People have different tastes in music, and they listen to it in preferred audio qualities. I have always been a bass lover, and the Tribit StormBox Lava met many of my requirements. When I first opened the speaker package, it appeared a bit bulky and basic to me, but its bassy sound filled that gap perfectly. After testing in our open-floor plan office, it gave a basic impression, but its real flair came out when I suddenly played it in my hatchback. All my assumptions proved wrong, and it gave a really thumping sound, but there is a catch that I will be discussing further in this hands-on review. Keep reading on to know what made that perception shift.
Curved Design in Hand
The size of a mini hand-drum, the StormBox Lava speaker features a completely black body with fabric design on both sides. The textured fabric gives it the vibe of a standard speaker; however, the slightly curved design is unique from most portable speakers in the market, and it is similar to what JBL has done with Boombox 3. The IP67 Waterproof design is another cool highlight. One thing I was disappointed with is the rubber base that is narrow, resulting in the speaker being tumbly with a slight mistaken drag or hit.
Size That Demands Space
The speaker measures 12.2D x 5.8W x 5.98H cm and weighs about 5.07 lbs (2.3 kgs). It feels a bit large and will require more space wherever you want to take it. Another weak point is its weight, which is significantly higher and will certainly put pressure on your arm, just like one of my friends who carried it for just half an hour. It is definitely not a speaker to take inside your backpack, but it can be tagged along for car camping trips.
Tribit has provided two detachable carrying straps that can be changed as per needs. I mostly used the smaller one with a woven rope-like design with carabiner ends to connect with the speaker easily. It made for a good grip in the hand and aligned the weight properly. The other strap can be used to carry it on your shoulder.
Bass That Hits Deep
This 80W speaker is specified as a 2.0 channel, two-way stereo audio configuration with four drivers in total. It includes two 30W neodymium magnet woofers for rich low frequencies and two 10W silk dome tweeters to handle high frequencies. The mini woofers on both sides offer commendable bass, and surprisingly, that doubles when you put the speaker in the right place. I got the best bass experience while I was playing music in my car. The story begins when we planned a late-night trip, and I thought of taking the speaker along to check its overall quality.
The dynamic frequency response range (Hz) for the Tribit Lava portable speaker is 43Hz – 20kHz. This wide range allows the speaker to produce deep bass tones (down to 43 Hz) and crisp high notes (up to 20 kHz), contributing to its “rich bass experience” and overall sound quality.
The speaker was playing balanced sound when I put it on the seat, but I accidentally put it in the foot well, and the magic happened. The sound was coming very bassy, and it could be due to the enclosure the sound was passing through. This clearly means, if you place the speaker in an enclosed corner, it will offer meaty bass.
While using the speaker at my home, it provided the same punchy bass, and this time I placed it behind the hall door, with a wardrobe on the other side. I invited my pal to experience the speaker and being a neutral person with no experience of using such music accesories, he was also impressed a lot with the sound, especially the bass. He even declared it to offer better bass than one of my Sony SRS series 2.1 speakers.
From my user experience of more than one month, I found that the bass stays punchy until you have reached the last 2-3 max sound levels, but the latest firmware update has significantly improved the audio output. Now, the speaker doesn’t lack bass even at high volumes, although the vocals and high frequencies overshadow the bass a bit. That should be music for the ears of listeners who prefer a balanced output. The xBass feature enhances the low end, and you can further customize the sound with the equalizer using the companion mobile app. It has nine sound presets and a custom mode that allows you to adjust the audio output using 10 bands.
Another thing that left me disappointed is that the speaker system is fitted just on one side, which means you cannot enjoy multi-directional sound. Tribit Stormbox Lava speaker plays in mono, but you can connect two speakers for stereo sound output.
Beefy Battery Lasts for Days
According to the company, the speaker offers 24 hours of playtime. I experienced the beefy battery as the speaker kept playing for about half an hour at medium volume, even with a trickle of battery left. This really surprised me as I always wanted a speaker that can be used for a longer duration.
Also Read: Tribit Stormbox Mini+ Review: Powerful Sound Without Breaking the Bank
There is an onboard USB-C port to charge the battery, and it takes about 15 minutes to charge 10 percent of the battery. Furthermore, it offers reverse charging, which means you can use it as a power bank to charge your smartphone and other electronic devices. Another thing I liked is that it retained the battery percentage even when I used it after a few days.
Tactile Buttons and Usability
The top side of the speaker has seven buttons, but only the power, Bluetooth, and Xbass buttons have lights for better recognition at night. The volume buttons and voice search button are large and tactile, so you can even detect them in the dark with a touch. There is a rounded voice prompt button in the center, which brings smart voice features to the speaker. One thing I liked is that you just need to press the buttons lightly to turn it on/off – no need for a long-press.
Lava Bluetooth speaker has a built-in microphone and supports hands-free calling and voice assistants. I connected it with a Samsung S21 FE phone, and it worked perfectly. You need to long-press the voice prompt button to activate listening and give the desired command of playing music, reading news, or checking weather details. You can use both the connected phone and the speaker to give voice commands, which is a really good feature. This allows you to change the music even when you are not present near the speaker, using the Gemini’s existing command center activated through the speaker button.
You just need to connect the preferred music service, and it can play songs on your command. The way it recognizes consecutive commands without pressing the button is really impressive.
Connectivity Reliability Check
The portable speaker connects via Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless streaming, and the time it takes to connect to your phone is satisfying. It has an auxiliary (3.5mm) input for wired connections and also supports TWS pairing to connect two Stormbox Lava speakers. There is also a USB port to reverse charge your electronic devices, which worked quite well.
Pros
- AUX input
- Large battery
- Punchy bass
Cons
- Mono sound
- Heavy
- A bit unstable base
Final Words
The Tribit StormBox Lava is a well-built speaker with good battery life and solid bass performance. If you are a bass-lover, this is definitely a good buy. When using it as a boombox, you will definitely attract the crowd with the foot-tapping, energetic sound. However, we do not recommend taking it on a backpacking trip due to its weight. You can purchase the boomy speaker for $110 from Amazon.
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