Marshall Stockwell II & Kilburn II tested: One bass to go, please

So that you can comfortably carry the Stockwell II and Kilburn II around with you, Marshall has given them a carrying strap made of leather and velvet. It is visually reminiscent of a guitar strap and the inside of a guitar case. Despite weighing 1.4 and 2.5 kilograms, the two Bluetooth speakers can be carried comfortably by hand - if the distance is not too far.

Turn up the bass

Optically, the Bluetooth speakers from Marshall are at home with rock music. But you can listen to anything with them. Thanks to the powerful bass, the beat doesn't just pump with hip hop. And both speakers have plenty of bass to offer, the smaller Stockwell II even a little more in my opinion. With the right piece of music, it even starts to bounce. Nevertheless, the highs are not lost, but sound clear and distinct. The mids nestle in between and remain unspectacularly good.

Marshall has adopted the characteristic rotary knobs from its amps. With the Stockwell II and Kilburn II, you don't just adjust the volume. You can also adjust the bass and treble to suit your personal taste. The changes are clearly audible and such customisation options are a rarity with Bluetooth speakers.

The fact that the small Stockwell II is quieter than the Kilburn II - Marshall speaks of 80 and 100.4 decibels - is no surprise and perfectly fine. What bothers me, however, is that I can only hear something in the speaker on my smartphone at maximum volume when the rotary knob reaches "5". Half the scale is wasted. What's more, the small Bluetooth speaker is only sufficient if you want to listen to music alone in a room. For a group of people, you need to reach for the Kilburn II.

Play music from two smartphones

Bluetooth 5.0 is one of the new features of the two Marshall speakers. In addition to a greater range - you can now move a few metres further away from the speakers with your smartphone - the multi-host function is one of the important new features. This means you can simultaneously connect two devices to the Stockwell II or Kilburn II for transmission in the aptx standard and seamlessly switch back and forth between them. Starting playback on one device stops it on the other.

Compared to the previous models, the battery life has been slightly reduced, but at 20 hours it is still sufficient for a whole day without any problems. Especially as there is now a quick-charging function that gives the Stockwell II six hours of power in 20 minutes and the Kilburn II three hours. The larger of the two speakers only needs 2.5 hours to fully charge with its power cable. The Stockwell II, on the other hand, takes five hours via the USB-C port. And this is only possible with the correct power supply unit, which must deliver 3A and is not included with the speaker. The practical battery indicator on the top of the speaker shows you whether you need a power boost.

When it rains, you have to bring the Marshall speakers into the dry. With IPX4 (Stockwell II) and IPX2 (Kilburn II), they are only protected against splashing water. Under no circumstances should it be more than a splash from the pool or from tipping over glass.

Almost forgotten: You can also connect playback devices without Bluetooth to both speakers. They have a 3.5 millimetre audio connection for this purpose.

Conclusion: Good sound with a lot of weight

The Marshall speakers score plus points with Bluetooth 5.0, their sound including the powerful bass and the rotary knobs for bass and treble. They are only portable for short distances and you pay a premium for the design. For comparison: the UE Boom 3 doesn't have rotary knobs, but it has a very good sound, is easy to take anywhere and only costs half as much. <p