We pushed our selection of Marshall headphones through a range of music genres - from bass-heavy bruisers, riff-filled wonders and gentle acoustic pieces to get a proper feel for what they can deliver. Bluetooth 5.3 LE should mean stable support while listening although we did find that the connection would drop out once in a while or simply restart playing a song. The same issue sometimes occurred when asking the Marshall app. It'd only be an issue for a moment or two but it was a mild irritant.

Marshall and Zound first collaborated in 2010 in a deal that resulted in Marshall’s range of headphones and Bluetooth speakers. Instead, they're quite balanced meaning more orchestral pieces shine here. The classics like The Beach Boys' God Only Knows conveys all the right nuances at the key moments.The Marshall Motif II are the right kind of simple to use. They have the essentials you'd need while being consistently easy to figure out. Much of that success is thanks to the Marshall app which looks a little dated but has everything you could need perfectly lined up. Marshall Amplification was was formed in 1962 and remained under family ownership for more than 60 years until March 2023, when they were sold to Swedish speaker manufacturer Zound Industries. Marshall still own a 24% stake in the company, making them the largest shareholders in the newly-titled Marshall Group. The takeover deal covers Marshall Amplification and its subsidiaries Marshall Records, Marshall Live Agency and Natal Drums Marshall’s most obvious competitor in the headphone market is JBL, a brand which also comes with considerable live music credibility. JBL offers a comparable mix of headphone styles, but somehow the Marshall design just feels a little more granular – they get you closer to the stage. Who owns Marshall Amplification?

Usability is good – one touch controls Play/Pause, two touches will skip you forward. The buds will Auto Pause when you take them from your ears. During my evenings, I listened to the Marshall Motif II ANC while watching Twitch streams, both gaming and cooking ones, all through my MacBook Pro. I also used them on long morning walks near busy traffic, on runs along the seafront, and at home around noisy heaters and dehumidifiers When it comes to testing the best Marshall headphones, we first and foremost took a dive into their audio delivery. As you'd expect with a product carrying the Marshall name, we have high expectations due to their legendary status in the music world and it was the obvious place to start.

The alternative AirPod

The Marshall Motif II ANC has far better battery life than its predecessor. This time around, you get about 30 hours with ANC on and up to 43 hours with ANC off. With mixed usage, we found the figure landing somewhere in the middle. It's a decent length of time with up to nine hours via the buds alone. The Marshall Motif II ANC followed me everywhere I went for a week and a half. That meant they started the day being worn on my morning walk in suburbia and surrounded by busy traffic as well as some noisy rain. This was conducted while listening to Apple Music as much as possible. Then they were worn during the working day where a loud dehumidifier tried to distract me along with the noise of construction work next door. Here was my chance with Spotify and the occasional YouTube videos. At a swish of your finger, you can adjust the transparency level for the ANC while noise control can easily be adjusted. Besides the usual options to customize touch controls and even adjust audio prompts, there's a battery preservation section which is a nice touch. It's impossible to tell how much it will help in the long term but it's neat to have that level of control, at least theoretically. Victoria Marshall added: “With Marshall Group, the potential to further impact an ever-modernising music industry is a highly genuine one. Together, we will preserve the Marshall legacy and shape the future of ‘Live Loud’. Having worked alongside my father during his later years, I know he would be excited at this direction and the potential to reach a larger worldwide audience with innovation and passion which he always had in spades.” How we test