Meet Marshall Minor IV - Elegance and simplicity

We're sharing our experience with the newly launched Marshall Minor IV, which boasts 12mm dynamic drivers, an IPX4 rating, and over 30 hours of battery life.

Marshall's iconic musical equipment roots are present

Legendary British music amplifier and speaker cabinet manufacturer has introduced several consumer wireless speakers, headphones, and earphones over the years. The latest earphones in its portfolio are the Minor IV, which is advertised with Marshall Signature Sound, 30+ hour wireless playtime, a comfortable design, and 90 percent recycled plastic.

Meet Marshall Minor IV - Elegance and simplicity

In the Philippines, Marshall Minor IV is priced at PHP 6,690 and is now available for purchase from Digital Walker branches and online stores.

Meet Marshall Minor IV - Stylish essentials

Marshall Minor IV box

It comes in the familiar dark grey box with the render of the product, Marshall branding, key features, and regulatory information.

Marshall Minor IV box inclusions

Inside the box is the charging case with the earphones inside, a high-quality USB-A to C cable, and documentation.

Our Experience

Charging case top and bottom

The Minor IV consists of 42 percent plastic. 90 percent of the said 42 percent is made of post-consumer recycled plastics.

From afar, it looks like real leather

The case is lightweight because it is made of the aforementioned recycled plastic, but it has a faux-tumbled leather texture that is crazily close to the real thing. In fact, you will only know it's plastic when you've held it in your hand. From afar, it looks like real leather.

On top is the flip cover while on the bottom are the USB-C port and pairing button.

Front and rear sides

In front of the case is the Marshall Logo and LED indicator light while at the back are the hinge, branding, and regulatory information.

Minor IV earbuds with iconic Marshall design details

The earbuds themselves have a black plastic outer shell with faux metal texture and on the stem are diamond-shaped textures which makes it easier to hold.

The Minor IV can be paired with any compatible device with the pairing button at the bottom of the case. We were able to pair it to smartphones, tablets, and even TVs.

The Marshall app

The Marshall companion app allows users to pair their respective Marshall audio devices and customize features like the equalizer, touch interactions, and battery preservation. The app also shows the real-time battery level of each earbud and the charging case.

The Minor IV features 12mm dynamic drivers with 32 ohms of impedance and a frequency range of 20-20,000Hz.

The Minor IV earbuds are designed to be comfortable, conforming to the shape of your ears. However, after wearing them continuously for four hours, we did experience some ear fatigue, despite their lightweight design.

The Minor IV does not have active noise cancellation. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.3 LE, supporting SBC, AAC, and LC3, with a range of up to 10 meters or 30 feet.

Unlike many similarly priced TWS buds, there is no lossless audio codec support like LDAC.

Earphones in the case

Sound quality is unique because of its design and lack of true seal, the bass, warmth and maximum volume were not as high as we expected. However, we praise the highs, mids and separation. The equalizer in the app helped remedy these shortcomings.

Good highs and mids

It does have microphones for voice calls and it performs somewhat on par or a little below with AirPods.

Each earbud offers 7 hours of playtime per charge. With the included case it is extended to a total of 30 hours of play time. It takes 1.1 hours to recharge the earbuds and a full 2 hours to fully recharge the case. 15 minutes of charge should yield 3 hours of playtime.

In our real world experience the earbuds last around 6 to 6 and a half hours per session with the charging case adding 4 charges which almost meets the advertised 30 hours of playtime.

Marshall Minor IV Specs

Driver: 12m dynamic 

Frequency response: 20 to 20,000Hz

Microphone: Yes

Battery: 7 hours (per earbud), 30+ (with charging case)

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3 LE (AAC, SBC, LC3)

Others: IPX4 water splash resistance (per earbud), Touch controls, USB-C, Colors: Black

Weight: 7.39 g

Price: PHP 6,690

Our thoughts

If you appreciate Marshall's history and style, and prioritize mids and highs in your videos and music, the Marshall Minor IV is the earphone for you.

The case and earbuds are lightweight, thanks to their recycled plastic material shell, which is enhanced with a premium-looking and feeling faux tumbled leather and faux metal finish.

Pairing with most devices is a breeze, and the companion app unlocks additional features such as an equalizer, battery preservation, touch interactions, and more.

Due to the earbuds' open design, there is some loss in volume and bass. However, this can be somewhat mitigated by the included equalizer and the already solid mids and highs.

The sound quality may not satisfy audiophiles, but it is ideal for more casual listeners who also appreciate stylish earphones.

Do you agree with us?

What do you guys think?