’m willing to forgive that. Tribit’s latest speaker is not a small speaker. The StormBox Blast 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is a monster boombox that puts many other boombox-style speakers to shame. 

What is it?

The StormBox Blast 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is a large, heavy boombox portable speaker that can play loud (108dB) at 200 peak watts of power. It’s capable of playing stereo, XBass (bass boost), X-3D (larger soundstage), and Totally Wireless Stereo (TWS).

Power is divided up into a single 80W subwoofer with diamond reinforcement ribs, two 45W mid-range drivers, and two 15W silk dome tweeters supported by two large passive bass radiators at each end.

Other features include a water-resistant rating of IP67 (protection from dust and submersible up to 3 ft. deep for 30 minutes). Battery playtime is rated at 30 hours—depending on volume. 

The StormBox Blast 2 Speaker can be charged via AC (cable included) or USB-C (cable not included). The speaker can also charge other USB devices via USB-C.

A Tribit app (iOS/Android) offers more controls, such as EQ modes (with customizable EQ), firmware upgrades, lights (more on that later), voice prompts, and timed shutdown. 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the StormBox Blast 2 is the built-in 2-Microphone Karaoke feature (mics not included) with reverb.

What’s included?

• StormBox Blast 2 speaker
• AC charging cable
• Manual

Tech specs

Design and features

Two things become immediately apparent when the Tribit StormBox Blast 2 is unboxed. 1. At almost 20 lbs., it’s heavy. 2. It’s LOUD. Tribit’s other Bluetooth speakers have always sounded larger than their size, but the StormBox doesn’t need to. It sounds as big as it is—and that’s a lot. 

After I unboxed it, I turned it on and only had to press the Bluetooth pairing button once to find an audio source to connect with (my iPhone). Once paired, the party was on!

The StormBox Blast 2’s Bluetooth is 5.4 which has a range of 164 ft.—well above the 30-50 ft of older Bluetooth versions. The signal remained strong within my walking range around the house or backyard.

The StormBox Blast 2 speaker has a built-in handle for carrying. Below the handle sits a lineup of nine buttons/icons: Battery level, On/off, Bluetooth, Volume down, Play/pause, Volume up, Lights, XBass, and TWS pairing. 

A few speakers I’ve reviewed come with built-in lights, putting on a light show of sorts timed to the beat of the music. It’s a tacky gimmick that might appeal to younger listeners. The StormBox Blast 2 speaker also has a built-in light show, but I kinda like it compared to those other speaker’s lights. As with the previous StormBox Blast, there are two vertical lighted bands at each end. The design of Version 2 is an improvement as are the lights inside the speaker. These lights flash to the beat, but look cool doing it—not juvenile at all. Since it lights up, Tribit made sure that the interior of the speaker looks as good as the exterior—if not better. There are three light settings: Mode 1, 2, and 3. Hey Tribit, how ‘bout more descriptive names, please! 

The 3 lighting modes can be selected by pressing the Light button at the top of the speaker. However, it’s the app that lets you play with color and other settings. Each Mode can be customized (but not renamed). I discovered I couldn’t improve on what Tribit had done, so I left the modes as they were. All in all, the light shows are interesting and fun—especially in the dark.

Karaoke is unusual to me because I’ve never done it before. I still haven’t, but my grandkids had fun with it. They became instant pop stars (in their minds) playing with the mic Tribit provided for this review. Note that a mic is not included. There are two mic inputs, so anyone can sing along with a friend. Adjusting the volume on the mics was a bit glitchy. I was able to achieve decent volume, but it was not smooth. Volume was either too low or too high until I could find a good medium setting. Also, the volume buttons are small and too close to the mic inputs. The mic plugs were always in the way making turning the knobs awkward. The kids didn’t care, though. They had fun trying to sing along and that’s what Karaoke is all about. It was a win for Tribit.

Listening to the Tribit StormBox Blast 2 is a . . . blast! Not only can the speaker get loud, but it sounds good at most volume levels. Only at peak volume did any harshness creep in. However, the speaker was plenty loud at only 50% volume. Impressive. I did most of my listening with a custom EQ I preferred over any of Tribit’s preset EQs. I have a bit of aging hearing loss, so I tend to set EQ a bit differently than most people. Note that there are no “wrong” EQ settings. It’s whatever sounds best to you. It’s great that Tribit included a 10-band customizable graphic equalizer in the app. 

There are 7 EQ presets: XBass, XBass off, X-3D, Blast traditional, Audiobook, Rock, and Jazz. XBass is exactly that—extra bass. I like this EQ because the bass boost doesn’t overpower or muddy the sound. I imagine it’s more of a subwoofer boost than overall bass. I don’t know what Tribit’s Blast traditional EQ is, but I suspect it makes the Blast 2 sound more like the original for those who upgraded to the Blast 2. Rock and Jazz EQs are much like similar EQs, so no surprise. 

Two preset EQs that alter the audio the most on the StormBox Blast 2 are Audiobook and X-3D. Audiobook accentuates the vocal range for reading out loud. Usually, there is too much bass when listening to audiobooks which affects clarity. With the Audiobook EQ, vocal clarity is improved making voices easier to understand.

X-3D is completely different—in both good and not-so-good ways. X-3D broadens the soundstage, making music sound like the Blast 2 has external speakers farther away from the main speaker. It’s a digital effect that can be fun. When it’s turned off, music can suddenly sound claustrophobic. As cool as this EQ effect is, it’s at the expense of audio quality. When directly compared with the other EQ settings, music sounds a bit distorted in X-3D mode. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was enough to bother me. So I usually leave it off.

Then there’s TWS. Totally Wireless Stereo lets two StormBlast 2 speakers be paired so one becomes the left speaker and the other is a right speaker—wireless stereo. I’ve said this many times, but the effect can sound magical. Tribit is excellent at TWS. They sent two Blast 2 speakers to test and I spent days listening in TWS mode in my backyard studio building while working. I never use portable speakers as my main speakers, but this time I made an exception. I placed one speaker in a corner and the other in the opposite corner—both behind me. What resulted was sound coming from everywhere—almost directionless. It was an immersive sound experience that felt all-encompassing. 

Yes, pairing two StormBox Blast 2 speakers doubles the price. It can get quite expensive (for Bluetooth speakers), but if budget allows, you won’t be disappointed.  

So after all the EQ and TWS talk, how does music sound? I like it! I was able to play my music without distortion or listening fatigue using my volume preferences. With TWS on, I could keep the volume lower and still fill the space. It didn’t matter what genre I was in the mood for—whether it was 80s electronic, 60s folk, or even newer groups like the incredible Swedish sister duo, First Aid Kit. Older Jefferson Airplane, David Bowie’s Berlin period, and earlier Chicago albums exhibited an energy (helped by my custom EQ) that can easily be lost with other portable speakers. The StormBox Blast 2 is a definite step up for Tribit which is saying a lot considering their other excellent speakers.

What I like about the Tribit StormBox Blast 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

• Build quality
• Waterproof rating
• Audio quality
• Tribit’s excellent use of TWS
• Light show

What needs to be improved?

• X-3D audio quality can be improved
• Mic volume knobs are hard to use with mics plugged in
• Expensive (for Tribit)

Final thoughts

The Tribit StormBox Blast 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker rivals—and beats—the original JBL Boombox in price and audio quality. Finally, Tribit has sunk its audio teeth into some other well-known speaker brands’ heels after nipping at them for years. 

Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Tribit and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Tribit. Tribit did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.