Now that’s what I call horse power: Marshall gets arty to celebrate the Chinese New Year

Every Lunar New Year, Marshall partners with an artist to create special editions of its speakers. This year belongs to the horse, and the collaboration this time is with Chinese visual artist FCCK.

FCCK has transformed two of Marshall's best models, the Emberton III and the Studio 900 Combo. The Marshall Emberton III is a powerful, compact Bluetooth speaker, while the Studio 900 Combo is a compact guitar amp.

What makes these limited editions interesting is that each one has hand-applied graphics, and that means no two speakers will be exactly the same.

I'll confess I'm not familiar with FCCK's oeuvre, but according to Marshall "he never plays it safe". His artwork is traditionally used by bands in China, on record sleeves for the "vibrant vinyl scene".

Marshall reveals that he blends illustration, graphic patterns and typography to create unique visual pieces.

Marshall x FCCK speakers: key features and pricing

The limited editions feature a bright, multicoloured collage with a splash behind the iconic Marshall logo. Underneath the graphics, they're the same as the standard models.

In the case of the Emberton III that means you're getting one of the best Bluetooth speakers that Marshall makes, with Bluetooth 5.4 with Auracast capability, IP67 dust and water resistance and up to 32 hours battery life.

The Embertons have always sounded good, can fill a decent-sized room and are surprisingly loud for their small size. This third generation model has improved the bass to make it even more punchy – as we said in our review: " It's a great little speaker."

As you'd expect there's a premium for the special editions compared to the standard models, but it isn't much. The Emberton III usually has a RRP of £159 / €179 / $169 / AU$289, but the Lunar New Year edition is just £20 more.