Marshall - Kilburn II Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Black and Brass

Pros: * Clear sound that gets loud yet stays clear. * Great battery life. * Convenient and useful analog sound control knobs. * Compact yet powerful. Cons: * Volume knob is independent of volume on music device (phone, etc.). * No local playback controls (play/pause, skip, etc..) * No microphone for voice calls/voice assistant. * Charging via provided AC power cord and not the more standard USB charging. This compact, portable speaker has a TON going for it. It’s definitely designed to be a portable music speaker and not a general-purpose speaker in that it doesn’t have a microphone and there are no local controls for play/pause, voice assistant, etc… What it does do, it does exceedingly well. First and foremost, it sounds great! Clear highs and powerful bass. There are even analog knobs on the top to adjust the bass and treble to your liking. The battery life is excellent, too, with a really nice LED battery level display. This speaker has a good weight to it; heavy enough to imply quality construction and solid innards, yet light enough to carry around by the swanky (and removable) black/red leather carrying strap. There are rubber feet ensure that it won’t mar any surface its on and keep the shaking bass from rattling anything but your ears. The cool retro styling is a hallmark of the Marshall line of music equipment. The analog knobs, the corner bumpers and the Marshall logo all say “Music-focused.” There’s a 3.5mm aux in jack for those who want a wired connection instead of Bluetooth. My few complaints are really minor in an otherwise great speaker. Most speakers of this type have local volume buttons that essentially control the output volume of the device that is playing the music (phone, tablet, etc.). The knob on this speaker is fully independent, though. It adjust the volume of the speaker regardless of the volume of the music device. Since most bluetooth devices send a variable rather than line-out volume, you’ll most likely just max out the volume of the phone and adjust the speaker’s volume as you like. This can be a tad confusing and maybe even a bit of an issue if you do end up setting your phone’s volume high and then disconnecting the speaker. Anyway - it’s not a big deal, but something to keep in mind. Also, most speakers of this type have a standard USB cable for charging. Probably due to this speaker’s large battery, there’s a built-in AC adapter and a provided AC power cord instead. The cord is removable and the power socket on the speaker is normally covered by a rubber flap to keep moisture out. At least there’s no power adapter (rug bump or wall wart) so it’s just the AC cord. If you’re traveling and want to charge on-the-go, just remember to carry along the provided AC cord and don’t expect to charge from a car unless you have a suitable power inverter handy. Overall, this is a really great sounding and great looking portable music speaker.

I’m not prone to superlatives in reviews, and I’m not sure I’ve ever given a 5 star rating, but this speaker is truly amazing. You’re either going to love the retro, guitar amp look, or wonder “what is this thing” if you haven’t seen amps with the big Marshall logo on stage. I rather like it right down to the corner caps, steel grill, and removable leather carrying strap. Yes, this speaker is expensive, a bit heavy at 6 lbs, and larger than most portables, but it delivers. You won’t throw it in your backpack to carry around, but for indoor or outdoor listening and parties, it’s perfect, and it can play very loud if you wish. Beyond the look there is a fabulous sound coming out of this boxy portable speaker. The mid-range and highs are crystal clear with a presence and stereo separation you just don’t hear coming from most portable wireless speakers. The bass is clean and strong, but it doesn’t overwhelm or muddy the mids and highs. You can turn the bass all the way up if you just want a thumper, but I think it’s unnecessary and gives unrealistic sound. I found that I like to be at least 8-10 feet from the unit to really appreciate its room filling sound and balance. It handled all genres of music from rock to classical with equal ease. There are volume, bass and treble knobs on top that control the bass-reflex 20 watt woofer and two tweeters with separate 8 watt amps. That’s 36 watts of music power coming from this little box with a big enough battery for 20 hours of play. There’s a bar led display to show you how much charge you have. It can fully recharge in 2 ½ hours or play while plugged in. The charger is built so the AC cord plugs directly into the back behind a silicon flap. Why the flap? Because the unit has an has an IPX2 water-resistant rating. The only other control is a single button that controls Bluetooth pairing and switching between Bluetooth and the rear AUX input jack. The Bluetooth is a step above most speakers including the previous Kilburn. It has Bluetooth 5.0 aptX which adds high quality audio for Android devices. (I don’t think Apple yet supports aptX.) It also allows two devices to be paired at once. You can take turns with a friend sending music to this guy. Even though it has an AUX input, I found it gave no better sound than Bluetooth, and that’s a definite step up in wireless. Pairing went without issue and the range is very good. The Kilburn II gives good, clear, warm music with a room filling presence that’s amazing … and all coming from a modest little wireless box. It’s a great and funky speaker.

If only I had gotten this speaker before I bought the 5 others I wouldn't have wasted my money. All the others were too bass heavy, too bright, too low volume, etch. I'm no audiophile but I have a very picky ear and have a hard time settling with a speaker that doesn't sound just right to me. With the built in tone control this can make a perfect speaker for almost anyone. First of all the Kilburn II is a hefty little device. I don't know if it's just the case that's sturdy as heck or if it's the insides that hold the weight. Either way it feels like it can take a good beating... give one! It comes with two power cords, one US and one EU. I was kinda bummed that it wasn't micro USB or USB 3.1 like most devices that are available, but on the plus side it uses a standard power cord. 7a 125v figure 8 2 prong (probably better known as a PS4 power cable). I pulled the cable out of my console and plugged it in the Kilburn with no problems. I cracked open the unit because unlike the previous version there isn't an easy to open spot to replace the battery. You have to take the back off to get to the battery. It's pretty easy to remove and replace the hard part would be find a replacement battery itself. This will keep it from being a disposable unit like so many devices are trying to become. Along with BT there's also an 1/8" analog input in the back so you can hook up older devices or if you just want a higher quality audio input. And the quality is AMAZING! It out puts frequencies low enough to put some subwoofers to shame -though without the power. You hear the lows, just can't feel them. You have to balance the sound though. Too much bass and it sounded box to me, too little and it got to bright. My left ear is extremely sensitive to high pitched sounds so being able to tweak the sound just right is a huge plus. Even out the box is sounds very good. It's also a loud speaker. It filled a 600sqft room at work with so much sound one guy at lunch took his headphones off to see what was going on. This was without distortion at bass at 6. I put in my workout room filled the house from one end to the other with sound. I can't say how this compares to higher end BT speakers as I've only heard them at BB and not in my listening areas but compared to 5 other speakers ranging from $50 to $200 this Kilburn II blows them far far away, not just in volume but quality. If you're thinking about getting this speaker, do it! If I had done it earlier I would have 4 speakers gathering dust around the house (I gotta use one for working out!).

The first thing you'll notice about the Kilburn 2, is the quality. This speaker is one of the nicest bluetooth speakers that I've seen yet. The Kilburn 2 is made out of high quality material, all throughout the entire box. From the metal grill in the front, to the leather casing around the speaker. It really gives that look and feel of the classic Marshal brand, plus, its packed with some of the latest technology. With that being said, I'm not sure I would agree with the way they designed some of the parts of the speaker. Such as, the volume knob and the placement of the bass, but I will get more in depth with that later on. The Sound of the Kilburn 2 is good, it tends to sound a little muddy at times, but nothing major. The Kilburn 2 reaches extremely loud volumes, as well as pack some heavy bass. The only problem with the bass is, (depending on where you place it) you either hear way too much bass, or not enough bass. I found that the Kilburn 2 sounds best, when it's placed on a bookshelf near a wall. This creates a good position to bounce off some of the bass. The Kilburn 2 is loaded with many great features. One of the best features, is the 20+ hrs of battery life for long play times (which it really does last that long). Another great feature, is bluetooth 5.0, which lets you stream wirelessly over longer distances, as well as stream to multiple sources at once. Then there's the knobs, the volume, bass and treble. While the bass and treble knobs are very welcome, the volume knob is more of an inconvenience. I do see why they added this, but trying to combine nostalgia with modern technology, takes away from the portability factor of bluetooth. This becomes an issue, when you turn the knob all the way up and plan to control the volume with your phone - the volume becomes distorted. Therefore, you must fine tune the knob to your liking, which in my case, requires walking over to the bookshelf. Overall, the Kilburn 2 if a great bluetooth speaker with only a few minor flaws. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a high quality bluetooth speaker.

If you're a rocker, you're already familiar with the Marshall brand of amplifiers. In recent years, they've expanded their brand to headphones, cellphones and bluetooth speakers like this one. The Kilburn II is the cute baby brother to the Stanmore, but don't let that fool you. It still sounds great. There's plenty of bass and enough volume to satisfy your everyday needs. This will have a permanent place on my kitchen table, synced to my iPad, for all of my breakfast entertainment. Speaking of syncing, I had no issues syncing this to my iPad Air 2. All I did was push the Bluetooth button on the top and pairing began immediately. When turning the iPad back on, all you have to do is turn the speaker on, and it pairs automatically. If you're an audiophile, you can adjust bass and treble controls to get a better sound. I recommend starting at noon on both and see if it sounds like it should. I turned the bass down a tad, and the treble up a tad. In terms of loudness, when turned all the way up, it's nowhere near as loud as an old Plexi, but it's definitely loud enough for rock and roll! It's worth noting that it is IPX2 water-resistant rating, so it’s able to withstand a little bit of water, so you could bring this to the beach if you wanted to. Fully charged, the battery lasts about 20 hours, which should be enough for day at the beach and an evening camping. It looks like it's built to be able to handle the travel also! The Marshall Kilburn II looks cool, sounds great and is highly portable. My only ding is that it's a little bit overpriced.

This Kilburn II model from Marshall is fantastic. Having had some experience with portable speakers but always wanting just a little bit more from all of them, I was pleasantly surprised to find this model from Marshall and test it out. It does not disappoint. First of all, I love having the ability to adjust treble and bass independently to cater to the particular source that’s feeding it. Right out of the box, with both set to “0”, music still sounds better than many portable speakers I’ve used before. Bass is quite good when set proportionally to volume, past a volume level of 5, middle bass is still fine but low punch and high bass notes start to fall off fairly quickly. Treble holds on much longer but starts to lose some of it’s “brightness” at higher volumes (7+). Being independently adjustable though allows you to set them wherever they compliment the music rather than having to live with muddy bass at high volumes. All that said, good luck to you if you want to listen to this thing anywhere in your house higher than that (6-7+). If loud is what you’re looking for, look no further. It will probably be louder than you’ll be able to stand inside your home at 10. Take it outside and you might have to crank it up a tiny bit but this thing just keeps slamming your ears anyway. I would imagine that it could hold its own with some of these massive speakers I’ve seen people bring to the beach or to house parties. It’s not going to be as loud as those but for its size, it punches well above its weight class. Well above. I’m generally not a fan of Bluetooth as I’ve found it to be, for me at least, a fairly unreliable way to do much of anything. Thankfully, pairing this speaker with a Bluetooth source is painless and quick. The connection seems to be very solid with no issues so far, even while keeping my phone on me and walking throughout my house. Battery life is great, at a volume of 2 for a total of about 3 hours I saw only one bar drop off from a full charge. Obviously, going louder will drain the battery more quickly. In short, the sound is great, bass and treble are independently adjustable which is a huge win in my opinion and they both contribute significantly to the sound. It’s plenty loud enough for outside parties, the beach, etc. and the Bluetooth connection seems really solid. Aesthetically, this is what I’ve been looking for in a portable speaker. Set it on a shelf or desk and I doubt anyone will assume it’s a portable speaker. It’s well worth the price tag if you want something portable, loud, and rugged enough to take outside or to the beach. 10/10

We really love it while entertaining. Great sound. Quick connect. Long battery.

This speaker has a surprising amount of power and bass for its size. This allows it to sound very good relative to its size. I purchased this speaker to place in my ‘63 Ford Falcon so I can have music without making drastic modifications to my interior. The build quality of this unit seems top notch for the price category, though I don’t know if I can go as far as saying it’s tough. I choose not to test those limits, and though I do carry it around regularly, I am always mindful of protecting its good looks. There is a premium to be paid for those good looks and I believe the same amount of money could go further with a less eclectic choice. Expensive and rare, but perfect for some people.