Marshall's Major V and Minor IV headphones have mind-blowing battery life
Finally, some wireless headphones that won't conk out on you
Marshall has announced a couple of pairs of next-generation headphones and earphones, the Marshall Major V and Minor IV.
We’ve been following this family ever since Marshall started pumping out headphones in 2010, but these new ones still manage to pack in eye-opening features.
Marshall Major V
First up, we have the on-ear Marshall Major V. They are rated for “100+” hours of wireless music, and just 15 minutes on charge gets you 15 hours of playback.
You can thank, at least in part, Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) for this amazing stat. We thought the 30-hour battery life of the Major II Bluetooth was pretty good back in 2016, but this is next-next-level stuff.
The Major V can be charged wirelessly too. Just bung ‘em on a charging pad — the one you’d use with a phone will do the trick.
Other notable features include Multipoint Bluetooth, for connection to multiple devices at once, and the series’s staple super-foldy design. Marshall also says the sound has been "significantly improved to reduce distortion, allowing music to be heard with absolute clarity." Nice.
Marshall Minor IV
Want something even smaller? Try the Marshall Minor IV true wireless earbuds instead.
Once again, battery life is excellent. These 7g earpieces last more than seven hours, while the leather effect charging case provides 30+ hours according to Marshall.
They come across very much the Marshall guitar amp equivalent of Apple's AirPods. That also means the Minor IV don’t use the silicone IEM tips we tend to use day-to-day.
These earphones simply sit in your ear canal. It’s handy if you prefer a less invasive fit, but does mean the Minor IV aren’t best suited to super-noisy environments.
Neither pair has active noise cancellation either. Sets from Marshall that can combat a lot of noise include the Marshall Motif II ANC in-ears and Marshall Monitor II ANC.
Those models do miss out on the comparatively approachable pricing of these new pairs, though. You’ll pay £129 for the Marshall Major V, £119 for the Minor IV. They go on sale from April 23 and are available to pre-order now.
