There's a lot of portable headphones in the market but only few would float your boat in terms of design and sound quality. Marshall puts out the Major IV, a refreshed version of its popular wireless on-ear lineup with a familiar design and bigger value for your money.
Marshall Major IV Review
The Marshall Major IV connects with Bluetooth 5.0. It's also exciting to see that the battery life of this earphones has been doubled compared to its predecessor - that's an amazing 80 hours of wireless connectivity. So far, the Major IV promises a lot of things on the table and we are about to find out here in our Marshall Major IV review.
Key Specifications:
- Transducer: 40 mm, Dynamic
- Impedance: 32 0hm
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
- Sensitivity: 99 dB SPL (100mV @ 1 kHz)
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Multi-directional control knob
- Share audio with someone else
- Wireless Charging
- Up to 80+ hours playtime
- Ergonomic Fit
- Collapsible design
Design
The Marshall Major IV generally has a smaller footprint compared to other headphones in its class. The whole aesthetics of the headphones uses the Marshall trademark design. For one, the headband's outer surface is a black textured vinyl, while the insides of the band gives of a finer matte finish; at the center, there's a Marshall logo while the ends of the band have the "Right" and "Left" inscriptions for your ears.
The earcups are square with curved corners; while the earpads are soft and exquisitely cushioned for comfortable usage even for longer periods of time. There's a white Marshall branding on each of the outer side of the earcups.
The Marshall Major IV comes with collapsible clips on the ends of the headband. These made carrying the headphones easier. Plus, you can just slide it in your jacket or coat's pocket.
The right earcup houses the controls and ports. I am quite impressed with the navigation button. It's simple and easy to use. I also love the fact that there's one button to do navigation tasks, Bluetooth pairing, and even turning on/off the headphones.
In addition, the button acts as a knob or a mini joystick which skips tracks if you push it towards left or right. Likewise, you can control the volume when cranking the knob towards up or down direction. You can also fast forward or rewind by pressing and holding the knob in either left or right direction.
Pressing the button once will answer the call, pressing it once again will end the call. Same gesture will also play or pause the track while listening to a music. Long pressing the button for two seconds will turn the headphones off; while a 4-second long press will invoke Bluetooth pairing. You'll know that it's ready to pair when the LED indicator blinks blue.
All in all, the Marshall Major IV is easy to use. The controls are simple and intuitive; it's definitely easy to use than majority of the headphones in the market.
What's in the Box?
The Marshall Major IV features a 40-mm dynamic driver which covers 20Hz to 20KHz frequency range. For starters, this is the frequency range that humans can detect the sound.
You can charge the headphones using a USB cable and a Qi-capable charging pads. The USB port is on the bottom portion of the right earcup together with the 3.5-mm audio jack. There's also an inclusion of a USB-C cable in the box together with the semi-coiled audio cable and the paperworks.
Performance and Battery Life
The Marshall Major IV is one of the best choices for its price. It delivers good quality audio across all sound genres. I played the "Game of Love" by Carlos Santana featuring Michelle Branch, and I noticed that the guitar rifts are on point. The treble is also crisp enough not to the point that it's getting pitchy.
Vocals are also clear enough for you to understand the lyrics. Mids and Highs are very prominent in this headphones. For those looking for some bass, you'll have it here with some punch, especially if you're listening to Hip-hop and RnB tracks. Its Lows and mid-lows performance are also okay.
The microphone is already built into the headphones. I have to say that the Marshall Major IV is a good companion especially that I use it for my Zoom or Microsoft Teams sessions when I am working from home. Moreover, although not being marketed for gaming, it is also a great companion for a single-player mobile gamer like me. Playing popular mobile game titles like Mobile Legends and Wild Rift gives immersive experience, capable of producing incredible and explosive sounds that makes gameplay even more intense and exciting.
But the thing that really sets the Marshall Major IV apart from other headphones is the truly impressive 80-hour wireless playtime. The battery life is solid enough to get you going for days, even weeks depending on your usage.
Verdict: Should You Buy The Marshall Major IV?
The Marshall Major IV is a well-balanced headphones. It reproduces the best sound for almost all of the range. I might have to say that this is great for most consumers, but not so much for purist.
The headphones has a defined sound stage with dynamic and bass-loving identity. Its design is something that I would want for headphones - small, retractable, and user friendly.
For ₱8,690, the Marshall Major IV is definitely a steal buy. You can even get a deal on Digital Walker and Beyond the Box if you're keen on promo postings.
The Marshall Major IV is definitely easy to recommend to those looking for a very portable headphones with high quality sound.