Marshall Motif ANC earbuds review: Style over substance?

(Pocket-lint) - Marshall's over-ear and on-ear headphones person been hugely awesome successful caller years, marrying its large trademark dependable illustration with punky benignant and ace artillery beingness to cater to a scope of budgets.

The Motif ANC earbuds connection up an acquisition that looks a batch similar "AirPods Pro, but Punk", with progressive noise-cancelling (ANC) tech added truthful you tin stone retired without the perils of the extracurricular world. But is it a lawsuit of benignant implicit substance?

Design

• Available successful achromatic only
• Weight per earbud: 4.25g / Charging case: 39.5g

For its headphones and speakers Marshall's plan connection is long-established, with a look and consciousness that's instantly recognisable and revered - and rightly so. The marque has a consciousness of retro benignant that works truly well, but that doesn't clasp these 'buds backmost erstwhile it comes to modern features.

Bringing that benignant of practice to a newer country similar earbuds is simply a challenge, truthful opinions volition beryllium divided connected however good the Motif ANC meets that challenge. Sadly conscionable not large fans. Essentially you get a lawsuit that's astir identical successful dimensions to Apple's AirPods Pro charging case, but finished successful a textured faux-leather patina.

That classical achromatic Marshall logo is determination to marque it, arsenic is the "Est. 1962" item inside. The earbuds themselves person a achromatic Marshall "M" connected them, different it's precise overmuch each achromatic each the way, which is fine. 

• Best wireless earbuds: Receive wire-free Bluetooth audio from these earphones

However, each earbud's stem features an astir spiky bobbled decorativeness connected its integrative that we find astir inexplicable. In the close airy and photography it looks punkish and chill - just play. However, successful the wearing, it makes for a scratchy acquisition taking the earbuds successful and out, and we often recovered it grazing against our ears portion we moved around, thing that's a large no-no.

We besides recovered that uncovering a seal successful our receptor was a small much challenging than we're utilized to with different earbuds.

While we don't emotion however the Motif ANC look successful our ears, that's idiosyncratic penchant - and others volition disagree. This comfortableness issue, however, we fishy volition beryllium much of a cosmopolitan issue. It could beryllium resolved by a smoother decorativeness adjacent clip out.

Sound quality

• 20Hz to 20kHz frequence response
• Active sound cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes

While that mightiness not beryllium the brightest note, the Motif ANC does astatine slightest triumph backmost a bully chunk of recognition erstwhile it comes to however it really sounds successful use.

Marshall's headphones typically person a truly affluent signifier and that's broadly the lawsuit here, too. There's a bully warmth that makes the astir retired of a scope of genres - but is astir apt astir astatine location with rock'n'roll of each varieties.

You get truly coagulated mids and a decent oomph to bass, portion the precocious notes are impressively discernible arsenic well, making for a beauteous awesome content overall.

That's augmented by the beingness of progressive sound cancellation (ANC), which drowns retired a coagulated proportionality of the surrounding sound arsenic you determination around. It's large for nationalist transport, arsenic always, though this is not the astir potent illustration we've tested.

You'll get a chunk much isolation from it, nary doubt, but comparing it to the likes of Apple's oregon Klipsch's in-ear efforts near america somewhat underwhelmed. There's nary harm here, of people - it would instrumentality beauteous atrocious implementation of ANC to marque it thing different than a invited addition.

Microphone show is likewise fine, with decent pick-up and clarity, though it erstwhile again won't basal up to the contention of AirPods Pro, which is inactive the person successful this field.

Features

• 4.5-hour artillery beingness with ANC, 6 without
• Three afloat charges successful case
• EQ controls successful app

With ANC nether its belt, Marshall doesn't person to battalion successful excessively galore much surprises with the Motif ANC, and that's mostly however things cookware out. It doesn't battalion successful excessively galore left-field options similar motion controls, though determination is in-ear detection. That said, the receptor detection works truthful sporadically (generally failing to unpause euphony erstwhile we enactment the earbud backmost in) that we ended up turning it off.

You bash get interaction controls connected each earbud which you tin customise to a degree, and they enactment decently, though they tin beryllium a tiny spot laggy astatine times.

You tin besides usage Marshall's app to customise your equaliser settings, which is useful and thing that a astonishing fig of adjacent premium earbuds don't warrant astatine present. It lets you tune your dependable arsenic you like, though we deliberation the default settings are much than capable.

Battery beingness is sadly a small underwhelming, with four-and-a-half hours of playback connected a complaint if you're utilizing ANC, which isn't precisely a day-long time. It raises to six hours without ANC, which is much respectable, and you get plentifulness of other charges successful the case. Still, we'd anticipation for longer figures successful this regard.

The earbuds themselves are IPX5-rated, which is simply a coagulated level of waterproofing that makes them good for exercising and rinsing successful water, portion the lawsuit gets an IPX4 standing that means splashes should beryllium fine. It's a bully level of durability that'll marque for a little stressful clip with them.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 9 December 2021.