Marshall Monitor II A.N.C. Headphone - Black

Product Information

Fans of Marshall's stageside equipment will likely appreciate the design of the Monitor from the get-go. But what about everyone else? The brass and metal touches combined with textured plastic and leathery features are, altogether, more than enough to construct an appealing product. That said, I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed listening to them. Vocals are conveyed with clarity, with mids engaged slightly higher with ANC turned on, making for an involving listen. Plus, there’s a good amount of flow to their energy. The Marshall Monitor headphones are probably the most compact over-ear headphones I’ve ever seen in my life. They are particularly small when you collapse them by folding the two earcups inwards, I can easily hold the headphones in one hand then. This is extremely helpful when you need to carry full-size headphones around and don’t have much space inside your bag. Collapsible earcups Another attractive feature is the ability to share your audio using the included 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable. Plug the cable into the Major IV, connect it to any pair of headphones with a 3.5mm port and whatever you’re listening to will be played through the other device as well. A section of the cable stretches so you don’t have to worry about pulling the headphones off your head if one of you moves, which is a nice touch. Opportunities to take advantage of such a feature may not present themselves too often – particularly at the moment – but it’s a thoughtful and useful inclusion nonetheless.

We pushed our selection of Marshall headphones through a range of music genres - from bass-heavy bruisers, riff-filled wonders and gentle acoustic pieces to get a proper feel for what they can deliver. I wore them for a few journeys on a particularly raucous stretch of the Central Line on the London Underground and was immediately clear to me that the Marshall, while reasonably effective, struggle to deaden as much of the roar and rattle of the carriages as its rivals. Even the older Bose QuietComfort 35 II are better than the Marshall Monitor II ANC. The mic offers solid intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded clearly. There wasn't much in the way of Bluetooth distortion, and the audio was crisp. Our only complaint is that the mic signal seems a little faint. ConclusionsMarshall claims these headphones offer battery life up to 30 hours with active noise cancellation activated, which puts them among units such as the Sony WH-1000XM3 and B&W PX7. Turn ANC off and it’s 45 hours. A 15-minute top-up is enough for five hours, and charging to full battery takes two hours.

The arms of the headphones are adjustable but the mechanism behind this feature is neatly hidden by the headband. Adjusting them is as simple as pulling the earcup down from the headband and there’s a good size range available. We tried the headphones on a group of people of varying head size and none of them had any trouble getting the cups to fit comfortably over their ears. I also love that the headphones come with a detachable coiled cord as the length is flexible without creating a mess of tangled cable, you can also find an in-line remote and microphone on the cable. Besides, the earpads are very easy to replace, there seem to be magnets inside and I just need to snap the earpads into place. Audio Quality When it comes to testing the best Marshall headphones, we first and foremost took a dive into their audio delivery. As you'd expect with a product carrying the Marshall name, we have high expectations due to their legendary status in the music world and it was the obvious place to start. A Tidal Master stream of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song zips along enjoyably, and while there are probably aspects I could point out – the Marshalls aren’t the most revealing or the richest-sounding pair – they make listening sessions less a chore and more fun.Which is why it’s pleasing to note that noise cancellation is impressive. Wearing them on a flight, the Monitor II ANC significantly reduced the hum of the plane and passenger noise. With a baby wailing in the seat behind, the headphones nullified the sound to the point where I forgot the baby was even there. The Monitor II ANC couldn’t have been treated to a better audition.

The ANC doesn't seem to affect the sound signature when audio was playing, which is a common pitfall of wireless ANC. Generally speaking, the noise cancellation here is useful, but it's not as effective as what you get from Apple or Bose. If you do ever run out of battery you can always rely on the cable that comes with the headphones. This cable as we said previously is well-designed and it features a button for pausing and playing your music as well as taking and rejecting calls.Marshall estimates battery life to be up to 30 hours with Bluetooth and ANC on, or up to 45 hours with just Bluetooth, but your results will vary with your volume levels. Performance

A fair question, seeing as Marshall’s focus for decades was guitar amps. The answer is, at least for some models (the ones featured in this guide, basically), very. The brand channels a formidable live music legacy, and that plays a part in how they’re tuned and their distinctive style look. The same goes for Marshall speakers, too. One of our favorite features by far is the multi-purpose control knob on the left ear cup which neatly offers a variety of controls meaning you truly get to take advantage of the wire free Bluetooth technology by leaving your device in your bag. We Disliked It’s a similar tale in busy transport terminals – and while not unexpected, it makes the signal strength of the Cleer FLOW II even more miraculous. Sound quality

So, going wire free is great from a design standpoint but how does it actually work when using the Marshall Monitors? The low-end gets a workout with Hudson Mohawke x Lunice’s Higher Ground from the TNGHT album. Bass flexes its muscles, but it isn’t as deep or as muscular as the Sony WH-1000XM3. The Monitor II ANC also leave the impression they could sift out more detail in the treble, with a soundstage that’s less spacious than competing sets. These headphones are compact and, although they weigh a surprising 320g, the Monitor II ANC fit well; they don’t feel particularly heavy on the head. Extended sessions did result in some minor discomfort around the earlobes, however. Usability is good – one touch controls Play/Pause, two touches will skip you forward. The buds will Auto Pause when you take them from your ears.