Marshall Major V Review

To kick off our exploration of the Marshall Major V Review, let’s delve into its specifications, highlight its pros and cons, and conclude with an in-depth review.

Marshall Major V Specification

Marshall Major V Pros and Cons

Pros

• It has powerful bass and clear high tones.
• The battery lasts a long time.
• You can use it with a wire if you want.
• It works well with Spotify Tap.

Cons

• It’s a bit expensive.
• It doesn’t have active noise cancellation.
• It doesn’t come with a pouch or case.

The Marshall Major V wireless on-ear headphones come with a classic look and great battery life, along with balanced sound. They also have a handy app for customizing controls and sound settings, including Spotify Tap integration. However, at $149.99, they’re a bit pricey since they don’t have active noise cancellation (ANC) or some other features found in similarly priced headphones. For $50 less, you can get the Anker Soundcore Space One headphones, this offers rich sound, better Bluetooth support, and decent noise cancellation.

Design

The Major V headphones come in a sleek black color and have a design where the ear cups sit on your ears rather than around them. The ear cups are rounded and have plush cushioning, as does the headband, making them comfortable to wear. The inside of the ear pads and headband are lined with faux leather, while the outside has a textured faux leather finish, giving them a unique look. They feature the Marshall script logo and brass multifunction controls, adding to their style. These headphones fit snugly and comfortably, but keep in mind that since they sit on your ears, they don’t block out as much outside noise as over-ear headphones do.

Inside, the Major V headphones use 40mm dynamic drivers that provide a frequency range from 20Hz to 20kHz. They connect via Bluetooth 5.3 and support the SBC and LC3 codecs. They also have Bluetooth LE Audio, giving access to the Auracast feature. However, for those looking for high-quality Bluetooth streaming, the Soundcore Space One headphones might be a better choice as they offer AAC and LDAC options. The Major V headphones allow multipoint connections, but it’s unclear if they support Google Fast Pair.

You have some cool options with the buttons on the Major V headphones. The button with the script M logo on the left earcup can be set to do different things like activate Spotify Tap, switch between EQ presets, call your voice assistant, or do nothing at all. The joystick-like controller on the right earcup handles playback and calls smoothly: push it up or down to adjust volume, or nudge it forward or backward to change tracks. It’s one of the easiest and smoothest control setups I’ve seen on on-ear headphones.

The headphones conveniently fold at the hinges for storage, but it would be even better if Marshall included a protective tote for carrying them around. It’s a bit frustrating because although the box includes a USB-C-to-USB-C charging cable and a semi-coiled audio cable (both connecting to the right earcup), there’s no dedicated storage solution to prevent tangling, especially with the easily tangled design of the audio cable. Including a protective pouch or bag would solve this problem. For instance, the Anker Soundcore Space One comes with a handy drawstring bag for comparison.

The audio cable lets you listen to music both with and without Bluetooth, which is a bit unusual. Interestingly, when you plug in the cable, it doesn’t automatically switch off Bluetooth like most headphones do. However, if you adjust the EQ settings in the app, they won’t apply when you’re using the cable unless your phone has a headphone jack.

Marshall says these headphones can last over 100 hours on a single charge, which is really impressive. However, how long they last for you depends on how loudly you usually listen to music. If you’re in a hurry, just 15 minutes of charging should give you around 15 hours of wireless playback, and it takes about 3 hours to fully charge them. Plus, if you have a wireless charging pad, you can charge them that way too, thanks to a charging coil in the right earcup.

App Experience

One of the best improvements with the Marshall headphones is their compatibility with the Marshall app, available on both Android and iOS. This app allows you to personalize the sound and control features directly from your phone.

When you open the app, you’ll see the battery level of your headphones and a bar showing what song is playing. If you scroll down, you’ll find the Equalizer section. Here, you can choose from preset sound profiles like Bass Boost or create your own custom sound with adjustable settings.

Another feature lets you change what the M button on the headphones does. If you link your Spotify account, you can use it to play music or skip tracks with just one press.

Additionally, you can turn on or off audio prompt tones, adjust settings to preserve battery life, set when the headphones automatically turn off, update the firmware, and manage connected devices all in one place.

Sound Quality

The EQ in the app allows you to adjust the bass and higher frequencies, although the changes might be more subtle compared to other apps. There’s a bit of delay when you adjust settings, so you’ll need to be patient.

With the default Marshall profile, the headphones perform well on tracks with deep bass, like “Silent Shout” by The Knife. Even at higher volumes, the bass remains powerful and clear.

Songs with heavy sub-bass, like Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty,” are reproduced accurately, with a rumbling bass and crisp vocals.

On tracks with less deep bass, such as Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” this headphones provide a balanced sound with boosted drums and clear vocals and instruments.

For orchestral tracks, the headphones emphasize lower-register instruments while keeping higher-register sounds bright and clear.

The voice mic works effectively, ensuring clear and loud recordings on your phone.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for headphones that are stylish, deliver great sound, and won’t let you down on battery life, the Marshall Major V is a definitely a great choice at $149.99. They’ve got a classic Marshall look and produce rich audio, but they don’t come with fancy extras like noise cancellation, and the accessories in the box are a bit basic.