Marshall – Acton II Bluetooth Speaker – Black
$249.99
Last updated on May 31, 2024 4:20 am Details
Photos: Marshall – Acton II Bluetooth Speaker – Black
8 reviews for Marshall – Acton II Bluetooth Speaker – Black
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TheDuke –
Marshall has been making amplifiers and speakers for more than 50 years and their expertise truly shines in the Bluetooth speakers they have begun making in recent years. The company has done an exceptional job at combining their classic styling with current technology to produce Bluetooth & Wi-Fi speakers that truly stand out for all of the right reasons.
The Action 2 is my 3rd Marshall speaker – and while it is the smallest, it still truly holds it own. Like all Marshall speakers, the Action 2 is beautiful, but still produces crisp, clear audio that gets quite loud (without becoming distorted). Though it is about half the size of my Stanmore 2, I have still been quite impressed by the solid bass! The Action 2 is excellent for single rooms (or any room if you decide to pair it with a 2nd Marshall speaker for stereo sound). It is absolutely worth the investment as it is a quality speaker that will absolutely delight your ears for many years.
I personally appreciate that the Action 2 maintains simplicity while keeping the same impressive build quality as the other speakers it produces. It is a speaker that just works. Either use Bluetooth, or manually plug into the 3.5 mm auxiliary port. This speaker cannot be used to answer your phone. It does not connect to Wi-FI. And, it does not have any voice assistant built in. It is a beautiful speaker that produces excellent sound – period.
My main complaint with the 2nd generation of Marshall speakers is in the controls. Instead of the metal mechanical power switch of its original speakers, the updated versions have a metal lever that feels soft and gummy. No more flipping the switch up for on and down for off, you simply squish the lever downward until the unit powers up – which has no tactile feedback. The dials now have rubber grips and they rotate indefinitely. The original had traditional speaker knobs that you could turn up from 1 through 10. Now there is no way to know what the volume is until the unit is powered on. Instead of having an arrow on the knob (which points at the numerical volume level), the Action 2 has multiple red LEDs that illuminate as you rotate the knob. It works, but it feels very digital – which is not what is expected from a classic style Marshall Speaker. (But, I do appreciate that the companion app allows the user to adjust the brightness of the LEDs.)
While I appreciate that Marshall is trying to take their classic design and move it into the future, I believe that adding digital functionality cheapens the experience. As the Action 2 seems to focus on simplicity, I would have preferred the same manual (non digital) knobs and switches of Marshall’s original speakers and amps.
Marshall’s speakers are absolutely worth purchasing as their build quality and audio quality far surpasses the majority of Bluetooth speakers on the market – but, it may take some time to research and figure out what size will truly suit you best. If you have an open floor plan, or simply like your music extra loud, you will want to purchase one of Marshall’s larger speakers (my Stanmore 2 works great for virtually any room). If you want Wi-Fi, or a voice assistant built in – you will need to move up to a larger option and pay quite a bit more. The Action 2 does not disappoint and is a great way to introduce yourself to the impressive build and sound quality that Marshall has maintained throughout its half century.
PROS:
+ Excellent Audio Quality
+ Prominent Bass (uses One 30 Watt Class D amplifier for the woofer)
+ Beautiful Design
+ Superb Build Quality
+ Can be paired to a 2nd Marshall Speaker for stereo sound
+ Equalizer options available within the app
+ Updates can be installed via the Marshall App and the Bluetooth connection
+ The brightness of LED lights can be controlled within the app
+ Easy to connect via Bluetooth
+ Bluetooth 5.0 allows a true indoor range of over 30 feet – even through walls
+ Easily connects to two audio sources
+ Can be pulled out of hibernate/sleep mode via phone
CONS:
– High Price
– No longer comes with matching 3.5 mm audio cable
– Does not have NFC (Near Field Communication) to help set up Bluetooth connection
– Does not have any optical input
– Does not have Fast Forward/Rewind or Track Forward/Back buttons on the physical speaker.
– Does not have Wi-Fi, Amazon Alexa, & Google Assistant options
– No option to answer phone calls with the speaker
– Knobs and dials are controlled digitally/electronically which deviates from the classic feel. These functions lead me to believe that the functions could theoretically malfunction (unlike a manual dial).
Cupra –
When I received my Marshall Acton II Bluetooth Speaker, I just loved how it looks. The design is almost identical to Marshall’s world renowned guitar amp/speaker sets. It really looks the part.
The quality and attention to detail are fantastic. From the rough elephant hide style textured cover, to the heavy-duty switches and knobs, everything looks and feels 100% authentic. Such a great piece of kit to have almost anywhere, but looks fantastic in our somewhat steampunk inspired dining room.
But you don’t just look at speakers, you listen to them. And here, the Marshall Acton II also faithfully represents the type of sound you can expect from a Marshall amp/speaker set up, sounding unlike any other Bluetooth speaker I’ve owned in the past.
Powering on the speaker is a delightfully tactile spring loaded toggle switch. With power comes a satisfying guitar riff, when you turn on the speaker, when you turn it off and when you are connected. Really nice touches that add to it’s authenticity.
Download the Marshall Bluetooth App to get started. The speaker pairs pretty much like any other speaker does on the market, but the App gives you more control over the speaker, including a nice equalizer which really enhances the sound, options to turn on and off the guitar licks (sounds) and the LED brightness of the dials on the speaker. You can also register the speaker, sign up for updates, amongst other things. Be forewarned, if you are using an iPhone, at this time, there is a software issue causing the ‘…’ (dot menu) to show for the additional functionality. The button is still there, to the right of the speaker’s name within the app, but you have to blindly tap on the right to get to it in order to access the equalizer, led brightness etc. I ended up having a quick chat with tech support in order to figure this out.
Aside from that glitch in the app at this time (which is in the process of being rectified) the app works reasonably well. It’s responsive, quick to adjust the settings on the speaker remotely.
The sound, as mentioned, gives you a real feel of being at a concert, the way that the speaker delivers the sound is truly impressive. And this speaker needs to be cranked up, to deliver its best, at a lower volume, it sounds like a Bluetooth speaker, but between 8, 9 or 10, it sounds like a Marshall. The bass is incredible the louder it gets, whereas typical Bluetooth speakers, the bass drops off the louder they get, leaving tinny, high end sound and a hollow bass. NOT THE MARSHALL! The bass is deep and room filling the louder you get. And with physical ‘BASS’ and ‘TREBLE’ controls on the speaker, coupled with the 5 band equalizer built within the app, you have a wide gamut of frequencies to choose from to really dial in the sound to your personal liking. My father in law was blown away by the speaker, and I had to agree with him, apart from one thing… to me, it didn’t sound loud enough. I felt that is should be able to be turned up to 11 (without a physical 11 on the dial!!). The sound is really superb from this speaker, but I did just expect it to be a little louder. I found myself listening to the speaker most of the time on 7 or 8, when I’d typically have a regular Bluetooth speaker at 5 or 6, meaning that it came across as a little quieter than other speakers.
Overall, I am thoroughly impressed with the speaker, the build quality is above and beyond, you feel like you are buying a professional piece of equipment, the bass is incredible for it’s size, especially as the volume increases.
My only cons would be that I felt it should have been just a little louder, and that the app needs to be tweaked to really make this an all round package, but the latter is a simple software update.
I’d highly recommend this speaker to a friend!
Erin –
If you answered YESSSSS this is the speaker for you. It’s built in the same way a guitar amp is and therefore the thing that sounds the best on it is …well… music that prioritizes the electric guitar. I predominately listen to rock/metal/etc so this is objectively the perfect speaker for me, but if you’re into idk, choral chanting or really complex vocals the slight tinny(?hard to describe) edge will get on your last nerve.
But if you just want something that looks cute, can’t beat the midcentury mod look.
Setup is easy, and I don’t have any other bluetooth products in the house so there hasn’t been an issue.
Faraz –
What a pleasure to own one of these. Absolutely brilliant sound, aesthetically stunning too!
10/10
Acton –
This speaker has excellent design and sound. The delivery was also very fast.
mobilelawyer –
I jumped at the chance to test the Acton II Bluetooth speaker. It looks just like a Marshall Amp. Well, it IS a Marshall amp- just not for guitars, and it is gorgeous to behold. It is on the smaller side of several such Bluetooth speaker models offered by Marshall, but the concept is the same: Marshall speaker grill and logo on the front, tough grain covering for the sides (Mine was black. White and Brown are also available), and sturdy, practical switches and controls. Bring this one home and you will be asked about it. It is an instant conversation starter. The Acton II is just plain cute and wait until you turn it on!
Let’s differentiate this model from its Marshall siblings. It does not have a battery or a handle. You plug it in to the wall. It is designed to be placed on a table or a shelf, and it is small enough (about 6 inches high, 10 inches wide and 6 inches deep) to afford many placement options. It is not heavy, but very solid. The connection to this speaker is via its Bluetooth radio or through a 3.5mm RCA plug (supplied). It does not operate over Wi-Fi. There is no built in Alexa or Google, but you could use the Marshall as the speaker for an Echo or Google device. It allows a tiny Echo Dot, for example, to completely fill a room with sound, via the RCA plug or Bluetooth.
The sound. Turn it up! That’s clearly what the designers intended, and the Marshall delivered as expected. This speaker throws the sound forward- it’s a Marshall amp, after all. There is plenty of bass, enhanced by design with a port on the back of the speaker. There is a bass driver and two tweeters, but both tweeters cover the same frequency range in the two-way design. Stereo? Not unless you buy two of these and use them for your left and right channels. You could do it, but why would you? This speaker is clearly not intended for that purpose. The typical user will connect it with a smartphone or other Bluetooth device to share the sound from the device over a much larger area and potentially to many more than two ears.
The instructions are sparse, but you won’t need much help setting up this speaker. You must first install the Marshall app on your smartphone which will allow you to connect with and control the speaker. You then pair the speaker with your device, and you are done. All the audio from your device is routed to the speaker. I accessed the mp3 files from my smartphone and used the Napster app on the phone to stream that service’s music to the Marshall. Through your device, Spotify and any music service you may have subscribed to are at your beck and call. So is Alexa or the Google assistant if you have those services installed on your device.
I have listened for hours to diverse types of music on the Marshall and have not been disappointed once. It can certainly pump out the bass. There are also bass and treble controls, but I have kept them at their mid positions. Male and female voices are fine. The bass is not boomy at all. This speaker plays loud, if you want it loud. I listened to a wide variety of music, played at full volume, and I failed to make the speaker distort. Nor did I get tired or fatigued after listening for extended periods at high volume. I had fun using it.
The Acton II has some interesting controls. There is a single button that can be used to pause, fast forward or rewind the file you are listening to on your digital device, depending on the number of presses on the button. I don’t think I have ever seen that feature in a device before. LED’s on the panel indicate the status of the function switches and illuminate in segments to show the position of the bass, treble and volume controls.
I very much liked this Marshall. If you think you’ll be attracted to it based on the pictures- yes, you certainly will. And be prepared to demonstrate its audio acumen to your friends and family. It has the potential to bring many years of musical pleasure and be the life of more than a few parties. I am headed back to listen to mine now!
Georcey –
Awesome speaker, great full sound from this little guy!
obewan –
This speaker connects quickly and easily to my Bluetooth and my sons (two users). Great build quality and looks sharp. I am not a audiophile perfectionist but I am picky about sound quality and own a Marshall guitar amp and Bose speakers. That said, I am very happy with the sound quality. It is pricey but I was willing to pay for the classy looks and reputation. I had the smaller one first which sounds good too but this one sounds significantly better with more bass and midrange capabilities. No surprise.