A fair question, seeing as Marshall’s focus for decades was guitar amps. The answer is, at least for some models (the ones featured in this guide, basically), very. The brand channels a formidable live music legacy, and that plays a part in how they’re tuned and their distinctive style look. The same goes for Marshall speakers, too. Marshall’s most obvious competitor in the headphone market is JBL, a brand which also comes with considerable live music credibility. JBL offers a comparable mix of headphone styles, but somehow the Marshall design just feels a little more granular – they get you closer to the stage. Who owns Marshall Amplification?

The Marshall Monitors are over-ear headphones, meaning the earcups are supposed to fit comfortably around your ears and give a greater degree of noise isolation that on-ear models. Though we experienced some discomfort from the headband after a long period of listening, the earcups at least remained spacious and comfortable no matter how long we had them on.

The mic offers solid intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded clearly. There wasn't much in the way of Bluetooth distortion, and the audio was crisp. Our only complaint is that the mic signal seems a little faint. Conclusions You cannot use the USB-C port for audio but you can charge them and listen to them at the same time.

Comfort and battery life (where applicable) have also been taken into consideration. We like listening to expended periods of music and these two factors remain important to take on board. While some of the Marshall headphones in our list have an average battery life from a full charge, their out-of-doors battery usage can be enhanced with chargers. Naturally the biggest design advantage that these headphones have is the fact that they’re Bluetooth connected and therefore wireless. However, should you run out of battery,the right ear cup has a 3.5 mm input which you can plug the provided cable into (although unfortunately this means that the volume controls on the headphones themselves won't work). The big problem with the inline controls is that there’s no volume control. This is an essential feature of inline controls and it just seems like careless oversight that it’s not available, especially considering the cable is so otherwise thoughtfully designed. A single knob on the main headset is able to perform multiple functions which makes this limited functionality stand out even more. They performed just as well in office environments and around London, with distractions dimmed so I could focus on whatever I was listening to. The ANC button on the Monitor II

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When it comes to testing the best Marshall headphones, we first and foremost took a dive into their audio delivery. As you'd expect with a product carrying the Marshall name, we have high expectations due to their legendary status in the music world and it was the obvious place to start. Marshall and Zound first collaborated in 2010 in a deal that resulted in Marshall’s range of headphones and Bluetooth speakers.

The Marshall headphones have a special feature called F.T.F. system (Felt Treble Filter). Basically, there are F.T.F. inserts between your earpads and the earcups and what they do is to create a warm sound like mentioned earlier. After removing those filters, I can see some changes here. The sound is still not as bright as I expected but the highs are slightly improved and you absolutely will be able to enjoy music longer.

Marshall waded into the noise-cancelling arena with the MID ANC on-ears, but the Monitor II ANC are its most expensive headphones. These headphones are compact and, although they weigh a surprising 320g, the Monitor II ANC fit well; they don’t feel particularly heavy on the head. Extended sessions did result in some minor discomfort around the earlobes, however. It is worth noting that the battery is rated for 500 charge cycles, which Marshall says is about eight years of average use, after which the battery will be limited to below 80%. The battery is not replaceable but the headphones are broadly repairable, with replacement ear cups, cables and filters that can be bought from Marshall. Fire up Kraftwerk’s The Robots and there’s still plenty of rich, liquid bass, it just doesn’t hit with quite the strength or authority of the Sony WH-1000XM3 or the Bowers & Wilkins PX7. If you're looking for reasonably priced over-ear headphones with a long battery life and genuinely great portability the Marshall Monitors are a solid choice. We wouldn't, however, call them the only choice.