MarshallWoburn III Bluetooth Home Speaker - Loud Stereo Sound with Bass and Treble Controls | Plug-in Powered | Record Player Compatible | HDMI, RCA, 3.5 mm Aux Inputs - Black

The Woburn III powered-speaker by Marshall produces surprisingly enjoyable audio quality for its class. It is considered semi-portable and plugs into the wall. A battery and charger would increase size, weight, cost, and complexity that would only detract from its performance. Purchased Jan-Twenty-Twenty-Four.According to the Woburn III spec sheet:Bluetooth 5.2Frequency range: 35 Hz to 20 kHz.(1) 90W amp for the subwoofer, including a passive bass port in the cabinet.(4) 15W amps for the left & right mid-range & tweeters.The lowest useful frequency on my Woburn III unit is 32 Hz, rivaling sub woofers costing several times more. More on frequency testing later.UNBOXING: My Dell PC recognized the Woburn’s Bluetooth signal instantly. I was playing music in less than 60 seconds.The brief but clear USER MANUAL is only available online, although not necessarily required because operation is very intuitive. Grandma could set it up.MEDIA CONTROL BUTTON:Left = backward one track, hold for fast-backwardRight = forward one track, hold for fast-forwardSingle Push = pause(4) INPUT SOURCES:BluetoothAux (3.5 mm conveniently on top)RCA Jacks (Yeah!)HDMI (ARC & eARC).The Woburn conveniently remembers the selected input SOURCE.BLUETOOTH via CELL PHONE:1. Download Marshall’s phone app from Google. The dreaded “I Agree” statement’s default choice claims it only interrogates my phone for product improvements. Fair enough.2. Launch the Marshall app on the phone.3. Confirm the Woburn SOURCE LED indicates Bluetooth.4. Push and hold the SOURCE button until the Bluetooth LED flashes.5. Select “Woburn III” on the phone app before the SOURCE LED stops flashing.6. Done.The Woburn III sounds so good over Bluetooth I decided to run a comparison test. The same music file was synchronized on my PC and my phone, then switched back and forth between the RCA inputs (a Dell PC with a standalone audio DAC) and the phone’s Bluetooth (v5.2). Both devices use the Foobar2000 music app.A subtle audio quality loss was detectable using Bluetooth, but only when playing an exceptionally well-mastered CD (Diana Krall) that was ripped directly to a loss-less file format (i.e., a CD WAV file transcoded directly to a FLAC file). Songs mastered with less precision are not crisp enough to notice a difference over Bluetooth, despite being ripped in the same manner.This simple test indicates the inherent audio quality of the Woburn III is sophisticated enough to reveal Bluetooth’s shortcomings. (Wirelessly transferring data and music are entirely different technical challenges.)I have never used Bluetooth for music, so forgive the next few paragraphs. Bluetooth technology has evolved significantly from the early days of iPods, poor wireless band-width, and primitive file compression algorithms.Woburn III can be paired with multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously. If Device A is playing, Device B cannot play until Device A is Paused. Repeat as desired.Accidentally pushed the Woburn’s SOURCE button and goofed up the Bluetooth link? Simply reselect Bluetooth, wait for Woburn to emit two alert tones that occur several seconds apart, then select play on the phone device.Woburn III enters Network Standy after about 10 minutes without an input signal. All panel LED’s turn off except the SOURCE LED.To Resume Bluetooth mode: wiggle one of Woburn’s three Audio Control knobs, the other LED’s on the control panel wakeup. Woburn emits two tones several seconds apart, then select Play on any previously paired phone device. Cycling the power switch is not the only method to re-establish wireless communication as one reviewer claimed, at least on my unit.To exit Standy while connected to a wired input: select Play on the wired device, four seconds later Woburn is awake and resumes playing.AUX OR RCA SOURCES: Changing from an active Bluetooth signal to a line-level input simply requires changing SOURCE to Aux or RCA. Meanwhile, my phone automatically pauses the current song to avoid losing my place in the playlist.HDMI SOURCE: Connect the TV’s Audio Return Channel (eARC), Woburn immediately responds to the TV’s volume command (even if Woburn is in standby mode). Selecting another Woburn SOURCE plays that input, at which point, my Sony TV re-engages its speakers. Gotta love HDMI technology.Note: My Sony TV required configuring its Digital Audio Out to PCM. CEMA rated this TV best audio quality for 2021, and is noticeably better than other flat panels, but the Woburn III sounds significantly better. Now I will not need a soundbar and just use the Woburn when better audio quality is desired.ENERGY CONSUMPTION:Mid Volume = 8W; Network Standy = 0.37W; Power Switch Off = 0.22W. Zero power consumption requires unplugging the power cord. Annual energy cost in standby mode:0.37W x 1000 x 24 x 365 = 3.24 kWh x $0.06 = $0.19 per year.LOW FREQUENCY TESTING:Unboxing in the kitchen, the initial low frequency sweeps sounded a little dirty. This is a good thing when the first step is silencing cookware resonating in the cupboards, especially from a 16 pound device.Had to graduate to the audio room to resume sweep testing. Descending from 160 Hz, loudness is a little thin at 113 Hz, increases at 91 Hz, decreases again at 70 Hz, substantially increases from 57 Hz to 34 Hz (the muscle-bound portion), then tapers off to total silence by 26 Hz. My high-end system also varies during sweeps, but not to this degree (in the same room).To be fair, low-frequency variations are more than the music machine. Wavelength at 141 Hz is 8 feet (ceiling height), typically where undesirable room interactions begin. Longer wavelengths develop standing wave patterns, causing loud and quiet zones, often just one step apart. Proper low-end testing is done outdoors, or in an anechoic test chamber. And, balancing a machine’s low frequency output becomes exponentially more difficult as device size shrinks, again a wavelength issue (and cost).It appears that Marshall traded a reasonable amount of bass unevenness to include as much of the low frequency spectrum as possible, and succeeded without creating an intolerable situation like other machines in this class.Note: Hz x wavelength = the speed of sound in air (1,130 feet per sec at 72 F)TONE CONTROLS: The bass and treble adjustments provide adequate range of authority. However, adjusting the bass knob to the middle of its range often provides too much low-end, primarily for tracks mastered in the early 2000’s during the earbud volume wars. Well-mastered tracks do not experience this issue.Salvaging bass-heavy songs (due to poor mastering) is possible by reducing the bass tone control knob, which partially cheats the mid-range frequencies, but at least the song is listenable. Fortunately, bass-heavy songs that are well-mastered, such as disco and techno, sound just fine.The Woburn III’s five Class D amplifiers (one for each speaker) improve bass-heavy songs. As the 90W subwoofer amp works hard processing the bass, the other 4 amps (at higher frequencies) remain unaffected. This “bi-amping” approach imitates the standalone sub-woofer of large systems.Most Woburn’s competitors lack traditional RCA jacks (big mistake). Woburn III includes RCA jacks, boldly daring a comparison test against expensive equipment and it has nothing to be ashamed of, dollar for dollar.My friends who think a frequency sweep is a broom claim the Woburn III sounds amazing. Changing audio sources could not be easier and locating the 3.5 mm Aux input on top is genius.The retro design theme looks great too. Reminds me of Jimi Hendrix using his guitar as an axe. Any left-hander who plays a right-handed guitar upside down can bludgeon his Marshall amp if he wants. Being a musical genius is not always easy.The Woburn III is clearly an upgrade over a vanilla stereo system or soundbar, and reduces component clutter. Get one for the bedroom, garage, boat, RV, cottage, barbeque, anywhere competent audio quality and flexible connectivity are desired in a portable package. I might purchase another one for the backseat of my limousine.I rate the Woburn III a solid five stars after six months of evaluation.

I'm not an audiophile, couldn't tell you the exact reasons something sounds good or doesn't in technical terms, but this thing sounds GOOD.I've spent the last several years trying to find a decent speaker to play music loud and have it sound good. Meanwhile, trying to find a way to make my tv sound better. Going the inexpensive route in both cases ended up costing me more over time than this speaker cost, and those purchases were all huge disappointments that left music and tv too quiet, with insufficient bass and mid tones, hollow sounding, and flat.For the last year or so I've been doing research and reading reviews trying to find a solution, but there's just too much out there when you're like me and don't have that underlying knowledge about tech specs and no desire or energy to learn it. That and people tend to state subjective opinions as passionate facts, which can be confusing when seeking advice.Chatgpt wasn't helpful either in narrowing anything down. I was being paralyzed by the options and didn't feel any closer to making a decision. All I knew for sure was I didn't want something battery operated or portable for music, and I didn't have space for multiple speakers for music or tv.I stumbled across the Marshall line through advertisements that I was served on social media after a few weeks of googling about speakers. They were really cute looking and would be perfect in my living room, which I assumed meant they probably sounded like doodoo. There were definitely people in Reddit threads saying that you can't have aesthetics and good sound, and you could do better with xyz other options. But then I'd look up those options and they didn't seem to suit my use case either.I was looking at the Stanmore, though I really liked that the Woburn has the HDMI ARC connectivity which would make it work for music AND tv, solving both of my problems. I didn't want to spend that much on a speaker, but after watching several sound check videos comparing the Stanmore to the Woburn, I had no doubt this was the one I wanted. And it was on sale, so that was nice.I'm now completely obsessed with this thing. The bass is if anything TOO MUCH for apartment living, so I have it set to around 25% and that's great. My tv and music have never sounded better or fuller or richer. No, it's not stereo or surround sound, but it's definitely room filling and you definitely feel the music and bass in your body. Movies are cinematic and music sounds awesome. I don't keep it anywhere near the loudest volume setting and it's already plenty loud. This is the experience I've been chasing for years.And it looks sooooooooo good in my living room entertainment center! It is a little tall so I can't access the knobs on top without pulling it out or lifting the shelf above it, but I don't need to mess with it much. The tv remote controls volume when it's on HDMI mode, and the app handles volume and EQ settings in Bluetooth mode, and switching between them doesn't impact the last settings on one or the other. So after setting it up and adjusting the knobs initially, I haven't had to mess with them. It has shutoff so I don't mess with the power switch either. It just kind of chills in standby mode.Assuming it lasts a long time, I'm thrilled with my purchase and use it every single day. After years of mediocre music and tv audio, I'm finally enjoying both again.

First, the sound is incredible, very clear especially the balance between the mid, high, and low sounds. Every note sounds clear and distinctive with others sounds that are not heard by regular speakers. The Bluetooth to connect to my iPad was easy with no problems.I read in other reviews where the HDMI had trouble connecting to their TVs. The bad news is I had the same issue but was able to do a work around that others might also be able to use. My TV which is new and high level technology has Bluetooth connection ability. I connected my Marshall via that and it works great. It is a real shame not to be able to connect to your TV if that is the case, cause even with high end TVs, they do not compared to what Marshall generates. I have hearing issues (I am old 67) and find I hear the TV and Music better with also hearing other sounds that do not interfere with words that are spoken.I am very happy with my purchase, it is built really nice, screams pride in its look and sound. I hope this helps anyone on the fence.

Shockingly good! I've been without a good set of computer speakers for over a year now so I quit making excuses and bought the Marshall Woburn III. Right out of the box this model from Marshall knocked me over! All the praise about the mids and highs was spot on, the sound stage excellent, and the bass stuns and leaves nothing to be desired. Just overall a great speaker and I can enjoy streaming along with my personal music collection again. Yes, the bluetooth connection can be fragile, but you can work around that with a little tweaking. I would definitely buy this all over again...thank you Marshall!