Pros & Cons
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- Impressive audio response
- Excellent battery life
- Tactile controls
- Stylish design
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- Somewhat heavy
Marshall Middleton II Specs
| Bluetooth | |
| Built-In Voice Assistant | None |
| Channels | Stereo |
| Physical Connections | 3.5mm |
| Physical Connections | USB-C |
| Portable | |
| Speakerphone | |
| Water-Resistant |
The $329.99 Marshall Middleton II builds on the strengths of its well-regarded predecessor, offering clearer stereo sound, improved battery life, and enhanced functionality. We appreciate Marshall's signature design, the versatile joystick control, dedicated bass and treble knobs, and customizable EQ settings. Handy extras like a 3.5mm aux input, reverse phone charging, and water resistance add to Middleton II's appeal. It easily earns our Editors’ Choice for outdoor speakers, delivering both high style and sound quality for your next backyard gathering. If the vintage-inspired look isn’t your thing, however, the Bose SoundLink Plus ($269) offers a more colorful design and nearly comparable audio performance at a lower price.
Design: The Classic Marshall Look
The Middleton II adheres to the classic Marshall design, first exemplified in its guitar amps. The company has nailed the aesthetic, with the signature textured leather look that you'll recognize covering most of the surface. In addition to looking lush, it also makes the speaker feel durable and substantial.
At 4.33 by 9.05 by 3.86 inches (HWD) and 3.9 pounds, the Middleton II strikes a good balance between portability and presence, though it's bigger and heavier than the Bose SoundLink Plus (3.9 by 9.1 by 3.4 inches, 3.3 pounds). It certainly isn't pocket-sized, but it's manageable enough to carry around, especially with the included carrying strap. The speaker is rated IP67, the same as the SoundLink, so you can use it at the beach or pool without fear of damaging it with water.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)The control layout on top of the speaker is both simple and tactile. You get separate power and Bluetooth buttons, plus dedicated buttons to adjust the bass and treble, allowing you to dial in the sound without needing to dive into an app. A multidirectional joystick in the center handles volume, playback, and track skipping. It’s everything you need to use it.
Around the back, you'll find a USB-C port for charging the speaker itself or your phone via Power Delivery. There’s also a 3.5mm input for wired connections, which is increasingly rare on portable speakers but welcome for those times when Bluetooth isn't ideal.
Marshall's classic script logo, layered over a mesh covering, is featured on both the front and the back for a more uniform look. The mesh protects the two 3-inch woofers and two 0.6-inch tweeters inside, along with two passive radiators that help extend the bass response. Marshall says the frequency response spans 45Hz to 20kHz.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)The Middleton II connects via Bluetooth 5.3 and supports the AAC, LC3, and SBC codecs. It also supports Auracast, which is handy for multi-room audio. It doesn't support LDAC, but LC3 is a nice addition. The Bose adds AptX Adaptive to its AAC and SBC support.
Battery life is excellent, with over 30 hours of playback, which should easily get most people through multiple days of use. When it's time to charge, plugging in for 20 minutes will get you five hours of playback. The Bose SoundLink Plus, by comparison, is rated for 20 hours of playback.
The box includes the speaker, a USB-C charging cable, and a carrying strap that can be attached or removed as needed.
App: All of the Essentials and an EQ
The Middleton II works with the Marshall Bluetooth app (available for Android and iOS). The app is well-designed and thoughtfully laid out. On the main screen, you can view basic information, such as battery level and connection status, with the option to access EQ settings and connect to Auracast broadcasts.
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(Credit: Marshall/PCMag)The app's EQ section is functional. By default, the speaker uses what the app calls the Marshall tuning, which is described as “the original Marshall sound.” Users can choose between this tuning and a custom EQ, which offers five bands between 160Hz and 6.25Hz. The custom EQ section features its own presets, which can be tweaked as needed, making it a handy option. It’s enough to have an impact on the audio response, but more advanced options would be helpful.
Unusually, the EQ built into the app exists separately from the bass and treble buttons of the speaker itself. So, you could set up your custom EQ preset and then make additional, broader tweaks using the speaker’s built-in buttons.
Sound: Strong Stereo Audio
The Marshall Middleton II delivers a solid audio response overall, thanks to its stereo speaker arrangement, which provides a wider soundstage than other speakers in this price range.
The speaker offers an impressive bass response for its size, a quality that becomes particularly evident when listening to The Knife's track "Silent Shout." While the speaker cuts off some of the very lowest bass extension—which is expected from a small portable speaker—it performs better than I anticipated in the low end. The sub-bass content sounds full and impactful without becoming too muddy. The main limitation here is that some of the high-end detail gets buried in the mix, with the lower frequencies taking over somewhat.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)I hear the same response on "Drover" by Bill Callahan, though the speaker generally handles this track well. Callahan's baritone vocal sound is full and rich, while the acoustic guitar is crisp and present. The main weakness is that the kick drum feels a little weak compared with the rest of the mix. It certainly isn’t absent, but not quite as punchy as it could be.
"Loyalty" by Kendrick Lamar sounds pleasing, but it isn’t perfect. Notably, the sub-bass line proves difficult for the speaker. While it does deliver on some of the bass line's notes, others are missing entirely, leaving the bass feeling disjointed. It's a common issue with smaller speakers, but worth noting if you frequently listen to bass-heavy music. Once again, the percussion feels slightly buried compared with the other elements. The rest of the track sounds superb, though.
With John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, things come across a little cluttered. The dual-driver configuration helps create a sense of space that makes the dense arrangement feel slightly less cramped than it might on a mono speaker; however, with so many instruments competing for attention, the track can be messy. The frequency response holds up reasonably well, though—the brass section maintains enough brightness to cut through, and there is sufficient bass presence to give the lower strings some weight.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)The good news is that you can address some of these frequency balance issues with the custom EQ. While the five-band setup isn't the most comprehensive, it's sufficient to reduce some of the bass emphasis and bring out more high-end detail, if that's your preference. However, the fundamental limitations of the drivers themselves, like the inability to reproduce deep sub-bass frequencies, remain no matter how much EQ tweaking you do. Still, most listeners should be able to dial in a sound signature they're happy with.
The Middleton II features a microphone on the top panel, allowing you to use the speaker for phone calls. It's strong enough to pick up your voice from a reasonable distance, and conversations sound clear. The Bose SoundLink Plus doesn't have a mic and can't act as a speakerphone.