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

Product Information

Overall it does the basics but it does them well. There’s no noise cancelling or multi-device connecting here, but you do get solid Bluetooth technology, a built-in microphone and neat built-in controls to enjoy.

The headphones default to Marshall’s sound signature but there’s a full equaliser should you wish to tweak the audio profile. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian 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. So, going wire free is great from a design standpoint but how does it actually work when using the Marshall Monitors? Battery life is so long you may forget you ever have to charge them. The Monitor II headphones are designed to last up to 30 hours with noise cancelling active and 45 hours with it off, which seemed a little conservative in my testing. 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

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Another annoyance is that despite the fact that it looks great, the cable that you use to connect your phone when the headphones run out of battery doesn't have volume control. This is an inconvenient oversight, particularly as the control knob on the headphones themselves doesn't work when they're out of battery. Final Verdict Marshall waded into the noise-cancelling arena with the MID ANC on-ears, but the Monitor II ANC are its most expensive headphones. When working it’s an app (on iOS at least) that’s easy to use and swift to navigate. It offers the option to tweak to ANC and passthrough levels, customise the M-button function (Equaliser, Google Assistant and Siri), a choice between the Equaliser presets (or create your own) and an Auto-off timer. Battery life status can be viewed and the app will push updates over-the-air.

The fourth-generation Major IV possess all of the style we’ve come to expect from Marshall, while more than doubling the battery life of their predecessor. They’ve also undergone a few smart design tweaks, making them an attractive option for those seeking eye-catching, on-ear cans. 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 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.

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. The battery life on these headphones is another particularly strong point in their favor. At around 30 hours you won’t find yourself charging them up a lot which is great considering the growing number of devices we find ourselves having to plug in night after night. Marshall Amplification was was formed in 1962 and remained under family ownership for more than 60 years until March 2023, when they were sold to Swedish speaker manufacturer Zound Industries. Marshall still own a 24% stake in the company, making them the largest shareholders in the newly-titled Marshall Group. The takeover deal covers Marshall Amplification and its subsidiaries Marshall Records, Marshall Live Agency and Natal Drums 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.

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. Bluetooth is 5.0 and wireless connectivity is the one feature that struggles. Walking through busy areas such as Canada Place in Canary Wharf, the Marshall’s signal strength became increasingly stuttery.

Marshall 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 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. The Marshall app for Android and iOS has a settings section that allows you to assign a control to the M button—it can either toggle between EQ presets or summon your phone's voice assistant. The ANC section allows you to adjust adjust the level of the noise cancellation with a slider, or turn it off. You can also switch over to Monitor mode, and there's a slider for that, as well. A timer setting lets you choose when the headphones, rather than the length of time the headphones can remain inactive before powering off.