Marshall Monitor Bluetooth Headphones - Black

Product Information

It's worth bearing in mind that though they offer good sound and design, for those who like to wear their headphones a few hours at a time, there is a chance that you could experience some discomfort and although it offers clear and crisp sound it's still not perfectly balanced. Though we experienced some discomfort from the headband after a long period of listening, the earcups at least remained spacious and comfortable no matter how long we had them on.

She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. But a more rigorous working schedule and noisier environments forced me to get a pair of wireless headphones at one point a few years ago. We’ll discuss whether this works well or not, but with just one major control, you certainly don’t have to fumble around figuring out which button to push.This is where the most disruptive sounds usually are (like the rumble of a jet engine or low humming of a train) so being able to make those sounds less intrusive is a big deal.

The brand’s latest noise-cancelling headphones, the Marshall Monitor II ANCs, bring these worlds together in a neat over-ear package, in an update to its first-ever wireless headphones, which launched in 2017. Using a USB type-C charger, the Monitor II takes a surprisingly long two hours or so to fully charge from being completely flat, compared to some competing brands which take less than half this time. Leather wraps around the headband, soft textured plastic coats the subtly sculpted earcups, and the white script-style Marshall logo stands out starkly against the textured black. Dramatic, revolutionary, and cosmic - coupled with those crisp spoken lyrics that feel timeless - the Monitor II capably handles the pulsing beats and exciting mystical ambience of We Come 1, but seemingly dials back on the heaviness of the bass in favour of vocal clarity. My experience using the Monitor II ANC headphones in my daily life is on par with some of the best headsets on the market.The fact that the coating on the Monitor headphones isn’t real leather might be a positive for those uncomfortable with the use of animal products, but the rubber and plastic alternative that’s used doesn’t look or feel particularly premium. Where many headphones and earphones employ multiple buttons that are often hard to memorize (since you're always operating them without looking), the Monitor Bluetooth's single rocker-style button can be toggled forward, backward, up, down, and pressed like a button. The playback controls are all found on the golden knob which is surprisingly intuitive and easy to use.

And it’s not just their all-black design, emphasised by the white accentuated lettering and a golden button on the ear cups, that underlines their rocking attitude. Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. She did find the sound more balanced when I set the Marshalls to the Rock mode, but still complained that they couldn’t match the spaciousness she heard with the NADs and, to a lesser extent, with the DALIs. The look isn't for everyone, but if you are a fan of the Marshall aesthetic, the design is not a gimmick, but thoughtfully implemented. 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.Both the brackets and their extensions and the ear cup suspension are made of robust metal and the matt-textured surface of the oval ear-cups almost feels like one of their legendary amps. After thorough testing and encountering the real-life unpredictability of an off-guard flat battery, I feel confident in saying that the Marshall Monitor II headphones have a pretty excellent battery life at around 30 hours (with active noise cancelling activated, and perhaps an additional 10 hours without).