Marshall says the Middleton uses True Stereophonic, 'a unique form of multidirectional stereo sound' and I did think the soundstage was bigger than what you typically get from a speaker this size. You can pair two or more speakers to amplify the sound but you can't pair two speakers together to create a stereo pair. Its USB-C charging port also has a charge-out feature that allows you to use the speaker as a power bank and charge your devices. I also liked that it has equalizer controls on the speaker itself - I did bump the bass a bit - and is fully waterproof and dustproof with an IP67 rating.īattery life is rated at up to 20 hours at moderate volume levels and Marshall says it takes 4.5 hours to fully recharge the speaker. Any way you look at it, it sounds very good for its size and puts out a surprising amount of quality bass while offering good treble detail and natural-sounding mids (where vocals live). Weighing 4 pounds (1.8kg), it's bigger than Marshall's Emberton speaker and smaller and more portable than its Kilburn II speaker. It also isn't so beefy that you get a workout carrying it around. Marshall's 2023 Middleton speaker isn't exactly compact. Unlike with the ULT button on the Wear headphones that I thought boosted the bass too much, in the case of the Field 1, the speaker sounded didn't have enough bass unless the ULT button was engaged. When you press the ULT button, you get a bass boost and overall fuller sound. It also has speakerphone capabilities and is rated for up to 12 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels. The speaker comes in four colors - off-white, orange, black and forest gray - and it's waterproof and dust-proof, with an IP67 rating. The ULT Field 1 sounds fuller and more balanced and competes favorably with JBL's popular Flip 6, which lists for the same price. It sounds significantly better than the XB23, which had bass forward sound but just didn't offer enough clarity and detail for my tastes. The lightweight and compact ULT Field 1 sort of looks like a cross between the XB23 and the newer SRS-XE200. Sony launched the SRS-XB23 a few years ago and it was a fairly popular portable Bluetooth speaker.

Harman kardon onyx studio 6 vs 4