Tribit Audio Stormbox Micro

As we start spending more time socialising, bringing a Bluetooth speaker along to gatherings is once again best practice. Big names such as Ultimate Ears and JBL dominate, but this doesn’t mean the What Hi-fi? team considers that particular box checked. What if a small, little-known brand could step in, trounce the competition and wow us – all for a fantastically low price?

Enter Tribit Audio, a Chinese company whose current product range comprises four diminutive portable speakers and six sets of wireless headphones.

The Stormbox Micro is the secondleast-expensive speaker in a line-up that’s very affordable all round. Is it the speaker we’ve been dreaming of – the undiscovered belter set to steal the budget crown?

Made to measure up

It’s hard to imagine a home decor, backpack or personal taste that the Tribit Audio Stormbox Micro couldn’t merge in with happily. It’s the size of a stack of drinks coasters, with a soft-feeling charcoal fabric jacket covering the upwards-facing half of the speaker. The bottom half is rubberised, with two buttons, for power and Bluetooth pairing, on either side of the rounded bottom edge, looking from above.

In between these are a mic and a display of six LEDS for connectivity and battery status. On the right edge is a waterproof USB-C charging port. On the underside is a neat little stretchy strap you can unsnap to sling over a bike handlebar or tent pole.

Underneath the subtle branding on the top of the unit are three buttons: two for volume and one for play/skip functions. A long press on the last summons your device’s voice assistant – in our tests, the Stormbox Micro’s mic picks up our requests well. If you’re paired to your smartphone, this button also can also take care of call-handling. The overall design here feels durable, functional and well-finished.

What it’s got

When it comes to specifications, the headlines are as follows: Bluetooth 5.0, an unexceptional but adequate eight-hour battery life and an IP67 rating – meaning the speaker is both waterproof and dustproof. That IP rating brings the Stormbox Micro in line with the Awardwinning Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2.

You can also pair two Stormbox Micros in either mono or stereo. We try the stereo pairing in our test, and the resulting sound is a splendid proposition for the money.

There’s no app support and no ‘boost’ button for outdoor listening here, but to expect such extras at this budget price would be a little unreasonable. Overall, it’s a sleek, handy, durable little cushion-shaped speaker.

We listen to Radiohead’s Paranoid

Android from the OK Computer album and the twinkling pops and rhythmic guitar at the outset are well integrated, detailed and musical. Thom Yorke’s ethereal voice comes through centrally and there’s a lovely distribution of sound wherever we stand in our room.

Ace with bass

As the bridge comes in, we’re pleasantly surprised by the bass clout the Tribit is able to deliver. Although a speaker of such dimensions is obviously limited in terms of bass weight, it does remarkably well in this regard; close your eyes while listening and you’ll picture a bigger product. The Stormbox Micro easily beats the similarly sized JBL Go 2 for musical separation, timing, bass depth and punch.

Whitney Houston’s vocal in the iconic I Will Always Love You is textured and three dimensional, and although there’s a minor shortfall in terms of dynamic build compared with the (larger, more expensive) Wonderboom 2.

The Tribit goes almost as loud as the Wonderboom 2, but where the latter has a sensibly forward-focused, slightly lighter presentation to account for its diminutive size, the Stormbox Micro offers a more mature sound.

Here, at the most affordable end of the audio market, there are big gains to be had by spending a little bit more. Go from the £50 product under our gaze to the Award-winning Wonderboom 2, and you’ll get an outdoor mode, a design that’s available in several colours, a recognised name and a sound that pips the Tribit in terms of dynamic ability and rhythmic coherence.

But if your budget maxes out at £50, this compact but capable Tribit is a splendid option.