Tribit StormBox Lava Bluetooth Speaker Review šš„
As we enter Summer, I thought it was a nice time to give a little review on the StormBox Lava from Tribit. Itās a relatively small Bluetooth speaker for the power itās packing - I was pleasantly surprised by the sound (and especially bass). Itās certainly one of the best value speakers iāve tested in this price range, and yetā¦somehow hard to get super excited about.
Key features: š” 80 W power output (2 x 30 W woofer + 2 x 10 W tweeter) š” 43 Hz - 20 kHz š” 24 h battery š” USB-C in charging / USB-A out charging š” IP67 dust and water resistance š” Detachable handle + Shoulder strap š” Bluetooth 5.4, SBC/AAC š” Stereo/multi speaker pairing (160+ speakers) š” Aux in playback š” 310 mm x 147 x 152 mm, 2.3 kg š” $139.99 / Ā£112.00
In the box: - StormBox Lava speaker - USB-A to C cable - Carrying handle strap - Adjustable shoulder strap - User manual
- - - - - - - - - - -
[Design] It has a pretty typical design and shape (reminiscent of a small JBL extreme) comprised of a tough fabric and plastic body. Thereās a heavy duty rubberised bass to keep it stable (which you can use to angle the speaker upwards). Overall it feels robust and durable - thereās an IP67 protection rating so it can be fully submersed underwater. Thatās great, but pretty much a must-have for me with Bluetooth speakers now. It feels quite heavy for such a compact size though (2.3 kg). I have to be honest and say that nothing about the design excites me at all - there are no LED lights either (aside from battery/connection indicators). Iām not sure why this speaker is called āLavaā.
The rubberised buttons are all easy to distinguish and press (in the day time, they donāt light up sadly). All of the usual controls are here, including an Extra Bass toggle, a TWS button for pairing to other Lava speakers and you can press and hold the multifunction button to talk to your phoneās voice assistant.
It comes with both a carrying handle and an adjustable shoulder strap, which is awesome. They connect with metal carabiners to metal attachment points - all high quality. Shoulder straps are practical for travel but cumbersome and ugly day to day, so the carrying strap is a great addition.
[Battery] Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours - but youāll likely get a lot less unless you stick to below 50% volume and donāt use Extra Bass. I surpassed 18 hours using Extra Bass at around 60%, so itās pretty decent. It takes around 5 hours to charge the speaker, and it has power saving auto off features (you can toggle off if you wish). You can use the speaker as a power bank and charge other devices with the USB-A port (shame this isnāt also USB-C like the charge port, it should be). It wouldāve been cool if the USB-C port offered audio-in as well.
[Connectivity] The speaker supports the latest Bluetooth 5.4, the SBC and AAC codecs and multipoint for 2 devices. We have a USB-C in for charging, USB-A out for charging other devices and an aux in for wired audio. Two Lava speakers can be connected to play with left/right stereo separation, or you can use āParty modeā to play the same sound through both speakers. In party mode, you can actually pair up to 160 Lava speakers togetherā¦which is crazyā¦and also something no one is ever going to do. There is a built-in mic here for phone calls and talking to your phoneās voice assistant. Itās about as good as on any other speaker (not great, and you have to be fairly close to be heard clearly).
The speaker connects to the Tribit app which is very basic, but includes a countdown to shut down, voice prompt toggles and firmware updates. The voice prompts are actually just prompt ātonesā, but itās nice to be able to toggle them individually (e.g. turn off the jarring low battery prompt that interrupts playback, but keep the useful ādevice connectedā and power on/off beeps). It also has two very useful functions: one is an EQ, including a 10-band custom EQ. But the other is setting which EQs the Extra Bass button on the speaker toggles between - thatās awesome. I set it be my own custom mode for the best sound, and then one with lower bass for quieter times. Most speakers donāt let you customise the Extra Bass button.
[Sound] The 80 W speakers can indeed pump out ultra deep bass and at impressive volume levels too. At max volume the sound is stable and mostly distortion-free, though the treble can become a little harsh if not EQād down. The speaker sounds best where itāll likely spend most of its time in that 50-80% volume range. This is certainly a party speaker and can comfortably fill a medium-large sized room entirely with sound. It punches above its weight for a speaker at roughly the $100 mark and sits in quite a sweet spot in terms of size/sound output.
The only issue is that the default āExtra Bassā and āExtra Bass offā EQs sound a bit congested and lacking in clarity/treble. You can easily rectify this with a custom EQ, and iād highly recommend you do to get the most out of it. The 10 bands allow a lot of room to play around with the sound and you can get really clean and clear sound after doing so. The drivers are forward-firing - thereās no 360Āŗ or rear-firing sound here. But the distribution is good and you get pretty decent stereo sound even in a single speaker set up.
[Summary] The Tribit StormBox Lava is a reliable, good value, no frills speaker that would be great for both parties or home use. The functionality is good, the sound is good, the price is goodā¦thereās not a lot to dislike. But with a lacklustre design and strong competition from the likes of EarFunās UBOOM X or soundcoreās Boom 2 at around the same price (and which are both much more interesting in design), it might be hard to justifying getting the StormBox Lava instead. Itās a great speaker justā¦hard to get excited about. Tribit does frequently offer discounts though, so if any of those take the price down even furtherā¦that could make this much more worthwhile.
Here's a link to check it out on Amazon šš¼ amzn.to/3HzovTh It's an affiliate link so I may earn a small commission if you use it, that would be very helpful, and it costs you nothing extra!
InsideTech
Tribit StormBox Lava Bluetooth Speaker Review šš„
As we enter Summer, I thought it was a nice time to give a little review on the StormBox Lava from Tribit. Itās a relatively small Bluetooth speaker for the power itās packing - I was pleasantly surprised by the sound (and especially bass). Itās certainly one of the best value speakers iāve tested in this price range, and yetā¦somehow hard to get super excited about.
Key features:
š” 80 W power output (2 x 30 W woofer + 2 x 10 W tweeter)
š” 43 Hz - 20 kHz
š” 24 h battery
š” USB-C in charging / USB-A out charging
š” IP67 dust and water resistance
š” Detachable handle + Shoulder strap
š” Bluetooth 5.4, SBC/AAC
š” Stereo/multi speaker pairing (160+ speakers)
š” Aux in playback
š” 310 mm x 147 x 152 mm, 2.3 kg
š” $139.99 / Ā£112.00
In the box:
- StormBox Lava speaker
- USB-A to C cable
- Carrying handle strap
- Adjustable shoulder strap
- User manual
- - - - - - - - - - -
[Design]
It has a pretty typical design and shape (reminiscent of a small JBL extreme) comprised of a tough fabric and plastic body. Thereās a heavy duty rubberised bass to keep it stable (which you can use to angle the speaker upwards). Overall it feels robust and durable - thereās an IP67 protection rating so it can be fully submersed underwater. Thatās great, but pretty much a must-have for me with Bluetooth speakers now. It feels quite heavy for such a compact size though (2.3 kg). I have to be honest and say that nothing about the design excites me at all - there are no LED lights either (aside from battery/connection indicators). Iām not sure why this speaker is called āLavaā.
The rubberised buttons are all easy to distinguish and press (in the day time, they donāt light up sadly). All of the usual controls are here, including an Extra Bass toggle, a TWS button for pairing to other Lava speakers and you can press and hold the multifunction button to talk to your phoneās voice assistant.
It comes with both a carrying handle and an adjustable shoulder strap, which is awesome. They connect with metal carabiners to metal attachment points - all high quality. Shoulder straps are practical for travel but cumbersome and ugly day to day, so the carrying strap is a great addition.
[Battery]
Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours - but youāll likely get a lot less unless you stick to below 50% volume and donāt use Extra Bass. I surpassed 18 hours using Extra Bass at around 60%, so itās pretty decent. It takes around 5 hours to charge the speaker, and it has power saving auto off features (you can toggle off if you wish). You can use the speaker as a power bank and charge other devices with the USB-A port (shame this isnāt also USB-C like the charge port, it should be). It wouldāve been cool if the USB-C port offered audio-in as well.
[Connectivity]
The speaker supports the latest Bluetooth 5.4, the SBC and AAC codecs and multipoint for 2 devices. We have a USB-C in for charging, USB-A out for charging other devices and an aux in for wired audio.
Two Lava speakers can be connected to play with left/right stereo separation, or you can use āParty modeā to play the same sound through both speakers. In party mode, you can actually pair up to 160 Lava speakers togetherā¦which is crazyā¦and also something no one is ever going to do. There is a built-in mic here for phone calls and talking to your phoneās voice assistant. Itās about as good as on any other speaker (not great, and you have to be fairly close to be heard clearly).
The speaker connects to the Tribit app which is very basic, but includes a countdown to shut down, voice prompt toggles and firmware updates. The voice prompts are actually just prompt ātonesā, but itās nice to be able to toggle them individually (e.g. turn off the jarring low battery prompt that interrupts playback, but keep the useful ādevice connectedā and power on/off beeps). It also has two very useful functions: one is an EQ, including a 10-band custom EQ. But the other is setting which EQs the Extra Bass button on the speaker toggles between - thatās awesome. I set it be my own custom mode for the best sound, and then one with lower bass for quieter times. Most speakers donāt let you customise the Extra Bass button.
[Sound]
The 80 W speakers can indeed pump out ultra deep bass and at impressive volume levels too. At max volume the sound is stable and mostly distortion-free, though the treble can become a little harsh if not EQād down. The speaker sounds best where itāll likely spend most of its time in that 50-80% volume range. This is certainly a party speaker and can comfortably fill a medium-large sized room entirely with sound. It punches above its weight for a speaker at roughly the $100 mark and sits in quite a sweet spot in terms of size/sound output.
The only issue is that the default āExtra Bassā and āExtra Bass offā EQs sound a bit congested and lacking in clarity/treble. You can easily rectify this with a custom EQ, and iād highly recommend you do to get the most out of it. The 10 bands allow a lot of room to play around with the sound and you can get really clean and clear sound after doing so. The drivers are forward-firing - thereās no 360Āŗ or rear-firing sound here. But the distribution is good and you get pretty decent stereo sound even in a single speaker set up.
[Summary]
The Tribit StormBox Lava is a reliable, good value, no frills speaker that would be great for both parties or home use. The functionality is good, the sound is good, the price is goodā¦thereās not a lot to dislike. But with a lacklustre design and strong competition from the likes of EarFunās UBOOM X or soundcoreās Boom 2 at around the same price (and which are both much more interesting in design), it might be hard to justifying getting the StormBox Lava instead. Itās a great speaker justā¦hard to get excited about. Tribit does frequently offer discounts though, so if any of those take the price down even furtherā¦that could make this much more worthwhile.
Here's a link to check it out on Amazon šš¼ amzn.to/3HzovTh
It's an affiliate link so I may earn a small commission if you use it, that would be very helpful, and it costs you nothing extra!
5 months ago | [YT] | 12