If you have a bit of a problem when it comes to charging your devices, let it be said that this review is a safe space for you.
I don't know how it happens, but my earbuds, headphones, and phone are all perpetually in low-power mode, no matter how diligently (I think) I charge them. So when I received an email from Marshall saying the new Major V headphones would come with 100 hours of battery life, I knew I had to put them to the test.
During the course of my testing, I was surprised, I was surprisingly disappointed, and ultimately, I came away with the sense that these headphones were just alright, but would fit the bill for a very specific target customer.
Marshall Major V headphones price
The Marshall Major V headphones retail for $149.99, the same price the Major IV headphones hit the market at. This isn't an outrageous price, but it is a price that you'll usually find on noise-cancelling headphones, which these, I realized after requesting my review sample, are not. Thus, the first surprising disappointment I encountered (although this is mostly on me — the Major IV headphones don't offer ANC either, and no information I'd received suggested the case would be different with the Major Vs).
The Major V headphones do support Bluetooth LE though, which means they'll work with Auracast (which our sister site PCMag describes as "a hotspot, but for audio").
With that in mind, I was also a bit surprised that these headphones came without a carrying case — for $150, it feels like it's not outrageous that they would. If you're looking for a deal, the Major IV headphones are marked down to $100 at the time of writing (and still claim an 80 hour battery life).
Marshall Major V sound quality is fantastic
One hundred hours of battery life is pointless if the headphones don't sound good, so I'm happy to report on that front, they didn't let me down. The 40mm dynamic drivers delivered heavy bass at low and high volumes without sounding crunchy, highs that came through clearly without sounding thin, and mids that didn't get lost in the fray.
With the companion app, you can play around with the equalizer presets, of which there are five: bass boost, mid boost, treble boost, mid reduction, and finally Marshall — the brand's signature mix. You can also create custom EQ settings that you can save as a preset, but you can only save one at a time.
The differences came through pretty clearly to my ears: "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine sounded perfectly angry with the mid reduction preset, as did Daft Punk's "One More Time/Aerodynamic" live set. On the other end of the spectrum, the Marshall preset had Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor" sounding excellently balanced, even with a wide variety of instruments contributing to the piece. (As a side note, anyone looking for an intense amount of a genre variety in their music should check out Mashable's headphone testing playlist).
Overall, it's a decent equalizer that's accessible to the non-audio savvy among us but can still appeal to audiophiles. We still prefer the EQ on the Sony XM5 headphones (and earbuds), as it's slightly more customizable and helps guide folks who don't know what they're doing with equalizers to finding the balance they prefer. Still, those headphones are at least $150 more than the Major Vs, so the discrepancy makes sense.
When using passive playback, you lose your EQ customization unless you're plugged into the device with the Marshall app on it. Still, even without any adjustments, they sounded great when I had them plugged into my mini amp while practicing guitar and when listening to Spotify on my laptop.
The Major V battery life is in fact major
Most of the headphones I've tested out have about 25 to 30 hours of battery life. Upon realizing that Marshall hadn't decided to include active noise cancellation on the Major V headphones, I was admittedly slightly less wowed by the 100 hour claim, but still, it stands out from other non-noise cancelling headphones out there that tend to have battery life in the 50 to 60 hour range.
For the first week I had them, I casually tested the Major Vs by wearing them a lot — despite what I'd estimate to be at least 20 hours of use, they didn't dip below 80 percent battery life. To more accurately verify that the 100 hour battery life was legit, I pulled out my laptop, threw on a music livestream, maxed out the volume of the headphones, and recorded their audio until they died (making sure that there were no stoppages when I slept or wasn't at home).
Not only did they last the full 100 hours — they died only when reaching 106 hours and 48 minutes of playtime. In other words, if your biggest beef with your current headphone situation is that you're constantly putting them back on the charger, the Major Vs could be your answer, but I hesitate to recommend them on that metric alone (more on that below).
The Marshall app also offered battery preservation features, allowing you to select up to three options to prolong the overall lifespan of the battery.
The design is cool, but only functional to an extent
As much as I loved not having to worry about battery life, I loved wearing these headphones for long periods of time much, much less. Undeniably, they feel durable and Marshall's signature retro style is a cool look, but unfortunately, this was a case where beauty was pain: After about an hour, I felt these headphones squeezing my head and by hour two, I wanted them off.
This was surprising to me as I wouldn't consider my head particularly large (nor would I let my vanity win out for the sake of transparency in this review, I firmly believe I've got a mid-sized melon). I've also tested over-ear headphones from Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Anker Soundcore, and Audio-Technica and never had an issue with discomfort enough for it to be distracting.
In fact, I'd consider these Marshall headphones to be the least comfortable I've ever tested. Admittedly, those were all over-ear headphones and the Major Vs are on-ear headphones. It's a seemingly small distinction, but an important one that made itself known via the pressure on my ears.
Comfort-aside, I did appreciate the ease and minimalism of the controls. The multidirectional gold knob on the right cup turns the headphones on and off with a push, and also allows you to play and pause music, control the volume, and skip ahead and go back through songs. It's incredibly simple and worked exactly as advertised, and actually had me using the headphone controls to adjust the volume instead of reaching for my phone like I usually would. The M-button on the left ear cup can be customized with the Marshall app to be used for Spotify tap, one of your equalizer presets, the voice assistant, or to do nothing at all.
And unlike other headphones, these ones not only have a 3.5mm cable and audio jack (looking at you, AirPods Max), they also play passively without a hitch (and you, Bose QuietComfort Ultras). The ear cups also fold up and in, making them nice and compact for throwing in your bag.
They lack more premium features
For the most part, these headphones deliver on the basics. They sound great, they offer multipoint pairing and it's actually easy to switch between devices (I can't say the same for much higher priced headphones), they charge quickly, and their on-ear buttons make sense.
The most premium-feeling feature these headphones offer is Auracast compatibility, and that's mostly because it's a newer technology. With that said, that doesn't really change the day-to-day experience of these headphones for most people, who are likely to be wearing them when they're alone (or want to be left alone).
They do also have wireless charging, but they are a little weird to balance on an ear cup. (Note: I didn't have a wireless charger to test out this function on my own).
Still, beyond that, they felt lacking. Spatial audio could've been neat, but if Marshall couldn't swing that at $150, even halfway decent noise-cancelling would've made these headphones feel like a more distinct step up from their past generation. It also bears repeating that a carrying case would've also gone a long way at this price point.
And finally, while 100 hours of battery life is an outlier, I don't know that that makes these headphones special on their own. Not go all Sean Parker via The Social Network, but 100 hours of battery life isn't cool. You know what is? Headphones so comfortable I feel like I could wear them non-stop for at least 10 hours. And with these, I was ready take them off at hour two. Honestly, I'm not sure who the person is who would notice a massive difference between 80-hour and 100-hour battery life, or for that matter, 60-hour and 100-hour battery life.
Ultimately, even though they deliver on the battery life claim, it feels a bit insubstantial without other features on these headphones to supplement it.
Are the Marshall Major V headphones worth it?
There are two major scenarios I could see someone going for these headphones:
- They only plan on using them for short periods of time and have minimal need for ANC.
- They're completely in love with the design, and again, don't really care if their headphones have ANC.
Otherwise, I would say their long lasting battery life would need a slightly more comfortable design to make them worth it on that basis alone, and even then, they'd need more to make them fully worth their price. There's no denying that they have a full, rich sound, but there are simply more budget-friendly headphones out there that offer better extras for a fraction of the price (and still deliver on the audio front).
If these headphones were $75 to $100, they'd be easier to recommend. But at $150, I'd say they're probably a pass for most people.
