Test Marshall Milton ANC – Thoughtful whole

Overall, this is a great value pair of headphones with a lot of benefits. They are part of a larger development where, above all, the effective noise reduction, something that was previously reserved for the more expensive headphone models, can now also be found in headphones that cost around SEK 2,000. So Marshall isn’t alone in this, but they add some unique features that make the Milton ANC stand out.

The core of Marshall’s headphones and speakers is the connection to the classic amplifiers and how the headphones, first through a licensing agreement and now later by merging and becoming one and the same company, have adopted appearance and aesthetics, even with details such as physical buttons in brass and the leather-like surface. I can control music and volume directly on the start button, which, in addition to a physical button you press, can be pushed in four directions to change songs or change volume. However, having so many functions in one and the same button makes it a little impractical, and it happens that the angle when I reach for it becomes strange, so it is unclear which direction is volume and which direction is change song.

Thoughtful and comfortable

The Marshall Milton ANC headphones are far from just surface and tacked-on attitude. In connection with testing the headphones, I have met and talked with product managers and designers at Marshall, to find out a little more about how the model came about.

Milton ANC are on-ear headphones, which means that they lie on the ear, but do not completely surround the ear with a cover, as many headphones do. This means that they should be comfortable even for longer periods. Of course, a pair of hoods are potentially more effective at shutting out ambient noise and helping the active noise cancellation on the stack, but the Milton ANCs are surprisingly effective. The ear cushions themselves have been made slightly larger to securely cover the ear and provide effective noise reduction. Important factors in general are of course the material in the ear cushions, that it should be both comfortable and close effectively. I have over a longer period of several weeks tested Milton ANC and can state that they have effective noise reduction in everything from open office landscapes where I am sitting and writing this test now, to walking on sidewalks in city traffic, to airplanes, because that is where noise reduction is often most clearly useful. Of course, I still hear some of the ambient noise even with the noise reduction on, there is still a class difference between this and the absolute best noise reduction, but the Marshall holds a high standard.

Just like in other headphones with noise reduction, there are several microphones that continuously sense the surrounding sound and based on that can adjust noise reduction and the strength of the sound, so your experience of the music does not vary much even if you move between quiet and louder environments, for example in public transport.

Practical construction

Fit is important both for listening for long periods of time and for true-to-life playback and effective noise reduction. The headphones are both foldable and feel quite light on the head. You can adjust the size steplessly by pulling and sliding the sides, and the ear pads can be rotated to remove and replace. The headphones do not therefore have to be replaced just because the cushions have worn out. It is also possible to change the battery, so in short, Marshall has made an effort to make the headphones more durable.

As for the sound, the headphones have good microphones for calls and they manage to focus precisely on my voice and do not bring in unnecessary ambient noise. Good sound for those I call, background music and other lower sounds in the background are not included, but louder noises can be disturbing. As for what is perhaps more important, the music sound, because that is the whole point of departure in Marshall’s products, it is of good quality and this makes me want to delve a little deeper into what Marshall does compared to the competition. First of all, the audio resources differ depending on the audio source. In the iPhone, I get a more emphasized treble and bass with a thinner midrange. I should also add that Marshall’s app available for both iPhone and Android can handle software updates for the headphones, but also let you use the equalizer to adjust the sound. I start by listening with Marshall’s preset equalizer values, what the app calls “The original Marshall sound”. When I change from that, I get what I think is a more balanced sound. If I then switch to an Android phone, I can activate the headphones’ support for hi-res audio with dac. It adds more detail to the sound, while not quite reaching the level of detail I get in professional headphones for almost four times the price, so it’s still a headphone difference.