This is the review of the comparison between two speakers from two popular brands in the market such as the Tribit and the Ultimate Ears. The comparison here is between the Tribit StormBox Micro and the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2. There is more than fifteen dollars difference in their price range. To know whether the difference in their price range makes either of them worth buying or not, go to the detailed review.

Tribit StormBox Micro	Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Very compact (pocket-friendly). Good bass for a small speaker. USB-C charger. Waterproof. Affordable price. Exceptional Bluetooth range.	IP67 dust and water-resistant. Pair to another Wonderboom 2 for stereo sound. Two-year warranty. Portable and floats.
CONS	CONS
The battery could be better. Not the most directional-sounding speaker. Not the most directional-sounding speaker. No app.	No microphone. Distortion increases with volume. Micro USB charging.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Tribit StormBox Micro

The Tribit StormBox Micro is one of the popular portable speakers from Tribit. Tribit actually manufactures many speakers and retails them at a lower cost. This one is also one of the budget-friendly speakers from Tribit. This portable speaker is retailing for around fifty dollars currently on Amazon. Even though the price on this is low, the quality is not at all diminished by any means. 

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

The original Wonderboom really impressed me with its speaker quality and durability, so when I heard that the Wonderboom 2 had been announced, I was curious as to how Ultimate Ears improved on its design and feature set to make this the Ultimate Bluetooth speaker. The price on this differs based on the color you choose. So, if you want the cheapest one out of these then the black one will cost you around 66.99 dollars on Amazon.

DESIGN:

Tribit StormBox Micro

This comes with a built-in mount strap, it’s a rubber mount strap that’s perfect to put over the handlebars on a bicycle or maybe over the shoulder strap on your backpack which is pretty slick. On the front of the speaker, there are three buttons for controls there’s a minus and a plus for volume, and in the middle is their multifunction button that does basically everything else.

On one of the sides of the speaker is where there’s a power button, there’s the microphone, there’s a Bluetooth button, and then there’s a bunch of little tiny LEDs that actually give you battery status. It’s really good to have multiple lights, I really don’t like when there’s one light and you have to interpret flash patterns or colors or something. There are five lights for example if only three of them are illuminated, so we’re at 3/5 power. When you’re charging this up, it shows you how far you’ve charged and when they all turn off you’re fully charged and that gives you eight hours of playback.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

Taking a look at the Wonderboom 2 itself, it has a pretty similar design to its original counterpart although, from the looks of it, it’s ever so slightly taller like two millimeters, yet surprisingly 420 grams compared to 425 grams. Something that really stood out about the Wonderboom was its fabric design and Ultimate Ears have improved upon this with its use of a two-tone knit fabric. What this means is that there are new colors to choose from including deep-space black, radical red, Bermuda blue, just peach, and the crushed ice grey.

The Wonderboom wasn’t perfect I particularly didn’t like the fact that its button and control didn’t feel as responsive as I would have liked it to be. But Ultimate Ears have resolved this problem and with certainty that I’m happy with how the buttons feel in this and its responsiveness to actions including those plus and minus buttons for volume control. You’ll also find the Wonderboom 2 features an outdoor boost mode found on the bottom of the speaker and has a button that looks like a tree and when illuminated is activated.

FEATURES:

Tribit StormBox Micro

It has Bluetooth 5.0, eight hours of playing time on a charged USB Type-C for charging. It features X bass to give you more bass on these for little tiny speakers have a pretty remarkable amount of bass. Usually, little speakers are all about the highs and the mid ranges but this one they sort of managed to do a much better job. It also features IP67, which means it’s waterproof and dustproof, so you can use this in the shower, you can have this fall in the pool, and it’s not a crisis but this doesn’t float.

The multifunctional button in this speaker various functions on the basis of music mode and conversation mode. For music mode, short press it for play-pause, double press for a skip to next track, triple press for previous track, and press and hold to activate voice assistant. Since there’s a little tiny microphone, you can use this as a speakerphone device which is pretty slick, and then you can use that multifunction button to control your calls too which is called conversation mode. In this mode, short press is for answer the call or end the call, short press is for pause the current call and answers the incoming call and also, short press is to switch between two phone calls. Then, press and hold that button to reject the call. It works pretty well for calls, it sounds really nice and the person on the other end sounds really nice because of all the bass.

To pair this up, you just need to turn on the speaker by pressing the power button. Once you turn them on, they will automatically go into pairing mode. Then you need to search for the Tribit StormBox Micro in your Bluetooth setting the tap on it and that’s it you are done. To connect two speakers of the same model with each other to get party mode, press and hold the Bluetooth button for both the speakers for few seconds and after they get connected they will give you some voice prompts that they have been connected. To turn them into the stereo mode, press and hold the Bluetooth button on either of the speakers for few seconds then they will turn into the stereo mode, and also, they will give voice prompts of which one is the right channel and which one is the left channel.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

The Wonderboom 2 also features up to 13 hours of battery life, although it will depend on usage and we have a charge time of 2.6 hours. It’s a little faster but unfortunately what hasn’t been changed with this one is that it’s still using that micro USB port for charging. I really feel like the importance of USB Type-C hasn’t been taken into account from Ultimate Ears, and its user feedback and I think that if they were to support it, we might be able to see faster-charging options and obviously that reversible USB connector. It’s disappointing that in late 2021 we’re still seeing micro USB and though.

The Wonderboom 2 really stands out though is its durability factor with its IP67 rating, it’s able to be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes, and it’s dustproof while the Wonderboom with an IPX7 rating. The Wonderboom 2 can still connect to another Wonderboom 2 or Wonderboom speaker to sync music. Unfortunately, it can’t be connected with a Megaboom or Boom 3 speakers to sync music as well. Nonetheless, I think Ultimate Ears have listened to some of its user feedback, and whilst the Wonderboom 2 isn’t perfect in more areas than one it’s an easy recommendation to give. Honestly, I think that the Wonderboom 2 in my opinion sounds like Ultimate Ears are gonna have to give their other speaker lineup a bit of an upgrade.

SOUND QUALITY:

Tribit StormBox Micro

I tested out the sound quality on the Tribit StormBox Micro with a bunch of songs from different genres. It sounds pretty nice, it has a pretty nice rich sound and when we turn the volume up it sounds even more good and loud. Also, I have tested how does it sound when it’s connected with another speaker of the same model. At first, I tested out this in the party mode, and sounded really good when one speaker alone sounds loud enough then two of them together sound really loud, these are enough to have a great party. Then I have tested them out in the stereo mode, I was able to hear different music coming out of each of the two speakers, and obviously with anything stereo the further apart they are, generally the better it sounds.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

As far as the sound quality on this speaker, I have to say that I’m really impressed with what Ultimate Ears have done in this and personally, I think the Wonderboom 2 delivers a higher quality range than even some of its bigger speakers like the Megaboom and the Boom 3. Something I noticed straight off the bat was that the Wonderboom 2 now has an improved depth of rich turns for bass, also in terms of clarity for the mids to high regions, and even at higher volume levels, where it didn’t distort as much as the Wonderboom did. Also, I found with the outdoor boost mode which you could consider more of an equalized effect, the sound changes and the bass was reduced, mids to highs were more pronounced at a higher volume, and overall it had a bit of a tinny effect, which I wasn’t really a fan of.

WHICH ONE IS WORTH BUYING?

In my opinion, both of these speakers are worth buying for the price. But still, if you compare the sound on them alone then the Tribit StormBox Micro is worth buying than the Wonderboom 2 because the price on this is quite remarkably good for something with this level of sound. I mean this is really next-level sound, it’s really pretty impressive. But if you want long battery life then the Wonderboom 2 is worth buying for its price range.

Expert Reviews of Tribit StormBox Micro:

By cnet
Over the years Tribit has made some of the better budget portable Bluetooth headphones and speakers, starting with its XFree Tune and XSound Go…

By Tom’s Guide
The Tribit StormBox Micro Bluetooth speaker packs a lot of sound into a very portable package.

By What Hi-Fi?
Tribit Audio’s talented newcomer arrives as an undeniable contender in the budget speaker sphere…

By GearBrain
The Tribit StormBox Micro is a solid Bluetooth speaker, well-priced, with good sound. The speaker felt secure when attached through the rubber strap…

By Trusted Reviews
The StormBox Micro is a surprisingly good wireless speaker from Tribit. Its rugged design suits outdoor use, and the tear-resistant strap mean it can be used in a number of ways…

Expert Reviews of Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2:

By TechHive
This tiny speaker is entirely unimpressive, with thin, closed-in sound and wimpy bass. It’s hardened against the elements, but that doesn’t make up for poor sound quality.

By Craving Tech
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 is a wonderful piece of compact, portable, Bluetooth speaker that can withstand some punishment while letting out loud, clear sound even outdoor. While most small portable speakers can struggle in the midst of wind and chatter,…

By TheStreaminBlog
The original Wonderboom was already a well-designed speaker that delivers high-quality audio, and this newer version comes with enhanced features. The Wonderboom 2’s design has slight changes, while its 360-degree sound has a better bass response. It…

By MobileSyrup
“Its compact size, 100 percent passable sound, battery life, and waterproofing has made it the perfect speaker for me — and likely you as well depending on what you’re looking for from a portable…

BY TrustedReviews
With the Wonderboom 2, UE succeeds again – delivering a superb, big sound, with some useful features to boot – for the same price as the original at launch. Even though that model is now available at almost half its price, the Wonderboom 2’s refinements make it a choice pick.