It’s better late than never for British audio maker Marshall, as it has finally unveiled its first ever true wireless earbuds – the Mode II. If the name sounds familiar, it is because the brand originally introduced the series as wired earphones several years ago. With the popularity of TWS earbuds growing ever steadily in recent times, it would be unwise for Marshall to not hop onto the same bandwagon as fellow audio brands such as Klipsch and Bose.
The Mode II is equipped with 6mm dynamic drivers with adjustable EQ settings, which Marshall claims is engineered to “deliver a thunderous audio experience” and “phenomenal sound” with “growling bass, natural-sounding mids and crisp treble” – all delivered to the user wirelessly via Bluetooth. Despite the brand’s good reputation in regards to its audio products, we’ll only know if the TWS earbuds is able to live up to the claim once we try it out for ourselves.
The new earbuds also come with dual microphones (one on each side) for hands-free calls and voice assistant control, as well as featuring touch-based controls for managing audio playback, answering calls and activating certain onboard features. Unfortunately, the Mode II is not equipped with ANC (active noise cancelling) capability – but instead provides passive noise filtering via its eartips, which comes in four different sizes: S, M, L and XL. In order to listen in to conversations or announcements, users can utilise the earbuds’ microphones to pick up external audio by activating the Transparency Mode.
Other than that, the Mode II is water resistant with a rating of IPX4 and is capable of lasting up to five hours on a single charge. Its battery life can be further extended through the provided charging case, which adds four more charges – totaling up to 25 hours of usage. The case itself can be charged via USB-C and also through wireless means.
Like Marshall’s other audio offerings, you can expect the new Mode II true wireless earbuds to come with a very heavy price tag – specifically, US$199 (~RM810). It is expected to ship out on 18 March 2021, but its potential availability in Malaysia is unknown at this time.
(Source: Marshall [Official website])
