Tribit has established itself as the go-to choice if you need a value-focused Bluetooth speaker. Having used the StormBox Blast, the all-new StormBox Blast 2, and the diminutive StormBox 2, I can say with some confidence that Tribit knows what it’s doing in this area.
The Blast 2 continues to be a terrific all-rounder if you need a party speaker, but it is quite heavy, and it’s overkill in most situations. That’s where the StormBox Lava slots in; it is considerably smaller — and easily portable — but you still get 80W of sound in total, and all the extras. The StormBox Lava is available for $139 on Amazon, and that’s a decent value when you consider the caliber of the sound.
Like other StormBox products, the Lava has a design that doesn’t grab much attention. It’s sold in a black color option, and while the build quality is great, you miss out on fun colors that are offered with Bose and Ultimate Ears products. That’s a minor quibble as these things go, because the color ultimately doesn’t make much of a difference in usability.
The Lava has an oblong design, and while it doesn’t have 360-degree sound, you get four audio drivers that deliver a total of 80W of power. The back of the unit houses the ports — behind a protective cap — and you get USB-A alongside USB-C and a 3.5mm jack. Thankfully, the Lava charges via the standard USB-C port, so you don’t have to worry about using a dedicated barrel connector.
Image 1 of 3
What I like about the Lava is that it gets a strap that lets you carry it around. This makes it highly convenient, and you get a shoulder strap along with a detachable handle — which is a nice touch. There’s IP67 dust and water resistance as standard, making it ideal to use at the pool.
There are onboard controls at the front, including a power button, Bluetooth pairing mode, volume up/down, music playback button, and dedicated buttons to launch the XBass mode and connect another Lava as a stereo pair. Overall, the build quality is great, and after a month of regular use, I didn’t see any issues whatsoever.
The StormBox Lava connects via Bluetooth 5.4, and I paired it with my Vivo X200 Pro, X200 Ultra, iPad Pro M4, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. The ability to plug in an aux cable is a nice addition, and I was able to connect it to my Arturia MiniFreak and Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field synths without any problems.
The Lava gets dual 10W tweeters combined with two 30W woofers, and it manages to deliver a vibrant and engaging sound. Like other Tribit products, the focus is clearly on low-end energy, and the Lava produces a rumbling bass that makes listening to modern music highly enjoyable.
If you need even more bass, the custom XBass mode provides a noticeable difference to the rumble and energy. The sound quality in general is oriented toward bass-focused music, and if that’s what you like listening to, you’ll definitely enjoy the tonality of the Lava.
Tribit lets you adjust the sound to some degree via its mobile app, and although there isn’t a 10-band EQ, you get to tweak the sound in a meaningful way. The speaker has rubber feet at the bottom that ensures it stays planted, and at 6.13lb, it isn’t heavy enough that it’s cumbersome to carry.
A lot of that weight has to do with the battery; the StormBox Lava has a 42.3Wh battery, and it delivers over 18 hours of use between charges with XBass mode enabled. That’s a good thing, because charging the speaker takes over five hours, and there’s no fast charging. An interesting addition is reverse charging — you can use the Lava to charge your phone at 10W.
The only feature that’s missing is high-res codecs; the Lava has the standard SBC and AAC codecs, and you don’t get any AptX. This is an issue with most Bluetooth speakers anyway, and honestly, it isn’t a huge limiting factor. At the end of the day, the StormBox Lava produces highly detailed sound with a clear bass-focused signature, and it’s a definite contender if you need a powerful Bluetooth party speaker.
With powerful sound and a portable design, the Lava is a terrific Bluetooth party speaker.
Source link