Verdict
Solid sound at an affordable price, the Tribit Stormbox Pro is a rugged portable speaker worth considering if your budget is around £100.
Pros
- Good clarity
- Long battery life
- Waterproof build
Cons
- Ill-disciplined at higher volumes
- Anonymous appearance
Availability
- UKRRP: £119.99
- USARRP: $119.99
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Bluetooth multi-point pairingConnect two sources to the speaker at once -
24 hour battery lifeLong-lasting stamina and can charge other devices -
Xbass modeAdds more bass power and weight to music
Introduction
Tribit’s Stormbox Micro was a surprise package of 2020, a diminutive budget speaker with excellent sound at an inexpensive price. So, it’s with interest that the Stormbox Pro emerges on the Trusted Reviews’ radar.
The Stormbox Pro is Tribit’s flagship portable Bluetooth speaker, big in size and with a price to match; it’s a wireless speaker that looks to undercut the bigger, more recognised names.
It will appeal to those looking for an affordable, rugged, portable audio companion, but you’ll have to accept a few rough edges.
Design
- Anonymous appearance
- Handle for carry
- Tough, waterproof exterior
Tall, and with a shape that tapers towards the top, the Stormbox Pro’s is a bit wider than you might expect as it fits in a 3-inch subwoofer, two 40mm speakers and two passive radiators.
There’s a rubbery handle for carry and the top surface is home to multi-function (MFB) and volume (up and down) buttons, plus power, Bluetooth and the Xbass button, with five-strong row of LEDs that show the current battery charge. It’s all easy to get to grips with. Using the onboard controls proves to be awkward as they feedback they offer feels rigid with flat button presses.
The MFB can be used in music and conversation modes, the latter means the speaker can be used as an external speaker for taking calls. Press the Xbass button and that livens up the low end, while a five-second hold on the Bluetooth button puts the Stormbox into pairing mode.
The speaker’s body is wrapped in a tough looking cloth that mirrors the one on the Micro, and it speaks to a look that is rather nondescript. For £120 you might expect some more pizzazz – not to mention more colour options than just black.
On the rear is a cap that covers two USB ports, a USB-C for charging the speaker itself and a USB-A for connecting a smartphone or other device to charge.
Features
- 20+ battery life
- Stereo pairing supported
Have another Stormbox Pro to hand? Put the first speaker into pairing mode, and a five-second hold on a second marries them together, activating Party Mode. A short press of the Bluetooth button sends the two speakers into Stereo mode, forming a left and right channel. When I did this the speakers seemed to go straight into Stereo mode so presumably Party Mode is the same sound coming out of both speakers.
The Stormbox Pro matches the Micro with its IP67 rating, good enough to guard against dust and a drop into a metre deep of water for 30 minutes – useful for pool party set.
Bluetooth is 5.0 with Qualcomm’s aptX codec for playback. It can remember up to 8 paired Bluetooth devices (for those who like to chop and change sources), while multi-point Bluetooth support enables a connection to two devices simultaneously. To avert any sneaky takeovers of music, playback on the source device needs to be stopped before playback from another can be started.
Battery life is triple that of the Stormbox Micro with up to 24 hours available, though as always, that varies on the type of music and volume. Charging back to full takes a while – 7 hours – before its sizable 10,000mAh battery is filled.
Performance
- Lacks composure at higher volumes
- Xbass mode beefs up bass
- Clear, detailed sound
The Stormbox Pro is an enjoyable listen, but it is also a performance that can, at times, come across as unbalanced at higher volumes. It’s surprising just how loud the speaker can go – even at a third of its volume the Stormbox Pro is louder than most around its price point – but above that and the Stormbox Pro loses composure and sounds strained, with overly sharp treble and thin sounding voices.
It’s much better to keep it at ‘lower’ volumes as the Stormbox showcases a solid sense of dynamism that’s coupled with an engaging sense of energy. Clarity and definition levels are good, the speaker avoiding sounding muddy or indistinct. Vocals of singers comes across decently, although to my ears they lack that bit of sharpness and projection to etch them out with even more clarity.
Given the shape of the speaker, you might expect a lack of a width but with The Jam’s That’s Entertainment there’s breathing space out to the sides and above to ensures the track never comes across as cluttered or jumbled. If you want more width, you may want to consider purchasing another Stormbox Pro and pairing the two speakers together in Stereo mode, which works well in opening the soundstage even further.
Press on the Xbass and the low end is beefed up with some more weightiness, depth, and rumble; and with the Xbass mode on, the Stormbox Pro’s sound feels more substantial. When used to play Jidenna’s Long Live the Chief, there’s a weightiness to the delivery, with vocals having more of a presence than there was with Xbass turned off. A good effort from Tribit, as long as you dial that volume down a little.
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Should you buy it?
An affordable portable speaker with good sound The portable speaker market is full of options, and the Tribit makes a decent case with its emphasis on value. If what you’re after is good sound and decent spec at an affordable price, this is another solid effort
If you like to play music loud At higher volumes the Stormbox Pro piles on the energy but in doing so lacks composure and discipline that makes for a messy, unfocused performance.
Final Thoughts
The Stormbox Pro has a few rough edges but if you can look past them, there’s a solid sounding wireless speaker and decent feature set at a very competitive price.
How we test
We test every wireless speaker we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Tested with real world use
FAQs
There’s no built-in support for voice assistants, but you can call up the voice assistant on your smartphone through the MFB button.
Yes you can! Plug it into the USB-A port and the speaker will charge any device connected to it.
