Marshall Monitor III ANC review: big sound and even bigger battery life from comfy wireless headphones

For
the
past
week
I’ve
been
trying
out
the
new
Marshall
Monitor
III
ANC
over
ear
headphones.
The
new
cans
are
available
to
buy
right
now
in
the
US
and
UK
for
$349
/
£299,
which
makes
them
a
little
pricier
than
their
predecessors
which
were
$30
/
£30
cheaper.
Even
with
the
price
rise
they’re
an
excellent
follow-up
to
2020’s

Monitor
II
ANC
headphones
–
which
we
gave
four
stars
in
our
review
–
thanks
to
great-sounding
audio
and
a
stupendously
long
battery-life.

Starting
on
that
last
point,
these
new
Marshall
headphones
can
go
for
a
ridiculously
long
time;
we’re
talking
a
70
hour
battery
life
when
using
them
to
play
music
over
Bluetooth
with
ANC
on,
100
hours
with
it
off.

For
comparison,
the

Sony
WH-1000XM5
headphones
promise
only
30
hours
with
ANC
on,
and
the

Apple
AirPods
Max
just
20
hours.
The

Cambridge
Audio
Melomania
P100
that
features
in
our

best
noise-cancelling
headphones
guide
as
the
ideal
long-life
option
hits
60
hours.
Marshall’s
70-hour
claim
looks
to
hold
up
too;
I’ve
been
using
the
Monitor
III
ANC
headphones
a
lot
and
haven’t
needed
to
charge
them
since
I
did
straight
after
unboxing
them
–
though
when
I
do
my
full
review
I
plan
to
properly
test
how
long
these
cans
can
last.

But
what
good
is
lasting
a
long
time
if
they
don’t
put
on
a
performance?
Thankfully
the
Marshall
Monitor
III
ANC
headphones
certainly
hold
their
own
here.

The
drivers
give
drum
and
bass
hits
like

Backbone
from
Chase
&
Status
and
Stormzy
the
oomph
its
thumping
tones
necessitate,
while
not
overpowering
tracks
like
Remi
Wolf’s

Cinderella
that
are
brimming
with
bouncy
funk.
There’s
a
warmth
in
the
Marshall
Monitor
III’s
audio
too
–
which
comes
through
splendidly
in
more
emotional
tracks
like
Jarki
Monno’s

Charlie.

Outside
of
music,
these
cans
perform
well
too.
Podcasts,
film,
TV,

YouTube
videos,
you
name
it
–
the
Marshall
III
ANC
headphones
are
putting
on
a
good
show.

That
said,
if
you
do
want
to
tweak
the
EQ
settings,
you
can
change
them
to
better
suit
your
musical
needs,
though
I’ve
found
the
default
‘original
Marshall
sound’
setting
is
really
well
balanced
and
ideal
for
a
lot
of
different
listening
experiences.

The
soundstage
has
also
had
a
tune
up.
Marshall’s
previous
Monitors
had
a
somewhat
restrictive
stage.
They
didn’t
feel
completely
closed
off,
but
trackers
were
not
always
given
the
space
they
needed
to
breathe.
Out
of
the
box
the
Monitor
IIIs
might
look
like
they
repeat
this
error,
but
with
the
official
app
you
can
now
open
up
that
soundstage
to
suit
your
likings.

There’s
a
noticeable
change
with
this
Adaptive
Soundstage
feature
switch
on,
so
make
sure
you
turn
it
on
as
soon
as
you
can.
Songs
feel
more
spacious,
and
it
makes
the
Monitor
III
ANC
headphones
solid
picks
for
watching
your
favorite
films
or
shows.

Not
my
style
–
but
a
fantastic
design

Design-wise
the
Monitor
IIIs
admittedly
aren’t
my
preferred
style.
There
is
something
to
love
about
the
undoubtable
Marshall
look
–
with
the
same
finish
as
the
iconic
amps,
the
logo
on
each
ear
cup,
and
a
kind
of
classic
grunginess
that
makes
these
look
almost
like
they’ve
been
ripped
from
a
rock
band’s
studio
session
from
decades
ago.
It’s
just
not
for
me.

That’s
subjective
though;
the
objective
design
features
of
these
’phones
are
undoubtedly
positive.

I
love
the
physical
knob
for
the
volume
and
playback
controls
–
give
me
one
of
these
over
tap
controls
any
day.
There
are
also
two
dedicated
buttons,
one
on
each
side,
that
manage
the

active
noise
cancellation
controls
(with
you
being
able
to
set
which
modes
it
swaps
between
in
the
app),
and
a
customizable
M
Button
(which
can
do
whatever
you
set
it
to
do,
again
in
the
app).

There’s
also
a
USB-C
port
on
the
underside
of
the
left
cup,
however,
you
won’t
find
a
3.5mm
aux
port.

Beyond
the
button
layout,
these
cans
are
designed
to
be
thrown
in
a
bag
and
taken
on
adventure.
Their
headband
can
survive
fairly
extreme
bending
and
twisting
without
snapping,
and
the
outer
shell
can
take
a
fair
few
knocks.
They
also
fold
up
very
tight
and
fit
into
what
I’ve
been
told
is
the
smallest
case
for
over
ear
headphones
on
the
market
–
inside
its
lined
with
a
red
velvety
material
to
mimic
the
inside
of
guitar
cases.
It’s
also
one
of
those
proper
protective
cases
that
zips
up,
not
an
awkward
shell
that
some
headphones
rely
on
nowadays.

Oh,
and
don’t
let
me
forget
comfort.
These
things
are
so
easy
to
wear
thanks
to
the
super-spongy
cushions;
I’ve
had
no
issue
wearing
them
practically
all-day.

Don’t
forget
the
app

To
get
the
most
out
of
these
over-ear
headphones
you
need
the
official
Marshall
app.
It
allows
you
to
manage
the
Soundstage
settings,
the
on-device
button
controls,
the
EQ
so
that
music
meets
your
exact
specifications
(though
the
default
Marshall
profile
is
very
good),
and
a
few
other
features.

It’s
fairly
standard
as
headphones
apps
go
at
this
point,
with
a
clean
intuitive
interface,
and
it
was
very
easy
to
set
up.

The
only
issue
I’ve
had
with
any
feature
is
that
the
Auto
Play/Pause
tool
was
initially
too
sensitive
–
moving
my
head
at
all
would
cause
the
Monitor
IIIs
to
pause
tracks,
not
just
when
I
removed
them.
However,
a
firmware
update
does
appear
to
have
resolved
this
issue
and
for
the
past
few
days
I’ve
been
able
to
keep
Auto
Play/Pause
on
without
it
frustrating
me
–
it
can
be
turned
off
in
the
app.

Despite
this
minor
(and
seemingly
now
resolved)
set
back,
the
Marshall
Monitor
III
ANC
headphones
have
so
far
really
impressed
me.
They
have
the
comfort
and
battery
life
to
keep
me
wearing
them
for
days
on
end,
and
a
vibrant
sound
that
I’ll
happily
immerse
myself
in
for
all
that
time.

I
need
to
conduct
a
few
more
tests,
but
so
far
I’d
say
they
hold
their
own
against
the

best
wireless
headphones,
and
their
small
size
could
make
them
a
great
contender
to
be
the

best
travel
headphones.
So
if
you’re
thinking
of
grabbing
a
new
pair
of
cans
this
is
looking
like
another
model
to
add
to
your
list
of
ones
to
consider.

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