Exclusive to the market launch: Marshall Monitor III ANC in practical testing: Great design, how is the sound?

When I first listened to it, I noticed the very clear vocals and hi-hats, the Monitor III was quite high-pitched. This meant that all voices sounded very clear and crisp, and even strumming rock sounds could benefit from this.

In some pieces and depending on your taste, it can sometimes sound too sharp, or in certain songs that already have a lot of vocals, the rest of the music fades into the background. Fortunately, the sound can be adjusted quite well to suit the pieces using the equalizer.

Basses are well resolved and detailed, but not overly present. In bass-heavy pieces, however, they come across well, as you can then perceive a lot of details, but in less bass-focused songs, they can sometimes disappear a little, especially when the vocals are in the foreground. Here we give our very subjective impressions in a few examples by song:

• The Hives – Countdown to Shutdown: Guitars come across well, but the song can still be a bit too sharp at times.
• The Black Keys – Going Down South: The verse is perfect with the Monitor III, bass is well resolved, clear vocals without being too sharp. The very bright solo guitar after the first verse is borderline, though.
• The Raconteurs – Sunday Driver: Going well
• Kaleo – No Good: Very good, strong vocals, good bass, detailed soundstage, you can hear the quiet, unusual rattling of the jingles during the performance.
• Kurt Vile – Pretty Pimpin: Sounds very good with the Monitor III, but the song already has a good fullness of sound.
• Aurora – Graveyard: The beginning impresses with crystal clear vocals, you can clearly hear the delicate touch of the voice. When the deep strings come in, however, it is not bassy enough for us, more oomph would be good here.
  
• Notorious BIG – Hypnotize: The bass-heavy piece comes across well, you can hear a lot of details in the bass (instead of dull low tones). The “hand clapping” is perhaps a little too sharp, and it could also be a little more bass.
  
• Ennio Morricone – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The very bright guitar sound can almost hurt with the treble-heavy Monitor III, so we reduced the volume.
• Jackson C. Frank: Guitar plus vocals, actually perfect on the Marshall, perhaps lacking in fullness. Recommended for a listen – melancholic guitar songwriter, only album from 1965.
• Leonhard Cohen – You Want it Darker: Very well-resolved vocals from Cohen, but for some people it doesn’t push enough, the music could be a bit more prominent, it fades into the background a bit too much. The bass line doesn’t necessarily need more oomph, but the rest of the music could deliver a bit more fullness.
• Robbie Robertson – Theme for The Irishman: Good example: The bright harmonica is sometimes too overpowering and is more present than the double bass, which is well resolved but could have a bit more fullness, not necessarily at the very low end, but in the middle areas before that.
  

Overall, with the Marshall Monitor III, the output source and your own taste are more important than usual as to how well the application of its signature sounds fits the piece in question. The Monitor III is at its best when the output quality of the source is good, and when it comes to rock and bass-heavy pieces. If pieces already emphasize the vocals, the Marshall headphones can sometimes make the rest of the music, especially the bass, seem underrepresented.

In general, we often feel the need to increase the volume a little so that the detailed soundstage of the Monitor III comes across better. But then some of the highs are just too sharp for us, so we turn the volume down again in some songs, but then unfortunately the soundstage also decreases significantly and the music remains too much in the background. It all depends on the piece.