Marshall Stockwell II Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Black & Brass

Product Information

While it’s fair to say that Marshall’s guitar amp appearance might not appeal to everyone, it’s hard to ignore the incredible quality in the sound that these speakers produce. It's also worth bearing in mind that some Marshall products are now on to their third generation, so you could also grab a great deal on one of their older models. Some online retailers could also throw in a subscription to a particular music streaming servicewhen buying a Marshall product, so keep an eye on the small print.

Oh, and I should mention you can get 2 of them and chain them together for the same price as the marshal and daisy chain them together for some mind-melting sound. While it still weighs a hefty 1.2kg, the device is lightweight enough that you can take it with you to any local house party or event. Combine that with the bulky bass, treble, and volume control on the top of the machine, and it’s easy to forget you’re not tuning your own amp.The result is not dissimilar to listening to two songs at once – or, perhaps more accurately, listening to a song while your next-door neighbours play a different song at anti-social volume. This speaker has been on the market for a few years now, but its sound quality and performance are just off the charts. This little guy sounds better, is smaller, is better built, and has an ungodly 50 hours of battery life. Truly it is the best portable speaker on the market today. The quality of the materials used in its construction mirror those of the Emberton, with a silicone outer casing giving the unit an IPX4 rating. This means it isn’t water- or dust-proof (the USB-C and Aux connections aren’t covered), but it can deal with splashes of water (or beer).

There are connections on the right panel of the device for the USB-C power cable, and 3.5mm aux input included too. Battery life is stated at 25 hours and running it at about 80% volume for us it got close to that figure which is quite admirable.

Like the Emberton, the promise of the ‘True Stereophonic’ isn’t quite delivered in the way the marketing blurb would have you think. Yes, you can hear the speaker’s output from any angle, but facing towards the speaker’s front or rear offers the most focused performance. Sit at an angle and the speaker loses its directionality. There’s plenty of detail revealed in each tune, and a reasonable sense of vigour to the Szun Waves file while the down-tempo Kate Tempest simmers without much effort. Even from the dead-ahead, though, there are issues with the way the Marshall delivers bass. This also applies to the bass, which supported the impression of a fast and jumpy reproduction, but sounded too slim throughout. There was no real bass balance even when the bass control was turned to the right stop. If I were getting something similar in size and shape (just a bit bigger), I would (and have) grab the IK Multimedia iLoud. There’s also an IPX4 water-resistant coating, which means that your speaker should be able to withstand the occasional splash and rainstorm.

If you're looking for a Bluetooth speaker in a similar price range that has good looks, offers better sound performance and oodles of features, then the Harman Infinity One might be a stronger investment.

In terms of loudness, it did get quite loud even though that distortion is hard to ignore. You could fill a decent-sized room with enough sound. Competition? Here are 3 Alternatives!

There are also two gold pins included which you can use to attach the vegan leather strap with ritzy red velvet on the underneath. Known for supplying amplifiers to some of the biggest bands of all-time, Marshall has branched out from its gig-based roots to explore the Bluetooth speaker landscape. One particularly odd thing that’s missing from this device, but available on other Marshall Bluetooth speakers, is the presence of a smartphone app. It comes with access to multi-directional sound, thanks to three class D amplifiers behind the main grille. The bass sounds incredibly deep, and even at the highest volumes, you shouldn’t experience any distortion.

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If you are a regular reader of Audiophile On, you already know what I will say. Yes, you should buy the Minirig 3 Bluetooth speaker. What’s more, Bluetooth 5.0 ensures that you can connect your device to your speaker wherever you are.