Marshall Mode II headphones are caught between rock and a tough price

Marshall, the British company best known for its intense guitar amps, has also managed to build a solid reputation for headphones in recent years. Although they are a little expensive for what you get, I like the Marshall Monitor II ANC headphones for their style and smart mini joystick to control audio playback. But now Marshall is entering the real wireless headphones market – and it’s too late for the party.

The new Mode II headphones cost $ 179, go on sale on March 18, and aim to make up for Marshall’s late arrival with “phenomenal” sound, wireless charging, IPX4 water resistance and a design that feels like home. alongside the company’s other products. As a first attempt at real wireless, these headphones hit the price. But that price is also probably its biggest drawback.

They certainly look like Marshall’s headphones. The case has the same textured leather-like finish as the Monitor II headphones with the Marshall logo proudly embossed on the top and a USB-C port on the left side. Open it and you will find the headphones, three LEDs to indicate the charging status of the case and each button, and a golden round button inside the case for pairing. Marshall says the box has enough power to give the headphones four full charges. Since Mode II can last up to five hours of direct listening, this puts you in 25 hours in total.

The headphones have a matte black finish with a very prominent “M”; you’re definitely using the Marshall brand with this. They are very compact and not as robust as some competitors like the Jabra Elite 75t. Marshall includes four sizes of silicone earbuds in the box – including an XL option, which is nice to see. Some foam tips would be even better.

Marshall’s signature control button is somewhat impractical for headphones, so, like countless others, Mode II headphones use touch gestures. The controls are not customizable and, unfortunately, you have no way to adjust the volume directly:

Left earphone

Tap once for transparency mode or to answer a call
Double tap for voice assistant

Right earphone

Tap once to pause / play or to answer a call
Double tap to skip to the next track
Tap three times to return to the last track

Sometimes it would take a tougher touch than I expected to register some of these commands, especially with the right headset. These firm beats pushed the headset deeper into my ear, which was unpleasant.

I also found some strange bugs with Mode II, like the one in which the right earphone didn’t play any audio until I touched it. Occasionally, there were some noticeable balance / phase problems with the vocals sliding between the left and right headphones. These two problems seem to have been mostly resolved with the latest firmware update, but it still appears sometimes. Marshall told me that another OTA update will be released before Mode II is shipped to customers to further improve performance.

Bugs aside, these headphones sound really good. I’ve been listening to The Hold Steady’s new album Open the police door, and there’s a lot going on in some of those songs. Mode II headphones do a good job of keeping everything – guitars, metals, keys, vocals, drums – distinctive in the mix. The upper end frequencies may sound a little boosted in some ranges, depending on how they were produced, but it is not at all penetrating. And the Marshall app offers full equalization control if you’re not satisfied with the standard “Marshall sound” tuning. AAC and SBC codecs are supported.

As always, fit and a good seal are essential to obtain the best sound. And this is especially true here. Even when I have the XL tips, this is the type of headphone that I need to fit the ear in the right way if I want maximum bass and a balanced sound environment. They never seem loose, but something about the fit can be a little sickening in my experience, while I can just put on other headphones without thinking about it too much.

Mode II headphones do not include any active noise cancellation, but Marshall has added a transparency mode in case you need to hear more clearly what is going on around you. The best I can say about this feature is that it can be repaired, but the ambient sound is much more muted than the natural, airy modes of other headphones. The performance of the voice call is average: the people I spoke to were able to hear me very well, but they noticed that my voice sounded a little empty and high-pitched – something that was also true when I heard voice memo samples.

Completing the features, Marshall includes automatic pause when you remove a button, and they should be suitable for normal exercise, thanks to an IPX4 rating. Like the vast majority of true wireless headsets, they do not support multipoint for two simultaneous Bluetooth connections. But you can I use any of them independently.

If Marshall Mode II buttons cost $ 130 or $ 100, I think I would have a more positive overview of them. But for $ 180, they don’t have any real stand-out tricks that make me catch up with established competitors. The case is stylish, completely portable and includes wireless charging. Sound quality is good, but not to the point that Marshall defeats competitors in the same price range. In addition, you can get a set of genuine wireless headphones with proper noise cancellation, spending $ 30 to $ 50 more.

Arriving at the group so late, Marshall really needed to turn the dial up to 11. But Mode II headphones don’t get there, and the style points count less here than with the company’s wireless headphones, where the cool design it’s so visible.

Photograph by Chris Welch / The Verge