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Marshall Hanwell Anniversary Edition Review: The Rock Star

Marshall Hanwell Anniversary Edition Review: The Rock Star

By Ershad Kaleebullah | Updated: 12 May 2014 10:29 IST

In the world of gadgets, most manufacturers try to cram as many features as they can into their high-end products. It often seems as though everything today, from smartphones to cameras and audio equipment, suffers from this. The problem that arises is that not all features are useful, and the complication takes away from the intended purpose of the product.

We have reviewed wireless speakers in the recent past which feature a plethora of connectivity options and are futuristic in terms of design. In sharp contrast, we have with us today the Marshall Hanwell Anniversary Edition speaker which makes no claim of being futuristic. It has only a single 3.5mm jack to connect sources, and features a classic vintage design. Marshall has basically eliminated all possible frills from the Hanwell, and the result is a rather simplistic product that actually transports us to the past.

The Marshall Hanwell is an expensive speaker, and has an inimitable legacy of great sound production to live up to. We put this speaker through its paces to find out if it can truly rock the party.

Design, Features and Specs
Featuring a vintage design, the Hanwell resembles a small guitar amplifier (an obvious reference to Marshall's legacy), or one of those really old radio sets from the mid-20th century. The Anniversary Edition celebrates Marshall's 50 years in the audio equipment manufacturing industry. Interestingly, the Hanwell is named after a street in London where rock star Jim Marshall owned a shop selling drums, which was where he designed the first Marshall amplifier. We have to say the construction of this device is a fitting tribute.

One look at the Marshall Hanwell and it immediately elicits 'oohs' and 'aahs'. It could be because the wooden body is clad in black vinyl, or because of the characteristic analogue dials on the top. For those reasons and more, the Hanwell is a fantastic-looking product.

A chequered grill makes up most of the front with the Marshall logo in cursive in the dead centre. The top of the Hanwell has the lone input - a 3.5mm stereo jack, along with old-school knobs for volume, bass and treble adjustment, and a gold plated power switch. The speaker is propped up by four feet, which also ensure enough room is left for the hidden bass port. Our Anniversary Edition had a commemorative badge on its left side. Our only niggle with the otherwise carefully engineered speaker was the fact that the knobs were not seated properly, and the markings on the knob and body didn't line up.

The Hanwell measures 435 x 193 x 297mm and weighs 10.5kg. We don't expect users to move it too often, but that doesn't mean the speaker isn't portable. Inside the wooden body are two 6-inch long-throw woofers and two hi-fi dome tweeters (size unspecified), making it a 2.2 stereo setup. It operates in the frequency range of 35Hz to 20KHz which is more than what the human ear can register anyway. The speaker can get as loud as 110dB.

Marshall packs a coiled 3.5mm aux cable with gold-plated jacks, a power cord, and two manuals inside a small accessories box. We have to make a mention of the manual here. After a rather short and basic set of instructions, the designers go wild with the warnings. There are 32 pages of funky illustrations, which are a hoot. Take a look at the examples below.

Performance
Imagine a rock concert with concert-grade speakers. Imagine the crowd's reaction every single time a power chord is strummed. Imagine the head banging. It feels great doesn't it? The Marshall Hanwell can replicate that feeling for every rock aficionado. This is the highest compliment we can give the Hanwell, and it fully befits its legacy.

After connecting our test device using the 3.5mm aux cable, we played our favourite songs from Billboard's 100 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos album. When the guitar solo in Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird kicked in at the four minute, 55 second mark, the Hanwell outlined every single texture. Similarly, in The Beatles' timeless While My Guitar Gently Weeps, apart from the guitar solo, even the accompanying percussion beats were crystal clear.

The Hanwell is engineered with lows gaining a slight edge over the rest of the frequencies. This means that bass-heavy music such as electronic dance music (EDM) also sounds good. We would, however, advise users to tone down the bass for the best listening experience. Please keep in mind that at 110dB the Hanwell can get really loud and can easily fill an 800 sq.ft room. Portable devices are bound to distort the sound at high volumes, though. Only the channel separation was not so good, which is the case with most single unit speakers.

We played the trailer of Thor: The Dark World and found that the Hanwell managed to excel in amplifying the experience of the aural details in movies as well.

Verdict
It is not often that we get a music accessory crafted with so much love and attention to detail. The Hanwell doesn't only look like a rock star, it sounds like one too. It is a truly premium device and therefore commands its astronomical price tag. Buyers will also be paying for exclusivity, considering there are very few Anniversary Edition units in the market. Just keep in mind that the Hanwell has no wireless connectivity whatsoever. If that's a dealbreaker for you, take a look at the JBL Authentics L8 or the Bose SoundTouch 30 instead.

Price: Rs. 63,500

Pros

Classy vintage design
Great bass
Good treble

Cons

Knob calibration is off the mark

Ratings (Out of 5)

Design: 4.5
Performance: 4.5
Value For money: 3
Overall: 4

Comments

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Further reading: Marshall, Marshall Hanwell, Marshall Hanwell price, Marshall Hanwell price in India, Marshall Hanwell review, Marshall Hanwell speaker review

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