Marshall Emberton III – a Bluetooth speaker dressed as a tiny guitar amp
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Most Bluetooth speakers look like a pill, a can or a bar of soap. You’d never put one on a shelf on purpose. You hide it behind the plant and hope nobody notices.
The Marshall Emberton III is the opposite. It’s a small portable Bluetooth speaker that looks like a shrunk-down Marshall guitar amp, complete with the brass grille, textured black sleeve and that famous script logo.
I’m a sucker for this. Give me a speaker that looks like it played Woodstock any day.
What is the Marshall Emberton III?
Marshall was started in 1962 by a drummer, Jim Marshall, and became famous for guitar amps. Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton all played through them. These days the name is also on headphones and speakers, designed and engineered in Sweden, and the Emberton is the compact portable one.
The third version came out in August 2024. It’s about the size of a thick paperback: 16 x 6.8 x 7.7 cm (6.3 x 2.7 x 3 inches) and 670 grams (1.5 lb), says Marshall.
How does it work?
Inside is a 2-inch full-range driver with two passive radiators, powered by two 38 W Class D amps. Marshall calls the result True Stereophonic: sound that goes out in all directions, so there’s no bad spot around the picnic blanket. A feature called Dynamic Loudness adjusts the tonal balance as you turn the volume up or down.
The rest of the spec sheet reads like a checklist:
- 32+ hours of playtime, and 20 minutes of charging gives you about 6 hours
- IP67, so it survives dust and a dunk in 1 m of water for 30 minutes
- Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint, and LE Audio ready for Auracast sharing later on
- A built-in mic for calls and the Marshall Bluetooth app on iOS and Android
- Charges over USB-C, full in about 2 hours
You control it with a brass knob on top, the same kind of control knob you find on loads of Marshall gear.
The good and the not-so-good
What I like:
- That design. Tom’s Guide gave it an Editor’s Choice and called it a great pick “if you’re looking for something unique and stylish”.
- The battery. Tom’s Guide got about 31 hours in testing, so Marshall’s claim holds up.
- More bass than the Emberton II. T3 says Marshall focused on the low end for this version and calls the sound fun and full.
- It’s rugged. The Tom’s Guide review unit survived a small accident without a visible scratch.
What could be better:
- Tom’s Guide found some issues in the mid-range and missed a customizable EQ.
- T3 notes it’s not a huge leap over the Emberton II. If you already own that one, skip this.
- Loud Wireless points out the small buttons and the missing 3.5 mm aux input.
- Auracast support for linking speakers was still on the way when the reviews came out, so don’t buy it for that alone.
Who is the Marshall Emberton III for?
Rock fans, guitar players and anyone who wants a speaker they don’t mind looking at. It’s also a safe gift: it’s small, it’s tough, and the brand does half of the talking when they unwrap it.
If you want something that’s more of a design object for the living room, look at the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level. And for a speaker with an actual party trick, the Teenage Engineering OB-4 can rewind the radio.
Where can I buy the Marshall Emberton III?
Amazon sells it through Marshall’s brand store in several colors, including Black & Brass, Cream and Midnight Blue. The Black & Brass one was about 180 bucks at the time of writing (October 2026). Keep an eye out around Black Friday, as it has dropped in price during earlier sales.
Turn it up to eleven. Well, to whatever the max is. Take my money!