Very few tech (and audio) brands can deliver a theme of continuity as well as Marshall can. You’ll find very little difference, at least visually, between the latest generation Emberton III (here, the III signifies third iteration), the Emberton II that it succeeds and indeed the first Emberton from a few years ago. This isn’t the smallest speaker in terms of footprint in the legacy British audio brand’s portfolio (that’d be the Willen II), but still adheres to that adage of good things in small packages.
There’s a market for this. Research by Gfk suggests personal audio which includes compact bluetooth speakers, was valued at ₹3,400 crore through last year, which itself was a 34% year-on-year growth. Since this demand isn’t slowing down, and audio companies such as Marshall, Sonos, Sony and Bose wouldn’t want to miss out on the momentum. Marshall’s update of the Emberton line-up, may therefore have the benefit of good timing.
A few years ago it may have been at odds with the physics of sound, but the Emberton III’s competition landscape illustrates it’s no longer the case. The size and price (this will have you part with around ₹17,999) has this in the same competitive ring as the Sonos Roam (around ₹21,999), the Sony ULT Field 1 (costs ₹16,990) if you prefer a lower frequency leaning sound and the Bose SoundLink Flex (priced at ₹15,900).
The Marshall Emberton III continues the design theme and the nice mix of leather and metal. To have an IP67 water and dust resistance rating adds ruggedness, but then again, typical Marshall users wouldn’t be anything but extremely careful with their prized possession. There’s Google Fast Pair support, helpful if there are more than one phone or tablet you’d like to connect with the speaker.
This, as well as alternates except the Sonos Roam which has AirPlay 2, are all Bluetooth-only speakers. It may not exactly be as cutting edge if you’ve encountered wireless connectivity methods such as Apple AirPlay and Google Cast, but the size and costs play their part.
The fact that the Marshall Emberton III was refreshed late last year, gives it a top-notch combination of audio hardware and processing at work. There are two 10-watt full range speakers and two passive radiators, along with two 38-watt Class D amps. That becomes immediately clear with the ease with which a speaker as compact as this can fill a fairly large sized living room with absolute ease. The reason for that, the Marshall Emberton III goes much louder without compromising sound, than the Emberton II.
It is a typical Marshall sound signature that you’ll enjoy. That means, there’s just enough lively bass at the neutral sound settings without a sculpted illusion of lower frequencies, with mid frequencies that come through nicely and crisp vocals without any hint of undue sharpness. this is versatile, and works well for most genres of music, as well as podcasts. To be able to hold this signature without leaning towards either spectrum of frequencies, points to that nice balance between hardware and the algorithms
As far as user controls go, there is the option to choose between select presets, but the lack of a manual EQ or sound equaliser, may rankle from time to time.
There is a massive stamina play, with around 30 hours of battery life on a single charge, which adds to the Emberton III’s story of versatility. It may as well, because in our testing with audio between 30% to 50% depending on room size, this lasts almost a month on a charge when used for an hour a day. Mileage will vary depending on volume too, but it’s unlikely this will have you reaching for a charger regularly. Speaking of which, it’s a USB-C with 18-watt charge speeds.
Sound in smaller containers have consistently become better. The Marshall Emberton III is no different, though generationally, it hasn’t gained many features. It isn’t to say this is the definitive audio experience, but for its size and among similar compact speaker competition, this does get rather close to the top of the queue. The Sonos Move runs it close with its versatile sound signature too. But that’s where the Emberton III’s long battery life leaves all rivals catching up. That’s probably the real value addition to the Marshall audio experience.
