Marshall Motif II A.N.C

The Marshall Motif II A.N.C. are stylish true wireless earbuds with excellent comfort, strong ANC, and a fun sound signature. But real-world user sentiment is shockingly low, with recurring complaints about connectivity, microphone quality, and build. They're worth a look at the low end of the price range, but the competition is stiff.

Let's talk sound first, because that's what Marshall is known for. The 6mm dynamic drivers deliver a signature that's energetic and clear, with good detail in the mids and highs. Our database puts the sound quality at the 87th percentile, which translates to well above average. It's not the absolute best you can get at this price, but it's a strong showing. The bass is present but not overwhelming, which some listeners will love and others will find lacking. A few owners specifically called out the lack of bass as a gripe, so if you're a basshead, keep that in mind.

ANC performance lands at the 91st percentile, which is impressive. It won't completely silence a busy commute, but it does a solid job knocking down low-end rumble. Transparency mode is there too, and it works fine. Battery life is rated at 6 hours per charge with ANC on, plus another 24 hours from the case. That's about average for this class, landing at the 81st percentile. The quick charge feature is handy: 15 minutes gets you an hour of playback. Connectivity is where these really shine on paper. Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint and a 98th percentile connectivity score means pairing is fast and stable, at least in our testing. The catch is that real-world users report more dropouts than those numbers suggest, which we'll get into below.

Stacked against the Sony WF-1000XM6, the Marshall Motif II A.N.C. hold their own on comfort and connectivity, but Sony wins on overall polish, microphone quality, and consistency. The Sony buds are more expensive, but you're paying for reliability. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra are the ANC kings, and if noise cancellation is your top priority, Bose is the safer bet. The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro offer better integration with Samsung phones and a more refined app experience, though the Marshall design is more distinctive. The Technics EAH-AZ100 are a sleeper pick with excellent sound quality, but they lack the brand recognition and style points of the Marshall. And if you're in the Apple ecosystem, the AirPods Pro 3 are the obvious choice for seamless pairing and call quality. The Marshall Motif II A.N.C. carve out a niche for people who want that rock-and-roll look and a fun sound signature, but the competition is fierce at this price point.

Pricing is all over the place in the US, with listings ranging from $130 to $170 across seven different vendors. At the low end, these are a reasonable deal if you value the design and comfort. At the high end, you're getting into territory where the Sony WF-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra start to look like smarter buys. The CAD 270 price in Canada and GBP 129 in the UK put these in a similar mid-range spot. If you're shopping in the US, hunt for the $130 listings. Paying $170 for these feels like a stretch given the build quality complaints and the microphone performance. The value proposition really hinges on how much you care about the Marshall aesthetic and how lucky you get with quality control.

The Marshall Motif II A.N.C. are true wireless earbuds that lean hard into the brand's rock-and-roll aesthetic. They sit in the mid-range price bracket, with US listings running anywhere from $130 to $170 depending on where you look. You get 6mm dynamic drivers, active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint, and a charging case good for 30 hours total. The case itself is made from 70% post-consumer recycled plastic, which is a nice touch if you care about that sort of thing.

So are these the right earbuds for you? If you want that Marshall look and a sound signature that's punchy and fun, there's a lot to like. The comfort is genuinely top-tier, and the connectivity is some of the best we've seen in this category. But there's a catch, and it's a big one. The user sentiment score in our database is sitting at the 6th percentile. That's not a typo. Owners are reporting real issues with connectivity drops, weak microphones, and build quality that doesn't match the price tag.

We'll dig into all of that below. The short version: these are a great pair of earbuds on paper, and sometimes in practice, but the gap between the spec sheet and the real-world experience is wider than it should be.

Skip these if you take a lot of phone calls. The microphone performance is mediocre, and the people on the other end will notice. Bass lovers should also look elsewhere, since the low end is more restrained than you'd expect from a Marshall product. If you've been burned by connectivity issues with wireless earbuds before, the real-world reports of dropouts here are a red flag, even though our lab testing showed strong Bluetooth performance. For call quality, check out the AirPods Pro 3 or Sony WF-1000XM6. For bass-heavy sound, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra or Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are better options. And if you want the most reliable all-around experience at this price, the Technics EAH-AZ100 are a sleeper pick worth considering.

Should you buy the Marshall Motif II A.N.C.? If you're drawn to the design and you find them at the low end of the price range, they're worth considering. The comfort is genuinely excellent, the sound is fun, and the ANC is better than you'd expect. But the user sentiment data is hard to ignore. A 6th percentile sentiment score means a lot of people are walking away disappointed. Connectivity drops, weak microphones, and build quality concerns are recurring themes.

If you need earbuds for calls, look elsewhere. The microphone performance is mediocre at best, and callers on the other end will notice. If you're a bass lover, these might leave you wanting more. But if you want a stylish pair of earbuds for music and podcasts, and you're willing to roll the dice on quality control, the Motif II A.N.C. can deliver a good experience. Just buy from a retailer with a solid return policy.