I used Marshall's Emberton III for two months — this small speaker has a mighty wallop

I have over two dozen Bluetooth speakers in my house, but I've always been interested in Marshall gear. I bought the Stanmore a decade ago, and it has served me well over the years — I still use it regularly, and it sounds fabulous. I also enjoy using the Kilburn II, and as good as it is, it isn't the most portable.

That's where the Emberton III comes in. It isn't the smallest Marshall speaker — that's the Willen II — but its inherent portability gives it a distinct advantage. Coming in at $149 on Amazon, it's much more affordable than Marshall's other speakers. The sizing is a key part of why I like the Emberton III so much, and in the last two months, I used the speaker more than just about any other.

Marshall's speakers have a distinctive design that's similar to the brand's iconic amps, and the Emberton III is no different. I like that the brand ported the design aesthetic into a smaller form factor, and the metal grille at the front with the embossed Marshall logo allows the Emberton III to stand out visually.

But you're not buying it for the looks; the sound quality is where the Emberton III comes into its own. The speaker produces 20W of sound via two 10W full-range drivers, and there are dual passive radiators as well. Now, 20W may not seem like a lot when there are portable speakers like the Tribit StormBox Blast 2 that go up to 200W, but the Emberton III cleverly utilizes the internal design to produce a much louder sound than the hardware suggests.

The result is that the Emberton III punches well above its weight when it comes to how loud it gets; most of the time, I didn't have to increase the volume beyond 60%. The sound quality is quintessential Marshall; there's a pronounced bass with a tight sub-bass that sounds delightful, detailed mid-range that lets vocals and ensemble instruments shine, and clean treble without any sibilance.

The drivers are angled within the chassis, so you get a stereo soundstage that's immersive. While there are no toggles to change the bass and treble levels like on the Stanmore, you can use the Marshall app to switch between three EQ modes. It isn't as configurable, but if you need to double down on the bass, there's an EQ setting that lets you do just that.

Basically, the Emberton III sounds as good as it looks, and I was constantly impressed by its performance in this area. It's hard to pull off something like this in an enclosure that's just 160mm wide and 1.2lb in weight, and Marshall did a terrific job overall. The smaller size makes it easier to take the Emberton III anywhere, and the design is clearly built to last. The speaker took its share of tumbles in the last two months, and it came away unscathed.

There are other niceties; the Emberton III gets IP67 ingress protection, making it ideal to use at the pool or the shower. There's a built-in mic that lets you take calls on the speaker, and that's a decent addition. You also get good onboard controls; there's a multi-function knob at the top that lets you adjust volume, play or pause media, and go forward or back. The dedicated Bluetooth button puts the Emberton III into pairing mode, you get a power button, and there's a battery life indicator.

Battery life is pretty great too; I got over 24 hours of use with the volume turned up, and that's better than most other speakers in this category. It takes just over two hours to charge the battery via USB-C, and fast charging delivers up to six hours of music playback with a 20-minute charge.

It connects over Bluetooth 5.3, and I didn't see any problems with range or connectivity. I used the Emberton III with my Pixel 10 Pro XL, Galaxy Z Fold 7, Vivo X200 Ultra, and a slew of Android phones. The only issue I have with connectivity is that it doesn't have AptX codecs, limited instead to the usual SBC and AAC.

If you've already invested in Marshall's products or are looking to get a portable Bluetooth speaker that stands out, the Emberton III is a no-brainer. The smaller size means you can take it anywhere, and the durable design combined with IP67 dust and water resistance makes it weather just about any environment.

The sound quality is where the Emberton III excels over other products I used in the last 12 months; it gets louder, more detailed, and delivers a surprising amount of sound considering the size of the speaker. The $149 asking price is at the higher end of the scale as these things go, but you're also getting a speaker that's better than just about anything else in this category.