The Marshall Emberton III’s upgrades over the previous model are pretty meaningful ones. Previously I was questioning why Marshall included a microphone in the Willen but not the Emberton, and now the Emberton III comes with a microphone for handsfree phone calls. And it’s a pretty good mic too. 👉 Have a listen to the mic pickup samples.

Battery performance has also been upgraded, they’re stating up to 32 hours instead of 30. It also charges faster, taking only 2 hours from empty to full instead of 3. So, fatter battery, quicker charging. It even has a loop for a strap but strangely, unlike the Willen or the Middleton, strap doesn’t come included. They don’t even sell it on the website!

One feature that Emberton III seems to be missing compared to the previous one is the Stack feature, which allowed you to connect multiple Emberton IIs together to spread the sound over a wider area. It’s not even listed on Marshall’s website.

But it is Auracast-ready, and Auracast can broadcast from one source to an infinite number of speakers and earbuds. However, only some devices now supports broadcasting audio over Auracast, and it’s not clear yet how this speaker can join an Auracast broadcast. Perhaps through the Marshall Bluetooth app? We’ll probably have more clarity on that in time to come. Speaking of the app, it’s a very simple app that only has a few settings, just like with the previous model you only get 3 EQ presets, battery life extension settings, and getting firmware updates.

It would be nice to have a way to manage paired devices, because this does support multipoint pairing. And perhaps some microphone settings related to noise reduction and voice pickup?

Sound Quality

Marshall promises more bass output from them, and you can see this because the Emberton III is chunkier than the II. It seems like there’s more space inside, so the passive radiators could achieve more excursion, delivering louder, deeper bass extension. But, is that really the case?

Well, on its default Marshall Signature setting, the bass performance does seem to be a little better than the previous model. It’s a slightly heavier sound, but not overwhelmingly bass heavy. Even when switched to the Push setting, which boosts the bass, bass does have a bit more oomph, and it does sound a little more heavy, but it also cuts into the lower mids so that bass sounds more obvious.

In short, you’re not going to get loud thumping bass from them, UNLESS, you place them in a corner of the room, which will very easily boost the bass and loudness. Personally, I enjoy the default setting for its rich and satisfying sound, with more midrange focus so you hear more crispness and detail in vocals, but at times, I actually prefer the Push setting because I like my vocals to sound a bit more throaty and more intimate, not as bright and sizzly in the default. But that’s just my personal tastes.

👉 Have a listen to the sound samples (Voice, Push & Signature).

Marshall had also made upgrades to the speaker setup. While the drivers remain the same 2” 10 Watt drivers, each of its two drivers are now powered by a 38W amp each compared to the previous 10W.

Although this doesn’t directly have a impact on sound quality, but it does give the speaker more headroom, because double the watts means 3db louder, and this was doubled twice, so around 6db more headroom from the previous model.

What this extra headroom could mean is that the speaker can go louder this time without distorting. In this case, the Emberton III can reach 80-90% volume without the bass being throttled, and even at max volume it doesn’t devolve into a writhing mess of noise.

👉 Have a listen to the sound samples (Loud volume).

About Stereophonic 360 Sound…

As for its Stereophonic 360 sound, you are going to get 360 sound as in the speaker sounds about the same from any angle, but it’s got zero stereo separation. If you listen carefully, you’ll notice that the stereo effects come from above the speaker rather than from the sides.

Now, I’m not criticizing that, because this is just a compromise to make sure this speaker sound the same at all directions. Achieving stereo separation isn’t possible here, as our brains perceives sound differently depending on the angle. But for those wondering about that Stereophonic label, this is not stereo in the traditional sense.

Overall, I think the Emberton III is an improvement over the last model in terms of performance, specs and features. It does occupy a niche within the portable speaker market for those who are looking for something edgy and different from the usual boxes and cylinders. Its design is instantly recognisable as Marshall, with that vinyl texture and the big brass knob that allows for easy controls of pretty much everything from volume to music playback to calls. Sometimes in order to stand out, you have to stay recognisable, as is the case with the Emberton III.

That being said, I do have a few minor gripes with it. The buttons are very small, and can be difficult to distinguish unless it catches the light. The battery progress bar is also a missed opportunity, because it would have been great if it doubled as a volume indicator, but there’s no way to change it to a volume indicator in the app. And there is no 3.5mm aux input, which may not be a big deal if your intent is to use it wirelessly, but for anyone with devices like a monitor that doesn’t have Bluetooth, it would have been nice if it can be connected to the Emberton III with a cable.

But what do you think? Is this a dealbreaker? Let me know in the comments. And if you want to know its latest price or any current promotions, I’ve included an Amazon link to the Emberton III below.

Check latest price:

Marshall Emberton III - https://amzn.to/3YWZRCe

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