Marshall Willen review: the ultimate budget speaker?

Truly a speaker designed for long, sun-soaked journeys, the Marshall Willen's ultra-lightweight design and adorably boxy shape, and highly affordable price make it one of the best speakers of the year.

Marshall has been at the forefront of speaker technology for decades, its legacy built on its range of cutting-edge designs with a retro twist, and it has scarcely faltered in delivering what many consider to be the best speakers on the market.

I've had the Marshall Willen for some time, and have been putting it through its paces with a broad range of music and entertainment to determine whether this budget Bluetooth speaker holds its own against its more expensive competition.

At such a low price, I remained sceptical throughout my testing but was pleasantly surprised by this speaker's phenomenally warm, bassy, yet precise sound that seems almost impossible in a speaker its size, but it's not without its problems.

Marshall Willen review: where is all that bass coming from?

Upon opening the Marshall Willen's box, I initially gawked at the smaller size of it, expecting the worst from this particularly small speaker, but my concerns were quickly thwarted. Booting it up, Marshall's signature polish oozes from the Willen during use. Turning on the Willen, you're greeted with a shredding guitar, complete with noises for connecting and disconnecting, which gives Marshall a touch of uniqueness from a crowd of plainer speakers.

On top of the Willen, there's a phenomenal battery indicator, a feature rare amongst even the more expensive speakers on the market, it's a nice touch that I certainly appreciated. Perhaps its best design feature has to be its phenomenal brass joystick, allowing you to adjust volume and skip songs without the need of your phone, which is excellent for parties.

Connecting is quick and painless, and initially connecting triggers an app recommendation on the Bluetooth screen: Marshall's EQ app. You can adjust bass levels from here, therefore allowing you to create a sound unique to you - but you're probably going to crank that bass up to the max.

Not that you'll need to though, I've had a blast listening to a blend of bassy electronic music to garner whether the Willen can handle them, and I was shocked at the kick of this little speaker. Yes, it isn't going to shake the room, and the sound itself is less effective in larger spaces, but for relaxing at home on a sunny day, the Willen exceeds our expectations and then some.

Choosing some more detail-driven music, the plucky, rhythmic country-style guitar of Chet Atkins, for example, I was quickly overwhelmed with just how brilliant this speaker is, and quickly fell in love with its brilliantly precise sound.

My only complaint, minor as it is, has to be concerning some aspects of its design, which are largely personal preferences. I received the white speaker for testing, and I find some aspects of the speaker to be quite ugly, the seemingly random rubber-leather lines and bumps give the back of the speaker quite a chaotic look in my opinion, one that would certainly look better in black.

As for its battery life, the Marshall Willen performs exceptionally well for its budget, I managed to get around 16 hours of battery life with fairly constant use, which is difficult in a speaker of its much smaller size. While some users may consider this to be average, for the sheer power of the Willen, I certainly found it impressive.

What's good about the Marshall Willen?

The Willen is a truly fantastic Marshall speaker, made for audiophiles, by audiophiles. Expertly designed to provide the most volume in the smallest of speakers, the sheer power of the Willen is nothing but impressive.

Vocals, mids and high tones on the Willen are truly phenomenal, with so much to offer for such a low price. I was pleasantly surprised by just how strong this speaker performed across music genres, which is important to me since my taste is quite eclectic.

Well-designed with a robust, weighty feel, its signature grill and brass logo are ever-striking, the overall aesthetic is strong, and it's certainly a speaker that'll survive drops and falls, thanks to its rubber outer coating. The battery indicator with LED functionality is simply excellent, having a constant visual of just how much battery the Willen has is such a fantastic feature, it cannot be appreciated enough.

I particularly adore the signature Marshall joystick, which looks and feels responsive and tactile, and makes it easy for anyone at a party or gathering to flick through songs or control volume.

What's okay about the Marshall Willen?

Though there is plenty of volume from this smaller speaker, you're not going to get the throw that you might get with a larger speaker with a much larger size. The volume, however, is certainly good considering its size.

The battery life of the Marshall Willen is good, but again, not exceptional: I noticed with constant use that it does burn through its battery quite quickly, and it does take some time to charge fully. But it's a good amount for the price, there's no denying it: the Willen is great for a day out in the park, or wherever you aim to venture.

While the Willen's mids, highs and vocals are strong, its lower frequencies are not as impressive. I found the bass on the Willen to certainly be acceptable, and with some EQ tweaking I was pleasantly surprised, but as someone who enjoys bigger bass, it certainly doesn't excite me a whole lot. It's pleasant, but not amazing.

What's negative about the Marshall Willen?

While I like many of the design features of the Marshall Willen, I think that the white design is probably a little weaker than the black.

This is because the Willen's rubber side coating which imitates leather is full of strange, almost random lines and bumps that serve very little in terms of a purpose. The black plastic back with the rubber strap is useful but needs a slight design overhaul, in my opinion, it breaks the retro aesthetic which Marshall is known for.

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Who tested it?

Ryan Houghton is a digital content writer and reviewer, being a music enthusiast with expert knowledge on speaker technology, as well as other smart technologies, he knows exactly what he's looking for when it comes to quality speakers, and is unafraid to give a fair review.

How was it tested?

I tested the Majority Elias speaker for some time, using it for hours per day to listen to music across genres, and also bringing it into a variety of settings to get a sense of the speaker's volume.

I also managed to test the speaker's battery life by fully charging it and listening to it until it was almost completely depleted.

As a Bluetooth speaker I tested its range, moving about the house to get a good sense of its connectivity.

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Ryan Houghton is a commercial content writer for What’s The Best, known best for his expertise in gaming, with a particular soft spot for PC gaming, audio tech, televisions and smartphones.

Diligently writing for What’s The Best for almost two years, there are very few tech products Ryan hasn’t had his hands on to review; televisions, headphones, folding phones and even LEGO, if it’s nerdy, he’ll be there.

His well-versed history as one of the resident techies at What’s The Best has kept him keen to uncover the very best deals, savings and offers for those in need of a cracking deal to upgrade their setup.

In his downtime, Ryan most likely has his nose buried in a fantasy book, or his eyes glued to a screen whilst playing a tough-as-nails Soulslike or leisurely RPG, indulging in most forms of escapism where possible.

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