Marshall Monitor III ANC: One-minute review
For the past few weeks I’ve been trying out the new Marshall Monitor III ANC over ear headphones, and they’re delightful.
The new cans are available to buy right now in the US and UK for $349 / £299, which makes them a little pricier than their predecessors which were $30 / £30 cheaper. Even with the price rise they’re an excellent follow-up to 2020’s Monitor II ANC headphones – which we gave four stars in our review – thanks to great-sounding audio and a stupendously long battery-life.
Starting on that last point, these new Marshall headphones can go for a ridiculously long time; we’re talking a 70 hour battery life when using them to play music over Bluetooth with ANC on, 100 hours with it off.
For comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones promise only 30 hours with ANC on, and the Apple AirPods Max just 20 hours. The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 that features in our best noise-cancelling headphones guide as the ideal long-life option hits 60 hours. Marshall’s 70-hour claim looks to hold up too; I’ve been using the Monitor III ANC headphones a lot and I only need to charge them about once a week – and even when I do they usually still have plenty of battery life to spare.
Marshall Monitor III ANC: Price and availability
The Marshall Monitor III ANC headphones are $349 / £299 / AU$569 which makes them a little pricier than their predecessors – which were $30 / £30 / AU$50 cheaper. They’re available to buy right now in the US, UK , and Australia.
At this price the Marshall Monitor III headphones are firmly sat in the high-end headphones camp. With their durable design, impressively long battery life, and solid audio performance they admirably hold their own in this bracket.
Marshall Monitor III ANC: Features
- 70 hours of music play back with ANC on
- Immersive soundstage settings
- EQ settings with good customization and presets
Within the Marshall app you’ll find controls for all of the Monitor III ANC’s essential features. The first is the active noise cancellation that the headphones reference with the ANC in their name. It has three modes: on, off or transparency.
Switched on the Marshall cans do a solid job of keeping noise out so you can immersive yourself in your music, while transparency mode is basically reverse ANC – the outside noise is amplified so you can hear what people around you are saying without taking your headphones off. Thanks to the over-ear design the ‘ANC off’ mode is still a little isolating, though I’ve set the ANC button to simply cycle between the other two modes as turning ANC off isn’t all that useful.
There’s no adaptive ANC unfortunately – a feature found on some rivals which adjusts the noise cancellation based on your surroundings – however there is adaptive loudness. This has the headphones automatically adjust their dynamics based on your environment so that you can maintain a reliable listening experience without other people’s increased noise disrupting you.
Next up is the soundstage. When switched on songs will sound more spacious and films or shows with spatial audio settings will feel more immersive. It’s turned off by default but it's a setting you’ll want to turn on right away so for this reason alone you’ll want the app installed on your phone.
There’s also auto play / pause which controls your music when you put your headphones on or take them off, and of course an equalizer so you can customize the sound to your liking. The Marshall signature sound is well balanced for a a fine music experience, but people who like a little more oomph in their bass will definitely want to turn on bass boost.
- Features score: 4/5
Marshall Monitor III ANC: Sound quality
- Well balanced audio
- Great for music, podcasts and TV
- Bass boost could be stronger
The Marshall Monitor IIIs might boast a 70-hour battery life with ANC on, but what good is lasting a long time if they don’t put on a performance? Thankfully the Marshall Monitor III ANC headphones certainly hold their own here.
The drivers give drum and bass hits like Backbone from Chase & Status and Stormzy the oomph its thumping tones necessitate, while not overpowering tracks like Remi Wolf’s Cinderella that are brimming with bouncy funk. There’s a warmth in the Marshall Monitor III’s audio too – which comes through splendidly in more emotional tracks like Jarki Monno’s Charlie.
Outside of music, these cans perform well too. Podcasts, film, TV, YouTube videos, you name it – the Marshall III ANC headphones are putting on a good show with well balanced sound.
My only minor gripe is the bass could be a little turned up, especially on bass boost. It’s there, noticeably thudding away, but could definitely have a higher peak strength.
Out the box you might also believe the Monitor IIIs have a semi restrictive soundstage like their predecessor – not completely closed off, but tracks aren’t given the space they need to breathe. That’s not the case however with the app – as I mentioned in the features section turning on the new soundstage tool will open the music up and there’s a noticeable shift when it’s switched on.
- Sound quality score: 4/5
Marshall Monitor III ANC: Design
- Marshall amp inspired design
- Durable design
- Surprisingly compact case
Beyond their up to 100-hour battery life the Marshall Monitor III ANC headphones can go the distance in more ways than one thanks to their supremely rugged design. They easily can survive bumps and bends you’d reasonably expect from use, and can be easily balled up tight and chucked in rucksack at a moment's notice.
If you want to give them some added protection Marshall has included what I’ve been told is there smallest case for over ear headphones on the market. It’s black on the outside, and inside it is lined with a red velvety material to mimic the inside of guitar cases, with a small pouch for a charging cable.
This ruggedness is followed up with another design win: plenty of physical controls. There’s a physical knob that handles the volume and playback controls – give me one of these over tap controls any day – and two additional two buttons built seamlessly into the hinges attaching the cups to the headband, one on each side.
These buttons manage the active noise cancellation controls (with you being able to set which modes it swaps between in the app), and a setting of your choosing – the ‘M button’ can be programmed in the app to turn your soundstage on/off, change EQ settings, activate your voice assistant, use Spotify Tap or do nothing.
There’s also a USB-C port on the underside of the left cup, however, you won’t find a 3.5mm aux port which some audiophiles will miss.
Style-wise the design isn’t my favorite – finding a kind of awkward point between being chunky and slim –, but with the same finish as the brand's iconic amps there is an appreciable classic grunginess that makes these look almost like they’ve been ripped from a rock band’s studio session from decades ago.
It’s not a painful grunginess either, as the cushions these cans are outfitted with are supremely comfy. I can (and have) easily worn these headphones for a full day without any issues.
- Design score: 5/5
Should you buy the Marshall Monitor III ANC headphones?
Buy it if..
Don’t buy it if…
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How we tested the Marshall Monitor III ANC
As with all our headphones tests I used the Marshall Monitor II headphones plenty, listening to a variety of music genres as well as podcast, TV and movies to get a sense of their sonic capabilities.
I also made sure to charge them infrequently to get a sense of their battery life capabilities and see if the 70-hour battery life with ANC on claim holds up.
First reviewed October 2024
