Tribit XSound Mega review: Shooting for the moon

Tribit makes some of the greatest wireless audio gear, and sells it at mouth-watering prices. While the earphones and earbuds from the brand take the back seat, Tribit's Bluetooth speakers shine brightly in a sea of affordable speakers of all sorts.

The bass-connoisseur excels at the art of setting the perfect soundstage for picky ears. Models like the Max Sound Plus and the StormBox Micro have long been on our list of the absolute best Bluetooth speakers. Coming in hot on the heels of its glorious predecessors, the Tribit XSound Mega has some big shoes to fill in.

Does the Tribit XSound Mega live up to its name? I had the opportunity to put this portable speaker to the test, attempting to answer that very question. Honestly, I couldn't help feeling a little tired of the same old oblong design at first glance. Turning the XSound Mega on triggered the colorful RGB lights into action, washing away a lot of my initial misconceptions.

Price and availability

Tribit introduced the XSound Mega portable Bluetooth speaker in mid-January, 2022. The newest member of the XSound family of speakers sits above the entry-level XSound Go and the mid-tier MaxSound Plus. Tribit's XSound Mega portable speaker comes in a single black finish, with 24 LED lights underlining the grill's borders.

You can grab the Tribit XSound Mega from Amazon or Tribit directly for around $99.99 or lower if you're lucky, though the launch price was $109.99.

What you'll love

Tribit didn't change the shape of the XSound Mega speaker, sticking with the tried-and-tested oblong form factor that we saw on the XSound Go and MaxSound Plus Bluetooth speakers. Of course, the most visibly noticeable upgrade is the presence of 24 RGB LEDs embedded within the front-facing grills.

Aside from the light fixtures, you get all the same buttons on the top, lit up via LEDs for visual clarity. The physical buttons consist of the power, Bluetooth, pause/play, volume up, volume down, light mode, and EQ toggles. You might miss the newly-added metal hooks on the left and right sides of the speaker. These are meant for the included straps to latch onto, helping you hoist the XSound Mega on your shoulder.

On the back, the Tribit XSound Mega portable speaker features an AUX, a USB-C, and a USB-A port, all hidden away behind a sealed tab for waterproofing. With the tab tightly closed shut, this brilliant affordable Bluetooth speaker touts a robust IPX7 waterproof rating. All these deliberate little details deliver a practical, highly portable, and durable sound system without being boring. The overall structure is built to last, even if it looks a bit bland with the LEDs turned off. Once you enable them though, it feels like new life has been breathed into the Tribit XSound Mega.

There are three light modes that you can choose. The first one is a rotating unidirectional rainbow that shifts colors constantly; the second is a music-synced ambient mode where the light's hue, direction and speed shift according to the audio; and the third is another ambient mode where little bits of color-changing lights chase each other around the grill. The netted metal grill of the speaker adds a very retro vibe to the 24 RGB LEDs glowing underneath. I was instantly taken with the music-synced light modes and the understated, yet deep color payoff.

The guts are where things start to get even more interesting. Tribit outfitted the XSound Mega with 30W full-range titanium drivers under the hood. It is also equipped with dual-mode Bluetooth 5.0 for low latency, NFC for one-touch pairing, and a 98-foot wide range. You get a lightweight companion app with no frills that ensures a smooth setup and connection process.

Tribit really worked its magic with those titanium drivers. If you pick the Xbass EQ mode out of the three options available, you get the kind of bass that seeps into the very core of your being and makes you go fuzzy. Xbass is like audiophile witchcraft in action, boosting bass like nobody's business. The other two modes are called Music and Audio Book, and trust me when I say this, you'll probably never end up using them.

Xbass is the most addictive, fine-tuned, and well-balanced audio preset I have ever used on any Bluetooth speaker in this price range. Your toes will tingle with joy as the Tribit XSound Mega produces such rich, fruity, and crystal clear sound thumping out like a beating heart. To add the cherry on top, you can tinker around with each preset as well, customizing the preset EQ modes to meet the whims of your ear holes.

The XSound Mega's 10W USB-C port is supposed to charge the speaker, whereas the 10W USB-A port can be used to juice up other devices, converting this clever Bluetooth speaker into a portable battery pack if needs be. Tribit's XSound Mega has a 4,000mAh battery which manages to last for around 20 hours on conservative usage. Using the music-synced light modes and charging other devices off of it obviously reduce the uptime, but not by a whole lot.

What needs work

In all honestly, I found it very hard to find fault with the Tribit XSound Mega. There's the obvious lack of change in the design of the speaker, but the LED lights really work wonders in sprucing that up. The downside of maintaining the last-gen tubular form is the direction the speaker fires in. The included shoulder straps clearly illustrate that the Tribit XSound Mega is meant to face away from you while you carry it.

As it's a front-facing setup, you don't get very good audio playback quality if you're sitting behind the XSound Mega. Of course, this isn't an issue of monumental proportions, but hopefully Tribit will note things down in preparation for the next line of portable speakers. 360-degree audio adds depth and definitely sounds better in a scene involving multiple people seated around the speaker.

Another bone that I have to pick with Tribit is the inane charge time. It takes nearly four hours to juice up this bad boy, going from flat dead to a full 100% in about 3.5 hours. Since the Tribit XSound Mega features a USB Type-C port, I really wish it took better advantage of this by including a faster charging speed.

Can you imagine if they had incorporated support for 25W or 45W fast charging? How I dream of faster charging in such a capable little speaker. Sure, it might drive up the price a tad bit, but I think it's safe to say that we would all be willing to chip in $15 to $20 more to have a better charging speed in the XSound Mega.

Competition

There is absolutely no shortage of spectacular speakers below $100 out there. Brands like Ultimate Ears, Anker Soundcore, Sony, JBL, and Tronsmart all cater to this segment with much gusto. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 is the best of the best, offering an IP67 rating, 360-degree audio, and superb bass for about $99.99.

You're likely to find the UE Wonderboom 2 on discount for about $10 or $15 cheaper off and on. This teeny tiny Bluetooth speaker is travel friendly and far more resistant to the elements, but it falls behind when it comes to charging as well. The outdated micro-USB port on the Wonderboom 2 is a dying breed that deserves to stay dead.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the JBL Flip 5, which is another worthy alternative to the Tribit XSound Mega. You get that signature JBL sound that never fails to deliver, as well as IPX7 water resistance. The playback time is significantly shorter, averaging at about 12 hours.

Not many of these options offer LED lights, however. The LG XBOOM Go PL7 comes close, as does the Huawei Sound Joy. Unfortunately, the former fails to entice with its barely visible RGB rings and the latter isn't available in North America.

Should you buy it?

You should buy this if...

• You want excellent bass-ridden sound quality
• You want ambient RGB lights built-in
• You want a simple companion app
• Your budget is constricted to $100 or so
• You detest micro-USB charging ports (like me)

You shouldn't buy this if...

• You need a more robust IP rating than IPX7
• You're looking for something that charges exceedingly fast

The Tribit XSound Mega functions well in indoor and outdoor settings. You can crank the volume all the way up without risking screechy cracks. Those RGB lights put on a fantastic show for all to enjoy. The app's great, and it has a dark mode, but you won't even end up using it much because the buttons suffice. Tribit tailored the Xbass sound mode very skillfully. You'll find it hard not to fall in love with this splendid piece of audio gear.

Unlike the Tribit Flybuds C1 earbuds or the Tribit QuietPlus headphones, I can easily recommend anyone and everyone to get the XSound Mega without reservations. Why do I feel so confident in my suggestion? The answer here is that the Tribit XSound Mega is undoubtedly an unbeatable, value-packed Bluetooth speaker that doesn't fail to deliver, even in the face of stiff competition from brands like Sony and JBL.