Last year when music gear giant Marshall announced their first line of headphones music lovers took notice in a big way, and weren't disappointed by the quality of either the construction or the sound. This year they announced that they were going to release a Bluetooth wireless version of the same Major design and I knew I had to give them a try.
Boasting of 10Hz to 20Hz frequency response and better than 30hr battery life, I was skeptical of quite a bit having not tried the original headphones last year. After running the headphones until the battery ran out after 33 hours of listening at pretty decent volume I have to admit that I have never been more impressed with a pair of headphones (wired or Bluetooth) ever. Light, comfortable, amazing sound quality and amazingly no "sound leak". I don't know that "sound leak" is something that many people worry about, but I often wear headphones to listen to TV and podcasts in bed so my wife can sleep. Being able to listen at full volume and not disturb her at all when she is inches away is huge for me, and it's never happened before with on or over ear headphones.
A couple of other features don't get much attention in features about these headphones that I want to highlight. First, the included cable with microphone for using the headphones wired instead of wireless when power is running low or latency is a factor (such as during recording) is superb and features not only gold plated connectors but the iconic coil that people associate with guitar cords. Second, the designers included a feature that I don't know I've ever seen before: you can share music with a second wired pair of headphones via the jack when the Major II headphones are paired via Bluetooth. Not something that you would use all the time, but cool if you want to share what you are listening to with someone and can't or don't want to use a speaker.
Leather wrapped and that iconic Marshall logo, just opening the box you know you have something special here
I know you have seen many reviews of both wired and wireless headphones from me since I launched this site and I guarantee you will find more as time goes by. These will be tough to beat. The only thing I wish they had included is a travel case, but I think they are trying to make the point that headphones are meant to be used not carried around. At just $149 at Amazon and other online outlets you can't go wrong with these cans.