Marshall Stanmore III Experience: New Units and Loud Stage, Small Upgrades to Marshall Tradition
After launching two portable, small products in a row, Marshall is back with a renewed focus on classic household products.
This time, it is the new product of their home audio series – Marshall Stanmore III.
The updated Marshall Stanmore III is still the same, the wired part provides 3.5mm AUX interface and RCA lotus port, and the wireless part provides the latest Bluetooth 5.2. With the updated new unit combination and wireless technology, Marshall brings the most basic update to the Stanmore series, and it is still the most traditional Bluetooth speaker.
In terms of appearance, Marshall Stanmore III maintains the original square classic design. Most of the space on the front of the box is covered by grids, only a slender brass-colored metal strip is retained at the bottom, and the most classic handwritten Marshall is still in the middle of the filter. Logo.
Marshall provides Stanmore III with three color options of black, brown and creamy white. The three-color surface has the lychee leather texture commonly used by Marshall. No matter which color the shell is, it is matched with brass-colored panels and knobs.
On the brass panel is the Marshall standard configuration, with lever switches, independent combination keys to control playback and song switching, input source switching buttons and 3.5mm jacks for AUX access, as well as separate control volume, low frequency and high frequency output of three knobs.
To add here, the Marshall Stanmore III does not come with a 3.5mm AUX cable. If you want that Marshall-flavored spring-loaded audio cable, buy it separately.
The back of the case is also very clean, and in addition to the universal figure 8 power cord, it also comes with an RCA lotus port.
The RCA lotus port can be used to connect home audio equipment. In addition, if you already have an RCA to 3.5mm AUX cable with better specifications and quality, you can also use this group of RCA ports to become a 3.5mm AUX port in principle.
However, considering that the Stanmore III itself also provides an AUX interface directly on the panel, it is not necessary to switch.
In terms of configuration, Marshall Stanmore III is updated to a wireless module that supports Bluetooth 5.2. The official said that after updating the Bluetooth module, the connection stability of Stanmore III will be stronger, and the delay control will be better than before. When using it, we also found that using the Stanmore III to play videos and directly connect the mobile phone to play games is no problem.
However, Stanmore III is mainly a home speaker that plays in a fixed position. It is more connected to a home audio and a computer in the form of a wired speaker with an RCA or AUX interface and fixed. The mobile phone is often only connected to the audio to play music at will. The small wireless speakers that we carry around are different.
In this case, the wireless performance of Stanmore III only needs to keep the audio and video playback stable. Occasionally, it is enough to connect a mobile phone wirelessly to play music, or Bluetooth to connect a laptop or a projector for stable playback. This is enough.
Since it is Marshall's new speaker, Marshall Stanmore III naturally also supports Marshall Bluetooth App control.
When the speaker starts Bluetooth for the first time, it can directly wake up the pairing mode, and it can play directly after connecting. In addition to playback control, the app also comes with a very common OTA upgrade function. Marshall emphasizes OTA upgrade so much, I believe that some new functions will be launched through OTA firmware update in the future.
When it comes to wireless connection, let's mention Bluetooth encoding. Unfortunately, Marshall Stanmore III only supports SBC encoding, and neither aptX nor AAC.
Thinking of the Marshall Tufton that launched aptX in the past two years, Marshall Stanmore can only use the minimum standard SBC when it is updated to the third generation. As a home speaker, it is somewhat unreasonable. Perhaps due to the difference in product positioning, Marshall did not let Stanmore III use a higher specification code.
However, Marshall said that Stanmore III can support LE Audio in the future, and it can be updated through product OTA in the future, and there should be functional supplements with the help of LE Audio features.
The sound configuration part is believed to be the core upgrade point of Marshall Stanmore III.
Marshall Stanmore III is equipped with a 5-inch woofer and 2 3/4-inch tweeters as usual. This time the tweeter used has a new outward-sloping design and is equipped with a new waveguide, according to Marshall officials. Processing enhances the soundstage performance of the Marshall Stanmore III.
Of course, Marshall Stanmore III is also equipped with Marshall's Dynamic Loudness technology, which is used to adjust the tone of the sound and control it in a relatively balanced state.
In terms of actual sound, the Marshall Stanmore III is standard Marshall style.
In the default mode, Marshall Stanmore III's low frequency is very prominent, the volume is strong enough and the force is strong, and there is a sense of impact with a real hammer. The speaker box presents a more obvious sense of wrapping. When the low frequency is output, there will be a feeling of resonance inside, and sometimes it is still a little stuffy.
Subject to the SBC coding, Marshall Stanmore III's performance in the amount of information and details is not too prominent, and it is generally sufficient. Generally, listening to rock or some atmosphere-based music is not bad. If you want to listen to details, at least it is not recommended to connect in the form of Bluetooth.
Considering that the RCA cable in hand is also an AUX cable that is transferred to a single 3.5mm connector, I will directly use an ordinary 3.5mm male-to-male AUX cable to connect the player.
In the Bluetooth mode, the Marshall Stanmore III's own style is mainly displayed, and after connecting to the cable, there will be more sound characteristics of the playback device. The 3.5mm end of the NW-ZX300A in hand will be relatively weak in low frequency output. After connecting to the Stanmore III, it can be balanced, and the listening sense will be more balanced than playing directly with Bluetooth.
With the addition of a new waveguide and high-frequency unit design, the sound field performance of Marshall Stanmore III has been improved. Whether it is Bluetooth or wired connection, the new generation sound field can be perceived as more open than before, and it will not be cramped in a small space. It's also a little less stuffy than the Stanmore II.
The detail performance will be a little better than the SBC-only Bluetooth, but only in a good enough state. After all, everyone understands that since you chose Marshall, you never listen to the details.
One thing to note is that after connecting the player with AUX, if you want to switch to headphones for playback, remember to adjust the volume of the player to normal after switching the headphones to avoid damaging the headphones and ears at first.
Overall, the Marshall Stanmore III update is still very "Marshall".
The appearance continues the classic design style of the Marshall home speaker series, and strictly follows the Marshall brand tradition. You can predict what it will do in every detail and point.
On the basis of maintaining the original low-frequency expressiveness, Marshall Stanmore III enhances the performance of the sound field, making the sound sound less cramped, which is another indicator to improve the completion of the sound. But it sounds like the familiar Marshall style, with a strong Marshall flavor.
So if you want to upgrade the Stanmore II in your home, or you want to configure a simple Marshall speaker for decoration, it is recommended to go to the experience store where Marshall Stanmore III is displayed first.
If you've already paid attention to the Marshall Stanmore II Voice with its smart assistant and internet connectivity, it's time to wait and see. Marshall may repeat the old trick in the future, using the benchmark of Marshall Stanmore III to add the Internet speaker function to launch a new product, and it is not too late to consider the update.
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