If ever there was a brand who could rebirth a couple of classics, it’s Marshall.
That’s exactly what the iconic sound company has done, amping things back up with reimaginings of its Major V on-ear headphones – now brimming with 100+hours of wireless playtime and creature comfort listening – and the entry-level excellence of the Minor IV True Wireless earbuds.
What strikes you first about both the Major V and the Minor IV upon opening the packaging is that they are both rocking the historic Marshall look. It’s a vintage appearance that comes with a storied history and therefore a feeling of satisfaction that transcends from your eyes to your ears.
Like their amplifier predecessors, these new headphones are in it for the long game. The Minor IVs have been given a major lift – as Leonard Cohen might have had it – featuring a smooth fit and brass accents, the buds rest in your ears super lightly, encouraging all-day wear.
They’ve been designed to enhance acoustic performance, and while the feeling is vintage it’s in state-of-the-art circumstances, with earbud interaction fully customisable in the Marshall app. The agreeably rugged black vinyl case gives you a feeling of being on the road with the band, while being able to withstand the rigours of competing for pocket space with your car keys.
The bigger brother meanwhile has reached new heights, as Martin Wennberg, Product Manager for Marshall headphones has proudly noted. “With Major IV we broke the mould with 80+ hours of playtime, but Major V go miles further by taking that total to 100+ hours,” he stated upon product release.
“To honour the first pair of headphones we ever made, every detail has been painstakingly considered and refined for the fifth incarnation of Major – from their explosive sound to their iconic design.”
He’s not wrong. The Major V headphone speakers look like rock ’n’ roll, featuring classic vinyl-wrapped design with those trademark brass accents, and are lightweight yet robust, withstanding the everyday wear-and-tear of constant, passionate music listening.
Utilising custom 40mm dynamic drivers, Major V offers boosted mid frequencies, punchy bass tones, and clear treble. The sound differentiation allows for quality listening to your favourite music – it’s not merely about volume and noise, even with the heavier genres.
They also easily fold down to fit in your bag. In other words they’re built for comfort and for speed.
The on-ear seal of the headphones is excellent and the padding incredibly comfortable, providing well balanced sound quality, while the technology is on point, via the customisation capabilities of the classically swish M-button. When you hit up the M-script logo Spotify Tap opens by default, however you can also use the app to reconfigure the settings to access EQ presets or voice assistant, whichever rocks your boat. The battery preservation option will also help you to increase overall battery life.
And if you’re sick of searching for the correct cable every time you want to power something up, you can charge the Major V wirelessly by simply resting your headphones on a charging pad. If you prefer to charge things up old school style however, a USB-C cable is also provided.
Meanwhile, the Minor IV may be the smaller sibling, but its name is Marshall after all, and with 30+ hours of wireless playtime you can move through your day with a soundtrack to suit at all times.
The Minor IV’s excellent Bluetooth 5.2 multipoint connectivity allows you to easily navigate playback and manage calls with the ability to access voice assistants and connect to multiple devices simultaneously. Soundwise, they’re giving you some nice heft with strong lower sub bass frequencies and some brightness ushered in via the sonic capabilities of upper mids and highs. You can also personalise to your tastes and needs by utilising the dedicated Marshall app allowing multi-point pairing (i.e. PC and phone) and support for both Android and iOS devices.
As for the water-resistant buds, they’ve undergone a redesign with the stem also now angled for a truer fit inside the ear canal.
The attention to detail of the Marshall iconography really makes these headphones stand apart from anything else on the market. They may look vintage but it’s not all about the past – both Major V and Minor IV are geared up for a Bluetooth LE Audio future, so you can expect even higher audio quality and increased streaming ranges. In other words, your ears are in great hands.
Check out the Marshall Minor IV and Major V range at jbhifi.com.au
