Marshall cuts the cord for the company’s first ever portable Bluetooth speaker

By Ted Kritsonis May 13, 2015

marshall unveils first portable bluetooth speaker kilburn kilbunr

Marshall Headphones and Marshall Amplification have collaborated to create the brand’s first-ever portable Bluetooth stereo speaker, calling it the Kilburn.

Like other Marshall Bluetooth speakers, the new speaker has a distinctive look, like something a roadie would be wheeling in and out of rock concert venues. Of course, the Kilburn is considerably smaller and has no need for wheels at the bottom, coming instead with a leather strap to carry it around. It’s not super light, mind you, weighing in at a relatively hefty 6.6 pounds for a frame that measures over 9.5 inches across and 5.5 inches high. The speaker is the first in Marshall’s line to cut the cord, allowing for users to rock out on the go.

Inside, the speaker sports a 4-inch subwoofer, alongside two ¾ dome tweeters powered by a Class D amplifier. It’s Bluetooth-enabled for streaming from a smartphone or other device, and has a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired connections (the unit does come with a high quality cable). The internal battery is rated at 20 hours of listening at 50 percent volume, so cranking it up will inevitably lower that overall number.

The knobs at the top maintain Marshall’s flair for nostalgic design, recalling the company’s seminal guitar and bass amps, along with the fabric lining the unit throughout. As far as sound quality, Marshall had this to say in its press release:

“Setting the bar as one of the loudest speakers in its class, the Kilburn is a compact stout-hearted hero with a well-balanced audio which boasts a clear midrange and extended highs for a sound that is both articulate and pronounced. The analog knobs allow you to fine tune the controls to your personal preferences while the guitar-influenced leather strap enables easy and stylish travel.”

Marshall is also bringing out two colors: black and cream. You can pick the speaker up at local retailers and at MarshallHeadphones.com starting in June for $300.

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A tech journalism vet, Ted covers has written for a number of publications in Canada and the U.S. Ted loves hockey, history…

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