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Rated 4 out of 5 stars
A Great Bluetooth Bookshelf Speaker
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Right away let’s get to how fantastic this speaker looks. Modeled after the Marshall guitar amplifiers you’ve undoubtedly seen stacked at concerts (although made by Zound Industries and not Marshall directly), this just looks nice fitting into any space in your home. Covered in faux leather with fabric front and the iconic Marshall script logo, it just looks pleasing. Then when you see the gold accented control panel on top, it just pops.
The build quality is tops. Buttons have a satisfying click, the knobs for controlling volume, bass, and treble move smoothly, with bright red LEDS that light up to indicate your level before dimming after a minute. The power toggle switch is intensely satisfying to flick on. It may sound minor but turning it on and off just feels great to do.
You’ve got three ways of getting audio to the speaker: Bluetooth, aux cable (3.5mm input), and RCA. After powering on you can select a source. Bluetooth is the main selling point and I’d imagine for most the main way of sending music. My Pixel 6 Pro and Windows 11 PC both detected and connected to the speaker without any issue.
You do not have to use the app, but I highly recommend it, at least occasionally to see if there’s any firmware updates. Mine did have one out of the box. Additionally, you can control the bass and treble controls from your phone with the app. The app also includes settings called Placement Compensation. It’s a series of two questions about how close the speaker is to the edge of a table/shelf and to a wall or corner, with the idea being that it corrects for reflective surfaces bouncing back sound. I couldn’t tell the difference, but I appreciate that it’s there. These are the only features of the app, so it’s really not something you need to open often.
The other inputs are physical inputs: aux / 3.5mm input and an RCA input. The aux input is located on the top of the unit and the RCA on the back. The placement does imply that aux will only be temporarily used, while RCA would be something more permanent, such as a record player. It’s worth noting that there is no ground, so if you are planning on using this with a record player it will need to have a phono preamp either built in or as part of the chain before connecting to this speaker.
I’m not audiophile, but I thought this sounded great. I tried listening to a variety of genres to get the best of it and I think it’s pretty good. It does start to get a little muddled at higher volumes and with the bass turned up higher. Neither a pro nor con but while decently sized, you can only do so much with a speaker of this size.
I do wish that this speaker did a bit more. At the current pricepoint, with it being designed as a home speaker (ie, no battery built in for portability), it’s a bit of a shame it doesn’t include any sort of Google Cast / Apple AirPlay options. To me this feels like a big miss and stops it from greatness.
That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to love here. I think this is a fantastic small home speaker for an office or small to midsize room. You’ve got a lot of movement range with Bluetooth but you’re still wirelessly tethered, so to speak. For me, this is the perfect secondary room speaker. I have it connected in my office to a record player, but it will not replace my main audio system in my main living area. Is this the right speaker for you? I’d consider what your needs are, what your space is like, how you listen to your music, and if it suits your aesthetic preferences.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The vintage style and deep, rich sound powerful audio with bright, detailed highs. I didnt hesitate to buy this after I test it in Best Buy. Very user friendly. Easy to pair the devices with bluetooth. Upgradable firmware. It’s a perfect audio for tv and even game consoles. You cant go wrong with Stanmore III. Buy it in best buy! Hassle free!
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
olid buy for anyone who wants style, power, and classic Marshall vibes. The Stanmore III delivers excellent sound (especially in terms of clarity and bass) and adds a lot of visual character to a room. While it isn’t portable and could use a bit more refinement at extreme volume or in its Bluetooth/idiosyncrasy department, it more than earns its place as a high-quality home speaker. If you want something to stay plugged in, sound great, and look premium, this is one of the best out there in its price range.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Initial Impressions:
The Marshall Stanmore III has a clean and sophisticated look. I will never be embarrassed showing this off in any room. It is a very handsome piece. The speaker has a faux leather wrap, cloth grill, an intelligently lighted brushed copper and black control panel, and finished with the iconic Marshall signature scrawled across the front grill. The Stanmore III should be able to easily blend into any modern household décor. Setup is easy as one, two, three. Plug in, flip on the meaty power switch, and sync with your phone or other stream source. Done! Room placement is very important for the Stanmore III. Thankfully, Marshall took the time to include some EQ settings to assist with room boundary compensation. And finally, sound quality, in my opinion, is hit or miss depending on the content, physical location, and the overall volume level.
Room Position:
I will start off by stating that room position and your listening position have a lot to do with getting the best out of any speaker. This is especially true with this speaker. I tried two rooms and four positions. The best position for my Stanmore III was in the middle of my multi-purpose room, 5.5 inches off the wall, and on the top shelf of my bookcase. See included photo. The top shelf of the bookcase is also ear level with my sitting position in the room. Next, I used the Mashall App to adjust the speaker’s Placement Compensation. This is an EQ adjustment and not auto-room correction feature like you would find on a modern AVR. Placement Compensation corrects for two situations: 1) Is the speaker close to an edge, and 2) Is the speaker close to a wall? I set the speaker Placement Compensation to “Yes” for the first setting and “Yes, a wall” for the second. I then set the tone controls to Bass-1 and Treble-3. Volume was set to 4.
For me, this produced the best sound from the Stanmore III for this room.
Sound:
My sound source was my iPhone and my Apple Music subscription. I both streamed and used the RCA cable connection on the back for musical playback. I spent three days listening to content. Below are the highlights.
Music like electronica, metal, hard rock, anything recorded live, or anything with a lot of artificial sounds sounded muddy, muddled, and hallow on this speaker. Classical, Jazz, easy listening, and anything with vocals and acoustical instruments, content without a lot of processing, seemed to work out well.
For example, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” sounds good at low volume. But who plays Metallica at low volumes? Turn up the volume, and the bass, and the wheels simply fly off this speaker. The speaker box rings like a bell. Meaning the box vibrates so much from the speaker output it overwhelms the music. Plus, the midrange takes a back seat to the bass reproduction. In my opinion, I think the woofer is being asked to do too much in this system. At least for something heavy and hard hitting like Metallica.
In stark contrast, “Closer to Fine”, by the Indigo Girls, sounds good on the Stanmore III. The acoustic guitars came through with authority and a level of clarity that really shows the Stanmore III’s midrange capabilities. At least when the bass isn’t overpowering the woofer. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers’ voices are clear, pitch perfect, and the system effortlessly responds to the dynamics of the singer’s voices as they weave in and out and around each other. It is almost like the Stanmore III was designed specifically for this type of music.
A high energy song, such as the B-52’s “Love Shack”, comes off as a complex mess that sounds terrible at anything above half volume. And even then, the true dynamics of the song feel subdued and hollow at lower levels. If there was ever a B-52 song that could get you to kick off your shoes and dance around the room then it is this song. Just not on the Stanmore.
Idena Menzel’s album, “Christmas: A Season of Love” sounds good on the Stanmore III. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, and the Jacques Loussiers Trio’s jazz arrangement of Bach’s “Fugue in G Minor” sound great once the Stanmore III is dialed in properly. Even the lonely piano notes at the beginning of George Winston’s “Colors/Dance” show an amazing decay that I did not expect to hear on a small system like this. But, a highly synthesized, big sound, such as Boston’s classic album “Third Stage” easily overwhelms this speaker and sounds terrible.
Everything else:
Control Panel: The manual controls on the top of the Stanmore III are beautiful and provide a luxurious experience. The power switch is meaty and satisfying to flip back and forth. The volume, bass, and treble control nobs are black plastic with copper textured caps which turn with little resistance. Each nob has 11, 0 – 10, red lighted notches that light as you dial up or dial down. The notches will also dim after a preset amount of time and then light up fully when you make a new adjustment. There is a single rocker switch for Back, Play/Pause, and Next. The switch looks good and is free floating. There is also a button that allows the Stanmore III to switch between Bluetooth, Aux, and RCA inputs. These two switches have the same build quality and presentation as the other nobs on the control panel. I am impressed with the level of sophistication Marshall put into the control panel experience.
Aux inputs: I connected my iPhone to the Aux ports using an RCA to Mini-stereo jack cable. The unit played without any issues. The input needs to be chosen from the control panel on the speaker. The Marshall app does not allow a soft switch between inputs via their app.
Tone controls: Treble and Bass tone controls can be set from the “Equalizer” page. Volume can also be set from the app but you have to enter another screen to manual adjust the volume. You can also use the manual volume controls of your source app or source device for Bluetooth playback.
Sleep mode: The speaker will go into sleep mode if left alone long enough. However, the speaker will also put the Bluetooth transmitter to sleep. The speaker’s physical control panel requires interaction before Bluetooth connectivity will be re-established.
Bass: This little guy will throw out the bass. Put on your favorite bass heavy piece, crank the bass nob to 11, and rock out! Put it up against a wall or in a corner to take advantage of boundary enforcement and you’ve got yourself a party. However, the speaker will ring like a bell with its own resonance which will degrade your listening experience.
Treble: Just like the base, the Stanmore III is capable of amazing treble. Whitney Houstin sounds outstanding on this speaker with the treble turned up.
Recycled materials: The packing material is almost 95% recyclable. I included photos of the packing material. The little desiccant packets are not. Otherwise, bravo Marshall! The Stanmore III is also 70% recycled material. This is huge from an environmentally friendly position.
Portability: This speaker is as portable as there are available wall outlets. There is no internal battery.
Final thoughts:
The Marshall Stanmore III is second to none in the looks and styling department. Marshall chose to spend its money on styling instead of gimmicks. And I think they made the right choice. The system is powerful. It will play music loud and with authoritative bass. Even at low volumes, the bass output of the Stanmore III can be satisfying. Is it good bass? In my opinion, it depends on the content and the volume level. At lower volumes I think it is good enough.
For sound quality, I think Classical, Jazz, and acoustic Singer/Song Writer type content sounded best to me. I also feel that this speaker shines at volume levels of 50% and less. Over 50% and this speaker has a very hard time controlling box resonance and speaker balance even with tone controls and Placement Compensation EQ presets.
Overall, I had a mixed experience with the Marshall Stanmore III. I can see this speaker working out well in a collage dorm room, a kitchen, or a small den providing background ambiance. But, if you are a head banger, then you will find plenty of bass here to rock to all night long. For me personally, I did not find the musicality of the Stanmore III to my liking.
Hello, thanks for the thorough and great review. For the sound, the Dynamic Loudness, Placement Compensation and the wider soundstage will all impact the listening experience. It is definitely worth playing with different volumes, EQ profiles and music genres so that you can find the perfect match for your preferences.
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Exceptional Value and Unmatched Quality
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Marshall Stanmore III is an absolute game-changer for anyone seeking premium sound without breaking the bank. This speaker delivers incredible value for its price, making it a standout choice in its category.
The bass performance is phenomenal, rich, and powerful, adding depth to every genre of music. Whether you’re enjoying rock classics or ambient tunes, the sound quality is nothing short of mesmerizing, with clear highs and perfectly balanced mids. It’s the kind of audio experience that truly immerses you.
Beyond its impressive sound, the design is a masterpiece. Marshall has blended vintage aesthetics with modern sophistication, making the Stanmore III not just a speaker but a statement piece in any room. Its classic retro look, complete with the iconic Marshall logo, makes it as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears.
If you’re looking for a speaker that offers uncompromising quality, stunning design, and unbeatable value, the Marshall Stanmore III is an investment you won’t regret. It’s a must-have for music enthusiasts and style lovers alike!
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is a fantastic speaker. Nice balanced sound quality with plenty of volume for indoors or out (note: it’s NOT water proof). Can handle most styles of music as well as tv/theater. It’s not as booming as some of the rave party systems with flashing lights (Sony, etc) and you can tell it’s designed for rock/jazz/blues as you’d expect from a top guitar amp company. Great for classical, too. Since it only has an RCA connector on the back, I connected it to my TVs out using an HDMI to RCA converter. Works just fine. Sound quality is a serious bump up from the one step lower Marshall system so worth the extra $100 (though that system also sounds good). Two (minor) things I’d add to improve it: 1) add a guitar amp handle to allow easy moving (easy to push down out of the way and would be a cool Easter egg ref’ing their amps), and 2) come on, Marshall, the dials should go to 11! (“Taps” into another Marshall amp reference ‘cause “when you’re at 10 and you need that extra push, other amps have nowhere to go, but yours goes to 11”). Great product. Recommend it highly. Would buy it again in a heartbeat.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I’ve been using the Marshall Stanmore Bluetooth speaker for several months now, and it’s easily one of the most impressive audio products I’ve owned. Right out of the box, the speaker exudes a vintage, premium look with its leather-like finish, brass knobs, and the iconic Marshall script logo—perfect for both audiophiles and design-conscious users.
What really stood out to me was the sound quality. The Stanmore delivers deep, rich bass and clear mids, with crisp highs that don’t distort even at higher volumes. It’s powerful enough to fill a large room and works just as well for casual listening or house parties. The analog controls on the top panel let me fine-tune bass and treble easily, which I found a nice touch for tailoring the sound to different music genres.
Bluetooth connectivity is reliable and fast, although I did find it lacking in features like multi-room support or app-based EQ customization that other high-end speakers sometimes offer. Also, it’s not a portable speaker—it needs to stay plugged in and isn’t designed for outdoor use.
Overall, I highly recommend the Marshall Stanmore if you’re looking for exceptional sound and classic aesthetics in a stationary speaker. It’s not cheap, but it feels like a long-term investment in both quality and style.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Excellent sound quality. Bass and the sound clarity is very good. The look of the speaker adds character to the house. Setting up process was so easy. Excellent Bluetooth connectivity.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Bought it for my husband's birthday! He loves it! I love it not only for the looks (the retro vibes is really just a bonus) but the quality alone is superb!
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Wow. Sound quality is amazing on this product. I’ve had many different boomboxes/speakers and this one definitely sets its self apart from the rest. Appearance design also I nice added touch
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is great stand alone speaker with great sound quality. Don’t try to use them in tandem as they will not pair. The app for Marshall speakers needs some work. They also need to upgrade their technology.
If using one speaker, it is easy to use with Amazon music or Spotify.
I ended up returning the 2 speaker as I wanted them to pair but unfortunately this was not possible yet.