The iconic guitar amplifier brand Marshall is making a bold move into home theater audio with its first-ever soundbar. Known for its distinctive rock-inspired speakers and headphones, Marshall is now challenging established players like Sonos and Sennheiser with a premium offering designed to deliver both impressive movie experiences and quality music playback.
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| A modern living room setup featuring the sleek Marshall soundbar with a television above, highlighting its premium design and audio capabilities |
A Premium First Entry
Marshall's debut in the soundbar market comes with an ambitious price tag of USD $1000 for the Heston 120. This Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatible soundbar represents a significant investment for the company, which has spent approximately three years developing this product. Gustaf Rosell, Marshall's chief product and innovation officer, acknowledges the risk, stating, This is our most expensive product. And honestly, that's a little bit scary. The company deliberately chose to enter the market at the high end to demonstrate its serious commitment to the soundbar category.
Technical Prowess
The Heston 120 features a 5.1.2-channel configuration with 11 separate drivers strategically positioned to create an expansive soundfield from a single unit. Marshall brought in specialized expertise to tackle the challenges of multi-channel audio tuning, including PhDs and talent from the automotive industry. The company also collaborated closely with Dolby to ensure accurate sound object placement within a room, creating a truly immersive audio experience.
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| The detailed design of the Marshall Heston 120 soundbar emphasizes its advanced audio technology and user-centric features |
Balancing Music and Movies
A key focus for Marshall's engineering team was achieving the perfect balance between music playback and movie audio—a common challenge for soundbars. Rosell claims they've beaten everything we've heard from competitors in music reproduction, leveraging their experience from portable speaker development. The Heston 120 supports a comprehensive range of music streaming options including AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Bluetooth LE (Low Energy), Tidal, and Spotify Connect. For audiophiles, the soundbar also supports high-quality audio codecs like ALAC, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, and WMA9, plus an RCA input for analog sources.
Design Evolution
While Marshall products are known for their distinctive amplifier-inspired aesthetics, the Heston 120 represents a more subtle approach to the company's signature style. The soundbar maintains familiar Marshall design elements—leather trim, brushed metal, gold accents, and functional control knobs—but in a more living room-friendly package. It's a bold statement, but not as bold as we could have been, explains Rosell, describing how they sought a balance between making a statement and fitting into modern home environments where TVs themselves are becoming increasingly minimalist.
Simplicity and Expandability
Marshall has prioritized ease of use with the Heston 120, focusing on delivering maximum performance from a single unit. The company recognized consumer frustration with increasingly complex soundbar setups and aimed to create a powerful yet simple solution. However, expansion options are planned for those wanting more. Later this year, Marshall will release the smaller Heston 60 soundbar and the Heston Sub 200 wireless subwoofer, with potential satellite speaker compatibility in the future.
Open Ecosystem Approach
In an interesting departure from the closed ecosystems common in consumer electronics, Marshall is embracing open standards for its audio products. The Heston 120's support for Bluetooth LE and Auracast could potentially allow users to incorporate other compatible devices—including Marshall's own portable speakers or even products from other manufacturers—as satellite speakers. We are not for building proprietary environments when there is a good open standard available, Rosell states, signaling Marshall's preference for interoperability.
Sustainability Considerations
Marshall has incorporated repairability into the Heston 120's design, with replaceable parts including the soundbar's fret, end caps, drivers, and circuit boards. This approach aligns with growing consumer demand for more sustainable electronics that can be maintained rather than replaced when components fail.
Market Availability
The Marshall Heston 120 is available for pre-order now and will officially launch on June 3, 2023, priced at USD $999. The additional Heston family products—the Heston 60 soundbar and Heston Sub 200—will follow later in the year, with specific release dates yet to be announced.