Marshall has announced new Acton IV and Stanmore IV Bluetooth speakers, replacing versions that had been on the market for four years. The useful bit is not some mystical audio branding exercise: the company says several physical parts can now be swapped out if they break or get chewed up by normal living-room abuse.
Marshall says the replaceable pieces include the control knobs, the feet and the front grilles, including the grille carrying the Marshall logo. That does not make these speakers fully modular machines, and Marshall has not said here how far owners can go with repairs beyond those parts. Still, for a category that often treats cosmetic damage and small broken bits as reasons to buy another box, replaceable exterior hardware is a practical change.
The smaller Acton IV is available now through Marshall’s online store for $299.99. The Stanmore IV costs $399.99. Both models keep the familiar Marshall speaker format, but the company says it has changed the tweeters, bass ports and internal layout to improve how the speakers fill a room.
What changed inside
The Acton IV uses a 4-inch woofer and two 0.75-inch tweeters. The Stanmore IV has a similar driver arrangement, but moves to a larger 5-inch woofer. Marshall says both speakers have redesigned bass ports with a more aerodynamic shape, which the company claims produces cleaner and stronger low-end output.
That claim comes from Marshall’s announcement, so treat it like any manufacturer’s audio claim until reviewers get ears and measurement gear on the final units. The mechanical change is clear enough: bass ports help manage air movement from the speaker enclosure, and changing their shape can affect low-frequency performance and port noise. Whether that translates into better sound in your room depends on the room, placement and volume, not just the press-release adjective pile.
Marshall also moved the cable connections to the underside of both speakers. The practical result is that owners can place the Acton IV or Stanmore IV directly against a wall without a power cord sticking out of the back. That is a small industrial-design fix, but small fixes are often the ones that keep a product from being annoying every day.
Auracast stays in the mix
Both new speakers support Bluetooth Auracast, the broadcast-audio feature that can sync playback across multiple compatible units. They also work with Marshall’s Heddon Wi-Fi streaming hub, which the company launched in January.
The Heddon hub can connect directly to services including Spotify Connect and Tidal, according to Marshall. Apple Music streaming through the hub still requires a smartphone. The hub can then send audio to the Acton IV, the Stanmore IV or another Bluetooth speaker that supports Auracast.
Marshall’s pitch is therefore split between audio changes and product-life changes. The bass ports and drivers are the showroom story. The replaceable knobs, feet and grilles are the less glamorous part, and probably the more defensible one.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
