Marshall Middleton review: Clarity, thump, and sonic excellence

At a look

Knowledgeable’s Score

Execs

• Wonderful readability and separation
• Tight, punchy bass–and loads of it
• IP67 safety from the weather
• 20-hour battery life

Cons

• Significantly costlier than the competitors in its class

Our Verdict

If its hefty price ticket isn’t a barrier for you, the Marshall Middleton is the best-sounding, mid-sized, moveable Bluetooth speaker we’ve examined. It additionally carries an IP67 weatherization ranking, which makes its superior sonics a minor miracle.

The Marshall Middleton mid-sized moveable Bluetooth speaker prices three or extra instances greater than most of its competitors, however its sonic efficiency, construct high quality, iconic design, and safety from the weather totally justifies its price ticket.

Marshall-branded audio system like this one attraction to guitar-hero aficionados of a sure age and earnings bracket. The audio system’ industrial design echoes that of the top models of the very loud, extremely standard guitar amplifiers that rock stars starting from Eric Clapton to Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, and dozens extra started utilizing within the Nineteen Sixties. I point out earnings bracket right here as a result of Marshall-branded audio system are typically costly.

In case you’re not conscious, Marshall audio system and headphones are constructed by the Swedish firm Zound Industries underneath license from Marshall Amplification; i.e., the corporate that builds Marshall amps isn’t immediately concerned with the design and manufacture of those different merchandise. Given the standard of this speaker, that shouldn’t hassle anybody; we simply wish to make that clear as a result of the advertising and marketing doesn’t.

This evaluation is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best Bluetooth speakers.

Designed from a basic previous

The Marshall Middleton measures 4.29 x 9.06 x 3.74 inches (HxWxD), and its strong construct high quality ends in a 4-pount carry weight. A mushy, removable lanyard makes it straightforward to hold (extra on that later). Having owned a number of Marshall amps, I discover the Middleton extra paying homage to, than immediately resembling the basic look. The silicone-like protecting on the highest, backside and sides is black, not the darkish inexperienced most Marshall amps sported. The entrance grille is thatched considerably like trendy guitar speaker cupboards, if not essentially Marshall varieties. There may be, in fact, the acquainted brass Marshall brand on the entrance, in addition to an in-theme gold rocker button on high of the unit.

There are additionally grilles on the again and every finish of the speaker (for passive radiators), however these are merely gap patterns, they’re not thatched, just like the entrance. There are two 3-inch woofers inside the cupboard, every pushed by a 20-watt Class D amplifier, and two 0.6-inch tweeters. Every of the tweeters is pushed by a 10-watt Class D amp. That’s a good quantity of juice for a speaker of this measurement, and the Marshall Middleton does get fairly loud.

You possibly can take this speaker nearly wherever, assured by the producer’s IP67 weatherization ranking. That IP code means the Marshall Middleton is impervious to mud ingress and that it will probably face up to immersion in as much as one meter (3.28 ft) of water for half-hour with out failing. On condition that there’s an uncovered USB-C port (for charging its battery or for utilizing that battery to cost one other machine, similar to you smartphone) and a 3.5mm aux enter on the again of its cupboard, I discover that ranking a tad shocking. I don’t know the way Zound retains the water out, however this isn’t the one speaker I’ve encountered to make such a declare, so there have to be a trick to it. All the identical, I’d ensure that these ports are totally dried earlier than plugging something in if the unit takes a swim.

Jon L. Jacobi

The controls on high of the unit encompass the aforementioned multi-function rocker swap, which serves because the on/off (press and maintain), quantity (up/down), earlier/subsequent/ahead (proper/left), and cease (fast press). Separate touch-sensitive strips regulate bass and treble ranges (press the highest of the strip to spice up, and the underside to chop), in addition to small buttons for Bluetooth pairing and battery-level checking.

There’s additionally a dual-purpose degree indicator for the tone controls and battery to the left of the multi-function rocker button. Whereas the controls are straightforward to make use of, they’re not significantly straightforward to see and also you’ll word within the picture beneath within the Sound part.

The lanyard I discussed earlier folds underneath and round an attachment rod embedded within the high right-hand nook of the speaker cupboard. A mixture of a pressure-fit publish and screw-in cap retains the entire deal collectively. I’m probably not doing it justice right here, however it’s giant sufficient and mushy sufficient to make the 4-pound speaker snug to hold. And sure, it appears very very like a guitar strap.

Sound and run time

To be utterly sincere, I’ve heard different Marshall-branded audio system that sounded excellent, however not fairly pretty much as good as their value tags would recommend, so I used to be able to promote this one quick. That may’ve been a mistake.

The Marshall Middleton is well the best-sounding, weather-resistant, mid-sized moveable speaker I’ve heard. It vies for better of breed even earlier than contemplating IP67 ranking. I can’t really keep in mind a Bluetooth speaker that created a greater first impression taking part in the Jerry Goldsmith’s (RIP) theme to Star Trek: First Contact. It shone with AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” Toto’s “Africa,” and every little thing else I threw at it.

Jon L. Jacobi

What are the tonal traits that impressed me so? First, there was readability. I did knock the treble up a notch or two, however the high finish was salient with out being harsh, as so many small audio system are when over-EQ’d. Cymbals glisten, for those who’ll pardon the poetic license. There’s additionally loads of thump; i.e., bass response. As a matter of truth, sitting on my desk I needed to dial again the low finish because of a surfeit of bass because of acoustic coupling with the wooden. The low finish can also be what’s recognized within the enterprise as “tight,” avoiding the floppiness within the decrease registers that you just discover in a lot of the competitors.

Mid-range is properly outlined, and there’s little of the overlap that muddy this portion of the sonic spectrum with many small audio system. However what actually astounded me was the sense of stereo separation. It’s not as properly outlined as it will be with discrete enclosures, however with the speaker going through immediately at me, I might pick the correct/left panning of many devices. That’s uncommon, particularly in a speaker of this measurement.

Many Marshall-branded Bluetooth audio system–together with this one–help a function that the producer calls “Stack mode.” This function permits a number of audio system to play the identical music from the identical supply. It is a clearly tongue-in-cheek reference to the apply of inserting a Marshall amp head atop two speaker cupboards to provide what’s famously generally known as a “Marshall stack.” There doesn’t appear to be help for True Wi-fi Stereo (TWS) right here, a know-how for creating stereo Bluetooth speaker pairs, and I didn’t have one other Marshall Middleton to check both state of affairs.

After listening to the Marshall Middleton at low quantity for about 8 hours, the speaker indicated I’d depleted half of its battery. That tells me the producer’s 20-hour battery-life declare is affordable. I’ve already talked about that this speaker will get loud, however I ought to hedge that remark by saying it’s loud for a mid-sized moveable Bluetooth speaker–don’t evaluate it to the a few of the 100-watt behemoths we’ve reviewed.

Dear, however one of the best

It goes towards my nature to definitively state that any mid-sized moveable speaker is value $300. However whilst you would possibly discover a speaker that approaches the Marshall Middleton’s sonic signature for much less, you’re unlikely to match it. This one’s been sitting on my desk far past the time different Bluetooth audio system are again of their field. Take into account {that a} sonic endorsement.