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Sunny days have definitely arrived and Marshall is taking this opportunity to lift the veil on Willen and Emberton II, its new ultra-portable/portable Bluetooth speakers launched at 99 and 169 €.
Marshall Willen
Introductory price €99
A breath of fresh air is blowing through the catalog of portable speakers from Marshall, which confirms with the introduction of its two references its intention to assert itself on the market of portable Bluetooth speakers. The biggest novelty in this announcement revolves around the Willen since it symbolizes the manufacturer’s first attempt in the field of ultra-portable, small-sized speakers.
The Willen comes in the form of a 10 x 10 x 4 cm bar of soap, weighing 310 g. Its rear face offers a very practical attachment system allowing it to be hung almost anywhere. © Marshall
The Willen broadly borrows the characteristics and design of the Emberton and the Emberton II, with a “tolex”-style coating in a rubbery material that is much more non-slip, its IP67-certified waterproof design, the presence of several audible indicators and light (the famous battery level monitoring bar) or even interaction thanks to the “joystick” in order to trigger various commands.
Like the first and second Emberton of the name, the Willen has no wired connection, except for its USB-C port to recharge it. Communication is only via Bluetooth 5.1. © Marshall
On the occasion of the release of the Willen and the Emberton II, Marshall gratifies its youngest with access to the Marshall Bluetooth mobile application (with three sound presets, in particular), which was missing until then, as well as a Stack mode to couple several similar speakers together in order to multiply the power. The Willen still has the right to an exclusive feature, with the integration of a hands-free micro kit. On the autonomy side, the manufacturer announces a generous duration of use of 15 hours.
When it comes to sound reproduction, the Willen relies on a 2” full-range driver accompanied by two passive radiators to flatter low frequencies.
Marshall Emberton II
Introductory price €169
As for the Emberton II, the changes made are far from obvious. In addition to the arrival of the application, the IP67 certification (instead of IPX7 previously) and the “Stack” mode mentioned above, Marshall’s portable speaker also promises even greater autonomy by going from 20 to 30 hours.
Apart from that, the Emberton I and II are on paper extremely close, both aesthetically, ergonomically and acoustically. The loudspeaker retains its “True Stereophonic” design with its two 2” full-range drivers and two passive radiators. If you are curious, you can already go to our complete test of this model.
Marshall’s Emberton II will arrive at retailers very soon, priced at €169, which is €20 more than the first Emberton of the name at the time of its launch. The commercial release of the Willen is scheduled for the end of June, at a price of 99 €. The publication of our test is imminent, stay tuned!