The Marshall Motif earbuds get the complete Marshall remedy with each look and sound. Jack Wallen/ZDNET
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Marshall Motif A.N.C. earbuds are on sale now for $120 on the Marshall on-line retailer.
- With the assistance of the Marshall Bluetooth companion app, you will hear a outstanding sound that fantastically serves nearly each style of music.
- With out the personalization settings within the app, the Motif earbuds ship a sound that is too heavy within the mids.
I personal a Marshall amp, and though I am a horrible guitar participant, I like the way in which it sounds. There’s simply no mistaking the Marshall signature sound, because it’s gritty and in your face. It is rock-and-roll, plain and easy. So, after I obtained a pair of Marshall earbuds to evaluation, you possibly can solely think about how excited I used to be to check them out.
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Sadly, out of the field, that incredible Marshall sound did not precisely translate effectively to earbuds. As an alternative of that powerhouse rock and roll glory, I used to be handled to heavy mids and lackluster lows. To get essentially the most out of those earbuds, you will want to put in the Marshall Bluetooth app (for Android or iOS). As soon as I downloaded the app and customised the EQ settings, I skilled among the greatest noise management I’ve ever heard.
Include me as I present you the way I turned the Marshall Motif II A.N.C earbuds right into a pair of earbuds appropriate for audiophiles like me.
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Marshall Motif A.N.C. earbuds
With the assistance of the Marshall Bluetooth app, their earbuds ship sound because the musicians supposed.
The specs
To begin, let me lay out the specs for the Marshall Motif A.N.C. earbuds, that are:
- Driver sensitivity – 106 +/- 1 mW (0.126Vrms) 1 kHz.
- Driver sort – dynamic
- Driver impedance – 16 Ω
- Frequency vary – 20-20,000 Hz
- Drivers – 6 mm
- Battery – 4.5 hours with A.N.C. enabled (6 hours with it disabled), 20 complete hours in case.
- Wi-fi charging – sure
- Water resistance – IPX5 in earbuds IPX4 in case
- Bluetooth vary – 30 ft.
- Controls – contact response for music management A.N.C. activation, obtain/finish calls, activate transparency mode
- Value – $119.99 (down from $199.99)
The Motif earbuds embrace a Marshall amp-inspired case, USB-C charging cable, consumer handbook, and S, M, and L ear ideas.
My expertise
The Motif earbuds include three Noise Management modes: ANC, TRA (transparency mode), and off, a setting with neither TRA nor ANC enabled. With Noise Management off, the Motif A.N.C. earbuds sound a bit hole. However when you allow both ANC or TRA, these infants go as much as that fabled 11.
It’s also possible to modify the ANC degree, which makes the Motif earbuds much more customizable. As soon as I had these earbuds set to my liking, I discovered that rock music rocked a bit more durable, metallic was a bit extra head-banging, classical was extra dynamic, and each different style was far more pleasant.
Take into account this app a must have for the Motif earbuds. Jack Wallen/ZDNET
As I mentioned, I like the Marshall sound in a guitar amp. For earbuds, it was a bit harsh on the ears. That was simply overcome with a little bit of customized EQ. With a little bit of bass bump, treble improve, and midrange drop, the Motif earbuds got here to life. I ran them by means of my ordinary exams, with rock, prog, metallic, classical, Broadway, and choral music.
I used to be really shocked at how good choral music was lifted from the earbuds to sound as if the singers had been standing round me. Songs like Pink Martini’s In Stiller Nacht had been attractive, with every voice clear and wealthy. My favourite Christmas track, Lully, Lulla, Lullay, by VOCES8, was resonant and full.
Even the “Godzilla Minus One” authentic rating took me proper again to the theatre, the place I used to be watching probably the greatest movies I’ve seen in a very long time. Naoki Sato’s music was concurrently chilling and delightful.
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Switching over to a little bit of prog, I opted to go together with Rush’s Analog Child and could not assist however dance about my workplace at listening to Geddy Lee’s bass sound precisely as he supposed it. This track, specifically, was killer with the Motif earbuds.
Each track I threw on the Marshall earbuds made it clear these buds are value each penny. Are they the best earbuds I’ve ever used? No. That title nonetheless belongs to the Denon PerL Professional earbuds. However the Marshall Motif are at the moment half the worth of the Denons. So, if you would like wonderful sound however cannot afford an almost $400 pair of earbuds, the Marshall Motif won’t disappoint.
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One factor to remember is that this: If you happen to choose the sound of overly produced and heavy-handed bass (similar to what you will hear from Beats headphones), these are usually not for you. The Marshall Motif earbuds try to breed the music as carefully because the artist supposed, and in flip, ship a wealthy and clean mix of voices and frequencies.
Sure, you possibly can punch up one of many 5 EQ bands, however the Motif earbuds aren’t going to sound like they’ve a tiny, hooked up subwoofer. Just like the Denon PerL Professional, the Marshall Motif earbuds’ sound is extra refined than your common buds.
That does not imply they cannot rock, as a result of they definitely can.
