Marshall Major IV review | Laptop Mag

Our Verdict

Potent sound and battery life combined with a sleek, throwback design make the Marshall Major Four an affordable peak-tier wireless model.

For

80 hours of playtime
Studio-quality audio
Absurd, nostalgic pattern
User-friendly controls
Wireless charging

Against

Doesn't support Marshall app or customized sound features
Mediocre noise isolation
No conveying case

Laptop Mag Verdict

Strong sound and bombardment life combined with a sleek, throwback pattern make the Marshall Major IV an affordable top-tier wireless model.

Pros

+
80 hours of playtime
+
Studio-quality audio
+
Cool, nostalgic pattern
+
User-friendly controls
+
Wireless charging

Cons

-
Doesn't support Marshall app or customized sound features
-
Mediocre dissonance isolation
-
No carrying case

Marshall has been a prominent effigy in the sound space for decades, and with awesome releases like the Major 4, it's easy to come across why. The company'south latest launch is a welcomed addition to the mid-range headphones market, packing excellent sound quality and the lengthiest playtimes we have seen in the category into an heart-catching, old schoolhouse design. Unique features similar audio sharing via daisy-chain support, wireless charging, and the patented knob controller as well give these cans some modern swag.

Our expert picks for the all-time wireless headphones, per budget and mode
Check out our Bose 700 review
…and our Sony WH-1000xM4 review

While everything may audio perfect, Marshall did forget to check off a few boxes on our must-accept list. This includes mobile app support, which the visitor offers for other products (not this one), sound personalization tools (e.g. EQ, presets), and other practical necessities like a Observe My Headphones mode and carrying case. The on-ear design too means that ambient noises seep into the soundscape. All drawbacks aside though, the Major IV delivers way more performance than you could inquire for at such a relatively cheap price.

Marshall Major 4: Cost and availability

You tin buy the Marshall Major Four for $150 at major online retailers such every bit Amazon and Best Buy or direct from Marshall. The headphones only come in black, simply if nosotros're following Marshall'southward track record, there is a strong possibility that we see them available in White and Chocolate-brown eventually.

Marshall Major Four: Design

All Marshall headphones evoke the spirit of the brand'south iconic vintage amps. The Major IV continues this tendency with an aesthetically pleasing retro design that employs high-quality materials. The black vinyl-textured cover on the earpads and pebbled false leather wrapping around the headband give these headphones a minimalistic, badass look that makes them feel like they should be attached to the soundboard in Dave Grohl's home studio. Marshall's signature script logo is branded right on the front of each ear cup for recognition.

Marshall Major IV — (Image credit: Regan Coule/Laptop Mag)

Even though the build quality isn't as axiomatic as it is on the brand's noise-cancelling headphones, the Major IV is even so a well-built model that has some nice heft to information technology when held in mitt. It's sturdy enough to protect the internals and stave off scratches and scuffs. I also liked how Marshall was able to make the design more functional, with the metal fold clips assuasive the headphones to collapse for seamless portability.

It would accept been great if Marshall included a carrying case with the purchase. Without one, you'll have to keep these around your neck or toss them in your everyday bag when commuting. You practice become an aux cablevision for wired listening and a USB-C charging cable.

Marshall Major IV: Comfort and fit

Marshall did a standout chore of keeping these on-ear headphones lightweight and snug. The Major 4 just weighs 5.ix ounces, which is close to the Jabra Elite 45h (5.6 ounces), but this model feels less flimsy. The form-fitting earcups might look strong, but they're actually gentle and well-cushioned to prevent your ears from pressing up against the inner speaker grills; this was a huge event with the Aristocracy 45h.

I as well liked how the earcups maintained a tight grip to foreclose slippage. Anyone with a depression hurting threshold may feel the headband printing hard atop the skull when worn on the everyman setting, though loosening the extenders volition provide a more relaxed fit and more ventilation. I put the Major Four to use for long stretches throughout the mean solar day and didn't experience much discomfort.

Marshall Major IV: Controls and digital assistant

Give Marshall props for thinking exterior of the box and developing a new, fun way of operating your wireless headphones. Well, Marshall headphones at least. The multi-direction knob streamlines how you control your music and phone functionality past using basic directional gestures and presses. It'southward easy to apply and the command list is straightforward: volume (upwards/downwards), skip frontwards or skip dorsum (left/right), play/pause or answer/terminate call (1x press), enable vocalism assistant (2x press), and pairing style (long printing).

The controls are responsive, and the knob produces firm tactility that ensures users of intended commands. It takes some practice to get used to, just you'll primary it after a day of use. Personally, I dear the grooved circles on the push button, every bit information technology provides a firm thumb grip for single and long presses.

Adding to the Major IV's convenient controls is digital assistant support. Siri and Google Banana are bachelor, so you'll exist able to shoot off voice commands without a hitch cheers to Marshall's intelligible mics, which offer great speech recognition and register total sentences completely. It was nice to pull up NFL scores, create calendar invites, and ship voice-to-text messages to friends without reaching for my smartphone.

Marshall Major Four: Sound quality

Marshall'south track record with audio is spectacular and the Major Four gives you no reason to 2d gauge that. Await dynamic, articulate sound to come out of the 40mm drivers, which lend themselves well to most music genres and other audio content, including videos, eBooks, and podcasts.

I observe Jazz music to be the perfect measuring stick for frequency range, and so I turned on some John Coltrane to get a feel for the Major 4's sonic versatility. Sheer enjoyment was had listening to melodic masterpieces like "Naima," where the double bass and serene-sounding sax play blended beautifully. Instruments were reproduced to perfection and made for an intimate listening session that had me feeling like I was front and center at the Bluish Annotation Jazz Club.

Ramping upward the low stop, I switched to rock, a genre that Marshall headphones always shell, and proceeded to nail The Who's "The Real Me," which features a virtuoso bass performance by guitarist John Entwistle. The bear on felt from the opening bassline was towering, while the highly energetic drums exuded funky vibes. Even on hip-hop tracks with uniquely simple productions like A Tribe Chosen Quest'south "Lyrics to Go," the Major IV captured certain nuances that aren't audibly noticeable on other models. I finally realized the song doesn't even have an actual bassline, but a powerful dorsum-kick, and it knocked hard on these cans. It's that attention to detail that will sell audiophiles on the Major IV.

The Major IV is also serviceable for binging Netflix shows and YouTube clips. Clarity was spot-on, making dialogue-heavy content sound crisp and clear while accentuating certain furnishings; mic static was prominent on certain podcasts. Action sequences besides sounded expert, with explosions giving off a nice blast effect that wasn't overbearing on my ears.

It'due south no hugger-mugger that on-ear headphones aren't the greatest option for dissonance isolation, as they often let in more noise than they block out. The Major Four does a fairly decent job of physically neutralizing external sounds, though loftier-frequency noises detect their style onto the soundscape, which slightly affects audio quality.

Marshall Major Four: App and special features

Marshall developed a mobile app that comes with EQ presets, a timer setting, and command customization. Unfortunately, it merely works with their wireless speakers and flagship Monitor 2 A.Due north.C. headphones. Seeing how numerous brands, from Anker to Sony, have brought app functionality to mid-tier headphones, this is a missed opportunity for Marshall.

That isn't to say the Major IV doesn't take a corking fob or two hidden upwardly its sleeve. These headphones come up with a 3.5mm socket to daisy-chain two sets of headphones, letting you lot share music with some other user. It'southward a characteristic that has been around for a while, though only a handful of headphone makers have employed it. Nevertheless, information technology's a fun and useful way of listening to albums or watching movies together with a partner, especially on the road.

The other cool feature: wireless charging. Honestly, I thought this was something that was mainly reserved for wireless earbuds, so to see Marshall do this is super impressive. All yous take to practise is rest the headphones on any Qi-enabled charging pad and let them recharge. FYI, Marshall doesn't include a charging pad with the purchase. In add-on, the Major Iv'due south weight distribution can sometimes go far difficult to properly balance the headphones on the charging pad, but it isn't a huge deal.

Marshall Major 4: Battery life

We touched on the Major IV'southward wireless charging capabilities, now permit's talk battery life. Information technology's ridiculously high. A full charge is said to get y'all lxxx hours, which is more than than double the bombardment life of premium noise-cancelling headphones. The only other wireless headphones we've seen come close to this mark are the Jabra Elite 45h (50 hours) and Anker Soundcore Life Q30 (threescore hours with ANC off).

How accurate is this? I would say fairly authentic. Taking book levels, streaming, and video conferencing into account, the Major 4 will max out effectually sixty hours, which is nonetheless more than than adequate for about 3 months of listening. Testing the headphones for most a week, 2 hours daily, I all the same have 75% battery life left. Marshall too integrated its own quick charging technology that gets you xv hours of playback on a 15-minute accuse. Most headphones only become you lot 2 hours in the same fourth dimension frame.

Marshall Major IV: Call quality and connectivity

Call quality on older Marshall headphones has been respectable. The Major IV is an improvement that offers slap-up vocalisation clarity and volume to hear conversations loud and clear. Speaking with my married woman during a grocery run, she mentioned my vocalization sounded crisp, though she could hear some groundwork noise. The headphones perform improve indoors.

Y'all won't have to worry about dropped connections considering wireless performance is strong on the Major 4. Bluetooth 5.0 runs the evidence, instantly pairing the headphones to iOS/macOS and Android devices while granting a solid range (35 feet) to stream music from afar without having to clutch onto your smartphone. I hopped from room to room and didn't experience any cutout when jamming to Spotify playlists or jumping on Zoom calls. Multipoint technology should have come part of the package, but unfortunately, you can just connect these cans to one device at a time.

Marshall Major IV: Verdict

At $150, the Marshall Major IV is a steal that blesses you with all-time-in-course battery life and about-professional sound. To have an estimated 80 hours of playtime at your disposal is insane. Annihilation you stream on these cans will sound stellar, in detail, contemporary music genres. Bluetooth performance is spot-on. Then in that location's the understated design that gives the headphones a distinguishable look.

With its moderate MSRP comes a few omissions, which limits functionality on several fronts. Why Marshall didn't make the Major 4 compatible with its mobile app doesn't make sense, peculiarly since it comes equipped with sound customization options. The subpar noise isolation isn't a deal-breaker, merely if y'all're someone who wants a distraction-complimentary listening experience, then we recommend a noise-cancelling pair like the Sony WH-1000xM4 or Bose 700. Also that, the level of audio and lengthy playtime lone makes the Major 4 a worthy investment.