British audio company Marshall has a line-up of Bluetooth speakers that look like the guitar amp the company also makes. The retro look attracts anyone who loves the old-world charm of radio sets and the like. If your home doesn’t look overly contemporary, a Marshall speaker from this range could fit right in, adding an interesting accent – and some heavyweight sound. The home Bluetooth series includes the Acton, Stanmore, and Woburn. It’s the largest and top of the line, Woburn, that we look at.
The Woburn III (and other Woburns that went before it) is a chunky object, whichever way you look at it. On the face of it, the dimensions don’t seem to be much: 12.5 by 15.8 by 8.0 inches. It weighs about 7.5 kg. Technically speaking, it’s portable, because you can shift it from one room to another. But it’s not portable in the carry-around sense. There’s no easy way to carry it, and care has to be taken not to go dropping it. Place it somewhere appropriate and allow it to sit ponderously in its spot. It will have to be placed with its back against the wall as it isn’t a multi-directional speaker. Also, it has connectors and text on the back which obviously aren’t meant to be audience-facing.
The front grill is where the speaker is, with a prominent golden Marshall logo in the centre. The top is where the guitar-amp-like buttons are again in a metallic golden sheen. There’s a leathery covering on the top, giving a classy touch. Overall, Woburn is a really attractive and interesting-looking speaker and of course, unlike any other.
The Woburn connects to electricity via a cable given in the box. It doesn’t work on the battery and holds a charge. There are slots to connect via a 3.5mm jack, aux RCA or HDMI. The design doesn’t indicate that this speaker is intended to be used in a pair or multiples so it’s very much a single speaker. This will present a problem for those who want a multi-room setup.
To pair the Woburn with your playback device (mostly a smartphone or tablet), use the usual Bluetooth pairing method but also download the Marshall app and allow it to recognise and add the speaker.
Deep bass
Chances are you will be startled out of your skin when you first hear the deep rumbling bass from the Woburn, it’s that prominent. The controls on the top of the speaker have dial knobs for volume, bass and treble, but you can also control these from the app where you’ll find an equaliser of sorts — it actually only controls treble and bass — and can set the level from zero to ten.
Even at zero, the bass is very prominent and forward. While audiophiles or anyone getting to that level may not welcome this, regular listeners who love the bass to define the music will be delighted. The bass and treble controls are sensitive and make an immediately obvious difference. While you can turn the treble up to maximum to open up the sound profile, you probably can’t turn up the bass to full as it will be just too overwhelming. Turning the treble too low will give a somewhat muffled feel.
The soundstage is contained rather than wide, a change for those accustomed to listening to 360-degree audio, but it’s certainly room-filling although it sounds best when you’re in front of it or thereabouts. The speaker is also sensitive to recording quality because well-recorded tracks sound very good while less than-optimal ones sound particularly bad. Only the SBC codec is supported. Naturally, it’s through a cabled connection that bypasses Bluetooth that the sound quality improves and becomes hifi.
The Marshall app includes a Placement Compensation test which asks the user to specify whether the speaker is close to a wall or a corner. The soundstage is supposed to be adjusted accordingly.
While there are many who will enjoy the deep bass profile of the Woburn, it does come in rather expensive at ₹59,999.
