Practical testing …
Quickly to the right practical test …
Subjective impressions
Sound test in practice
Firmware Update
Volume
Stereo Pairing
Runtime
IP67 Test
Powerbank Test
Subjective impressions …
As always, we would like to point out that our audio tests are subjective impressions.
Sound test in practice …
A mobile Bluetooth speaker is typically used with a smartphone, and so we tested the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 with a smartphone as well.
Pairing was smooth, fast and uncomplicated. However, the AptX codec is not supported by the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 unlike the Tribit Stormbox Pro. The Stormbox Micro 2 speaker did not raise any questions at any time, so we did not need the Bluetooth pairing manual.
The sound is really good and surprised us positively. In addition, we install the Tribit app from the Google Playstore and connect our two Stormbox Micro 2 speakers.
On the overview page, we now get access to the connected speakers incl. battery charge status.
Firmware Update …
However, a firmware update is pending first …
… which promises us features and optimizations.
Of course, we do not want to do without this and install the update on both speakers.
After that, we can look around the app. We can conveniently adjust the volume …
… and have the option to adjust the sound via equalizer. Tribit has already stored preconfigured profiles for music and audio book playback.
The music profile works with a decent bass boost.
Under “Settings” we get the possibility to name the respective speaker individually and to adjust the standby behavior.
Now we start a second round of sound tests. The Stormbox Micro 2 speaker benefits greatly from the customized equalizer profile “Music” and sounds really great. If you didn’t look, you would expect a much bigger speaker. Tribit has done a great job with the choice of speaker, the passive membranes and the equalizer and really gets a great sound out of the compact speaker.
Volume …
It is also positive that the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 speaker not only plays the music loudly, but can also be finely dosed. This is not necessarily self-evident, since some Bluetooth speakers are very loud even at the lowest volume setting. However, as with the Stormbox Pro, this is fortunately not the case – so they can also be quiet.
Stereo Pairing …
If you have been wondering why we have two Stormbox Micro 2 speakers in the test: You can improve the sound even more by pairing two Micro 2 speakers together. With a short press on the Bluetooth icon of the speaker, you can choose between a party mode, where each speaker plays “everything”, and a stereo mode.
It is also very nice that it is sufficient to switch off only one of the two speakers in both party mode and stereo mode. Of course, it is only necessary to turn on both speakers during the power-on process, since no communication can take place when they are turned off. By the way, the Bluetooth speakers remember the last selected mode, even if you only use one of the two speakers in between.
The listening experience is so really impressive and is in no way inferior to typical 2.1 desk speaker sets. And so we are actually briefly tempted to exchange our desk setup 🙂
Thanks to fastening straps, you could thus also equip the bike with proper stereo sound.
Sure, you could also connect any Bluetooth speaker as a pair via the media output and even pair another BT speaker to the two paired Stormbox Micro 2 speakers and use it for music at the same time, but they would not be in sync due to the different latency times, so there would be an audio delay. With music from several speakers at the same time, even an audio delay of a few ms would be noticeable. However, even a difference of 100ms is not uncommon for different Bluetooth speakers as long as they do not support codecs like aptX LL. Only codes like aptX Low Latency reduce the latency to under 40ms or aptX at least to under 70ms, whereas the common SBC codec deviates significantly with 220ms. In addition, individually paired Bluetooth speakers do not offer the ease of use and the selection of party mode or stereo mode that direct pairing with each other allows. Nevertheless, here you can see three paired BT speakers for testing, two paired with each other and one additionally via the Android media output 😉
Runtime …
We could confirm the stated values in the test: The Stormbox Micro 2 BT speaker lasts for about 12 hours when fully charged, which should be perfectly sufficient for longer afternoons/evenings at the lake or similar. Of course, the exact playing time depends on the selected volume. The powerbank function shortens the runtime accordingly, and with the built-in 4700mAh 21700 Li-Ion cell, we also see this feature as more of a stopgap, since you could only recharge typical smartphones a bit anyway if you want to keep playing music. But before this would no longer be possible because the smartphone battery would go flat, it is still a useful feature.
IP67 Test …
According to Tribit, the Stormbox Micro 2 is waterproof according to IP67, which means dustproof on the one hand, and protection against temporary submersion up to a maximum of 1 meter water depth for a maximum of 30 minutes on the other. Of course, this means clear fresh water, so you can take the Stormbox Micro 2 with you in the shower or to the pool without worrying if it starts to rain. The Stormbox Micro 2 survived our test in the shower unscathed.
Powerbank Test …
The powerbank function charges our smartphone via the USB-C to USB-C cable without problems, but not very fast. However, it would be enough to “keep the phone alive” for music playback.
Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 Bluetooth speaker Result and general impression …