We’ll get into their exact function in the next section, but the knobs are actually my favorite part about this speaker. There is still enough space in the mids and trebles for a song to breathe, even though the bass may be thundering and hitting with a thud when the music permits it. And if you’re a famous rock guitarist currently lounging around in a band T-shirt, sat on a pile of tour cash, then you could have a Marshall Stanmore II too. Naturally, connection was flawless with zero skips and stutters in my experience because my apartment isn’t big enough to be out of Wifi range. We did tweak the bass levels, as it added too much depth to male voices; but we loved the volume it could create making listening as you moved around the house effortless.

According to the manufacturer, the Stanmore II is the most adaptable speaker in the Marshall lineup and is ideal for any environment, no matter how big or tiny. Doing so illuminates a scale around the edge, telling you instantly what level you’ve reached in a delightfully retro way. If you are particularly susceptible to fatigue as a result of treble frequencies, you can turn the treble dial down to soften the sound, which should take the edge off. With Marshall’s iconic rock n’ roll design, the Marshall Stanmore III looks like a small amplifier with a metal grille across the front, leather around the edges and a gold brushed metal panel across the top with knobs to control the volume, bass and treble.

The styling of the Marshall Stanmore II speaker, like other Marshall offerings, retains the timeless design of the brand’s famous amps used by guitar legends like Jimi Hendrix back in the analog days and by today’s crop of guitar heroes in the digital era. Coming in only slightly lower, the Sony SRS-RA3000 offers the finest audio experience in the rapidly growing field of HiFi music, offering an enviable sound quality markedly cheaper than its top-shelf competition.

However, older Bose speakers, even those from only a few years ago, may not have these capabilities. If you want premium sound and don't mind digging deeper into your pockets, you can't go wrong with either the Bose Home 500 or the Sonos Five. All told we found all of these speakers to sound good, and we honestly think most people would be pleased with even the lowest-scoring model.You’ll be asked to download the app which will give you access to the speaker’s full suite of features, once that's installed you’ll be ready to go. Also included on this unit is a handle, something that I wish was part of every speaker for the purposes of portability. The Home Speaker 500 is our top recommendation if you're looking for a single speaker to fill up your main living space, but we'd look to a different model if you're hoping to build a multi-speaker system. Occasionally it feels like the subwoofer slightly overpowers the mid frequencies like the vocals and synths, but the entire listening experience is still really enjoyable - if you like your music super bassy, this speaker should do it justice.

Still, neither model will have any trouble filling your main living area with exceptional-sounding tunes.The Marshall Stanmore II would be a great speaker for summer days – and if that appeals then you should consider the Harman Kardon Go + Play while it’s still available.