We like Marshall's Stanmore II Bluetooth, but it doesn't really stand out in a crowded sea of wireless speakers. The $399.99 Stanmore II Voice, however, has far less competition in the smart speaker realm. At $50 more than the Bluetooth-only model, the Stanmore II Voice adds your choice of support for Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands. Marshall also manages to improve the audio output—the Voice model doesn't distort on deep bass like the Bluetooth version sometimes does. That makes it a stronger value than the standard model, and one of the better high-end smart speakers you can buy.

Design

The general specs for the Stanmore II Voice are nearly the same as the Stanmore II Bluetooth, but there are some minor variations. It measures the same 7.7 by 13.8 by 7.3 inches (HWD), but weighs a slightly heavier 10.7 pounds. The front cloth grille and black leather-like enclosure are visually identical, but where the Bluetooth version has a power switch, the Voice model houses a mic button. This button mutes or unmutes the dual-mic system, which employs noise cancellation to hone in on voices from several feet away. Four small status LEDs, located on the bottom right of the front panel, glow and pulse white when the mic is on, and glow amber when it's muted

Otherwise, the top panel remains virtually unchanged. There's a 3.5mm aux input (cable not included) and a sound source button to the left, where you can choose between Aux, Bluetooth, RCA, and Wi-Fi inputs. The middle of the panel houses three knobs, one each for volume, bass, and treble. The levels are displayed in red underlit LEDs that surround each knob. To the right of this, there's a play/pause button, but there are no track navigation controls.

Around back, the speaker has a stereo RCA input (again, no cables provided) and a connection for the included power cable. The top, front, and side panels look fantastic, if the retro design suits your tastes, but the back panel isn't quite as nice. It's black, and covered in white legalese and logos, which is a truly poor design decision that will make you want to place the speaker close to a wall so you don't have to look at its back.

Internally, the Stanmore II Voice uses one 50-watt Class D amplifier for the woofer and dual 15-watt amps for the tweeters, providing a frequency range of 50Hz-20kHz.

We tested the Google Assistant version of the speaker. In this case, the Googe Home app is your ticket to getting the most out of it. It's also necessary to download for the initial setup of the speaker. However, once setup and connected to your Wi-Fi network, you can more or less get by without the app if you'd like. Overall, the setup is a piece of cake and general operation is simple and user-friendly.

Most things that can be done in the app, in terms of music playback, can be achieved with vocal commands. The far-field mics pick up voices exceptionally well. You can be 20 feet or more away and mumble something while the speaker is blasting music, and as long as you lead with "OK Google," the music stops and the assistant follows your command. For a better time with Google Assistant, read our guide on how to train it to more accurately recognize your voice.

As a Google Assistant speaker, the Stanmore II Voice features Google Cast, which lets the speaker function like a Chromecast Audio is connected. The Google Cast platform, controlled through the Google Home app, supports multi-room audio with the ability to stream music over Wi-Fi simultaneously to several speakers at once. The Amazon Alexa version of the Stanmore II Voice will eventually support similar multi-room streaming, but it isn't currently available.

Performance

The bass and treble controls make it possible to dial in your ideal sound signature. With the knobs set to midway, the Stanmore II Voice delivers powerful low frequency on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout." One notable difference between this speaker and the Stanmore II Bluetooth is that there's no distortion at top volumes on this track. That might seem impossible given the same drivers and amplifiers are being used, but this speaker has a slightly higher maximum sound pressure level of 107dB (as opposed to 101dB).

See How We Test Speakers

Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Stanmore II Voice's general sound signature. The drums get a robust, powerful presence that doesn't sound overly boosted and sculpted in the lows. Boosting the bass, of course, can give the drums a thunderous, borderline unnatural sound, but there's room to dial in a more natural (but still boosted) sound. Callahan's baritone vocals sound rich and full, and receive enough treble edge to keep things defined. The acoustic guitar strums and higher register percussive hits also benefit from the crisp highs—and can get much brighter with the treble knob in effect.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives ideal high-mid response—its attack retains its punchy presence in the mix. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat sound deep and powerful, though boosting the bass on this track tends to affect the drum loop more so than it dials up the sub-bass. In other words, the bass knob is pushing lows and low-mids higher, but the sub-bass frequencies are less boosted—if you're looking for more sub-bass, you might want a system with an actual subwoofer to tinker with. The vocals on this track are clear and clean without sounding overly sibilant, even with the treble boosted significantly.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, allow the Stanmore II Voice to shine. The lower register instrumentation has a full-bodied presence that never veers into overly boosted territory. The higher register brass, strings, and vocals retain a bright, clear presence. You can, of course, sculpt and boost with the EQ knobs to your heart's content, but the default settings already sound fantastic.

Conclusions

Our biggest gripe with the Stanmore II Bluetooth was that it seemed a tad overpriced for a speaker that sometimes distorted on deep bass. With the Stanmore II Voice, the distortion is gone. Yes, the price has also gone up, but the inclusion of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant adds value speaker—certainly enough to give this a higher rating than its predecessor, and to make it a standout in the smart speaker realm. On the high end, we're also fans of the Google Home Max and the Apple HomePod. For less money, the Sonos One and JBL Link 10 are solid options. If you have the room in your budget and are a fan of Marshall's aesthetic, however, you really can't go wrong with the Stanmore II Voice.

Marshall Stanmore II Voice Specs

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