When Marshall, a brand popularly known for its guitar amplifiers, decided to delve into the personal audio market back in the 2010s, I was intrigued. Fast forward to more than a decade later, the company has released numerous portable and outdoor speakers, as well as headphones and earbuds.
Having missed the boat during its early years, I finally got to experience what Marshall has to offer in this segment thanks to an opportunity provided by the brand itself. As already mentioned in the title, the star of this review will be the Major V, its latest wireless headphones that launched for the local market in late May.
What Is It?
The Major V, as implied by its name, is the fifth generation of Marshall’s Bluetooth headphones. It has the same design as its predecessor, where each side features a squarish ear cup attached to a faux leather covered headband. It’s also foldable, therefore allowing you to compress it into a smaller form for storage. Weight-wise, the headphones come in at 186g, which is considerably lightweight.
On the inside of each ear cup are 40mm drivers and a battery that boasts over 100 hours of wireless playtime on a single charge. Besides that, there’s a M-control button on the left cup that provides instant access to functions such as equaliser profile switching, a gold coloured power and control knob combo on the right for managing playback, track switching and volume, as well as a USB-C port and a jack for the included 3.5mm cable.
Is It Any Good?
Aesthetically, the Major V looks good. It sports Marshall’s signature design language that’s prominently featured on its renowned guitar amplifiers. This particular look is certainly unique, making it easily stand out from its competitors.
Its audio delivery is decent at best, but I strongly urge you to create a custom equaliser profile via the Marshall Bluetooth app to get the best out of it. The default Marshall preset provides a balanced but flat output across all three frequencies (bass, mids and treble), while the whole experience itself gives off a very “tinny” sound. This is fine if you want to use the headphones casually, but those who are expecting much more will be left disappointed.
Things take a turn for the better once I’ve done some tweaking to the equaliser by adjusting each frequency to suit my preferences. At least with my custom preset, sound gets a bit more depth, with sharp sounding trebles and satisfying bass working harmoniously throughout a song. I personally find that rock songs such as Avenged Sevenfold’s So Far Away and certain dance tracks work well with this, though the same can’t be said for instrumentals such as Piotr Musial’s The City Must Survive.
As for controls, I do find the physical controls to be very intuitive, especially the control knob on the headphone’s right ear cup. Holding down on the knob switches the headphones on and off, moving it left or right switches tracks, and pressing it up or down adjusts the volume. Meanwhile, the M-control button on the left can be set to easily launch your phone’s voice assistant, or to switch between different equaliser presets.
Even though the Major V is designed primarily to be used via Bluetooth, you can opt for a wired approach by connecting the included 3.5mm cable to the headphones and a compatible output device. This is very useful in cases where wireless connectivity isn’t ideal, or if you run out of battery.
Speaking of which, the battery life provided by the headphones is plentiful. While I’ve never actually kept it running for 100 hours straight, I only found myself charging the Major V over a week since I last topped up its battery. It should also be noted that the USB-C port is only for charging and not as an alternative to the 3.5mm connection.
What’s The Catch?
The Marshall Major V, unfortunately, isn’t the most comfortable pair of headphones I’ve ever worn. Even though the adjustable headband allows it to conform nicely to heads of different sizes, I did find that the ear cups clamp a bit too hard despite featuring memory foam cushioning (which are faux leather covered too, by the way). Moreover, they also sit on your ears rather than around them, so expect to feel some pressure to build up after prolonged use.
Meanwhile, the ability to switch between EQ presets by tapping the M-control button is nice and all, but you’re only allowed to add only one other option as the default Marshall preset cannot be removed. Then there’s the absence of ANC, which does affect your listening experience in loud environments. To keep it short, the Major V is more suitable for indoor use, such as at the office or at home.
Should I Buy It?
So is the Marshall Major V worth getting? Well, that all depends on what you’re really looking for in a pair of headphones.
The Major V doesn’t cover all bases when it comes to sound; it shines at its brightest for some music genres, but will fall short for others. This is a major determining factor if you’re particular about audio quality. It is not the most comfortable and then there’s also its RM779 price tag, which is a tough ask for a pair of headphones that’s missing certain advanced features such as ANC and so on.
But on the flip side, it is very pretty to look at, thanks to a design that’s rarely seen on other headsets available in the market. And despite not featuring the most audiophile-pleasing audio, it is still good enough for casual use. Plus, it also comes with excellent battery life and intuitive controls.
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