I normally don’t go with on-ear headphones when I travel since they tend to be huge and a space hog. But since I got an Urbanears Tanto before (which was already discontinued), I didn’t mind since it was light yet has really distinguishable sound quality. Unfortunately, that one got lost in one of my trips. Then a Marshall Major FX landed on my hands as a christmas gift. Who am I to refuse such a good looking headphones? I still have my portable earphones with me but I managed to use this on my travels as well. Marshall already has the latest Major II model out but the classic Major, considered as the original is still widely available.
Built and Comfort
I have the Pitch Black Mashall Major edition which is fully painted in plain black. At first look, I immediately had a liking to its retro-styled design. Call me old-school but it is something I could proudly wear out in the open while travelling. I like the black finish and the denim material used on the band. One of the things I really like about this headphone is its collapsible design. The headband can be folded with the ear pads tucked-in inside the headband.
The ear-cushion is really soft and comfortable over the ear, but it seems, for me, the headphone feels tight after prolonged use that it feels like my head is being compressed. Even after a few months it feels the same. I also found that the first one that gave out from the headphone after almost half a year of use were the ear-cushions. First the cushion covers would peel-off then the whole ear pad eventually loosened and broke. I was ready to give up on the headphone but decided to visit Digital Walker, one of the major shops selling the Marshall Major, to ask if they have replacement ear cushions available. Good thing they do, so I ordered and managed to replace my ear cushions.
The chord also has a mic and button control so this can be used on smartphones as it can answer calls and even as control to forward tracks when the built-in music player or Spotify is playing. The 3.5mm jack is also gold plated and the package includes a 6.3mm adaptor.
Sound Quality
I’ve used the Marshall Major headphone on various devices from listening to music on my smartphones with different OS, IOS on iPads, android devices and even a Microsoft Lumia phone. My old iPod Classic also had some quality time with the headphone. Occasionally I would plug it in my Macbook too while watching movies. The sound quality of course varies depending the quality of the file. But using it on my iPod classic, I find the sound quality really clean and distinct. The bass is there but not too heavy that it drowns in the other elements of the sound. I find that the phone really shines on acoustic and instrumental tunes more. There’s crispiness on the strings and the voices really comes out. Personally its not something I would use heavily on EDMs, yes it could work but I would prefer a headphones with much richer bass on them than this one.
Summary
The Marshall Major is a gorgeous retro-styled headphone with above average sound quality which shines more on acoustics but generic on the bass. I do like how portable the Marshall Major is when collapsed but seems to have questionable build quality for me in relation to the price considering on how easy the ear cushion got damaged and loose. I do like they have local support here in terms of parts. It’s a looker of a headphone and I’ll surely enjoy listening more of my Beck, Angus and Julia Stone and Amos Lee tracks with this one while traveling.
The Marshall Major is available at Digital Walker, Beyond the Box, SM Departmentstores and online at Lazada.
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