World-reknowned for their wall-rattling amplifiers, Marshall has become almost a household name – you likely know their brand even if you’re not a musician. And recently they’ve decided to build on that brand loyalty with a new product direction- headphones! I’ve always been a fan of Marshall’s amps – and the mystique that’s always surrounded them – so I wanted to take a look at how they extended that experience and built on it for their new product line. Every step of the unboxing experience adds to the presentation and style of the headphones, I think you’ll agree.
Looking at the boxes for both the Major and the Minor (the full and in-ear models, respectively), you can already tell something special is going on. Let’s start with the Major.
The Major’s box has a small seam running about 2cm from the bottom of the box, with just two small clear decals holding the top to the bottom. No fuss, no muss- just remove or slit the decals, lift the top, and voila!
The Major makes it’s entry in reclining fashion, so you can see all the small details that went into it. Knurled bronze tip, the iconic cabinet grille cloth covering the inner speakers, the Marshall logo on white above black Tolex- it’s all the little details you’ve become used to with Marshall amps remixed to powerful effect. And once you plug them in, they fit nicely but not too tight or bulky, provide a great , tight bass and crystally highs for a driver so small, and weigh up incredibly light- folding up neatly to slip into a backpack or laptop bag and still leave some room. I’m probably going to use these as my main headphones for general listening henceforth. They’re really as clean sounding as they are elegant. The bass isn’t hip-hop subwoofer low, but a tight, rounded punchy bass that sounds great across a reasonably wide span of styles. Thumbs way up.
Now, on to the Minors.
The Minor’s packaging is even more curious from the outset. The box itself has a little hook loop for carrying (nice), hinting at something of distinct interest within, and apparently opens in a clamshell format. By pulling off the small decal, the top opens and slowly reveals the headphones within. But not in a static fashion- although the surface holdilng the earphones themselves starts out flat…
… as the box opens further, it tilts forward ever so slightly to give a smooth final touch to the presentation.
The little details on the Minors are just as cunningly well-placed – the iconic gold-capped knobs-that-go-to-eleven form the outer surface of the in-ear units, and the knurled brass cable tip is a knock off of the ‘vintage OEM’ style. The microphone fidelity is clear, and the talk/play/pause button is easy to get to in a rush. Innovatively, these ‘in-ears’ don’t actually stick IN your ear, but clip inside your ear’s ridges to hold quite tightly. So tightly, in fact, that a MMA workout and jog couldn’t rattle ‘em loose – and I’m a person who has never had success with stock in-ear headphones – always finding them fitting too poorly to use in real active situations. These, however, have now become my workout workhorses. Their fidelity is reasonably good overall with a tight low midrange and clear highs, but suffers a reduced bass response as they are technically ‘out of ear’ headphones and don’t seal the ear canal to afford a tighter low end. All told, the Minors are still several cuts above any standard earbuds and probably on par with many mid-range over-ear headphones to boot.
As I’d hoped, Marshall took their legacy of high-quality audio and built upon it with the stylistic retro product design and engaging packaging make the experience as exciting as possible from the moment you crack the seal of the box to the first downbeat of the music you crank through them. This is how a product goes from good to great – by not missing ANY of the fine details.
Kudos to Marshall for making these headphones an absolute dream from start to finish. I haven’t had that much fun cracking open a pair of boxes in a long time. To read more about the Marshall Major and Minor (and pick up a pair yourself), just head over to marshallheadphones.com. I think you’ll be equally impressed.