Again, when it comes to bass, you have to keep expecting. Despite the festive LED lighting show, it is not a party speaker. You’ll hear some lows, and you might feel them if you put the speakers on a large surface like a non-marble kitchen counter. I have no complaints about its size. Additionally, if you place the Stormbox mini+ in the corner or against a wall, the boundary gain effect can provide significant bass enhancement.
Tribit’s new addition, application-based EQ features are worth trying. The available nine-channel custom equalizer is an overkill for such a small speaker, but I have to hand it over to the distribution: If you are going to provide an equalizer, you need to have people save the mixture they like, which allows you to save 15. I had better luck with five built-in presets (music, audiobooks, classical, rock and jazz).
Close to the phone
Photo: Simon Cohen
The speaker phone functions very well. That is, the gain on the built-in microphone is a little bit on the low side. If I were about two feet away from the speaker, my voice became very stupid. Other reviewers have tested the Stormbox mini+ for phone calls and noted that the speakers are disconnected. I don’t have such a problem. I also have no problem summoning Siri. There was a long press on the multifunction button, followed by two tones, one to confirm the long pressure, letting you know that Siri is listening now.
Tribit claims you will get 12 hours of playback time for a single fee (you need 2.5 hours to charge from the air). If you keep the volume at 50% and turn off the LED ring, it may be very close to that number. In my tests, using various volume levels (mostly above 50%), the rings lit up continuously and it was close to 9.5 hours. These aren’t the best specs for portable speakers, but given that you can get almost a full day out of fees, they’re not deal-breakers either.
The Stormbox Mini+ has many competitors in the portable Bluetooth speaker market. You can use the SoundCore Select 4 Go for smaller and less expensive, you can spend more sound in UE Wonderboom 4, and the sky is the limit of a stronger choice, including the excellent JBL Flip 7 ($150), Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 ($150), and Marshall Middleton ($320). However, I think it’s hard to find another waterproof model for checking the box due to the unique combination of price, sound quality and functionality.
