Marshall - Heston Sub 200 Subwoofer with Deep Bass and Bluetooth LE Connectivity for TV / Movies / Music - Black

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• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Wonderful Audio

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  The Marshall Heston Sub 200 subwoofer is a great sounding audio component for video and music. Volume level, subwoofer crossover frequency and firmware updates are all handled through the Marshall smartphone app. The Heston Sub 200 includes the subwoofer, US and Europlug power cables, and a quick start guide. The subwoofer has AC mains power in, an RCA input jack, a rotary Level control and a Setup button. The Level control is free-wheeling with the level setting indicated by an illuminated ring surrounding the Level knob, which allows the level indication to work whether the volume level is changed with the knob or through the Marshall app. The subwoofer supports a wired or wireless connection to the soundbar. I'm using the Sub 200 with a Marshall Heston 60 soundbar. After completing soundbar setup, the Marshall app guided me through setup for the Heston Sub 200, including a wireless Bluetooth connection between soundbar and subwoofer. The Marshall app automatically handles subwoofer firmware update as part of the setup process. The soundbar and subwoofer now work with the TV over the HDMI ARC/eARC connection, and the input source, sound mode, volume level and more are controllable through the Marshall app. Audio output from my smartphone also works well over a Bluetooth connection. The only wired connection besides AC power is the HDMI cable from TV to soundbar. I've had a small Marshall Bluetooth speaker for a little over a year and really like the way it sounds. This made me eager to try out the Heston Sub 200, and I haven't been in any way disappointed. The subwoofer packs a nice punch when watching action movies or listening to 808 bass, and has more than enough power for a medium sized room. My expectations are low for smartphone apps that control devices like the subwoofer, but the Marshall app has been a very pleasant surprise. The app is stable and reliable on my Android phone, is nicely featured and is easy to use. It allows selection of the Marshall device that you want to control, eg. Heston 60 or Heston Sub 200, and provides full access to configuration and settings for the selected device. Device information including serial number, firmware revision and more is also available. The WiFi connection to the soundbar is fast and stable, with no perceptible delay when changing volume, EQ, and other settings through the app. The Marshall Heston Sub 200 subwoofer looks and feels solid and well made. The black color scheme with gold Marshall script logo is great looking with a vintage amp vibe. The Marshall smartphone app is easy to use, stable and reliable, and provides easy access to subwoofer settings and controls. The audio quality is everything I was hoping for and more, approaching the quality of more expensive home theater systems. The subwoofer is easy to set up and use, works reliably, looks great and provides a wonderful audio experience whether watching video or listening to music.

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  Loree Selmer Posted 2 weeks ago

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Great Bass, Wired/Wireless, Customizable Crossover

  • Top 500 Contributor
  • Tech Insider Network Member

  The Heston Sub 200 adds strong, deep, bass to your sound system over a wired or wireless connection. Design It's about a 1x1x1 foot cube, wrapped with a black textured finish. The front has the beautiful golden Marshall logo and bar. I think it looks great, not too much Underneath you can see a single bass tube/hole. The front has the beautiful golden Marshall logo and bar. The back has a setup button and a dial that look so good it seems they shouldn't be hidden on the back. When you turn the dial, there's a light ring that shows you the level it's at (see picture). There's also an RCA jack to connect it to a SoundBar (RCA cable not included), or you can use Bluetooth to connect it to the Heston 60, which also has an RCA out. I'm using the wired connection since it should be lower latency than Bluetooth, though that may not matter for a sub. Sound The Heston Sub 200 produces some great bass. It's strong, solid, low end. I have it paired with a Heston 60 SoundBar, which it was made to work with, and it sounds great! The Sub has excellent bass, deep, room filling bass. From bass in music to thunder in video or explosions in video games, it adds life-like bass to the listening experience. Features Besides the volume control on the back, there are a few more features accessible in the Marshall app that I haven't seen in a Sub before. You can adjust "Phase Control". It has a setting of 0 degrees for placement of the sub near the SoundBar and 180 degrees for if it's farther from the SoundBar. There's also a crossover adjustment. It's set to 50 Hz by default (allowing frequencies from 50 Hz or lower to go to the Sub) but you can set it anywhere from 40 Hz to 120 Hz - adjusting what frequency range should go to the should go to the Sub. It also lets you set the brightness of the lights on the back, for the volume ring and the setup button. You will also want to install the Marshall app to update the firmware. A Note When I first setup the Heston Sub 200 and the Heston 60 SoundBar volume was calibrated differently than my previous SoundBar and sub, and worked a bit differently than my previous SoundBar and Sub. With the Heston speakers I've found I'm often listening with the volume around 50% to 70%. It was much lower on my previous SoundBar, I just never really used anything over 50%. I also found that the Heston SoundBar has better low end then my previous SoundBar, though the Heston Sub 200 produces the strong, deep, ambient bass. The Heston SoundBar then produces some of the bass that isn't as deep, with the Heston Sub filling in the strong, deep bass, like a Sub should. I'm very impressed with the bass it delivers. I strongly recommend pairing the Heston Sub 200 with a Heston Soundbar. All that to say, at first, I wondered if it worked right. After listening to more with it and getting used to the new system (SoundBar and Sub), I prefer it to my old one. They're made to work together and do so beautifully! Summary The Heston Sub 200 produces great bass, looks great in my living room, and is easy to setup and use. The extra adjustments it has are impressive to me, but it works great with out changing them! I think this is a must have if you have a Heston SoundBar and it could be a great Sub for any system that has an RCA out for a Sub.

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  hotice Posted 2 weeks ago

• Rated 1 out of 5 stars

  Sub Does Not Thump

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 50 Contributor

  The Marshall Sub 200 is Marshall's primary sub that was released with the Heston 60/120 soundbars. The box includes the sub, power cable, European power cable, and paperwork. The sub comes with a manufacturer's 1-year warranty. Disclaimer: I used a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (bluetooth BT), a Yamaha RX-V685 630W receiver (RCA-wired), and Marshall Heston 60 soundbar connection to test this subwoofer. PROS: ----------- * The sub has a premium outer build and look to it. Marshall's signature leather-like exterior look, gold accents, salt/pepper grill, and guitar amp-inspired design makes a strong visual statement. It's clearly different from other subwoofers. * The volume knob on the back lights up the area around the knob which is pretty cool. The brightness of the light can be controlled in the Marshall app. * The ability to connect a Marshall Heston 60 or Heston 120 soundbar using BT or via RCA cable. * The ability to connect via RCA cable to a separate receiver that has a subwoofer output. It does not have to only be connected to a Marshall system. * The Marshall app offers the ability to change between 0- and 180-degree phase, light intensity (rear knob light), sub volume, and subwoofer crossover levels. * The Subwoofer Crossover level can still be changed via a 2nd BT device even if it's RCA-connected to another device besides a Marshall soundbar. CONS: ----------- * NO. POWER. Marshall claims 236W of RMS continuous power. 236W? This is where my disappointment starts. Instead of using TWO 5.25" drivers (and splitting power between the two?), Marshall should use one 6- or 8-inch driver made with much higher-quality components like a fiber-composite cone (or similar) instead of whatever they are using (paper/plastic?). I have old subs I connected to my PC 15 years ago that "sound" like they have more power than the Sub 200 but had around 40W RMS. * Value = 0. Unless your only option is to BT to a connected Marshall soundbar that you must have, I would not purchase this subwoofer. It's worse than any sub I have ever used that claimed such power output - and I had power maxed out 100% of the time. I also used the app to move the crossover from the low end to the upper end around 90-100Hz. Though it did sound "better", it still wasn't close to what a sub having these specs should sound like. === Scenario 1 = I connected the Sub 200 to my Yamaha receiver, and even with the Sub 200 at 100% power, it was barely heard, even when only using a center channel. I had my other sub next to it and would turn one OFF and the other ON to listen to the difference, and it was night and day... not in favor of the Sub 200. The "other" sub (150W RMS) blew the Sub 200 out of the water. === Scenario 2 = I connected the "other" brand sub I have (150W RMS) to the Marshall Heston 60 soundbar I also have, and the sound was GREAT. The issue was not the Heston 60 soundbar as my "other" sub sounded phenomenal with it. === Scenario 3 = I wired the Sub 200 (236W RMS) to the Heston 60 soundbar and could barely hear it, much less vibrate the house. I had to FEEL the Sub 200 box with my hand to make sure it was actually working. If I can get away with another branded wired solution (since the Heston 60 and 120 have RCA SUB-out ports) with a ton more power and at a much lower price, why would I pay $600+ when I can get a much higher-quality sub and for less than 1/2 that price? === Scenario 4 = I took my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra phone to another reputable-branded soundbar/sub combination but was a low-to-mid range product they produce (not a flagship system), and even that sound system blew the Marshall sub/Heston 60 to shame by leaps and bounds with regards to bass output. * I tried to connect initially to the Marshall Heston 60 soundbar, and even though it was connected (after feeling the driver port on bottom), the app kept saying there was an error. It finally went away when I restarted the app (see picture for error). OTHER OBSERVATIONS: ----------- * TWO 5.25" subwoofer drivers shoot out left/right with a port on the bottom. * Regarding the "cons" above, sound from the sub was the same whether wired or BT wireless to the Marshall Heston 60. Neither offered more bass than the other. CONCLUSION: ===================== I rarely give a bad review, but this one hurt me. I was EXTREMELY excited to try the new Marshall Sub 200, but it was a major letdown. Out of the box, the bass was barely noticeable, and even after adjusting the crossover to ~90–100 Hz, it still lacked the bass thump and impact expected at this price point. I did not feel anything close to 236W of power Marshall claims this subwoofer has. There are many wired subwoofers from reputable brands that offer far better quality and performance for much less (if a wired scenario is an option). This fell well short of the Marshall quality I’ve come to expect. Note that this review was only for the Marshall Sub 200 - the Marshall Heston 60, which I also have, worked and sounded fine.

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  BADog Posted 3 weeks ago