Design & Construction

If there is one thing that Marshall haven't explored in the consumer audio space, it is nothing more apparent than the existence of a true wireless earbuds. And here it is, the Marshall Mode II. With this being the first attempt, how well did Marshall do? Well, let's find out. The Marshall Mode II challenges the competition with the creation of potentially one of the tiniest earbuds. In fact, I was surprised at how small the case and earbuds are when I first unbox the product. It is as small and compact as the Apple AirPods Pro, Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, and Jaybird Vista 2. Like all true wireless earbuds, they do dock in fairly easily and will not fall out when the case is flipped since there are magnets inside to keep them secure. The case and the earbuds have an additional matte coating that makes it a slight bit nicer to the touch. There is a USB-C port at the left side of the case and a front LED indicator to notify you of the case charge when closed. Inside the case, there is a button for Bluetooth pairing as well as LEDs for both earbuds to indicate their pairing status. In addition, the charging case is Qi wireless charge compatible and IPX4 water-resistant. This is makes it the best charging case ever to be built amongst competitors in terms of durability and wireless capabilities. As for the earbuds, Marshall went with responsive touch pads that work really well without actually jamming the earbuds into your ears when you press them. Now for the controls, a single press on the right earbud will play/pause your music, a double press skips forward and a triple press skips backwards. Moving to the left earbud, a single press will enable Transparency mode, a feature that allows you to hear your surroundings without removing your earbuds, as well as a double tap to activate your phone's smart assistant. For calls, tap once to accept or end a call and twice to reject the call. It takes about 70 minutes to charge both the case and earbuds from a dead battery. However, if you are in a rush, there is always quick charge which will allow for 1.2 hour of playback with a 15 minutes charge. Both earbuds bear the Marshall logo. In the box, there are extra sizes of silicone ear tips to ensure a tight seal and secure fit. Even though the Mode II isn't a sports earbud, it boasts an IPX5 water resistance for those intense workouts or rainy days, giving users the ultimate peace of mind. The earbuds also do a great job at resisting fingerprints smudges with a matte finish. 

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Sound Quality

Loud, bass-focused, and powerful is how I would describe the sound of the Marshall Mode II. The 6mm drivers on the Mode II produced a bass-boosted sound signature out-of-the-box. So let's start off with the bass response. In short, it is deep, punchy, and tight. It never managed to distort at loud volume but it bleeds a little into the mids when it is at a low volume level. It hits almost as deep as the Jaybird Vistas and it definitely is stronger than the Powerbeats Pro. The highs sound decently bright and filled with plenty of details. The mids do sound very crisp but certain sound tuning is needed unless you are a bass head. The soundstage isn't as wide as other earbuds that are of a higher price point. The instrument separation is excellent and distinct left and right channels could be heard. If you are not so much of an EDM or Hip-Hop fan, I am glad to report that the Mode II works perfectly with all other genres ranging from Pop to Jazz after you fiddle with the customisable sound settings in the Marshall Bluetooth App available for download from the App & Play Store. In the app, you will see the Mode II tab which allow you to quickly change the earbuds settings from one equaliser to Transparency mode levels. Equaliser presets built-in include Marshall's original, Rock, Spoken, Pop Hip-Hop, Electronic, Jazz and a custom for those who are ambitious to create your very own. Next, you will see the customisable Transparency Mode which allows you to hear your ambient surrounding sound so you can always hear the next train announcement or traffic noise to stay safe. There is a slider that allows the control of how much noise to let in. If you prefer the faster way of removing one earbud to hear someone, the earbuds will automatically pause your music, and that you may turn off if you don't want it enabled. Moving on, you can also update the earbuds firmware in the settings. The call quality is somewhat usable though is it is far from the best of the best from the Apple AirPods Pro or Jabra Elite 85t which is the widely acclaimed champion of call quality experience. It is important to note that, there is no active noise cancellation on the Mode II, only passive noise isolation. However, from my experience, I found that because the Marshall Mode II don't insert too deep into your ears, they do let a small amount of really loud noise when commuting, I didn't find it very distracting but for those who want to really mute out the world, you probably should look somewhere else.

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Connectivity & Portability

The earbuds support the basic AAC and SBC as well as AptX codecs together with Bluetooth Version 5.1. The earbuds also automatically power on/off when docked and taken out from the case. The battery life peaks at a decent 5 hours per use and a total of 25 hours with the case. The package also comes with a USB-C cable for charging. Either earbuds allow for one-sided listening as they use an independent connection to your phone. The headphones' connectivity to the app is perfect as it is able to detect my headphones all the time. If you try to watch videos or movies with these, they do not have any latency in audio transmission.

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PROS​​

• Durable Construction

• Compact and Small

• Built-in Equaliser

• Transparency Mode

• Responsive Touchpad Controls

• In-App Equalizer

• Bluetooth 5.1

• AptX Support

• Quick Charge

• Long Battery Life

• IPX5 Water-Resistant Earbuds

• IPX4 Water-Resistant Charging Case

• USC-C Charging

• Wireless Charging

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CONS​​​​​

• No Active Noise-Cancellation 

• No Passive Noise Isolation Fit

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The Bottom Line

All in all, the Marshall Mode II is a simple earbud that focus strictly on the essentials such as sound quality and durability. The sound quality paid tribute to Marshall's heritage of rock and roll while maintaining on-the-go water-resistance and tough build quality, ensuring quality all the way. It is indeed a seamless and hassle-free experience that Marshall nailed even if they are on their first generation of earbuds.