.png "I Have Fallen in Love With Open Earbuds (and You Should Too)")
Likewise, you’ll have to keep your expectations in check when it comes to bass. Despite its festive LED light show, it’s not a party speaker. You’ll hear some lows, and if you place the speaker on a large surface like a non-marble kitchen counter, you may feel them. For its size, I have no complaints. Moreover, if you place the StormBox Mini+ in a corner or up against a wall, the boundary gain effect can offer significant bass enhancement.
Tribit’s newly added, app-based EQ function is worth experimenting with. The available nine-channel custom equalizer is overkill for such a small speaker, but I’ve got to hand it to Tribit: If you’re going to offer an equalizer, you need to let people save their favorite mixes, and this lets you save 15 of them. I had better luck with the five built-in presets (Music, Audiobook, Classical, Rock, and Jazz).
Stay Close for Calls
Photograph: Simon Cohen
The speakerphone function works well. That said, the gain on the built-in mic is a tad on the low side. If I moved further than about two feet from the speaker, my voice became a lot fainter. Other reviewers have tested the StormBox Mini+ for phone calls and noted that the speaker disconnected. I had no such problems. I also had no problem summoning Siri. A long press on the multifunction button was followed by two tones, one to confirm the long press and a second to let you know Siri was now listening.
Tribit claims you’ll get 12 hours of playtime on a single charge (you’ll need 2.5 hours to charge it from empty). If you keep the volume at 50% and turn off the LED ring, you’ll probably get pretty close to that number. In my testing, using a variety of volume levels (mostly above 50%), with the ring lit continuously, it was closer to 9.5 hours. These aren’t the best specs for a portable speaker, but given that you can get almost a whole day out of a charge, they aren’t a deal-breaker, either.
The StormBox Mini+ has no shortage of competitors in the portable Bluetooth speaker market. You can go smaller and less expensive with the Soundcore Select 4 Go, you can spend more for slightly better sound in UE Wonderboom 4, and the sky’s the limit for more powerful options, including the excellent JBL Flip 7 ($150), Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 ($150), and Marshall Middleton ($320). However, I’d argue that for its unique combination of price, sound quality, and features, you’d be hard pressed to find another waterproof model that checks as many boxes.
