A Legendary British Hi-Fi Maker’s First Soundbar Looks Like a Serious Sonos Rival

Marshall is a heritage British audio manufacturer with a history dating back to the early 1960s. It’s best known for its legendary guitar amplifiers, which numerous iconic rock and metal bands have used over the past decades.

However, in recent years, Marshall has branched out into more consumer audio, bringing its signature retro flair to wireless and portable speakers.

Now, the company is entering the home theater space with the release of its first-ever soundbar, designed to compete with other flagship Dolby Atmos options, including Sonos’s Arc Ultra.

Marshall Heston 120

Marshall

A new Dolby Atmos flagship

The Marshall Heston 120 is a standalone wireless 5.1.2-channel soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive sound technologies. It packs 11 total drivers — including up-firing and side-firing drivers — each powered by its own Class D amplifier.

Like Sonos’s and Bose’s latest flagships, the Heston 120 is very much a modern wireless soundbar. It connects to your TV via a single HDMI eARC connection and supports music streaming over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Marshall also announced the Heston Sub 200 wireless subwoofer, which can be paired with the Heston 120 to add more bass to the system.

Marshall

Vintage flair, analog feel

Naturally, Marshall has brought its signature rock ‘n’ roll flair to its first-ever soundbar. The Heston 120 features knurled metal knobs, brass accents, and a wrapped leather trim inspired by Marshall’s iconic amps.

Like many of today’s soundbars, the Heston 120 can be tuned for the room it’s in via Marshall’s dedicated app.

However, one of the neat features of the Heston 120 is that it allows you to easily tweak settings directly on the soundbar itself. There are metal control knobs allow you to tweak EQ or volume settings or quickly switch between sources.

On the control panel, there are buttons for various listening modes — such as Movie, Voice, Music, or Night — that you can quickly switch to without needing to open an app.

Marshall

Future-proof design

Another notable feature of Marshall’s Heston 120 is that, unlike many other soundbars, it’s designed to be repairable. According to the brand, you’ll be able to buy replaceable parts — including the fret, end caps, drivers and circuit boards — directly from the company’s website.

Not only does this make the soundbar more future-proof, but should you feel compelled, it means you can theoretically repair the soundbar yourself. With most flagship soundbars, including Sonos’s Arc and Arc Ultra, you have to mail the entire soundbar back to them to fix it.

Marshall

Price and availability

Marshall’s Heston soundbar costs $1,000 — the same price as the Sonos Arc Ultra — and will be available starting June 3rd. It comes in one finish: black.

As previously mentioned, Marshall also revealed a smaller soundbar, the Heston 60, and a wireless subwoofer, the Heston Sub 200, both of which will launch at a later date. Pricing of each has yet to be revealed.

Marshall

Marshall Heston 120

• $1,000 at Marshall

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