When I was a young teenager I used to have a lively guitar band. Every week we will practice at a studio located in Bandar Seri Iskandar. The studio is the best in Tronoh as it is equipped with Pearl drums, Fender Strat guitars and Marshall amplifiers. Many studios in Ipoh do not have the same equipment as studios whose majority of customers are UTP and UITM Seri Iskandar students.
So since time immemorial there has been prestige in the Marshall brand for those who know about musical equipment. A few years ago, Marshal began offering speakers and audio accessories with the same Tolex finish as on their electric guitar amplifiers. In Malaysia the Marshall Motif II ANC earphones have been launched and they are definitely the best rock star style TWS I have ever reviewed.
SPECIFICATIONS
Marshall Motif II ANC
In-ear TWS type
Driver 6mm audio driver
Microphone 4 microphones
Battery 9 Hours/43 hours with pod without ANC
6 Hours/30 hours with pods with ANC
USB-C charging port
Wireless charging Yes/Qi
CODEC SBC, MPEG-2 AAC, LC3
All operating systems are supported
Virtual assistant support Yes/All
Yes 2X touch pad
IPX5 waterproof capability (Audio bud)
IPX4 (Pods)
Bluetooth 5.3
Offline Audio None
Pulse scanner None
Selling Price RM 959
DESIGN
The design of the Motif II charging pod is the same as the AirPods Pro pod. This is a bit disappointing actually because Marshall is a company with its own identity. Acton speakers, and Stanmore and Major IV headphones have their own unique designs. It caused confusion among office mates who asked where I bought the Marshall skin for AirPods!
It looks like Tolex material is used on the charging pod but I understand it's just black PVC. The pod surface with faux leather is attractive and textured. There are no scratch issues or the pod feels slippery to hold. A large white Marshall logo is located on the front.
The USB-C charging port is located below while on the front there is a button for manually pairing Bluetooth and a battery level LED light. This is the difference with the AirPods pod that puts it on the back. This pod passes the IPX4 water splash standard.
The ear bud is made of 70% recycled plastic material with a rough textured plastic stalk. At the end there is also a metal finish that makes this ear bud look very stylish. I can say they are the most premium looking earbuds I have reviewed so far. A flat contact pad is placed on the side of the ear bud with the Marshall logo. A friend at the office said the M logo on the side of the ear bud looks like Majin Buu's logo and I agree.
Putik is equipped with a touch charger with skin. The rough texture on the bud stalk makes it easy to remove the Motif II from the ear. I appreciate this feature because 90% of the TWS ear buds I've reviewed are quite difficult to remove and sometimes fall to the floor due to the slippery surface. The ear buds pass a higher level of IPX5 standard than the charging pod.
USAGE EXPERIENCE
On Android devices Google Fast Pair support makes it easy to pair the Motif II quickly. On iOS just press the tether button on the front to allow the Motif II to be detected on the bluetooth screen. On both operating systems I recommend downloading the Marshall application first to facilitate the various settings of these earphones to be changed according to the needs of the owner.
After being tethered the Motif II operates like a normal TWS. The first thing I noticed is that the skin detector on the ear bud is sensitive. Quickly pauses music when removed and restarts immediately after reinserted into ear. It's comparable to the experience on previously reviewed AirPods and Technics earphones.
The touchpad also detects commands quite well. Standard commands of one tap to pause, two to skip forward and long press to activate ANC mode are supported. It can be switched on or off directly through the app. For those using the virtual assistant and Spotify Tap, these two commands can be programmed on the touchpad if needed.
From within the application the strength of the ANC and translucent modes can also be changed by the user. But I have to say the ANC mode on the Motif II is disappointing. At the highest settings it's still not very satisfying. The noise of fans, heavy rain and air conditioning compressors can be blocked.
But the sounds of keyboard typing, people talking and vehicles cannot be filtered to the level I would expect on a flagship TWS. Way behind the AirPods and Galaxy Buds2 Pro which I put as one of the best of the year. It's hard to forgive this shortcoming on a TWS that costs almost RM1000.
Translucent mode is satisfactory because the ears do not feel blocked. Still not as good as the AirPods Pro which until today have a transparent mode that feels like there are no AirPods in the ear when activated. I used the Motif II all day in the office for a week for the burn-in process. It is comfortable to wear for 2-3 hours. Beyond this limit the ear starts to feel blocked and the Motif II needs to be removed.
AUDIO QUALITY
The Motif II's audio quality is good for those who love rock songs. The bass is solid with it punching my eardrums while listening to Metallica or Soundgarden music. Treble is also loud especially for acoustic music fans. Audio like this I enjoy using the Marshall equalizer setting which is the Motif II's default setting. There are several other settings to further strengthen the bass, acoustics, voice and also user's own settings who want to tune the sound themselves.
The singing voice is also clearly not drowned out by the instruments playing in the background. One drawback is that instrument isolation gets a little choppy at high settings. For those who enjoy watching movies or TV series, the Motif II works brilliantly without any issues hearing the dialogue from the background audio.
Bass and treble are strong enough but the Motif II's audio stage feels a little closed due to the silicon buds that need to be inserted into the ear holes. At a price of almost RM1000 I expect the audio experience of the Motif II to be comparable to the AirPods Pro, Technics EAH-AZ60 or Galaxy Buds2 Pro whose selling price is almost comparable.
But I feel that these three competitors have advantages. For example the Technics EAH-AZ6 has a more premium metal build and LDAC support. Bud2 Pro on the other hand has more additional features such as pausing when the user speaks and better audio quality. Finally AirPods Pro has spatial audio support and can be tracked through the Find My ecosystem.
BATTERY
The battery is advertised to last up to 30 hours with the help of a charging pod or 6 hours with ANC activated. Because the ANC on the Motif II wasn't working well, I just turned it off and as a result the battery lasted up to 43 hours with the pods and 9 hours for the audio bud. Relatively long life when compared to other TWS on the market. Since reviewing the Motif II for two weeks, I've only charged it once so far.
Motif II battery charging is also unique because it can be limited to 90% only to preserve battery cell life. It's the same as the battery care feature on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. I haven't seen any other earphones on the market with similar features. Fully charging the battery takes 90 minutes but with a 15-minute charge, the Motif II can work for up to an hour. Wireless charging support is also included.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX
Here's what you'll get with every purchase of the Marshall Motif II ANC
1x Marshall Motif II ANC Set
1x USB-A to USB-C Cable
2x Install additional silicone buds.
1x Manual
CONCLUSION
The Marshall Motif II ANC is a very stylish pair of headphones with the iconic design elements of their electric guitar amplifier. Although the design of the charging pod is similar to AirPods, the design of the ear buds is very unique and looks quite premium. The coarse serrations on the stem make it easy to remove from the ear while at the same time preventing it from slipping out of the fingers. Unlike other earphones that have a smooth surface.
The audio experience is also very satisfying especially for rock music fans. It also I realized is very compatible for watching movies or favorite TV series. The battery life is also excellent for its class. Finally, the application support is also solid with it being easy to use.
The downside lies in the ANC system which is not good enough at blocking out environmental noise. For a pair of premium TWS, I expected a more robust ANC system. It also does not support LDAC, and there are no additional features such as spatial audio.
The Motif II is not a bad earphone but competitors in the market offer a more complete package. But if you want the style of a rock star, the Marshall Motif II ANC can easily offer it.
Pro
Satisfying audio.
Very comfortable to use.
Good application support.
IPX5 splash proof.
The system takes care of battery health.
Cons
The design of the charging pod is too similar to AirPods.
The ANC system is less than satisfactory.
No LDAC or spatial audio.