Marshall has been pumping out a steady flow of quality audio products designed in the style of the brand's iconic amps, and its new Major III Bluetooth headphones are no exception.
The $150 wireless headphones are an update to the Major II Bluetooth released in 2016, with new drivers and a slight change to the physical design.
Audio quality is strong, with full, round bass depth and crisp highs.
And if you like the Marshall design aesthetic, you're sure to be happy.
However, there are several strong options in this price range, including Marshall's own Mid Bluetooth, our Editors' Choice.
Design
Much of the Major II Bluetooth's design remains intact, with small, rounded supra-aural (on-ear) earcups covered in convincing faux leather.
The earcups feature the Marshall logo and some attractive brass-colored highlights.
The main changes, according to Marshall, come in the form of improved earpads and upgraded 40mm dynamic drivers.
The headphones fold down at hinges for compact storage, though no carrying case is included.
Side note: A wired version of the Major III is also available for significantly less, at $79.
One consistent strength of Marshall's headphone design is the control button, located here on the left earcup.
It's unique in that, at a glance, it looks like a simple power button with a few extra functions, but it's both a button and a switch.
Pressing it for three seconds powers the headphones up or down, a quick press plays or pauses music (and answers or ends phone calls), pushing to the left or right skips tracks forward or backward, pressing up raises the volume, pressing down lowers it, and a double click summons Siri.
I wish all Bluetooth headphones had controls as intuitive and simple as this.
The headphones can also be used in wired, passive mode.
The included cable connects to the bottom panel of the right earcup.
The black, semi-coiled cable has a simple inline remote control and mic compartment at around chin level.
The remote is of the single-button variety—playback and call management are controlled, but there's no track navigation or volume control.
Unfortunately, connecting the cable doesn't power down the headphones automatically.
That only occurs when the other end of the cable connects to your mobile device, and in that case, it's the mobile device ending the connection.
If you're paired with a phone and connect one end of the cable to the headphones and leave the other loose, audio will still stream to your headphones from your paired device.
It's not a huge issue, but you'll have to be certain your headphones are powered down, or you can easily drain your battery without realizing it.
On the positive side, we didn't detect a major difference in audio performance between active wired and passive wired listening.
The Bluetooth mic offers decent intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word we recorded, though the mic sounded slightly distant and there were some minor audio artifacts, which is typical with Bluetooth headphone mics.
The cable's inline mic delivers excellent clarity, with even a little added bass response.
The included micro USB charging cable is refreshingly long, making it easier to use.
Marshall estimates battery life to be around 30 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the headphones deliver powerful bass depth.
At absolute top volumes, we get a hint of distortion on the sub-bass, but dialing back to more reasonable volume levels, the bass is clean and full, and notably matched by crisp high frequency presence.
On Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, we get a better sense of the general sound signature.
The drums are delivered with added bass presence—they sound full and round, but not quite thunderous, which is a good thing.
Callahan's baritone vocals are delivered with rich low-mid presence and an ideal high-mid treble edge that keeps things crisp.
The guitar strums and higher register percussive hits are also given some added brightness.
This is a sculpted sound signature with a deep bass anchor and bright, clear highs up top.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop is delivered with ideal high-mid presence, allowing its attack to retain its sharp punch, while the loop is also imbued with some added bass depth.
The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with gusto, but not with so much bass boosting that they sound overwhelmingly strong.
The vocals here are all delivered with excellent clarity—there's no added sibilance, but things are bright and crisp regardless.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound excellent through the Major III Bluetooth.
Lower register instrumentation get pushed forward slightly, delivered with a lovely richness, while the higher register brass, strings, and vocals command most of the spotlight.
This is a sculpted, but balanced, sound signature that puts an emphasis on clarity without sacrificing bass depth.
Conclusions
For $150, Marshall's Major III Bluetooth headphones sound great.
The included cable is a plus, and so is the comfortable design.
And if you're enamored with the look, you'll find a lot to like.
That said, there are many quality options in this price range, and they're definitely worth a look if you aren't gung-ho on Marshall's design.
We're fans of the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT, the Klipsch Reference On-Ear Bluetooth, and the JBL E55BT.
And as mentioned earlier, Marshall's own Mid Bluetooth headphones are also excellent, and are often on sale for less than the Major III Bluetooth.
Marshall Major III Bluetooth
Pros
Solid audio performance with strong bass depth and clarity in the high-mids and highs.
Excellent on-ear controls.
Comfortable design.
Can be used in passive wired mode.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Marshall Major III Bluetooth delivers solid audio performance in a comfortable design—but it enters a field crowded with strong options.
Marshall has been pumping out a steady flow of quality audio products designed in the style of the brand's iconic amps, and its new Major III Bluetooth headphones are no exception.
The $150 wireless headphones are an update to the Major II Bluetooth released in 2016, with new drivers and a slight change to the physical design.
Audio quality is strong, with full, round bass depth and crisp highs.
And if you like the Marshall design aesthetic, you're sure to be happy.
However, there are several strong options in this price range, including Marshall's own Mid Bluetooth, our Editors' Choice.
Design
Much of the Major II Bluetooth's design remains intact, with small, rounded supra-aural (on-ear) earcups covered in convincing faux leather.
The earcups feature the Marshall logo and some attractive brass-colored highlights.
The main changes, according to Marshall, come in the form of improved earpads and upgraded 40mm dynamic drivers.
The headphones fold down at hinges for compact storage, though no carrying case is included.
Side note: A wired version of the Major III is also available for significantly less, at $79.
One consistent strength of Marshall's headphone design is the control button, located here on the left earcup.
It's unique in that, at a glance, it looks like a simple power button with a few extra functions, but it's both a button and a switch.
Pressing it for three seconds powers the headphones up or down, a quick press plays or pauses music (and answers or ends phone calls), pushing to the left or right skips tracks forward or backward, pressing up raises the volume, pressing down lowers it, and a double click summons Siri.
I wish all Bluetooth headphones had controls as intuitive and simple as this.
The headphones can also be used in wired, passive mode.
The included cable connects to the bottom panel of the right earcup.
The black, semi-coiled cable has a simple inline remote control and mic compartment at around chin level.
The remote is of the single-button variety—playback and call management are controlled, but there's no track navigation or volume control.
Unfortunately, connecting the cable doesn't power down the headphones automatically.
That only occurs when the other end of the cable connects to your mobile device, and in that case, it's the mobile device ending the connection.
If you're paired with a phone and connect one end of the cable to the headphones and leave the other loose, audio will still stream to your headphones from your paired device.
It's not a huge issue, but you'll have to be certain your headphones are powered down, or you can easily drain your battery without realizing it.
On the positive side, we didn't detect a major difference in audio performance between active wired and passive wired listening.
The Bluetooth mic offers decent intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word we recorded, though the mic sounded slightly distant and there were some minor audio artifacts, which is typical with Bluetooth headphone mics.
The cable's inline mic delivers excellent clarity, with even a little added bass response.
The included micro USB charging cable is refreshingly long, making it easier to use.
Marshall estimates battery life to be around 30 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the headphones deliver powerful bass depth.
At absolute top volumes, we get a hint of distortion on the sub-bass, but dialing back to more reasonable volume levels, the bass is clean and full, and notably matched by crisp high frequency presence.
On Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, we get a better sense of the general sound signature.
The drums are delivered with added bass presence—they sound full and round, but not quite thunderous, which is a good thing.
Callahan's baritone vocals are delivered with rich low-mid presence and an ideal high-mid treble edge that keeps things crisp.
The guitar strums and higher register percussive hits are also given some added brightness.
This is a sculpted sound signature with a deep bass anchor and bright, clear highs up top.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop is delivered with ideal high-mid presence, allowing its attack to retain its sharp punch, while the loop is also imbued with some added bass depth.
The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with gusto, but not with so much bass boosting that they sound overwhelmingly strong.
The vocals here are all delivered with excellent clarity—there's no added sibilance, but things are bright and crisp regardless.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound excellent through the Major III Bluetooth.
Lower register instrumentation get pushed forward slightly, delivered with a lovely richness, while the higher register brass, strings, and vocals command most of the spotlight.
This is a sculpted, but balanced, sound signature that puts an emphasis on clarity without sacrificing bass depth.
Conclusions
For $150, Marshall's Major III Bluetooth headphones sound great.
The included cable is a plus, and so is the comfortable design.
And if you're enamored with the look, you'll find a lot to like.
That said, there are many quality options in this price range, and they're definitely worth a look if you aren't gung-ho on Marshall's design.
We're fans of the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT, the Klipsch Reference On-Ear Bluetooth, and the JBL E55BT.
And as mentioned earlier, Marshall's own Mid Bluetooth headphones are also excellent, and are often on sale for less than the Major III Bluetooth.
Marshall Major III Bluetooth
Pros
Solid audio performance with strong bass depth and clarity in the high-mids and highs.
Excellent on-ear controls.
Comfortable design.
Can be used in passive wired mode.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Marshall Major III Bluetooth delivers solid audio performance in a comfortable design—but it enters a field crowded with strong options.
