Marshall Middleton vs Middleton II

Which Speaker Is Better?

Products

Marshall Middleton
Marshall Middleton II

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 23, 2025 01:31 PM

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Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 23, 2025 03:20 PM

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Our Verdict

Marshall Middleton

Marshall Middleton II

The Marshall Middleton II is an incremental upgrade to the Marshall Middleton. They share the same basic design and layout, but the 2nd generation has a longer battery life and adds a mic for handling phone calls. It also floats in water, while the first-generation model doesn't. The first generation has slightly lower Bluetooth latency and uses the brand's Stack feature for Party mode, so if you already own compatible speakers, you might prefer the original Middleton. The 2nd generation model uses Auracast for Party mode with newer Marshall speakers.

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Variants

  • Middleton (Black/Brass)
  • Middleton (Cream)
  • Middleton II (Black/Brass)
  • Middleton II (Cream)

Check Price

Black/Brass
Middleton
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black/Brass
Middleton II
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cream
Middleton
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cream
Middleton II
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.2
7.5

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.0
7.4

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

8.9
8.9

Dimensions Photo  

Volume 
 

142 in³ (2,325 cm³)
141 in³ (2,315 cm³)

Weight 
 

4.0 lbs (1.8 kg)
4.0 lbs (1.8 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.9
8.1

Build Quality Photo  

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

No
No

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Yes
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Controls Photo 2  

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
Yes

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.0
7.4

Frequency Response Graph  

See details
See details

Slope 
 

-0.24
0.23

Std. Err. 
 

3.36 dB
2.82 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

49.7 Hz
49.0 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

12.0 kHz
18.8 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details
See details

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

9.0
9.0

Directivity Graph  

See details
See details

Directivity Index 
 

1.90 dB
1.95 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

5.9
6.2

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details
See details

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

88.9 dB SPL
86.9 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

4.38 dB
3.19 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

6.7
8.6

Battery Life 
 

7.4 hrs
10.8 hrs

Charge Time 
 

3.7 hrs
2.7 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
0.0

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
Yes

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

No
No

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No Microphone
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Assistant

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Assistant
Show Text 

App 
 

6.0
4.7

App Picture  

App Name 
 

Marshall Bluetooth
Marshall Bluetooth

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Graphic + Presets

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

No
No

Party Mode 
 

Yes
No

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.9
8.3

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.1
5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

57 ms
123 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

93 ms
132 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
N/A

Wi-Fi 
 

No
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Check Price

Black/Brass
Middleton
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black/Brass
Middleton II
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cream
Middleton
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cream
Middleton II
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Marshall Middleton

Marshall Middleton II

Comments

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Marshall Middleton vs Marshall Middleton II: Main Discussion

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    I have not yet to try the middleton 2 but I’ve read lots of reviews reported the middleton 1 sounds better though.