execs and cons
- Attractive, timeless design
- Wonderful sound
- Larger soundstage
extra shopping for selections
Marshall’s Stanmore line of audio system has been my dependable music accomplice for six years now. I like enjoying songs on my mains-powered Stanmore II greater than some other speaker. It runs within the background once I’m working, chilling, or simply present at residence. So, I used to be greater than excited to see if the most recent mannequin, the brand new Stanmore IV, was well worth the improve.
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The fourth-gen speaker promised a extra immersive expertise with deeper bass and a wider soundstage, together with a extra repairable design. I’ve now been testing it for a month, and am glad to report that it stands true to most of these guarantees.
The Marshall Stanmore IV continues to be a Bluetooth-only speaker, missing Wi-Fi or voice assistant help, not like different good audio system in its worth vary. Nonetheless, it’s the signature Marshall design, sound, and general expertise that’ll sway you away from the good choices and towards an analog-first strategy. However is it actually well worth the $430 price ticket? Permit me to reply.
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An opulent, timeless design
The Stanmore IV options Marshall’s signature look, packed in a extra repairable wood cupboard measuring 13.78 x 7.99 x 7.28 inches and weighing 8.81lbs. As a mains-powered speaker, it’s meant to be stored in a single place, plugged into an outlet. It’s massive, however not like different residence audio system, the Stanmore blends into your room’s inside. It would not appear to be an odd gadget sitting on a shelf.
Like its predecessor, the Stanmore IV has a faux-leather-clad exterior, a brass speaker grille, and golden accents, together with a big Marshall brand on the entrance. These design components give it an aesthetic, timeless look, which might complement any residing area.
Marshall’s bodily controls provide satisfying, analog suggestions that I miss on the Sonos Period 300.
Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET
On high, you get three bodily knobs to regulate the amount, treble, and bass. They’re paired with an influence swap, Supply button (to toggle between RCA, Bluetooth, and Aux), a playback management button (to play/pause or go to earlier/subsequent observe), and an all-new M button. The multifunction M button could be custom-made by means of the Marshall app, the place you may discover choices to change between your saved EQ presets or open a Spotify playlist with Spotify Faucet. Plus, the purple LED indicators are actually brighter and extra legible than earlier than.
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This management system looks like the right mixture of analog and digital. There’s one thing extra satisfying concerning the bodily suggestions of knobs, buttons, and switches, which might’t be replicated by vibrations on digital buttons. Marshall’s use of buttons and knobs means you do not have to take out your telephone to vary the EQ, quantity, and supply settings. It’s merely a extra joyful expertise.
My Marshall Stanmore II (left) has its ports situated on the again, whereas the Stanmore IV (proper) has a cleaner look and has shifted its controls to the underside.
Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET
Marshall has additionally labored on tidying up the design. All ports, besides the three.5mm Aux port on high, have been moved to the speaker’s underside, whereas on the Stanmore II, they had been on the again.
This shift in port places permits you to place the Stanmore IV flush in opposition to a wall, or whether it is on an open shelf, it will look tidier from the again. Additionally it is extra repairable than earlier than. You possibly can swap out the entrance grille, knobs, toes, and the enduring brand, ought to they get broken.
A fair higher sound
I in contrast the latest-generation Stanmore IV to my Stanmore II, and it sounded higher than ever. It’s clearer, louder, and has a much bigger soundstage. The brand new Marshall speaker makes use of two 0.75-inch tweeters with 25W of amplification and a 5-inch sub with 60W of amplification to ship massive, booming bass.
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I listened to all types of genres, and the Marshall Stanmore IV delivers an all-around pleasing expertise. It presents deep bass with out fatiguing your ears. The decrease frequencies have a thumping impression whereas remaining clear, with out sacrificing mids.
Rock songs have glorious instrument separation, the place you may hear the drumbeat alongside the power of electrical guitars. The treble sounds managed and vibrant in any respect volumes, with minimal distortion even whenever you crank it up. And none of it impacts the vocal readability. I loved listening to acoustic music as a lot as I loved rock.
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For the higher a part of my testing, I had my Marshall Stanmore IV related to the Vivo X300 Extremely (for higher-res LDAC) and iPhone 17 Professional Max. For probably the most half, I could not inform the distinction between the 2 sources. Nonetheless, I did discover vocals on the LDAC codec sounded barely extra detailed and had more room.
General, the Stanmore IV sounds as energetic as earlier than, however with higher tonal accuracy, deeper bass, and a broader soundstage.
The app, new options, and one lacking bit
The Stanmore IV could be paired along with your telephone by way of the brand new Marshall app. It allows over-the-air updates and customization choices, and presents nifty options to ship a greater expertise.
The app permits you to alter the brightness of the LED indicators, use placement compensation to optimize the speaker’s audio output based mostly on its place, and save as much as three EQ presets with a five-band equalizer. You may also customise the M button to your desire right here.
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Marshall has additionally added Aurcast help to its new Stanmore IV and Motion IV audio system. This implies you may lastly join a Stanmore speaker to an Acton, Woburn, or different supported Marshall speaker for a multi-room expertise. Earlier, you could possibly solely stack a Stanmore with a Stanmore or a Woburn with a Woburn. I am glad that is now an possibility.
Nonetheless, I am dissatisfied that you will want a $300 Marshall Heddon streaming hub to attach the Stanmore IV to its predecessor or to the Marshall Heston soundbars. Moreover, the shortage of Auracast help for connecting to audio system from different producers is a serious disadvantage. Sadly, if in case you have a Stanmore II like me, you may’t join it to Marshall’s newest residence audio system.
I additionally want Marshall had included Wi-Fi help in its new era of residence audio system. I would like to attach my speaker to the house community and solid songs by way of AirPlay — not for high quality however for a no-interruption expertise. On Bluetooth, my music pauses once I’m scrolling by means of social media, and a video begins enjoying. If there have been Wi-Fi help, this disruption would not have occurred, and I may have continued utilizing my telephone with out worrying a few random noise interrupting my music.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
At $430, the Marshall Stanmore IV just isn’t probably the most inexpensive speaker in the marketplace. It instantly competes with a wiser $479 Sonos Period 300, which has Wi-Fi help and voice assistant capabilities. Nonetheless, it would not have the identical timeless, elegant look as the brand new Marshall speaker.
Regardless of the worth tag, the Stanmore IV stays a straightforward suggestion due to its timeless design and glorious sound mixture.
The Stanmore IV’s faux-leather exterior with golden accents would simply match into any residing area, and its sturdy bass, paired with vibrant highs and clear vocals on a large, room-filling soundstage, would please each listener. If my expertise with the Stanmore II is any indication, this speaker is constructed to final, and a extra repairable design solely instills extra confidence. Should you do not want good options, the Marshall Stanmore IV is one of the best residence speaker you should purchase in its worth vary.
