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Marshall Emberton Review

Enrest Walugembe Avatar
Updated Jan 25, 2024 6:28 PM

True Score

82
82
13

Experts

93
8,820

Consumers

Product Awards

GR Certified

Customer Favorite

Expert Rankings

Experts praised the Marshall Emberton, endorsing it for music, podcasts, and the outdoors. They were delighted by its open soundstage, great IPX7-rated waterproof construction, and portable design. Testers lauded its good battery life. However, they were disappointed by its lack of speakerphone or voice assistant features.

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Table of Contents

Product Snapshot

Overview

The Marshall Emberton is a mid-range portable Bluetooth speaker released in 2020, promising incredible battery life in a portable package for use on the go. This speaker has a 360-degree design that creates a good soundstage. You can find similar products on our list of the best speakers today. It runs on Bluetooth 5.0, featuring a 188.6-foot range and multi-device Bluetooth pairing. Examine details about the Marshall Emberton below and see how it compares to the top Bluetooth speakers on the market.

Consensus

our Verdict

Top critics adore the Marshall Emberton, and they recommend it for music, podcasts, and the outdoors. Testers at PCMag hailed this device’s portable 1.5-lb construction, carrying strap, and submersible IPX7-rated waterproof construction. Analysts at Sound Guys adore its 360-degree design that delivered a very good 2.03 dB directivity index and wide, open soundstage during testing. With an 84.7 dB peak SGL, this device is fairly loud, although the 5.98 dB DRC shows that the sound quality deteriorates significantly at the highest volume. This system has a decent 9.3-hour battery life but lacks voice assistant functions. It has a so-so 110 ms iOS Bluetooth latency but has a good 33 ms Android Bluetooth latency. Testing revealed a decent 68.3Hz to 13.9 kHz frequency response range and a good 2.59 dB standard error and a balanced sound. However, the device doesn’t have speakerphone functions and has low bass that might displease hip-hop music enthusiasts and movie buffers. Check out the Marshall Willen review if you need heavier bass.

ReasonS to Buy

  • Excellent soundstage performance
  • Decent 9.5-hour battery life
  • IPX7-rated waterproof design
  • Remarkably lightweight, portable construction with a carrying strap
  • Well-balanced soundscape

Reason to Avoid

  • Lacks speakerphone
  • Doesn’t support voice assistants
  • Doesn’t get very loud
  • High sound compression at the maximum volume
  • So-so bass

Marshall Emberton Specs

Battery LifeBattery Life20+ hrs
Built In MicrophoneBuilt In Microphonen/a
Charge TimeCharge Time3 hrs
SizeSize2.68" (w) x 6.30" (h) x 2.99" (d)
Smart AppSmart AppYes
Speaker PairingSpeaker PairingYes
Water ResistantWater ResistantYes
WattageWattage20W
Wireless RangeWireless Range30 ft

All Specs

Test Results

Battery Life (Hours)16.356
Volume Output (dB)85.85
Low End Roll Off (Hz)74.427
High End Roll Off (Hz)7,896.12

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Product Comparison

Marshall Emberton Review

True Score

82
82
83
84

Ranking

#

27

/

260

#

30

/

260

#

23

/

260

#

5

/

260

Market Context

The Marshall Emberton is a mid-range portable Bluetooth speaker released in 2020, promising incredible battery life in a portable package for use on the go….

The Marshall Emberton is a mid-range portable Bluetooth speaker released in 2020, promising incredible battery life in a portable package for use on the go. This speaker has a 360-degree design that creates a good soundstage. You can find similar products on our list of the best speakers today. It runs on Bluetooth 5.0, featuring a 188.6-foot range and multi-device Bluetooth pairing. Examine details about the Marshall Emberton below and see how it compares to the top Bluetooth speakers on the market.

Unlike the Marshall Emberton, the Marshall Emberton II works with a Bluetooth app, giving users access to equalizer presets. The Emberton II also produces a…

Unlike the Marshall Emberton, the Marshall Emberton II works with a Bluetooth app, giving users access to equalizer presets. The Emberton II also produces a more extended low-bass than its predecessor, the Emberton. It has a submersible IPX7-rated waterproof design, unlike the Emberton. Browse our Marshall Emberton II review for details.

Featuring an IPX7-rated submersible waterproof construction, the Marshall Emberton has better build quality than the Bose SoundLink Flex, which lacks any waterproof rating. However, the…

Featuring an IPX7-rated submersible waterproof construction, the Marshall Emberton has better build quality than the Bose SoundLink Flex, which lacks any waterproof rating. However, the Marshall Emberton has a higher 87.5 dB maximum SPL and lower 3.02 dB DRC, getting louder and maintaining the audio quality better than the Marshall Emberton speaker, which has an 84.7 dB SPL and 5.98 dB DRC.

The JBL Charge 5 has a much better 14.5-hour battery life, getting the better of the Marshall Emberton, which has a 9.3-hour battery life. However,…

The JBL Charge 5 has a much better 14.5-hour battery life, getting the better of the Marshall Emberton, which has a 9.3-hour battery life. However, the Marshall Emberton speaker has a wider soundstage, featuring a better 2.03 dB directivity index than the 4.27 dB directivity index of the JBL Charge 5 speaker.

Battery Life

20+ hrs

30 hrs

12 hrs

20+ hrs

Built In Microphone

n/a

n/a

Yes

No

Charge Time

3 hrs

3 hrs

4 hrs

4 hrs

Size

2.68" (w) x 6.30" (h) x 2.99" (d)

2.75" (w) x 6.25" (h) x 2.75" (d)

Smart App

Yes

Yes

Yes

JBL Portable

Speaker Pairing

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Water Resistant

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Wattage

20W

10W

7W

30W

Dig Deeper

Marshall Emberton II Review →

Bose Soundlink Flex Review →

JBL Charge 5 Review →

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Score Card

E

Expert Score

82

*.75

We place a 75% weighted value on Expert Test Scores

C

Customer Score

93

*.25

We place a 25% weighted value on Customer Scores

True Score

82

Any product with a True Score above 80 is a Absolutely Fresh

Expert Scores

  • Rtings
    100.6

    Category Trust Rating

    69
    If you want a tiny speaker with a seriously big sound, the Marshall Emberton will… Read More

    By:

    Karen S Freeman
  • Sound Guys
    81.17

    Category Trust Rating

    74
    Bottom line: This small but powerful Bluetooth speaker sounds great. Read More

    By:

    Mike Lowe
  • PC Mag
    43.6

    Category Trust Rating

    80
    No, the Emberton isn’t smart as there’s no mic for a smart assistant and no… Read More

    By:

    Cameron Faulkner
  • Trusted Reviews
    45.5

    Category Trust Rating

    90
    A good-looking, powerful speaker that’s well-built and still portable, the Marshall Emberton is one of… Read More

    By:

    John Panoryios
  • Techradar
    43

    Category Trust Rating

    80
    The Marshall Speaker really has nothing wrong with it but it also isn’t going to… Read More

    By:

    Joe Minihane
  • The Verge
    48.7

    Category Trust Rating

    85
    The Marshall Emberton is a very good, waterproof, portable, battery-powered speaker with Marshall’s usual pleasing… Read More

    By:

    Jennifer Allen

Customer Scores