The Marshall brand is known primarily as a manufacturer of professional audio equipment. For a wider audience that appreciates good sound, the range includes wired headsets, on-ear and monitor headphones. And now also TWS-models with noise reduction. Their appearance was a matter of time – you can’t ignore trends.
Appearance
In the box was a nice case with leather trim. To be honest, there was a hope that this was the skin, at least artificial. But no, plastic. Brand logo on the front, certification information and specifications on the back. Why they are needed here is also a mystery. But it is simply impossible to confuse the front and back parts.
The lid opens effortlessly, but it is not spring-loaded. That is, you need to open it all the way manually, and close it in the same way. Only at the very end does the magnet work: the wardrobe trunk will not open by itself.
Under the logo is an LED that you will not immediately notice. He, as usual, makes it clear the degree of battery charge. Even lower is the button for pairing with devices. However, with smartphones on Android, everything connects perfectly without it. One has only to open the case, and a prompt to connect appears on the screen.
USB-C is provided for charging, but you can also use wireless.
Headphones are made “with a leg”, it is thin and not long, has original notches. There are no physical buttons – only touch. Despite the unpretentious shape, the gadgets fit perfectly in the ear and keep it perfectly. Or just ears caught “average”.
Application Settings
To be able to customize the headphones, and not just use the default set, you should download the Marshall Bluetooth app. There aren’t many settings, though. Even the equalizer cannot separately adjust the frequencies – just select one of the presets.
The touch buttons work according to a predictable algorithm: a single press pauses and starts a track, a double press switches tracks. There is a long press – this is exactly the function that can be configured through the application. For example, you can “hang” on and off the noise reduction mode on one earphone, and the transparency mode on the other.
The intensity of these modes is also adjustable. If you do not want to completely disconnect from reality, you can move the ANC slider to the middle: parasitic sounds will be muffled, but not to the maximum. Both the noise reduction and the transparency mode are adjusted with a resolution of 10%.
How do they sound
We have already tested more than one model of headphones of this brand. Marketing materials often mention “signature Marshall sound”, and over time you realize that these are not just words. Even in TWS headphones, you can feel not just high-quality sound, but a certain specificity. The guitar parts sound perfect, the rock is simply gorgeous, the “electronics” are very expressive. With vocals, if you put the “voice” preset, everything is also not bad. Bass, of course, is not enough, as in the vast majority of TWS. By the way, they are richer in another new model: Minor III.
As for the noise reduction, it copes well with monotonous noises. But I can’t say that it completely immerses you in silence. Of course, it is difficult to evaluate active noise cancellation systems in TWS after the Sony WF-1000XM4 test – everything is just perfect in this model.
Battery life
The specifications indicate that the headphones can work up to 6 hours with noise reduction turned off and about 4.5 hours with it turned on. In principle, everything is so. After three recharges in the case, it is still not completely discharged, so the total declared autonomy of 26 hours is also achievable. For comparison: Apple AirPods Pro has a battery life of 24 hours, Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro has 20 hours. There is support for wireless charging, which is also nice.
Conclusion
The new Motif ANCs look cool and sound just as cool. This is exactly what you expect from Marshall! Of course, I would like more customization options: pull the equalizer sliders, adjust the touch control in a convenient way. Too bad it’s not in the app yet. Noise cancellation works great, but there are models on the market with more effective noise cancellation (the same Sony WF-1000XM4 or Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro). In short, if sound is most important to you, Motif ANC is definitely worthy of attention. We can say that these are one of the best TWS headphones for today.
Specifications
- Bluetooth version: 5.2
- Codec support: SBC, AAC
- Lower threshold of reproduced frequencies: 20 Hz
- Upper threshold of reproduced frequencies: 20 kHz
- Membrane Diameter: 6mm
- Operating time without recharging: 6 hours
- Operating time using the case: 26 hours
- Wireless charger
- Active Noise Cancellation