Take phat & party
Al-fresco funk is fair game with our favourite portable Bluetooth speakers for under £150
Marshall Emberton
What’s the story?
The new Emberton is the smallest member of Marshall’s home audio family - by some stretch. While the rest of the range has a bit more heft to it, this is a grab-and-go speaker that fits in your palm. The feature list has stayed suitably chunky, though: you can expect a whopping 20 hours of playtime, IPX7 waterproofing and an unshakeable Bluetooth 5.0 connection.
Is it any good?
While its ‘fun’ design might fool you into thinking this speaker isn’t serious about sound, that’s absolutely not the case. Considering its size, the Emberton packs a serious punch that puts it among the best at this price.
For a start, it’s got a larger, more powerful sound than you might expect, which goes loud without much trouble. Even at top volume it doesn’t sound pushed, so you can go ahead and turn it up to 11 whenever you need. And Marshall’s True Stereophonic multi-directional tech delivers 360° audio with no pesky sweet spot, making it great for get-togethers.
It’s superbly balanced for a speaker at this price, and more refined than you might expect. The bass is as rich and rumbly as you’d want it to be, but not overwhelmingly so. In fact, we’re most taken by how clean and clear the midrange is, with a treble response that’s crisp and controlled to boot.