Now these are not new, were released 18 months ago but are Marshall Major IV Headphones still worth buying in 2023? That’s right! Let me walk you through everything you need to know.
The box is small, the headphones are small and it surprised me that they look bigger in the online pictures. Iconic look, which Marshall does very well. This is small transparent. They have a small form factor, the ear cups are small but it works and they are very portable which is a plus. Padded earcups and adjustable headband, also fold in on themselves for easier storage. No box or sleeves are supplied with these, which is a bit of a pity considering the price but that’s okay. That price? The RRP is £129.99 but you can buy these new for £99 at some retailers.
Specifications and features
They are black or brown. They include Marshall’s signature sound, they include wireless charging which is pretty neat. This is done by placing the right earcup on the wireless charging dock (not supplied!) which works fine. If you don’t have a dock, USB C works just as well, and a cable is provided. The claimed 80 hours of battery life is impressive, almost fantastic, and 15 minutes of charging should give you about 15 hours of playback. Connect via Bluetooth 5.0 or wired (3.5mm aux). There is a microphone for receiving or making calls.
What’s missing? There’s no ANC, no active noise cancellation so you’re relying on passive canceling from the soft earcups to the ears. There are also no EQ or custom options. Usually, you can pair a Marshall product with their app, and the app opens up preset EQ options and gives you the ability to create your own. Unfortunately, this is not the case with these.
However, I found both of those ‘missing’ features to be no problem. Passive noise cancellation from the padded earcups is surprisingly good WHEN you listen to music at medium volume. ANC would provide more isolation but I don’t miss not having it. The default sound profile or the Marshall Signature sound is awesome. I know it’s going to happen, every Marshall product I’ve tried sounds great for the genre of music I listen to the most, Rock. Well balanced, powerful bass, crisp vocals, they sound great. I listened to a lot of Pop Punk, Country, RnB and then some heavier stuff and I was happy listening to those tracks.
They sit on the ears and the headband is not very well padded but they are very comfortable and I have worn them for hours on end with no issues. Lots of flex in the headband and adjustability that I imagine would fit most head sizes. They’re safe and probably OK for working out in the gym and possibly jogging, which I can’t do so I won’t try. They’re not water resistant in any way, so keep that in mind if you want to use them while exercising.
Controls, there’s a handy little gold knob on the right earcup. Use this button to power on/off, play/pause while pressing. Then left or right to control the track, increase or decrease the volume. That’s it, simple and very easy to control with your thumb.
Battery? I’ve been using this ALOT but I still haven’t reached 80 hours! That will take me some time, and I suppose in the last two weeks I’ve gotten around 30+ hours, so it’s likely not even 50% of the battery! How do you know what the battery level is? Well, the little LED on the right speaker will flash red, orange or green, with red being low battery, green highest, and orange in the middle. Not perfect but if you see red, it’s time to charge.
What a pair of cracked headphones! If you can pick these up for £99 or less and love Rock, Pop Punp or CountryCore (new to me but great!), then I highly recommend them. The only thing I miss is the ability to pair this with the app for customization.
For more information and purchases, go to the official website marshal website.
