Marshall is one of the most popular brands
in the music industry. If you’ve ever seen a rock concert, you couldn’t have
missed the massive speakers with the iconic Marshall logo on stage. Unlike some
traditionalist companies that are slow to embrace change, Marshall has
successfully branched out to satisfy the needs of the modern-day audiophile.
Which these days means streaming music from your phone, often to a Bluetooth
speaker.
Marshall already has a very extensive
lineup of Bluetooth speakers and now it’s adding another member to it. The new
Marshall Emberton is improving on two important aspects that were often keeping
users away from the brand: price and portability. Now, Marshall had a few
portable speakers already, but even the smallest of the bunch, the Stockwell
II, wasn’t small enough to casually slip into your bag and carry around.
Although still on the bulky side, the Emberton is significantly smaller and
weighs only around 1.5 pounds.
Don’t worry, though, there’ve been no sacrifices
when it comes to design. The Emberton still has the Marshall logo and a metal
mesh at the front, giving it that signature look fans of the brand will be
looking for. When it comes to sound, the Emberton won’t disappoint you. It
offers full and rich 360-degree sound thanks to the mesh on the back, and you
better believe it’s loud.
Marshall has made the Emberton to follow
you everywhere, no matter the conditions. It has an IPX7 rating, which means
even if it takes a dip in your pool, it’s not an issue. The battery life is
quite good as well, rated for over 20 hours of playback and it supports quick
charge via USB Type-C, giving you 5 hours of music after just 20 minutes of
charging. That’s not a feature you see on many speakers.
One feature you do see on many speakers,
but the Emberton lacks, is the ability to make calls through it. There’s no
microphone on it, which also means no voice assistant support. Is that a big
deal? Depends on the type of user you are, but we don’t consider it a major
loss. Now for the price. The Marshall Emberton costs US$ 150, which is US$ 20 below
the price of the Stockwell II, making it the cheapest Marshall Bluetooth
speaker so far. And while that’s still far from cheap, Marshall is a premium
brand and US$ 150 is still less than a pair of AirPods.
Overall, the Emberton is a great addition
to Marshall’s range of Bluetooth speakers and will likely become its best
selling one.
