£180, marshallheadphones.com
Marshall’s transfer into the world of wi-fi audio system in 2016 was unsurprising, given the corporate’s legendary place within the historical past of guitar amps. Extra just lately, it’s entered the wi-fi earbud market, first with the satisfactory Motif ANC and now with a brand new and up to date mannequin, the Motif II ANC.
Priced at £180, they’re priced equally to Apple’s third-generation AirPods however considerably lower than the acclaimed Bose QuietComfort Extremely and Sony WF-1000XM5.
In these buds, Marshall explicitly leans on its iconic branding and design — which isn’t a criticism; many corporations would kill for the popularity it has. This begins with the case and its faux-crocodile-skin fashion end, the identify emblazoned throughout the entrance in that basic font (virtually prefer it’s cloned from a Marshall stack). The earbuds share this really feel, their stems completed in cross-hatched steel and the ends in the identical copper of an amp head’s dials. Crucially, none of this comes off as gimmicky — the varied items all have a high-end {and professional} aura about them.
How good is the battery lifetime of the Marshall Motif II ANC?
The case prices over USB-C or wirelessly and battery life has been improved over the originals, with common listening offering 9 hours of playback within the buds and 43 hours within the case. This drops fairly a bit if you activate the ANC, nevertheless, to only six hours within the buds and 30 within the case. That’s truly comparable with Apple’s AirPods Professional 2 however considerably lower than Soundcore’s Liberty 4 NC, which value rather less.
To be clear, the battery life isn’t dangerous, however it’s mid-range if, as many individuals do, you principally use them with ANC on. It’s a disgrace the battery life hasn’t been vastly improved for the reason that first model of Motif the place it was equally common, as we identified. Nonetheless, each the case and buds totally recharge in 90 minutes and a fast, 15-minute cost will provide you with as much as an hour of playback. There’s an attention-grabbing battery preservation possibility accessible the place you possibly can forestall charging to 100 per cent to increase battery life, as many smartphones now do.
![The Motif II ANC earbuds in use](https://musictech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marshall-Motif-II-ANC-in-use-credit-Kevin-Castanheira@1050x1400.jpg)
How do you join the Marshall Motif II ANC?
You possibly can pair the Motif II to your units with a easy button press. Multipoint connectivity is supported so you possibly can flip between units simply. Although they don’t technically require it, you’ll wish to obtain the Marshall cellular app to do some setup.
The buds have contact surfaces that may be customised to carry out actions like quantity, playback, answering calls and so forth. They’re fairly delicate, which suggests they work properly except you’re the sort of one who finds all of it too simple to set off them whereas adjusting a bud in your ear by chance — however they are often deactivated totally. One possibility that catches the attention is assist for Spotify Faucet, an attention-grabbing characteristic that may play music primarily based in your suggestions if you carry out a particular faucet on a bud.
There are three ear tip sizes supplied, which is fewer than another fashions however in our assessments the default buds fitted supremely properly – ears do fluctuate in fact – and felt extremely safe. The physique of every bud nestles fairly deep into the ear canal and the stems sit flush in opposition to the decrease a part of the ear, giving them a really flat bodily profile when worn. We discover them to be very snug and under no circumstances liable to slipping free throughout motion. By the way, there’s IPX5 water resistance within the earbuds and IPX4 within the case, so going jogging shouldn’t be a difficulty. In-ear detection can pause sound when a bud is eliminated, and this feature will also be disabled.
![Motif II ANC touch controls on the Marshall app](https://musictech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marshall-app-touch-controls@1050x1605.jpg)
How good is Marshall Motif II’s lively noise cancelling?
The noise cancellation has ANC and Transparency modes, every with a number of degree settings. Each work properly; at most ANC, there’s nonetheless just a little bleed-through out of your environment however it’s barely noticeable when taking part in music except it’s one thing boisterous like a police siren going by. Marshall says it’s improved the decision high quality in these new fashions and making and taking voice calls labored in addition to most we’ve tried.
The codec assist is disappointing, with solely SBC and AAC accessible. This received’t bother Apple customers, whose telephones can solely assist these, however it could possibly be a difficulty for Android customers whose telephones can use aptX, LDAC and different higher-resolution codecs. Bluetooth 5.3 LE is supported, at the least, with an honest vary of 10 metres.
![The Motif II ANC earbuds and their case on a coffee table, photo by Kevin Castanheira](https://musictech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marshall-Motif-II-ANC-coffee-table-credit-Kevin-Castanheira@1050x1400.jpg)
How do the Marshall Motif IIs sound?
A 6mm dynamic driver is housed in every bud, with a normal frequency vary of 20 Hz to twenty kHz. Sonically, the Marshall Motif II ANCs might greatest be described as brash. That isn’t essentially a nasty factor — did anybody anticipate Marshall buds to be elegant?
To elaborate, their sound may be very upfront, particularly when pushed, with vivid energy within the low, mid and high-frequency ranges. The low-end is weighty however typically ideas over into boomy, and mids can appear fairly outstanding with some mixes. There’s additionally outstanding stereo separation, with panned components way more evident than on different earbuds, leaping from one facet to the opposite. Once more none of that is dangerous, simply one thing to concentrate on.
Marshall’s companion app has some preset EQs and a five-band guide possibility; in case you discover any ranges overly outstanding, you possibly can dial them again just a little. We definitely don’t discover any of them want boosting because the buds’ sound is already very in-your-face. Nonetheless, pulling EQ bands down from zero positively ends in much less punch and focus within the soundstage total so it’s in all probability one thing you’d wish to keep away from.
![Motif II ANC EQ settings on the Marshall app](https://musictech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marshall-app-EQ-settings-credit-MusicTech@1050x2080.jpg)
Must you purchase the Marshall Motif II ANC?
To steal a well-known joke, these buds actually do “go as much as 11”. Not actually, however there are luggage of vitality and quantity if you push them exhausting. The rock connection is obvious to see and listen to however they’re additionally very energetic with electronica and hip-hop. If you happen to principally take heed to classical or jazz you would possibly discover the shortage of finesse problematic however, hey, these are made by the rockers, for the rockers. Maintain that in thoughts and so they’re an attention-grabbing prospect: whereas most corporations goal for all-round musicality, Marshall has unashamedly plugged in its guitar and began riffing away.
Key options
- USB-C and wi-fi charging
- Energetic noise cancelling
- As much as 9 / 43 hours battery with ANC off
- IPX4 / IPX5 water resistance
- 6 mm drivers
- Bluetooth 5.3 LE
- SBC and AAC codecs
- 20 Hz – 20 kHz frequency response
- Contact controls
- Mics for making calls