It was a gloriously sunny morning in Stockholm, Sweden, at Marshall headquarters in mid-April. A surprisingly well-behaved morning, too, with barely a glimmer of hangover from the night before, no staff swinging from the HQ's rafters, no hair metal blaring from speaker stacks (that I heard, anyway).
They'd have the right to all of that, though, given the amount of work that has gone into the company's development of its first-ever soundbar, the Heston 120, which I got to see, hear and try out ahead of its official reveal. There's a smaller Heston 60 coming later, too, so the intent is both bold and broad.
As an audio company 60+ years into the game – starting in London making amplifiers, but accelerating into standalone speakers and headphone categories over the years – Marshall certainly has a rare history in this industry. And while it's somewhat relying on leveraging that to attract new customers, it's got a loyal fan base too.
I sat down with Marshall product managers and acoustic engineers who worked on the Heston 120 to find out the bigger story. From future-proofing and new technologies, to sustainability and beyond – here's how the company "managed to create a soundbar 'the Marshall way'."
Music at its heart
The day prior to my interview, Gustaf Living-Rosell, Marshall's Chief Product & Innovation Officer, had detailed how music was still core to this product proposition – and how most of the best soundbars don't deliver on that as well as they should.
Anders Olsson, Senior Product Manager, agrees: "In audio and acoustics, we [Marshall] are experts and have the legacy. To create a unit that works very well for a movie use-case, but also for music – that's close to our core values.
"Identity is so important, too. The visual expression of the product [Heston 120] and who we are – that's a key property in the product as well."
He's not wrong: the Heston 120 brings that classic Marshall aesthetic, adding brass trim and physical control knobs. It doesn't go so far as to reinvent the very idea of a soundbar's form, but it does ensure the brand's legacy visuals are tied into the design.
Big on the bass
Acoustically, the Heston 120 had to pull out all the stops to deliver a big, bassy, signature Marshall sound. It's a 5.1.2 system – meaning it's the first-ever Dolby Atmos product from the company – comprising 11 active drivers and 15 total vibrating surfaces.
Anton Svensk, an Acoustics Engineer at Marshall, detailed the challenges: "[The Heston 120 is] surprisingly open for how it looks, because so much of the surface is used to produce space. There's a lot of space for cone excursion – a good 50 millimetres [for the woofers], so it doesn't hit [its limits].
"That does make the drivers quite power-hungry. They have to be able to take quite a lot of abuse. So they don't break like there's a standard test that we do: one hundred hours at maximum power, maximum bass. It is a very aggressive test, but it has to pass [to assure quality control]."
The result is a low-end movement that, like its Sonos Arc Ultra rival, doesn't need a subwoofer to impress with its bass output. The Heston 120 slaps – in the best possible way. But Marshall will also be introducing a Heston Sub 200 later, should the 40Hz low-end of the 'bar standalone not satisfy.
New technology, new opportunity
The Heston 120 has been a three-year project in the making, with much of that time used in conceptualisation, testing, and exploring options to deliver the best possible results.
Ed Camphor, an Acoustics Engineer at Marshall working on the project, said: "To bring it [the Heston 120] to the end of concept was almost two years. Then we had a year of actually testing stuff – that quite heavily changing the design."
Olsson adds: "We have really tried to make sure that we are future-proofed. Like we're trying to tick all the boxes in terms of technology – to make sure that this hardware will not be obsolete after a long while, so we have something to build on for the future."
Auracast, part of the Bluetooth 5.3 LE Audio format, embodied by the Heston 120, is part of that puzzle: "We are looking into handoff, in general, between different Marshall products," continues Olsson. "But we have a strong vision to be open and build on open standards. With that said, there might be some parts that work better if you are in a Marshall ecosystem."
Future-proofing, sustainably
It sounds, therefore, as though the Heston 120's feature set will only continue to expand in the future, as Marshall leverages the hardware deployed in the soundbar. Which brings us to the question of longevity and, by virtue, sustainability.
"We have worked very hard to make sure we don't create obsolescence in terms of technology," says Olsson. "We carefully selected the technology solution in this product after a lot of discussions with manufacturers. We needed some headspace in terms of memory and processing power, etcetera."
Like the brand's longstanding amps, many of which have stood the test of time for decades, Marshall wants to continue that drive of longevity. "How can you create a long-term relationship if you make a product that will not last?" says Olsson. "We really believe in that brand loyalty."
The Heston 120 is built under all current European right-to-repair directives, so each driver is accessible and service-centre replaceable, should that ever be needed. "There is a drive around sustainability," confirms Olsson.
That Marshall Heston 120 will go on sale priced at €999 (other regions, including the UK, USA and Australia, to be confirmed). It's making no bones about its want to rock the soundbar world and, at that price, is looking to share the stage with the likes of Sonos. It's earned that place, though, as the Heston 120 has to be heard to be truly appreciated – this is one accomplished soundbar.
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