Customer Ratings & Reviews

Several years ago I bought a Bose SoundLink Mini to use while traveling with my laptop and DAP. Say what you will about Bose or their prices, but their engineers certainly seem to know how to squeeze some pretty amazing sound out of small enclosures. Fast-forward several years and we've given a few of the larger Marshall speakers to family members as a gift...the Stanmore in particular is a favorite with its rich, room-filling audio and vintage/classical styling. My SoundLink Mini was starting to get a bit long in the tooth and wasn't holding a charge very well anymore so I decided to give Marshall's Emberton II a spin as its price, design, and features seem to be aimed squarely at the Bose SoundLink Mini line of portable speakers. In the end, I think Marshall succeeded in making a portable speaker that is worthy of your dollars and consideration and it beats the Bose in nearly every category. Marshall's signature guitar amp-style design cues give this little speaker a dash of class and "rock-n-roll" sensibilities that are admittedly pretty cool-looking as it sits on a shelf or tabletop. The all-black enclosure feels solid and rugged with its pebble-finish rubberized textured shell, big brass-colored control rocker knob/button, classic Marshall logo on the speaker grille up front, and red amp-style LED bar meter one the top indicating battery level. There is also one tiny red LED above the flush-mount Bluetooth button. Unlike some other speaker designs, the Emberton II doesn't have an "ugly backside" with ports, screws, plug-ins, or switches...the rear of the speaker simply features the same guitar amp-style grille as the front. There is a small USB-C charging port on the right side of the speaker and a VERY shallow ridge of raised rubber running around the bottom of the speaker for stability and slight surface protection. Usability is top notch but with a novel approach to the audio interface that is totally appropriate to the speaker's design. Along with looking like a guitar amp, it sounds a little like one too with power-up, power-down, and BT connection/disconnection status tones taking the form of various rising and falling guitar riffs, while the pairing tone is distinctly different, sounding a little like short bongo drumbeats. Pairing itself is effortless and is accomplished with a simple press of the pairing button on the top of the Emberton until the status tone sounds--I was connected to my iPhone 12 and Shanling DAPs inside of 5 seconds each. The red BT and battery level LEDs are dim during normal playback, but they glow brighter momentarily whenever a control is activated...this is a nice way to keep on top of the battery charge level if you go several hours or more in between futzing with the controls. The main brass-colored 4-way rocker button serves several intuitive Bluetooth functions for both speaker and playback control of the connected source: press and hold for speaker power on/off, quick-press to play/pause, tilt forward or back for volume control, tilt left/right for previous/next song skip. The volume +/- and track skip icons are also debossed around the edge of the cutout for the control rocker, but the icons are so small that they get lost within the pebble-stone texture of the speaker itself and are pretty difficult to see--nevertheless, the controls are simple enough and fairly standard for BT remote controls on other products that I doubt you'll ever forget which direction to push the rocker knob to adjust volume versus skip tracks. The design is such that the drivers and passive bass radiators are the same in the front as they are in the back. This allows pretty much anyone to hear clearly and cleanly regardless of where they are sitting around the speaker; but unlike the oddball tuning of the larger Marshall Tufton's rear-firing driver, you don't get any interference, echo, or delay between the two speakers so the soundfield is smooth and continuous. Interestingly, however, the stereo performance is therefore front-to-back rather than side-to-side--it sounds weirder than it really turns out to be in practice given how small and close together the drivers are, but a few songs with VERY pronounced L/R panning will sound mostly mono from the front or rear. Volume gets almost uncomfortably loud before it starts to unpleasantly distort, but this is a tiny portable speaker after all--it would be fine for enjoying music in a small room or for those seated in a few chairs closely encircling it at the beach/poolside, but don't expect it to reassuringly fill a whole floor of a house or back end of a cul-de-sac. However, the Emberton supports what Marshall calls "Stack Mode" which allows you to link two or more Emberton speakers together all while being driven from the same single BT source...it's a neat feature to be sure, one that is characteristic of larger party speakers that can be chained together for an even "larger" sound, but you'll have to decide whether your wallet can tolerate another Emberton in your stable just for the sake of this feature. Out-of-the-box sound is tuned with Marshall's signature EQ, but the companion Marshall app allows you to choose two other presets: Push (boosted bass & treble) and Voice (enhanced midrange). Honestly, the Marshall preset was the most pleasant, engaging, energetic, and articulate of the bunch; though I suppose the Voice preset might be useful for podcasts, audiobooks, or news broadcasts. Frankly, the Push preset sounded like it exaggerated the bass and treble at the expense of a mid cut to the point where vocals sounded hollow and strained (to my ear), but there are likely some people out there who will still appreciate this overtly v-shaped EQ. The app also provides an additional set of playback controls in case you don't want to get up and walk all the way over to the speaker itself to skip tracks or pause playback. Battery life is claimed to be more than 30 hours...I never ran it continuously that long, but several days' worth of background music still left a hefty charge on board. A 20-minute quick charge restores about 3-4 hours' worth of runtime while a full charge only takes about 2-3 hours. The speaker is designed to withstand some pretty harsh listening conditions with an impressive IP67 dust and water-resistance rating--feel free to use it by the pool or at the beach, though strangely the USB-C charging port is not protected with any kind of gasket or covering. Frankly, the speaker itself looks so nice I would be hard-pressed to knock it around in such conditions (I'd hate for some sand to work its way into that charging port), but it's nice to know it was designed to survive a rain shower or some sandy/dusty conditions for those times when you simply must have your tunes on the go. Finally, to the question I was after--does the Emberton II offer a compelling enough sound/experience to dethrone the SoundLink Mini as my go-to speaker when I want big sound in a small portable package? The answer is MOSTLY yes. On pure thumping bass *quantity* alone, I have to give a slight nod to the Bose; there was just a tiny bit more palpable oomph to the SoundLink Mini's bass vs. that of the Emberton II, even on the exaggerated Push EQ preset. BUT, the Emberton II frankly sounded MUCH better balanced, a little more full-bodied throughout all the frequency ranges, and a little livelier overall. Given that this speaker is purpose-built to provide big sound from a VERY small package, I was not expecting audiophile-level sound quality or ear-blistering output, but I do value sound quality more than quantity overall. In that respect, I think the *very* minor tradeoff in just a hair less bass output for a signature sound that is simply more pleasing and fun to listen to overall makes the Marshall Emberton II a no-brainer if you're in the market for one of these brick-sized portable speakers--definitely recommended!

Great built quality, best looking with professional studio monitor like sound clean and crisp not overhyped

10/10 recommend, instrumental and vocals are crisp but not heavy on bass. Love the 360 spund, ability to carry to any room or travel with it.

Amazing sound!!!!! Hubby is so happy with it! We have several other Marshall speakers and this one did not disappoint!

Great sounding clear speaker. Wish I’d bought a second one to link them together. The surround sound out this one speaker is amazing.

Amazing sounds for a small Bluetooth speaker! I will definitely buy more Marshall speakers.

I had excellent service and incredible delivery. I ordered the speaker in store mid-afternoon, and it was at my house the next morning!! I'm very happy with the quality and performance of my Marshall speaker plus I got it for an incredible sale price.

For such a small speaker it has great sound. It was an awesome Christmas gift.

Awesome little speaker! Liked it so much I bought a second one to pair together

This color of speaker is so adorable and the music came out very nicely and clearly. I luv it!!! Would recommend this to everyone.

Top notch sound quality! Not too loud or not too low just simply brilliant engeneering!

These Bluetooth speakers are Dope! I bought 2, one is @ the office and one @ home! They are stackable and seamless to use, with the Marshall build quality it shines!

I enjoy this little speaker so much. It amazes me that anythimg this small can sound so good.

I like it. I got it as a gift. It sounds great. Now i can play music anytime with my speakers on

The speaker is mind-blowing. The bass and treble are too good

This is my second Marshall Emberton speaker. I bought the second for a gift and they love it! I travel everywhere with mine. Highly recommend.

This is a very small, very cool looking, very good sounding portable Bluetooth speaker that, in my opinion, has the coolest startup and shut down sounds that I have heard from a speaker. Both guitar riffs are just so cool and add a great touch to this speaker. The faux leather look and branded Marshall signature makes this look like a mini speaker that you would see on stage of your local band playing at your favorite small venue. This speaker preforms way better than its small statue would imply, and I am very impressed with the sound, the highs are not distorted when at full volume and the bass is deep and full. I charged the Emberton II via the USB Type C connector to full charge, which took it a few hours to fully charge and after about 30 minutes of playing music, the Marshall Bluetooth app (they need a better name since it just shows as “Bluetooth” in my app drawer) showed it was already down to 80%. I was very concerned that the rated 30 hours of battery life would not be achieved, but after the initial drop in power, it has lasted a full 30 hours plus some. I am going to call that a bug since it has not happened again to me. Regarding the app, besides the name that needs to be changed, it is pretty basic, but has the features that you like such as setting one of the three presets, starting stack mode, battery indicator and the ability to control the music you are listening to. Overall this is a nice sounding speaker that has a great battery life, IP67 Dust and Water-Resistant, Bluetooth 5.1, and is made with 50% recycled plastic so you can fell a little better about your purchase and helping the planet.

Super satisfied with this item also with BEST BUY- that’s why is the BEST!!! You can search all my purchases you’ll see how much money I have spent with Best Buy. I have more pics. Than I sending to you guys.

Great product for price and sound is phenomenal best bang for buck, thanks best buy

Let me tell you the only thing small about this portable Bluetooth speaker is its size. The Marshall Emberton II portable Bluetooth speaker measure in at about 3 x 6.5 x 3 inches and weighs about 1.5lbs. This speaker is small enough to carry with you anywhere but delivers large sound with a durable build. The Emberton II supports Bluetooth 5.1 with rugged IP67 water (up to 3 feet) and dust resistant design. The speaker is wrapped in what seems to feel like either rubber or faux leather with a metal black grill and gold lettering and button. The speaker offers a 30+ hours of battery life that also supports fast charging, 20 minutes will give you 4 hours of playtime. The Emberton also has a feature called “Stack Mode”, which essentially allows you to connect multiple Emberton speakers together for a much larger sound. The speaker offers 360-degree sound which actually sounds pretty good. There is also an accompanying application with the Emberton. You will need to download the Marshall app that allows you set the EQ presets which include Marshall setting, Push, which is boosted bass and voice. At this time, you cannot create your own EQ setting and honestly, I did not feel the need to. I tested out the speaker on all three settings and they all sounded great, but I personally loved the Marshall setting. The music was rich, clear, loud and just perfect. This little speaker packs a might punch, it is louder and clearer in sound than some of the other known brands out there. I honestly think you need to give this a shot, you will not be disappointed.