Marshall Motif II ANC assessment: First-rate earbuds, rock ‘n’ roll type | Digital Noch

Marshall redesigned its Marshall Motif noise-cancelling in-ear headphones (aka earbuds), and I just like the outcomes. Probably the most salient enchancment are within the areas of audio efficiency and battery life, the latter of which is now 6 hours of listening time with energetic noise cancellation enabled and up 30 hours with fees from the case. That’s up from the first-generation’s 4.5 and 20 hours respectively.

You’ll additionally discover just a few slight type adjustments, and now you can EQ to style (certainly one of my few gripes in regards to the unique mannequin). The Marshall Motif ANC II is an excellent higher headphone, but it surely bears the identical $200 price ticket. That places it in the identical vary because the Google Pixel Buds Professional and near the Apple AirPods Professional–that are each glorious–however considerably cheaper than the category-leading Sony WF-1000XM5.

We not want to incorporate a qualifier that Marshall house audio merchandise are manufactured underneath a model license, as a result of Zound Industries acquired Marshall Amplification in March 2023. The corporate is now referred to as Marshall Group.

Marshall Motif ANC II design and have set

The Motif ANC II are fairly related in feel and look to the unique Motif ANC, besides the guidelines of the stems now have a brass end, recalling the knobs on Marshall amplifiers. In case you weren’t conscious, Marshall amplification has been a mainstay of guitar bands for the reason that Nineteen Sixties.The brand new earbuds additionally retain Marshall’s long-standing love affair with alligator Tolex, the textile that’s wrapped across the buds and their charging case.

This assessment is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of one of the best noise-cancelling headphones.

Whereas the design conceit would possibly strike you as boomerish, I’ve seen folks of all ages sporting Marshall audio gear. That’s almost definitely as a result of it not solely sounds good, however the styling is a sure-fire dialog starter.

The Motif ANC II are contact delicate, as are most earbuds, and you’ll faucet both bud to provoke actions. On this mannequin, the instructions have been altered to accommodate Spotify Faucet: a single faucet for play/pause, and two faucets to reply a name, an motion that additionally skips ahead when you’re listening to music. Three faucets skips backwards, and a protracted press toggles ANC. Two faucets and a maintain begins Spotify Faucet; i.e., it assigns actions to regulate the Spotify app.

Bluetooth pairing is finished with a button beneath the brand. This generally is a little exhausting to identify, however the exercise/standing gentle lets you already know if you’ve bought it underneath thumb. Which brings me to my sole grievance in regards to the Motif ANC II: the USB-C connector on the underside of the unit doesn’t enable the male finish on the cable to completely insert. Yeah, I’m selecting nits right here, however if you’re spending $200, I believe you’re entitled to make such observations.

Whereas the Motif II ANC don’t help hi-res codecs akin to aptX Adaptive or LDAC, they do help AAC and the brand new LC3 codec that’s a part of Bluetooth LE Audio.

Every ear bud weighs 4.31 grams (about .15 ounces), about half a gram lighter than the first-gen mannequin, and the case weighs about 28 grams (simply over an oz). The eco-conscious Marshall says it used 70 % recycled plastic the place doable to construct this product. Each little bit helps.

The Motif ANC II themselves are rated IPX4 whereas the case is IPX5. That principally means they’re properly shielded from sweat and rain, however Marshall makes no claims for defense from mud. We’ll inform you all the things you want to find out about IP codes on the previous hyperlink.

Marshall Motif ANC II audio efficiency and energetic noise cancellation

The Motif ANC II ship equally glorious sound as their predecessor, utilizing related 6mm drivers. You’ll expertise no scarcity in bass response, as is widespread with in-ear headphones, as a result of your ear canal acts as a bass port. The high-end frequency copy was nigh on excellent with the default EQ, and the mid-range was equally so. Stereo separation is a given when you could have one speaker caught in every ear, however there was no cross-talk that I might discover.

Talking of EQ, now you can do it any means you need with the brand new Marshall app if none of the usual presets fit your style. After I reviewed the first-gen pair, the app supplied solely presets, with a promise of customization down the highway. I opted for scooping the mid-range and upping each the 160Hz and treble frequencies sightly, however all of the presets I attempted shall be listenable to somebody.

My mates Thiago and Bridget instructed me phone-call high quality over the Motif ANC II and their built-in microphones was higher than the precise cellphone. I assumed the identical from my finish of the calls.

Marshall’s energetic noise cancellation could be very efficient, and you’ll dial in any stage of transparency you want utilizing Marshall’s app. I by no means have interaction ANC once I’m strolling about in San Francisco, as a result of I’ve seen too many shut calls with people who find themselves disconnected from their environment. I need to hear what’s happening so I can react to it.

Kudos to Marshall for the app’s extraordinarily properly thought out and environment friendly person interface. You are able to do nearly all the things from there, together with pairing and turning Bluetooth on. The one factor I didn’t like was the overlay field that sits on prime of the scrolling foremost web page for playback of media. I’d fairly it disappeared when there’s nothing enjoying. Yeah, one other picayune grievance.

Marshall Motif ANC II run time and luxury

It’s best to get 6 hours of listening time on a cost, with a 30-hour reserve within the charging case. You’ll be able to stretch these numbers to 9 and 43 hours for those who disable Marshall’s energetic noise cancellation.

A 15-minute cost will provide you with one other hour of listening, whereas a full cost of each the earbuds and the case takes 90 minutes with a USB-cable and energy adapter. You can even wirelessly cost the case utilizing a Qi charger, however I don’t worth such inefficient energy switch.

The Motif ANC II include three sizes of cushions, with the mediums already secured in place. I’m not an enormous fan of getting issues caught in my ear, so if I inform you I didn’t discover them uncomfortable, that’s saying one thing. I was a tad involved in regards to the rough-textured stems, however that turned out to be a non-issue.

Must you purchase the Marshall Motif ANC II?

The noise-cancelling headphone market is a crowded place lately, whether or not you’re speaking over-the-ear cans or in-ear fashions akin to these. However if you have a look at what persons are utilizing, you’ll see the identical handful of manufacturers time and again–and I don’t assume it’s essentially as a result of they’re one of the best you should buy.

In case you’re searching for an amazing set of noise-cancelling earbuds, and also you need to stand out from the gang whereas listening to your favourite artists, give the Marshall Motif ANC II cautious consideration. I extremely advocate them.