Marshall Major III Voice tested: three days awake

You can pair the Marshall Major III Voice without a cable via Bluetooth or connect them to a playback device using a cable and 3.5 mm plug. The headphones can also connect you to other people. You don't have to listen to your music alone, but can use a cable to play the same music on a second pair of headphones that arrives on your Major III via Bluetooth. Just like on the school bus.

A firm grip on your head for a long time

The Marshall Major III Voice is an on-ear headphone that sits on your ear and doesn't completely enclose it. I have no problem with my glasses. The headband and ear cups are covered with artificial leather and feel comfortable on the head. The headphones hold well and securely, but too tightly for me. After less than an hour, the headband presses too hard on my ears. It starts to hurt slightly and the whole wearing comfort is gone for me.

But even with the Major III Voice, every head is different. If the tight fit is the only thing that puts you off, give the headphones a try. They might fit better on you than on my head.

Although the Major headphones don't seem heavy at 182 grams, they have a large battery. They are supposed to last a total of 60 hours. I didn't manage that in one go and I can't count up my usage over the last two weeks. But from Monday to Friday, I actually used them for two to four hours at a time and the battery is still nowhere near half full. Three days awake should almost be possible. On the downside, the Major III Voice has a micro USB port for charging. USB-C should be the standard by now.

Two buttons for everything

The Major III Voice has a gold button on the left ear cup and a black button on the right with which you operate the headphones. While the black one is for the voice assistant, the gold one is for everything else. Use it to switch the headphones on and off by pressing it (long) or to start and stop playback (short). It can be moved in four directions, allowing you to adjust the volume and switch to the previous or next song.

At first glance, that's a lot of functions for one button. But it doesn't take me long to master them in my sleep. I really like the golden button. I don't even want to have headphones that I operate with gentle touches using touch surfaces.

In order to start the Google Assistant using the black button, I first have to set up the headphones in the Google app. But don't panic, you'll be taken there and back automatically when you press the button and look at your smartphone.

Once everything is set up correctly, all you need to do is press the button for Google Assistant to listen to you. An activation phrase such as "OK Google" is no longer necessary. Incidentally, this does not work at all, as the voice assistant does not listen permanently via the microphone of the headphones.

You can use the Google Assistant on the Major III Voice in the same way as you are used to on your smartphone. One special feature is that it reads out notifications to you on request. When these arrive, a notification tone sounds and you can pause the current music and listen to the notification by clicking on the black button. This doesn't always sound nice with the computer voice, but you can leave your smartphone in your pocket and still stay informed. Speaking of being informed: You allow Google full access to the notifications for reading aloud.

Differentiated sound without bass

The Marshall Major III Voice can be folded for transport, but they are not the ideal companion if you want peace and quiet when travelling. They don't have active noise cancellation and as they only rest on the ear, the shielding is poor. In the office, I can hear every word from the next desk and can only work against it by turning up the volume. However, the permeability can also be an advantage: On the train, I can understand the announcement without any problems despite having music in my ears and as a pedestrian, I can hear more of the road traffic.

The ear cups of the Major III Voice each contain a dynamic 40 mm driver. They ensure clearly audible differences between treble and mid-range. However, the sound is not crystal clear. Or to put it another way: I find it sufficient when travelling and in the office. To sit down at home and do nothing else but listen to music through them, that wouldn't be enough for me.

The bass is there, but remains inconspicuous overall. If it is important for your favourite music, you should rather use other headphones. The Major III Voice don't put any pressure on your ears at this point and have other advantages.

Conclusion: For fans of the Google Assistant

With the extra button for the Google Assistant, the Marshall Major III Voice is really well suited for the voice assistant. Siri and Alexa, on the other hand, don't stand a chance on the headphones. They are only designed for the Google Assistant. If you don't need a voice assistant, the Major III Bluetooth are a cheaper alternative.

Apart from that, you can expect a good average sound with little bass with the Major III Voice. Wearing comfort is generally good, but depending on the shape of your head, the ear cups can be tight. The operation via the golden button is even a highlight for me among the headphones, but rarely the most important criterion.

If you are interested in the headphones but not the Google Assistant, then the Marshall Major III Bluetooth is worth a look and a listen.