Marshall - Willen BT Portable Speaker - Black & Brass

Wow!!!! I’m in love, this speakers bass and clarity is legit 5 star! The best portable speaker I’ve bought yet. I’m taking this everywhere I go now lol

Portable bluetooth speakers can be found everywhere and it’s really hard to differentiate them in general. So what would it take for the Marshall Willen bluetooth speakers stand out in the already crowded marketplace said from its branding of a well known one of guitar amplifiers? Well you can count on its sound build quality. Measuring roughly by 4” x 4” with a thickness of around 1.5”and weighing almost 10 oz., the Marshall Willen in terms of form factor competes with that other high end portable speaker whose brand starts with a B and audiophiles hate. The Willen also has a strap similar to that “other” brand too. But what makes the Willen stand out is that it boasts of a rated fifteen hour battery life whereas the other brand has only six. Other brands which are similar in class often have 8-10 hours of battery life. In this regard, the Marshall Willen is on top of the list. Its boxy form factor follows the general design of Marshall amplifiers wherein there are “grippy” rubber textures and grilled speakers which are made of plastic. Also it sports the classic Marshall logo in gold. The overall design is rather minimalist wherein you have a gold rocker button in gold in front and and acts like one you can find in digital cameras and TV remote controls. Pushing the rocker powers on or off the speaker. And pushing the rocker left or right skips or repeats the song playlist while pushing up or down controls the volume. On top of the speaker is a bluetooth button which is actually red not blue, a mic and a battery indicator which from my observation is seldom found speakers of this class. The WIllen is also powered via USB-C with the charging cable provided but no charger. But then again, most small speakers do not provide one nowadays. And now for the most important part is sound quality. At first, I found the sound as clear and not really “tinny” as most speakers in this class. Fortunately, this tiny speaker is supported by the Marshall app both of which are available for iOS and Android. From the app though minimally, you can set the sound settings. There are actually only three preset sound settings which are the default Marshall setting, the Push setting which is actually a bass boost setting and my preferred setting. In truth with this setting on, the speaker sound louder than it looks. And still it is not really thumping, the sound sound can still be room filling. Lastly, there is a Voice mode which is more suited for podcasts. And like other speakers coming nowadays, you can also daisy chain this Willen to others. Overall I like this tiny speaker as it has great battery life and sound louder relative to its size. If you are willing to put a little extra for a quality but small bluetooth speaker, I would highly recommend this speaker.

The Marshall Willen is a compact and rugged water and dust resistant speaker. I love the modern twist on the classic Marshall design. Marshall bluetooth speakers and headphones throw me back to a time when I played guitar in a band. :D It reminds me of the Marshall half stack I would jam out on! Anyway! This little rugged speaker is pretty loud and packs a nice bassy punch. When you download the Marshall app, you can use the equalizer to add more bass, keep the classic Marshall tuning, or select voice for movies or videos or even listening to podcasts and audiobooks. Overall sound quality is very pleasing, and is loud enough to fill a large room. You could definitely take this out to the pool, the beach or an outdoor gathering. I listen to a very broad range of music.. everything from classical to electronic and metal. This little speaker handles every genre well. The speaker is tuned very nicely for whatever music you love. It has become my companion for everyday music and podcast listening. I went ahead and bought a second Willen speaker to try out the stacked mode. A pretty cool feature that will let you connect multiple Marshall speakers together for an even louder listening experience. Bring it to the parties! The only thing that let me down about it ( and maybe I haven't quite figured it out) is that the stacked mode doesn't provide a stereo or surround sound. It just makes everything louder. I tried different test videos on YouTube and stereo and spatial audio songs on Apple Music and the sounds just came out of both speakers when it was supposed to be switching between left and right. Not a dealbreaker, but it would have been really cool to be able to set up a portable stereo system. Maybe with a firmware update, Marshall could include it in the future. Otherwise ( from my experience). Stacked mode just kind of amplifies everything because you'll be pushing multiple speakers. All that being said, I am very impressed with this little speaker. Even if you just buy one, it is loud enough for small get togethers. Pro tip: Lay it flat on a wooden surface for a little extra bass! Would I recommend it? Yep! It is compact, rugged, has a very cool Marshall cabinet design and sounds great to my aging ears.

My partner and I recently picked up biking as both a hobby and way to exercise this summer. I wanted a way to listen to music that is louder than my phone, but doesn’t require me to put earbuds in for safety reasons. I picked up the Marshall Willen speaker and it has not disappointed. Build quality is solid. The periphery of the speaker is made of a soft touch material that is semi-squishy. It’s really nice to hold and I think this would help it absorb an impact in the event of a tumble. The silicone strap on the back feels secure and stretches just enough to get a good grip on my bike frame. The speaker stayed in place just fine on my most recent ride. I think it would hold nicely on a backpack for hiking or roof frame on a golf cart, etc. I like the security of knowing that it is dust and water resistant in the event that it starts raining or gets splashed by a pool or lake. Sound quality is also extremely impressive. In my experience, small speakers like this tend to ‘blow out’ at full volume. The Marshall Willen does not do this, much to my surprise. Even at max volume, bass is controlled and vocals remain clear. Hats off to you Marshall. A couple other things of note. Battery life is good. An hour and a half bike ride at close to max volume only used 1 of 5 battery ‘bars.’ The Willen charges via USB-C. Marshall claims 15 or more hours of playtime on a full charge and 3 hours of playtime on a 15 minute charge. I think these numbers are reasonably close to what you can expect in the real world. The only somewhat weird thing about this speaker is the built in controls/ buttons. I expected the button on the top of the speaker to power it on and off. This button only controls bluetooth pairing. Pressing and holding the control knob powers it on and off. This took a minute to get used to, but is just fine now. That same control knob allows you to control track forward/reverse and volume up/down. All in all, I really like the Marshall Willen and will be keeping it for all of my future biking and adventuring. It’s a really competitive choice if you’re in the market for a portable bluetooth speaker.

Alright I'm just gonna stay this right off - this Marshall Willen bluetooth speaker is ADORABLE. I'm sure that's not the look that Marshall is going for, and certainly not the reaction I'd expect to have as a grown man, but I'm just being real here. This thing is a perfect, pint sized replica of a Marshall amp. They even call their multi-point pairing mode a 'stack' and their USB-C charging cable has a cross-hatch braided pattern on the (non-braided) cable. The styling and theme is perfect, and Marshall deserves to be commended for this commitment to their brand. It certainly doesn't hurt that the Willen sounds pretty awesome, too. Of course on a tiny speaker like this I wasn't expecting miracles from the bass response - and you don't get those miracles, to be clear. You do get great volume in the mids and highs without noticeable distortion or vibration. The design of the Willen speaker aids this lack of vibration, as it uses a rubberized or very soft touch plastic for the shell that keeps any vibration from transferring to the surface you have the Willen sitting on. The Willen also has a nice little strap on the back which you can use to wrap around a towel bar or other pipe shape to position the Willen the best way to get great sound. Definitely a great option if you want to bring that signature Marshall look and sound with you anywhere you can take a portable speaker.

The Marshall Willen portable Bluetooth speaker is my favorite Bluetooth speaker in this size range. It’s a fun throwback that sounds good, looks cool, has a rugged design with a IP67 dust and water resistance rating, and has good battery life. The Marshall Willen has been a lot of fun to use and thanks to its design, this is the Bluetooth speaker I will be taking with me everywhere. I love this thing. Setup: Inside the box you will find the Willen Bluetooth speaker and a short USB-A to USB-C charging cable. In a nice touch, the charging cable has a textured vinyl look to it. The speaker has a battery indicator, Bluetooth pairing button, and microphone on the speaker. The USB-C port is located on the side. On the front of the speaker, you see the gold omni-button. This button will turn the speaker on and off as well as play / pause music and adjust volume. Out of the box, I had about a 30% charge on the speaker. I got a prompt on both of my phones when I turned the speaker on asking if I wanted to pair and then download the Willen App. Pairing was easy. The app makes it easy to adjust the EQ for the speaker. I wish there had been a toggle on the speaker for EQ, but the app works well enough. Experience: The Willen makes an impression right out of the box. It is definitely a throwback to the classic Marshall amplifiers. It has a rubber feel to it. The strap makes it easy to secure the speaker to a pole or handle bar. When you turn on the speaker, the battery indicator lights in sequence from empty to full and the speaker plays a cool startup sound. The audio for the Willen is punchy and plenty loud. The speaker vibrates my desk. I could see some folks complaining about the bass levels, but I think the speaker sounds great. Music is clear and detailed. The speaker uses the SBC codec. It isn’t lossless, but it still sounds very good. The speaker fully charges in three hours. But, if you don’t have three hours, twenty minutes of charge will give you three hours of playtime. Battery life will vary depending on how you are using the speaker, but in my tests, it lasted between twelve and fifteen hours on a full charge. At some point, I will have to get a second Willen so I can pair a couple of these speakers together, but, by itself, it still sounds great. In conclusion, I think this speaker is great. It would make a cool gift for musicians, or anyone interested in the Marshall brand. But outside of nostalgia, it’s a cool little speaker. It sounds good. It looks cool. I really like it. 5/5

I saw this online before I saw it in person, so the first thing I have to say is that I was very surprised at how tiny this speaker is. It’s a bit too big to fit in the palm of my hand, but it’s barely any bigger. A biscuit is bigger than the Willen. Despite this tiny size, the sound is absolutely great. It doesn’t rattle, it’s not all mids, and it has some decently punchy bass too. The sound has a lot of clarity too, and while it’s no surround sound I can hear more details to the music I’m listening to than I can in, say, my car. It’s fancy too. The leather sides feel great to the touch, the black and gold aesthetic is pretty classy, and I really like how there’s even an actual battery meter on the top that does it’s job without being bright or ugly or distracting. The LEDs in general are pretty soft, which is great since I typically use Bluetooth speakers at night and am kind of sick of getting blinded by neon blue lights. The strap on the back is pretty neat for sticking the speaker to stuff, and overall it’s far more portable than bulky speakers that look like 2-liters of soda. I can put it on my bike even. The software is good, though it could be better. The equalizer only has three options, and there doesn’t appear to be any customization. Other than that, pairing the device to my phone and downloading the app was super easy - the Willen supports those flyouts for nearby devices that let you pair your phone without digging in the settings menu and looking for some really technical device name. It downloaded the app automatically, and I haven’t had any connection issues. I also like how there’s a feature to use multiple Willens together to scale your sound, by daisy chaining them off one you set as the primary. (I haven’t tested this since I only have one Willen, but it’s still cool to see the option and not have it limited to two speakers.) Overall it’s a great speaker that just works, and sounds bigger than it really is. I love basically everything about this, and pretty much the only complaint I have is that the battery is kind of underwhelming about holding a charge. Even without the extra features the app gave it, I’d still be perfectly happy with it just because of how incredibly portable the Willen is while still having sound that’s not just loud but nice and clear. I’d definitely recommend getting this if you’re looking for a speaker you can take with you without a hassle.

--- SETUP --- This Marshall speaker is quick to set up. Mine arrived with no charge, so I first had to fully charge it to use it. After about --- FEATURES --- The speaker is small in design, has a built-in microphone, can be combined with other similar speakers wirelessly, offers 15 hours of playtime, and can be strapped on to most places. --- PERFORMANCE AND EXPECTATIONS --- This speaker packs a powerful enough punch to be a welcoming addition to small to medium living rooms or even a classroom with 25-30 students. I teach dance, and I tested out this speaker with my dance students. They were able to comfortably listen to the music when dancing was required, and I was able to quickly pause the music from anywhere in the room because of the bluetooth connectivity. As a dance teacher, I travel to multiple dance studios throughout the city on different days. Having a speaker that I can carry in my backpack without much noticeable weight is ideal. All in all, the speaker is 4 inches tall, 1.6 inches wide, 4 inches in depth, and weighs less than a pound. The strap allows me to hang it if I need it to be higher, but I usually just place it on available tables. The design is very intuitive. I immediately figured out how to raise and lower the volume as well as change tracks. Since the speaker is water resistant, I use it to listen to music that I am going to use for my classes while I am showering. I was able to use the strap and hang it from the shower rod for a closer listen during my shower routine. With 15 hours of battery life, the speaker had no problem lasting all day, even a second day, without needing a recharge. It takes about 3 hours for a full charge, but if you need to, you can take advantage of the quick-charge feature and a 20 minute charge can get you 3 hours of use! --- APPROVAL --- If you have a small to medium room size and need to fill it with audio, this speaker does a wonderful job. If you plan on traveling with your sound, like say, riding a bike or going on a walking trail, this speaker would have no problem attaching to your bicycle or on the side of your backpack. Overall, this is an impressive little guy for the amount of sound you can get out of it.