Marshall’s Major V Headphones Review: Unbelievable Battery Life and Ready to Auracast

I have to actively remind myself Marshall makes some pretty solid headphones since that name is so deeply tied to some of the best speakers in the industry. Its latest device, the Major V, is a pretty inconspicuous-looking $150 pair of on-ear headphones. The USP on these is their 100+ hour battery life, which I initially thought might be gimmicky, but was proven wrong. After three weeks of consistent use (an average of two hours a day), they’re still at more than 50%. They also sport Bluetooth LE and promise Auracast in a future firmware update. It’s a bummer that they sound average at best.

Marshall Major V: Design

On-ear, not over-ear.

The most important feature you need to be aware of regarding the Major V is its on-ear design. If you need huge oval ear cups to completely envelope your ears and leave some breathing space, you should opt for over-ear headphones instead. These will press against your cartilage at all times which is uncomfortable for some. Judging by on-ear headphone standards, I found these pretty pleasant owing to the extremely thick layer of cushioning in the cups. Thanks to their on-ear quality, they were snug by default. The leatherette coating does tend to heat up though, which was bothersome when I was outside doing chores with these but less of an issue in my room.

These cans are fully collapsible and can get very, very small once folded all the way. I easily slid them into one of the little pockets in my office tote and they didn’t even lead to a bulge. Though I’m not a fan of how the metal hinges stick out when the headphones are folded all the way.

At only 186g, these are some of the lightest headphones I’ve tested. For context, Sony’s XM5s are praised for their light weight at 249g. Of course, these look a lot less premium than Sony’s flagship headphones but cost a couple hundred dollars less. At $150, the Major V offer exactly what you’re paying for. They feature some frills in terms of functionality, but design-wise, they’re quite barebones. They go for a rugged, sturdy look more than an eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing design.

Considering all that, it’s a shame that the Major V feature no resistance to dust or water. These aren’t IP-rated at all, so you’d have to tiptoe very carefully around a pool or on a hike. Looking at their ruggedness and portable form factor, I would’ve guessed (and hoped for) at least an IP56 on these.

Marshall Major V: Controls

A dedicated button for Spotify.

I will always prefer physical buttons over touch controls; their reliability and feedback are unmatched by a touch interface. It’s a bonus when physical controls are designed as intuitively as they are on the Major V with just two buttons controlling everything. One of the two handles playback, volume, and power on/off. You press it once to cycle between play and pause, lean it to one side depending on whether you want to lower or raise the volume, and long press it to power on/off. Volume is a tricky control to master that’s often done in an unintuitive way on a lot of headphones, but the Major V couldn’t have used a smarter and simpler way for it. The other control, the M-button, can be customized for any of these three actions: launching Spotify, accessing the in-app EQ presets, or enabling voice assistance.

I set the M-button to trigger Spotify. Since I’m a regular user of the app, this control was extremely useful to me. With just one press, it would play a song from one of my playlists on Spotify. I loved that upon pressing the button again, it would change to another song from one of those playlists or one based on my listening activity on the app. I’m always plugged into Spotify while commuting, and it’s often a hassle to cycle between playlists on the go. With a 3.5mm input on the headphones and a cord in the package, there’s an option for wired connectivity as well.

Marshall Major V: Battery Life

Ridiculously long battery life.

Marshall promises more than a hundred hours on the Major V. I aimed to test this out a few weeks ago and started to keep mental notes of my daily usage along with the drop in battery percentage. After around three weeks and roughly forty hours, it’s still going strong at 63%. Note that this includes a lot of talk time, which drains the battery faster than playtime. They take three hours to fully recharge, but that’s not a glaring issue when you have to do it about once a month, if not less. With most headphones lasting somewhere between 40 to 60 hours, the 100+ hour battery life on the Major V is extremely impressive.

At their modest $150 price, they also offer wireless charging. Quick charging is supported with 15 minutes giving you 15 hours of playtime. The battery preservation feature on the Major V is another frill I don’t see on a lot of headphones. You can choose between Standard, Medium, and Max battery preservation profiles on the app. On Standard, the maximum recharge on the headphones is limited to 90% to protect the battery from overheating. The Medium mode adds a charging speed limiter to make sure recharging is done at a slow and steady pace. The Max does everything the other two modes do and adds a temperature measure. This slows the charging pace when the device heats up more than the ideal range to prolong the battery lifespan. These measures may seem bothersome looking at the already long three-hour recharging time but they can do wonders for your headphones’ battery in the long term. You can also always opt out of choosing a battery preservation mode.

Marshall Major V: Performance

Underwhelming sound.

The Major V feature a balanced sound with the most emphasis on mids. The bass is the least emphasized even with the Bass Boost preset enabled in the app. The treble is more noticeable than the low-end but doesn’t shine enough to demand an extra layer. It sounds pretty clustered with the rest of the elements. Overall, the orchestra could use a lot more space than it currently receives. There is little sound imaging and it’s as if the elements don’t have enough room to breathe. I played around on the in-app EQ settings, but apart from the mid-reduction and mid-boost presets, this didn’t really affect the quality of the audio.

The headphones sport 40mm dynamic drivers and a 20 to 20 KHz frequency range, standard for most headphones in this range. There is no ANC, but the excessively thick ear cup cushions provide decent passive noise isolation. On 20% volume, my coworkers’ conversations were completely muted.

I was left feeling underwhelmed by the audio on the Major V simply because I expected more out of the Marshall tag. The sound lacked definition and personality. It came off as shallow and leaned towards a tinny profile. The only performance feature that impressed me was their Bluetooth LE compatibility. They come future-proofed with LE which means they’re ready for Auracast in a future firmware update. That’s a rare feature for headphones in this price range. There are countless examples of considerably more expensive headphones that aren’t capable of facilitating Auracast.

Speaking of future-proofing, there are a few more features on the Major V that aim to extend their lifespan. Marshall claims they’re rugged enough to withstand wear and tear but if the ear cups ever run into an accident, you can order just the cups online. The Major V are also Marshall’s first headphones to be included in their repair program, so the batteries can be changed at any authorized repair center.

Verdict

Marshall’s Major V thoroughly impressed me in some areas but underwhelmed in others. I felt entitled to great sound on these since they’re Marshall-branded, but didn’t get that. The absence of ANC and an IP rating at a midrange $150 price are also serious omissions. At the same time, the ridiculously long battery life is exactly double what you get on most other headphones, and support for Auracast in the future is an even rarer feature. Being a loyal Spotify user, a dedicated button for the app made me extremely happy. If I didn’t know these were manufactured by Marshall, I might have given them a higher score. All in all, I can only recommend these to non-audiophiles who are looking for an entry-level pair of headphones and prioritize battery life over sound quality.