Marshall has designed some of our favorite wireless headphones and speakers.
The company's latest earphones, the Minor II Bluetooth, don't quite fall into that category.
They deliver solid bass depth, but for $129, something feels off.
The decision to make these earbuds rather than in-canal earphones is a little surprising, as is the exclusion of eartips or sleeves of any sort.
But the $129 price is the biggest surprise.
We've only seen a couple of manufacturers pull off the pricey earbuds approach—it requires a lot of added technology and planning to make non-canal-sealing earpieces sound good.
Marshall gets better audio out of the Minor II Bluetooth than you might expect, but ultimately, they still sound like they should cost about $50 less.
Design
Available in black, brown, or white with a big Marshall M on each earpiece, the Minor II earbuds feature the most ingenious use of the audio cable we've seen in this type of design.
The cable itself plays the role of earfins.
It can be threaded through a hole in each earpiece to create a loop of any size to securely situate the earpieces in your ears.
The earbuds don't enter your ear canal, and they don't ship with eartips.
The fit is often uncomfortable, especially during longer listening sessions, with semi-rigid plastic pressing awkwardly against your ear and not creating a seal of any sort.
And because they're earbuds, it's possible to get an inconsistent fit from one ear to the other.
The trademark Marshall multifunction button here is excellent.
Pressing it powers the earphones up or down.
Tapping it quickly controls playback.
Push it up or down to control volume, and side to side to skip tracks.
Granted, it's slightly less easy to operate this control when you can't see it, but it's still far superior to the three-button remote we typically see.
The mic offers above-average intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word clearly, but the audio wasn't exactly crisp.
Still, it's better than plenty of Bluetooth in-ear mics sound—often, mic quality is heavily distorted and/or faint.
Marshall estimates battery life to be roughly 12 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
Other than a peculiarly designed charging cable, you get zero accessories—another aspect of the product that seems out of sync with the price.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earbuds deliver extremely powerful bass response.
Managing this bass deluge is up to you—shifting the fit of the earbuds will alter the bass response notably.
When the earpiece is placed securely in your ear, the lows feel overwhelming on a track like this—there's no distortion, but it sounds like the high-mids and highs are hiding in fear.
Without an ear canal seal, it's very difficult to establish consistent ear-to-ear volume, which throws off the stereo image.
The cable loop can be adjusted and this alters the sound signature to a degree.
I found that at their least comfortable, the earphones had the most secure fit and delivered insanely boosted bass.
At their most comfortable, the earbuds felt less secure, but the bass was tamed somewhat.
The range of audio possibilities here is too wide, but it nearly always includes overly boosted lows.
I never achieved the trifecta of comfortable fit, secure fit, and balanced audio.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Minor II Bluetooth's general sound signature.
The drums here sound less drum-like, and more like mountain-sized timpanis being thumped by drumming giants.
Callahan's baritone voice needs no boosting as it is—it's already quite rich in the low-mids—but here it's downright thunderous.
If the fit is slightly off, it sounds weirdly resonant, as if that thunderous voice is being funneled through a huge cardboard tube.
These are bass-heaviest earphones I've reviewed in recent memory.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives some decent high-mid presence to keep its punchy attack from being devoured by the thick layers of added bass depth it receives.
The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are usually the most powerful thing in the mix, but the drum loop receives so much extra sub-bass they're almost equalized.
Shifting the earbuds around in the ear can bring out a better balance with the highs and high-mids, making this track sound the best of our testing suite.
The inconsistency of fit and performance, however, is frustrating.
If you have a fit that is super-secure, orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound as no composer intended them to.
The instruments sound almost as if they are being played through speakers that have only subwoofers and woofers, but no way to convey treble.
If you move the earpieces around so they have a more comfortable, relaxed fit, the bass is dialed back and the track almost sounds natural.
Conclusions
The Minor II Bluetooth earbuds are an anomaly in an otherwise well-designed, great-sounding lineup from Marshall.
They're capable of a quality sound signature, but they're just as likely to sound like a bass-boosted disaster devoid of high-mid definition.
It's up to you to find the sweet in-ear angle that actually sounds good here.
But that doesn't change the fact that they're uncomfortable to wear and priced too high.
For $150 or less, you can have excellent bass depth and still enjoy the rest of the frequency range.
Check out the Jaybird X4, the Bose SoundSport Wireless, the RHA MA390, and the JBL Reflect Mini 2.
None of these pairs require extra effort to achieve a secure-feeling, solid-sounding fit.
Marshall Minor II Bluetooth
Cons
Expensive.
Uncomfortable in-ear fit.
Earbud design doesn't seal off canal, resulting in inconsistent ear-to-ear audio and bass response.
No eartips.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Marshall Minor II Bluetooth earphones are capable of producing powerful audio, but are uncomfortable and overpriced.
Marshall has designed some of our favorite wireless headphones and speakers.
The company's latest earphones, the Minor II Bluetooth, don't quite fall into that category.
They deliver solid bass depth, but for $129, something feels off.
The decision to make these earbuds rather than in-canal earphones is a little surprising, as is the exclusion of eartips or sleeves of any sort.
But the $129 price is the biggest surprise.
We've only seen a couple of manufacturers pull off the pricey earbuds approach—it requires a lot of added technology and planning to make non-canal-sealing earpieces sound good.
Marshall gets better audio out of the Minor II Bluetooth than you might expect, but ultimately, they still sound like they should cost about $50 less.
Design
Available in black, brown, or white with a big Marshall M on each earpiece, the Minor II earbuds feature the most ingenious use of the audio cable we've seen in this type of design.
The cable itself plays the role of earfins.
It can be threaded through a hole in each earpiece to create a loop of any size to securely situate the earpieces in your ears.
The earbuds don't enter your ear canal, and they don't ship with eartips.
The fit is often uncomfortable, especially during longer listening sessions, with semi-rigid plastic pressing awkwardly against your ear and not creating a seal of any sort.
And because they're earbuds, it's possible to get an inconsistent fit from one ear to the other.
The trademark Marshall multifunction button here is excellent.
Pressing it powers the earphones up or down.
Tapping it quickly controls playback.
Push it up or down to control volume, and side to side to skip tracks.
Granted, it's slightly less easy to operate this control when you can't see it, but it's still far superior to the three-button remote we typically see.
The mic offers above-average intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word clearly, but the audio wasn't exactly crisp.
Still, it's better than plenty of Bluetooth in-ear mics sound—often, mic quality is heavily distorted and/or faint.
Marshall estimates battery life to be roughly 12 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
Other than a peculiarly designed charging cable, you get zero accessories—another aspect of the product that seems out of sync with the price.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earbuds deliver extremely powerful bass response.
Managing this bass deluge is up to you—shifting the fit of the earbuds will alter the bass response notably.
When the earpiece is placed securely in your ear, the lows feel overwhelming on a track like this—there's no distortion, but it sounds like the high-mids and highs are hiding in fear.
Without an ear canal seal, it's very difficult to establish consistent ear-to-ear volume, which throws off the stereo image.
The cable loop can be adjusted and this alters the sound signature to a degree.
I found that at their least comfortable, the earphones had the most secure fit and delivered insanely boosted bass.
At their most comfortable, the earbuds felt less secure, but the bass was tamed somewhat.
The range of audio possibilities here is too wide, but it nearly always includes overly boosted lows.
I never achieved the trifecta of comfortable fit, secure fit, and balanced audio.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Minor II Bluetooth's general sound signature.
The drums here sound less drum-like, and more like mountain-sized timpanis being thumped by drumming giants.
Callahan's baritone voice needs no boosting as it is—it's already quite rich in the low-mids—but here it's downright thunderous.
If the fit is slightly off, it sounds weirdly resonant, as if that thunderous voice is being funneled through a huge cardboard tube.
These are bass-heaviest earphones I've reviewed in recent memory.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives some decent high-mid presence to keep its punchy attack from being devoured by the thick layers of added bass depth it receives.
The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are usually the most powerful thing in the mix, but the drum loop receives so much extra sub-bass they're almost equalized.
Shifting the earbuds around in the ear can bring out a better balance with the highs and high-mids, making this track sound the best of our testing suite.
The inconsistency of fit and performance, however, is frustrating.
If you have a fit that is super-secure, orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound as no composer intended them to.
The instruments sound almost as if they are being played through speakers that have only subwoofers and woofers, but no way to convey treble.
If you move the earpieces around so they have a more comfortable, relaxed fit, the bass is dialed back and the track almost sounds natural.
Conclusions
The Minor II Bluetooth earbuds are an anomaly in an otherwise well-designed, great-sounding lineup from Marshall.
They're capable of a quality sound signature, but they're just as likely to sound like a bass-boosted disaster devoid of high-mid definition.
It's up to you to find the sweet in-ear angle that actually sounds good here.
But that doesn't change the fact that they're uncomfortable to wear and priced too high.
For $150 or less, you can have excellent bass depth and still enjoy the rest of the frequency range.
Check out the Jaybird X4, the Bose SoundSport Wireless, the RHA MA390, and the JBL Reflect Mini 2.
None of these pairs require extra effort to achieve a secure-feeling, solid-sounding fit.
Marshall Minor II Bluetooth
Cons
Expensive.
Uncomfortable in-ear fit.
Earbud design doesn't seal off canal, resulting in inconsistent ear-to-ear audio and bass response.
No eartips.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Marshall Minor II Bluetooth earphones are capable of producing powerful audio, but are uncomfortable and overpriced.
