At a look
Professional’s Score
Professionals
- Wonderful bass
- Powerful, rugged development
- Loud, good high quality sound
Cons
- Costly
- Comparatively sluggish charging
Our Verdict
If cash is not any object, Marshall’s Middleton is the Bluetooth speaker to purchase. It’s that good.
Bluetooth audio system, notably the moveable, battery-powered variety, are among the finest equipment you should purchase in your telephone. You possibly can take heed to music wherever you go, whether or not it’s transferring from room to room at house, out within the backyard or in your travels.
Marshall’s Middleton sits fairly excessive up within the vary of what most individuals are ready to pay for a Bluetooth speaker, however it justifies its value with frankly excellent sound high quality, 20 hours of battery life and IP67 mud and water resistance amongst different issues.
Options & design
- Rugged rubber casing
- Bass and treble controls
- USB-C and aux enter
The Middleton carries over the design of Marshall’s Emberton speaker however is bigger and heavier. It’s paying homage to Marshall’s guitar amplifier heads, though it’s price figuring out that the Middleton is definitely made by Swedish firm Zound and never Marshall Amplification. However this distinction is just about moot now that the 2 firms have joined forces to create the Marshall Group.
Firm information apart, the oblong type issue and hefty weight means the Middleton could be very unlikely to get knocked over and even when it does, it feels powerful sufficient to shrug it off.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Controls are all on prime, with a brass-coloured multi-directional button within the centre. Up and down regulate quantity (amazingly exactly) and left and proper skip tracks. It’s additionally the facility and play/pause button.
There are bass and treble controls so you may regulate EQ with out resorting to the app, and there are additionally two buttons with hard-to-see labels for Bluetooth pairing (or Stack mode) and battery standing.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Regardless of the absence of a canopy for the USB-C and three.5mm minijack connectors, the Middleton has an IP67 ranking. Meaning it might survive being absolutely submerged in half a metre of water for half-hour.
But when that occurs, it’s in all probability a good suggestion to blow any water out of these ports and look forward to them to totally dry earlier than utilizing them.
Within the field you get a USB-C cable for charging, however no precise charger, and a sturdy rubber carry strap.
Charging is surprisingly sluggish, taking 4.5 hours if the battery is totally flat. Even Marshall’s larger, costlier Tufton (which additionally claims 20 hours of playback) prices in nearly half this time.
You should use the USB-C port to cost your telephone or pill: nice in case your system additionally makes use of USB-C, however trickier in case you don’t have, say, a USB-C to Lightning cable for an iPhone.
Marshall has thought-about the setting, and says the Middleton is created from 55% post-consumer recycled plastic from used electronics, water bottles and automotive mild covers.
Sound high quality
- 2x 20W amplifiers for 3in 15W woofers
- 2x 10W amplifiers for 3.5in 10W tweeters
- Passive bass radiators
The Middleton is the best-sounding Bluetooth speaker I’ve ever heard. I imply, it must be good contemplating the value, however it’s astounding.
As you may anticipate from the specs above it’s lots loud, however essentially the most spectacular factor about it’s the bass. Usually, you settle for {that a} smallish moveable speaker will fail to supply the bottom frequencies and so that you gained’t hear sure components (or any) of the bass traces within the tracks properly.
And but the Middleton can. For its measurement, the bass it produces is significantly spectacular, no matter the kind of music you prefer to take heed to. From pop and rock by way of to jazz and soul – even classical – it packs a punch that belies its measurement.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Even while you decrease the quantity, that bass doesn’t disappear, which is refreshing. The passive radiators are situated at both finish, with grilles masking them and the woofers and tweeters face forwards.
Though sound needs to be produced with none mid-range drivers, vocals are clear and highly effective and there aren’t any apparent lacking frequencies, no muddiness or overlapping of devices.
General, readability is superb and also you’ll hear all of the element within the music you stream to the Middleton –regardless of the very fact it helps solely the fundamental SBC codec. You actually wouldn’t know this with out trying on the specs.
There’s completely no distortion at regular listening ranges and I by no means felt the necessity to flip it as much as the max.
Jim Martin / Foundry
If you would like extra quantity – and have deep pockets – you may pair a number of Middletons in ‘Stack’ mode. You don’t need to bodily put them on prime of one another, so you may place them on reverse sides of a room, or as much as 10m aside outdoor.
Within the week or so I’ve been testing the Middleton it hasn’t wanted recharging. I’ve used it quite a bit, and don’t have any issues that the declare of 20 hours is overblown.
Value & availability
At £269.99 direct from Marshall Headphones, the Middleton is costly.
It’s $299.99 within the US, once more direct from the Marshall Headphones web site.
You can too purchase it from Amazon UK and Amazon US for a similar costs.
It’s cheaper than the Sonos Transfer, which additionally helps multi-room, however in case you’re in search of a good-sounding Bluetooth speaker on a tighter price range, then learn our Emberton II assessment or check out our roundup of the perfect Bluetooth audio system.
Verdict
A few of the Middleton’s closest rivals come from JBL together with the Excessive 3 and Cost 5. However neither of those has the basic seems to be (or the model) that the Marshall Middleton does.
If the value doesn’t put you off, otherwise you discover it on sale for nearer to £220 / $250, then you shouldn’t have any hesitation in shopping for a Middleton at present.