Review: Marshall Woburn II Wireless Speaker
Marshall has continued revamping its home speaker line–the Marshall Woburn II Wireless Speaker delivers upgraded wireless Bluetooth functionality while keeping that rocking Marshall sound. In the box you get the Marshall speaker, quick-start and warranty manuals, and both US and EU power cables. Note that there are no included 3.5mm input nor RCA input cables. The dimensions of the speaker are 15.75 in x 12.20 in x 7.87 in, and the speaker weighs almost 19 pounds. If you are wondering the main differences of the Woburn II and the previous model, the Woburn (which I also own):
The Woburn II (new model):
- Dimensions: 15.75" x 12.2" x 7.87"
- Weight: About 18.9 pounds
- Does not come with 3.5 mm audio input cable
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Comes with a free app
- No optical input
- Frequency range: 30 - 20,000 Hz
- Power Amplifiers: Two 50 Watt Class D amplifiers for the woofers and two 15 Watt Class D amplifiers for the tweeters
The Woburn (previous model):
- Dimensions: 15.75" x 11.4" x 7.87"
- Weight: About 17.5 pounds
- Comes with 3.5 mm audio input cable
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Does not come with an app
- Optical input
- Frequency Range: 35 - 22,000 Hz
- Power Amplifiers: One 50 Watt Class D amplifier for the subwoofers and two 20 Watt Class D amplifiers for the tweeters
The control panel on the top of the speaker is brushed aluminum and the metal knobs, buttons, and lever are reminiscent of a vintage guitar amp. On the panel there is a 3.5 mm auxiliary input, a source selector button, three knobs controlling volume, bass, and treble, a play/pause button, and a power lever. Wireless connectivity is supported by via Bluetooth 5.0 and aptX technologies (range is about 30 feet). The cabinet is wood covered by a leather-like material, with a tweed front grill. Again, similar to a vintage guitar amp.
The back of the speaker has L/R RCA input jacks. In total the speaker has two 1” tweeters and dual 5.25" subwoofers powered by class D amps for 110 Watts of power. Note that the volume control is non-linear–the volume is fairly quiet until the volume control is turned to about 6 and then the volume rapidly ramps up from there–standing next to the speaker with the volume knob at 8+ will be extremely intense. There is some distortion with the volume dimed, but you may not notice too much with all the head-banging you’ll be doing.
All in all, the Marshall Woburn II Wireless Speaker is a premium Bluetooth speaker. The appearance and quality of the appointments makes this speaker gorgeous to look at. The sound is also wonderful, with teeth-vibrating low ends and clear highs. There were some disappointments however. The Woburn II lacks the optical input of the Woburn, as well as lacks the 3.5 mm input cable. And while the speaker itself is best-in-class, the software is not. The free Marshall Bluetooth app allows you to apply firmware upgrades and provides a 5-band EQ. The app says that it allows you to connect multiple Marshall speakers together, but I could never get that feature to work–I tried connecting a Woburn II and a Stanmore II. Perhaps it only works with two Woburn IIs? Fortunately, except for applying the firmware update, you don’t need the app. This is good because you will want to play a lot of music over this excellent speaker. Apologize in advance to your neighbors and rock on.
- Pricing and Availability on Amazon: Marshall Woburn II Wireless Speaker
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