Marshall has new wireless headphones: Monitor II ANC sales started only in April. We share our impressions after a week of active use.
The Marshall brand is best known for its professional sound solutions. But more recently, the company has begun to produce personal products – in particular, portable speakers and headphones—one of the new models of “ears” – overhead Monitor II ANC with active noise cancellation.
Marshall Monitor II ANC headphones Review: Design and equipment
The second “monitors” received wireless communication of the Bluetooth 5.0 standard. It was believed that real music lovers could only be with a wire for a long time, but even now, the Orthodox have come to terms with the trends. However, there is also a cable here: to not waste the battery when playing or working with a laptop, you can connect Monitor II ANC to a standard 3.5 mm jack.
Premium headphone manufacturers have always tried to be discreet in terms of design. But Marshall’s commitment to classic traditions is just hardwired into its DNA. Monitor II ANC looks as strict as possible: even the metal headband frame is painted black. The only “light spots” are the logo on both cups and the brass joystick on one of them.
The headband is trimmed with pleasant eco-leather, the outer side of the cups, there is a coating that imitates the structure of the leather. The ear cushions, of course, are soft – with the correct adjustment of the headband, you can wear the headphones for hours without any discomfort. The Monitor II ANCs are foldable, which is, of course, a huge plus. Considering headphone cups themselves are small in size, when folded, the “ears” are incredibly compact: they will fit into any purse or even a jacket pocket. Cloth carrying case included.
If the owner of Monitor II ANC asks you to play a find all the buttons game, don’t go for it. You just poke at the brass bump on the right cup, and you will be wrong twice. First, because this is not a button, but a joystick. Moving it up and down adjusts the volume, and back and forth – naturally, switches tracks. True, there is also a button function here: by pressing the joystick, you can answer a call, pause the music and start the track again.
But this is not your only mistake. We are ready to bet that not everyone will find two more control buttons – they are located on the axis of the headband’s axis with the cups. The one on the left (ANC) is responsible for active noise isolation. The right (M), by default, goes through the presets of the equalizer (but you can assign it to another function).
As for noise cancellation, it should be noted that passive works fine here too. These, of course, are not plugs with silicone seals, but in a relatively quiet place, it is quite possible to do without a software “noise reduction.” On the street, it’s a completely different matter – the ANC mode turned on allows you to get rid of the background sounds that are so annoying. For example, the hum of cars or subway trains becomes almost invisible. Suppose you are frankly confused (or frightened) by a complete disconnection from reality. In that case, you can choose an intermediate mode: the mobile application allows you to adjust the suppression level from 0 to 100%.
To temporarily turn off the “noise reduction,” it is better to use the monitoring mode. It turns on with the same ANC button. The music pauses, and you start to hear the world around you. It is very convenient in case you entered a store or a passer-by on the street asks you a question.
Of course, noise control is not the only function of the application. It can also create the desired EQ presets and assign a function to the M-button. It can be like going through EQ presets. And activation of the voice assistant.
Marshall Monitor II ANC headphones Review: Sound And Quality
When listening to music, the difference with budget models is noticeable even with banal pop MP-3 tracks. If we talk about more serious music, a lot depends on the equalizer settings. In principle, the installed presets are quite suitable. However, we still advise everyone not to be too lazy to move the sliders. There is more than enough time for self-isolation – we included a wide variety of music from complex instrumental compositions to rap and hard rock. Without difficulty, it achieved a sound close to ideal.
The manufacturer promises up to 30 hours of music playback with the noise-canceling system enabled on a single charge. We honestly tried to check, but we lost count: headphones are not so in demand at home. I must say, the figure is close to reality – after listening for several hours a day for 7 days in a row, we still have 20% of the charge left. It hardly matters whether it will be necessary to connect the Monitor II ANC to the outlet on the eighth or tenth day. Charging for 15 minutes should be enough for 5 hours of music. The ears are fully charged in 2 hours.
Marshall Monitor II ANC headphones Review: Conclusion
It’s always hard to find fault with premium gadgets. We liked Marshall Monitor II ANC for its excellent quality, good battery life, and a correctly working active noise reduction system. Well, in fact, the sound is exactly what you expect from Marshall. The reasons for the discussion are price and design. If the first wired “monitors” can now be bought for $78, and their Bluetooth version – for $95. Marshall Monitor II ANC will cost 3 times more – about $319.99. The design will suit the classic lovers, but if you are looking for “something like that,” – this is not Marshall.
Of course, full-size headphones are good, but for many, in-ear headphones are more convenient. And among these, there are also many interesting options.
