These are the Marshall Emberton III Sage speaker and the Minor IV Cream earbuds. There are things that I love that really surprise me, but there are some things that could have been done better.
Unboxing
Let’s start with unboxing the Emberton III Sage first.
So here’s what’s inside of the box:
- A USB-C to USB-C cable tucked in a separate box
- The speaker itself
- A quick guide
- A safety manual
Next, let’s unbox the Marshall Minor IV earbuds.
- The first thing you’ll see are the earbuds.
- There’s a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, which I do wish that it was USB-C to a USB-C cable instead.
- Then there’s a quick guide and a safety manual.
Design & Build
Alright, let’s start with the design and the build quality.
Starting with this Emberton III, right from the start, it reminded me of their amplifiers, which I love during my music days.
This is in the Sage color, which is also available in Black and Brass, and Cream too.
This vegan leather finish, the rugged design looks like something that you would definitely see on stage at a rock concert or even a metal concert.
But here’s the thing—most people worry about the texture not being able to last for a very long time. Now, I do get it, but as someone who has owned a Marshall amp before, trust me, this will hold up.
Speaking of holding up, it is also IP67-rated too, so even if this submerges in 3 feet of water, it can survive up to 30 minutes.
Next, in terms of the layout, there are two speaker grills in the front and also at the back. Now, this is for the stereo sound projection, where at the side of the speakers, there’s also a USB-C port for charging.
At the bottom, there’s an area to hook probably a carabiner or even a very huge lanyard too, where there’s a nice rubber base underneath to make sure that the speaker stays in place if you’re placing it on a surface like your table.
On top, there are the media controls, and this, of course, reminds me of how the knobs were on their amplifiers again.
This is a joystick-like media control, which is actually very fun to use. Tilting it right or left skips a track, then pushing it up or down is for volume control.
Then, the Bluetooth pairing button and the power button are flushed on the body itself.
To be honest, as much as I love this minimal look, I would love for this to be a tactile button feeling instead, just so, you know, to give that signature vintage look. But probably, Marshall was going for a very minimalistic look or just trying to strengthen our muscle memory.
But one major thing that I really appreciated is how clear that this battery indicator was on top. This beats any other speakers that use a single LED that keeps you guessing the exact level with probably a three-level color indication of sorts.
Because have you ever come to these situations where you take out your speaker, and then you think that there’s a lot of battery, only for the light to turn red 5 minutes later?
Well, this solves that problem because it does have a clear indicator that shows levels up to 10 steps. So no more guessing and no more getting caught with a dead speaker at a party!
So yes, that one feature alone makes a huge difference.
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Moving on to the design and the build quality for this Marshall Minor IV.
This for me was a little disappointing because while they went with a textured finish, like this leather-like design for the case, at first, I thought that it would have the same lovely feeling as the Emberton III. But nope, I was wrong.
This one had a more plastic feel instead. Maybe this is to keep the weight down, but for the price, I would definitely expect it to be a little better than this.
But here’s the surprise—the earbuds themselves were super comfortable to put in your ears.
Unlike most open-fit earbuds, these are either too tight or keep falling out. But these actually stay in place.
What’s interesting is that these also do not leak much sound, meaning no one will actually hear your embarrassing playlist that you have on.
So yes, even your ’90s Backstreet Boys playlist that nobody knows about, they will still continue to not know about your little secret.
So overall, the Emberton III gets a huge yes for the overall design and build quality. But this Minor IV, the build quality is 50/50 for me.
App Experience
So both speakers and the earbuds can be connected with Marshall’s Bluetooth app.
Connecting them to the app will give you EQ controls, firmware updates and battery management.
The app offers three different types of EQ presets for the Emberton III.
- One is the default preset, offering Marshall’s signature sound.
- The other preset boosts the bass and the treble.
- And the last one increases the overall mid-range for a better vocal sound.
But for the Minor IV though, you’ll get more when it comes to the EQ settings.
Not only do you get access to the five different presets, but you can also set your own custom EQ settings.
Now, the app also lets you enable and disable the interaction sounds, which I love a lot—so more on that later.
Then, there’s also the auto-play and the auto-pause feature, which is triggered when you remove or put back the earbuds in your ears.
It also lets you choose the level of battery preservation for both the speakers and also for the earbuds, something that I found very interesting because it is something that I don’t think that I’ve seen in any other apps from any other audio companies. So that was really nice to know here.
Features & Battery Life
Okay, next, let’s talk about the features and the battery life.
The Emberton III packs a dual-driver setup with passive radiators, where it gives a loud and almost room-filling sound.
Now, this is because even though the speakers are using two 10W drivers, they each output at 38W, which means that it can go really loud without worrying about any major sound distortions.
And thanks to the true stereophonic sound, you’ll get a 360° audio, making it great for indoor and also outdoor use.
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But the Minor IV, despite not having a very premium build, has solid internal drivers.
So Marshall has tuned this earbud to offer a balance of clean sound, where you also get Bluetooth multipoint connection, so you can seamlessly switch between your devices like your phone, tablet, or even your laptop.
Both devices are Bluetooth LE Audio-ready, which means that you will get higher quality audio with overall better connectivity, and of course, together with improved battery efficiency.
But how about the battery life? Well, absolutely solid.
I’ve been using the Emberton III for a week now, around 1 to 2 hours a day, and guess what? I haven’t even charged this ever since I unboxed it.
Marshall claims about 32 hours plus, but for my testing so far, it’s like they were underplaying how great the battery life was.
Then, the same could also be said for the Minor IV because, with 30 plus hours in total play time with the case, you’ll be set for days without needing to recharge.
So battery life on these two—really amazing.
What’s even cooler is the fact that the earbuds also come with wireless charging, which is super convenient.
But one thing that I’d like to mention is how awesome the interaction sounds are on both the speakers and the earbuds as well.
I just love the guitar interaction sound from the speaker! So yeah, I love it so much that I find myself just simply turning it on and off just to hear the sound.
Audio Experience
Okay, let’s talk about the audio experience since this is an audio product review, right?
Firstly, the Emberton III is loud, fun, and bass-heavy, which is perfect for music, Netflix, and even YouTube. The bass is full and powerful, but depending on what you are playing, it can be a bit more overpowering on the mids and the highs a little.
That was totally fine by me, but some audiophiles might not love it. And that’s why this is more for the mainstream audience who prefer a more casual listening.
And I wouldn’t say that I am a mainstream listener, but I really enjoy how much color that they put on this, just nicely balanced.
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As for the Minor IV, once again, the build quality’s saving grace is over here too because the sound performance is actually solid.
It’s got a good balance of the highs and mids, making vocals super clear and crisp. So when it comes to listening to rock music or even jazz, you can hear every guitar riff and cymbal hit. And of course, the bass is not overpowering.
So yeah, if you are expecting a deep, rumbling bass, this is not it because it’s more of a balance and a clean sound, which is great for rock, jazz, or even for podcasts as well.
So overall, both sound good, but the Minor IV’s tuning might not be satisfying for those bass heads.
I also tried this for gaming because, you know, how Bluetooth LE is supposed to be great for low latency. And not surprisingly, I didn’t notice any significant audio lag.
Then, the touch controls were also quite responsive on the earbuds, but you’ll need to get used to where the touch sensors are.
[Check out my YouTube video for an audio test]
Microphone
So, both the speaker and the earbuds include a microphone that you can use for calls.
The microphone on the Emberton III is surprisingly very good, where it beats your typical speakerphones, and it is also very good for conferences.
The microphone on the Minor IV was also good too. The calls were quite clear on this, but they didn’t have any sort of noise isolation because the ambient noises were quickly picked up and heard on the other end of the call.
[Check out my YouTube video for a microphone test]
Conclusion
So, should you buy them?
Well, if you want a powerful, great-sounding portable speaker with great battery life, then the Marshall Emberton III at RM999 is a very solid choice.
But for the Marshall Minor IV though, this one is a little tricky because:
- Sound quality and comfort? Great!
- Build quality? Not the best…
Because for RM699, I was indeed expecting better materials.
But then again, wouldn’t these two look very nice together as a pair?
One very important thing to note is the fact that there are many fake Marshall products out there, so make sure you look for this Ash hologram sticker, which is on the box.
Also, purchase it from official retailers like Harvey Norman and Thunder Match here in Malaysia. It is also available at the Marshall official store on Shopee and Lazada as well.
🛒 Get them at the link below:-
Marshall Emberton III:
Shopee (MY) – https://invl.io/clmhrh5
Lazada (MY) – https://invol.co/clmhrh7Marshall Minor IV:
Shopee (MY) – https://invl.io/clmhrha
Lazada (MY) – https://invol.co/clmhrhd
