Marshall's new Bluetooth speakers embrace Auracast at last – multiroom support, of sorts

Marshall has launched brand new versions of two of its best Bluetooth speakers, the Marshall Emberton and the Marshall Willen. And while most of the upgrades are relatively minor, there's one big one: Bluetooth LE with Auracast.

The Auracast support isn't available on launch day (today) but is coming imminently. It'll enable you to stream to multiple speakers simultaneously with your Marshall speaker as their audio source.

The Emberton III is the larger of the two, with twin drivers and bass radiators to deliver a punchy sound with 360-degree audio. The Willen II is half the size, small enough to clip to the strap of your bag.

Marshall Emberton III and Willen II: what's new

In our review of the Marshall Emberton II we praised its sound quality and its battery life. There's an extra two hours of play time here, taking total play time to over 32 hours at normal volumes. There's a new mic so you can now use an Emberton as a speakerphone, and it's IP67 dust and water resistant. There's no manual equaliser but there are three standard presets: the default "Marshall Sound", a low/hi loudness boost, and a treble boost for speech.

I've been testing the new Emberton III and so far I'm very impressed. Like any speaker of this size it gets harsh when you turn it up very loud but it's very impressive at more sensible listening volumes thanks to Marshall's "Dynamic Loudness" optimisation, which adjusts the sonic characteristics depending on how loud you're listening. In plain English that means much better bass at normal listening volumes.

The Willen II won't go as loud or last as long but it still delivers an impressive 17-plus hours of listening. it's surprisingly punchy for such a small speaker and it too will get the Auracast upgrade. 

The Emberton III and Willen II are available to pre-order from today, 19 August, and deliveries will start on 26 August. Expect to pay £159 / $159 / AU$289 for the Emberton III and £99 / $119 / AU$199 for the Willen II.

Official Australian prices are to follow.