Computer Shopper 2019-11-01

SPEAKERS

ISSUE 381|COMPUTER SHOPPER|NOVEMBER 2019 87

SPEAKERS

MUCHLIKETHEfirst Kilburn speaker,
released in 2015, the Kilburn II is Marshall’s
attempt at awireless Bluetooth speaker
that mimics –atleast in looks –one of its
larger,iconic guitar amplifiers.
It’s asuccessful attempt, too. The Kilburn II
is nothing short of beautiful, with its leather
exterior,wiry speaker grille and red-lined
carrying strap,and it ditches the slightly
over-lavish gold plating of the original Kilburn
foracooler,more composed look.
Durability has also been improved, mainly
through the addition of hard corner caps,
which help it endure knocks. It’s also
IPX2-certified, which means it can withstand
water drops –some light drizzle,ifnot a
downpour.That might not grant it the same
degree of weatherproofing as the JBL Xtreme
2, UE Boom 2orUEWonderboom 3, but it
provides abit of peace of mind when taking
the Kilburn II out and about. The original
Kilburn, it should be noted, didn’t have any
waterproofing at all.

LONG INTHETOOTH

At the topofthe Kilburn II are three knobs:
one controls the volume,and integrates a
small on/offswitch, while the other two are
foradjusting bass and treble.Here,you’ll also
find aBluetooth pairing button and abattery
level indicator –its red hue much like the
power LED of aMarshall amp.
The 3.5mm auxiliary port has been moved
from the toptothe back, and there’s an 8-pin
power connector forcharging. The battery
lasts around 20 hours, astrong showing, and
can be fully charged from empty in 2h 30m. In
fact, ashort 20-minutecharge nets you
around three hours of playtime: great for
when you’re in ahurry but out of juice.
Another upgrade comes in the form of
Bluetooth 5.0, with support forthe aptX
codec. Besides the increased range of this
latest Bluetooth version, aptX provides the
Kilburn II with CD-quality playback over a
wireless connection. Better still, the Kilburn II
allows two devices to connect simultaneously.
If you live in ashared household, it’s agreat
wayofsharing the speaker.
Perhaps the most significant new feature
is the Kilburn II’s ability to project sound all
around the room, thanks to aset of rear-firing
tweeters firing through asmall secondary
grille on the rear.The effect isn’t amatch for
the true 360° audio you get from speakers
such as the Boom 3, but it’s certainly another
improvement on the monodirectional Kilburn.
Besides blasting out room-filling sound,
this upgrade also improves the speaker’s

MARSHALL KilburnII

★★★★★

£270•From http://www.marshallheadphones.com

VERDICT

Soundqualityhassomekinks,butthisamp-
styledspeakerisarealrock’n’rollhero

ability to createarealistic three-dimensional

sound space by adding abit more width and

depth. Dialled up to level six, we found the

speaker loud enough foralarge-sized room.

At level 10 (the highest), the Kilburn II is loud

enough foragarden party.

VOLUME ROCKER

Loudness is another thing Marshall has been

working on since the original Kilburn. While

that speaker would suffice foraliving room,

alone it wasn’t enough foranoutdoor party.

By comparison, the Kilburn II is as loud with

the volume set at level seven as the Kilburn

was on full, making it around one-third louder.

However,for all these improvements, there

are still some limitations to the Kilburn II’s

sound. Instrument separation, forexample,is

distinctly average.Onour test tracks, guitars

and vocals would sometimes get jumbled up,

rather than sounding distinct and refined.

At least the Kilburn II has astronger,more

refined mid-bass slam. This makes it alot

better than its predecessor forhandling songs

with alot of bass, such as dance and hip-hop

tracks. Its sub-bass extension has also

improved, as the Kilburn II now extends as low

as 52Hz; an improvement over the original

Kilburn, which could only go as low as 62Hz.

That extra 10Hz does go along way.

The mids are still recessed, and very much

pushed back, especially in the upper mids.

Theyare,however,better than on the

Kilburn, with level six on the treble knob

equating to around level eight on the older

model. In comparison to its rivals, however,

the Kilburn II struggles to keep up: vocals in

particular don’t sound as life-like as theydo

on the JBL Xtreme 2.

Again, over the first Kilburn, the highs are

alittle more refined and detailed, but still

struggle to provide that high-end extension

that you’d expect from atop-tier speaker.

ROCKTACTICS

The Kilburn II doesn’t have alot of fancy

features to boast about, nor does it sound

as good as the best Bluetooth speakers

already out there.Assuch, it might seem hard

to justify splashing out £270 on something

that, in many regards, isn’t that farabove

average.Ifyou do have this much moneyto

burn on aportable speaker,the JBL Xtreme 2

delivers better overall sound quality.

Nevertheless, this isn’t just aBluetooth

speaker: it’s both aconversation piece and a

handsome household accessory.For anyone

who loves the classic styling of Marshall

amps, it’s achance to own that styling in a

much more portable package.

Those who can withstand the allure of a

rock’n’roll lifestyle,onthe other hand, should

stick with either better-sounding, more robust

speakers, or much more affordable ones.

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