Marshall Middleton Speaker Review: Fantastic sound quality and portability
Founded in 1962, Marshall is a well-respected and loved, British audio company that is best known for making amps, speakers, and headphones.
They are probably most famous for their guitar amplifiers, which are some of the most sought-after and recognisable in the world, as well as simply the loudest money can buy. Their reputation with musicians both old, new, professional, and amateur is beyond reproach and has been established over decades.
Much like Marshall's other speakers, the Marshall Middleton takes inspiration from its amplifiers, coming in two colours - black and brass, and cream. It has the typical amp meshing on the front stamped with the Marshall Logo and features a brass button on the top designed to look like a volume knob.
The Marshall Middleton is a great looking portable speaker, costing around £270. (Marshall)It's portable, measuring just 109 mm x 230 mm x 95 mm, and weighs 1.8 kg. This is a reasonably compact speaker that isn't too bulky and is easily able to fit into your backpack or handbag. It is, however, quite heavy when compared with other speakers on the market.
I struggled to move this with one hand, even with the included rubber handle, and I'm an adult male - I can't envisage easily balancing this in my hands while I move my towels around in the bathroom, or juggling it with other carrier bags if I'm on a trip to the beach.
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The build quality is exceptional - the added weight provides a bit of bulk that really feels sturdy, and won't easily be knocked over or blown around if you're outdoors. It also feels like it's made of good quality material, ensuring that the insides are as protected as they can be. The Marshall Middleton is also IP67 rated, meaning it's waterproof up to one meter and completely protected against dust ingress.
Although the knob looks like a dial that twists, it isn't - it's a four-directional button capable of increasing the volume and skipping the song forward or back.
A sliding LED to the left of the button displays the volume level, and the speaker offers exceptional sound quality at all volumes. It also gets loud - it's potentially one of the loudest speakers I've ever heard.
The speaker is IP67 rated, meaning its waterproof up to depths of 1m. (Marshall)You also have complete control over the bass and treble of the sound, thanks to analogue controls on the top of the speaker.
The speaker charges using an included USB-c cable, however, it doesn't come with a wall plug. This is something that is mildly inconvenient but is becoming more common as time goes on. It charges quickly, with just 20 minutes of charge giving 2 hours of playtime, and the battery in total holds over 20 hours of playtime.
The speaker is primarily Bluetooth, using Bluetooth 5.1 up to a range of 30ft. It does unfortunately only support the SBC codec, although you wouldn't realise this when listening to the speaker given the exceptional sound quality. Multiple speakers can also be "stacked", allowing to spread multiple speakers out in a surround setup, or just turn the volume up to eleven.
The sound quality is amazing, and is where the speaker really shines - it boasts a Dynamic Driver, a frequency range of 50 Hz - 20,000 Hz, and contains two 15W woofers, two 10W tweeters, and two passive radiators.
It offers great quality at all volumes and frequencies, with almost no distortion at maximum volume. The lows are deep and punchy, and the mids and highs are crisp and clean. The Marshall Middleton also manages to keep the bass discernable at low volumes, which is something a lot of speakers fail to do.
The Marshall Middleton pairs well with the Marshall app, which lets you customise your sound without using the buttons on the top of the speaker. (Marshall)The speaker integrates well with the Marshall app, which lets you customise your sound using the built-in Equaliser. This has some presets, and is a slightly more convenient way to do things than pushing buttons on top of the speaker.
The biggest drawback of this speaker however is the price point: it's not cheap, coming in at around £270 depending on where you shop. It's not that it's not worth the money - you won't find a better speaker at this price point - it is just a lot of money to shell out on a speaker.
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Marshall Middleton Verdict - 5/5
The bottom line here is that you'll really struggle to fault the Marshall Middleton - It's simply an awesome speaker if you've got pockets that are deep enough for it. The sound quality is spectacular, and the volumes it can reach will really knock your socks off.
If your priorities are a loud speaker that doesn't compromise on sound quality, you will be hard pushed to find a better fit than this. It's also rugged and sturdy while staying compact and portable, even if it is a bit on the heavy side.
Comparing this speaker to the alternatives on the market, it really packs a punch - isn't just an entry-level speaker, appealing mostly to the more demanding music fans who give no quarter when their music is concerned.
The Marshall Middleton is available now from Amazon or Argos for £269.99, or from most other places you'd normally consider getting your electronics from.
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