What it’s good to know
- Marshall is launching its first soundbar, the Heston 120, with assist for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
- Designed for each TV and music, it options 11 drivers for cinematic sound with multi-mode settings (Film, Music, Voice, Evening), together with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE with Auracast, HDMI eARC, and RCA inputs.
- The Heston 120 matches Marshall’s signature fashion with leather-based and tactile controls, and management through the Marshall app.
- It’s accessible in June 2025 for $999.99 and solely is available in black.
Marshall has been making amplifiers, audio system, headphones, and earbuds for 60 years, however by no means tried its hand at a soundbar — till now. The Heston 120 marks its first official try at constructing one thing for the TV and residential theater house, taking over the likes of Sonos, Sony, Samsung, Denon, and lots of others.
Constructed for each TV audio and music playback and promoting for $999.99, Marshall’s first soundbar measures 43.3 x 5.70 x 2.99 inches (width x depth x top). It is going to work as a related machine, which means it is possible for you to to stream audio to it out of your cellphone, pill, or pc. With Dolby Atmos and DTS:X assist, spatial audio is a part of the combination as nicely.
Marshall styling and tuning
The Heston 120 has 11 “strategically positioned” drivers going through in several instructions to unfold sound out, very like different comparable soundbars do. Marshall claims particular results will sound extra “lifelike” whereas deep bass will give each TV audio and music a resonant rumble unto itself.
Not surprisingly, the model references each explosions in an motion movie and the atmosphere of a dwell live performance recording as key examples of what units this new soundbar other than others. Whole peak output is 150 watts, so this factor can get fairly loud.
Marshall additionally ensures that the Heston 120 stays near the household so far as the way it appears. The wrapped leather-based trim and brushed steel panel should not in contrast to its present speaker lineup, together with the steel knobs designed to emulate the look of an old style Marshall amp.
Apparently, the soundbar could have a type of modularity in which you could restore or exchange the fret, finish caps, drivers, and circuit boards to increase its lifespan in case something malfunctions down the road. What’s not clear is how lengthy Marshall intends to supply these substitute elements, particularly if it chooses to exit the TV audio class afterward.
The Heston 120 has an HDMI eARC port and HDMI pass-through for TVs and exterior units, plus traditional RCA analog inputs in case you wish to attempt it with a turntable or legacy parts. There’s even an output port for a subwoofer.
An Ethernet port permits wired entry to the house community, although the soundbar may join through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (with LE Audio and Auracast assist) to stream music wirelessly.
Management by way of Marshall app
The retooled Marshall app permits you to management the Heston 120 in a lot the identical means as its different audio system. Settings and options seem to stay comparable, the place you possibly can handle quantity, regulate EQ settings, and customise sound profiles. The app will even provide room calibration to optimize the Heston 120’s acoustics and sound output for no matter house you place it in.
Exterior of the app, Spotify, Tidal, and Airable web radio will combine into the app and related units as nicely. For instance, the Heston 120 will seem as a streaming possibility within the Spotify and Tidal apps, together with preset buttons you possibly can apply to it within the Marshall app for fast playback. This manner, you can begin a playlist or radio station with out opening any of these three streaming apps. AirPlay 2 and Chromecast connections additionally apply right here, including one other technique to push content material over to the soundbar.
Notably lacking on this structure is voice management. The 2 onboard microphones solely serve the room calibration function, so at the very least for now, you gained’t be controlling good house units or telling the Heston 120 what you wish to hear.
The Marshall Heston 120 goes on sale beginning June 3, 2025 from Marshall.com, for $999.99. It solely is available in black, and whilst you can wall-mount it, the mounts don’t come within the field, so that you’ll have to purchase them individually. Marshall will even launch associated merchandise, known as Heston 60 and Heston Sub 200 at a later unspecified date.
