I've been putting off getting a new speaker for years now. I'm about to move to a new flat, so I thought this could be a great option to finally work it out.
I want my new speaker to sound good and sufficiently loud, but I also want it to be a nice looking piece in my living space, rather than just a metal box.
I always loved the characteristic 60's Rock 'N Roll theme hipster design of Marshall speakers, so I started to dig a little deeper with them.
Even though the Acton II may be loud enough for your kitchen (or a smaller bedroom at best), compared to Stanmore II; you'd still get more distortion at lower loudness levels with it, so I'd almost always get the latter!
Later I found out that they have two speakers in their line-up that responds perfect to my needs: Stanmore II and Acton II.
...but the information provided in this post applies to each and all models of both products: Bluetooth, voice & multi-room.
Compared to Acton II, does Stanmore II worth the price increase (MSRP: 350 vs 250 USD)? Or would Acton II be enough for a regular guy like me?
I don't have any idea about these technical specs - Watts, tweeters, woofers, frequency etc. I don't know what to pay attention to either.
So I asked some experts to translate them to English. In addition to that, I took their advice as well, and shared all my findings in this post.
Quick Summary
Marshall speakers are far from being cheap, so I'd strongly recommend you to read this short post entirely. But if you need a short answer for some reason, here it is:
I decided to get the Stanmore II Bluetooth. Because...
Even though the Acton II may be loud enough for your kitchen (or a smaller bedroom at best), compared to Stanmore II, you would still get more distortion at lower loudness levels with it, so I'd get the latter. For living spaces larger than, say, 220 square feet (20 square meters); I'd absolutely recommend the Stanmore II.
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.
Anyways...
Loudness
Size of Acton II is small. To the point that at first sight, it was almost going to make the experts I was talking to think that it's a portable speaker.
I think one of the reasons for that is Marshall's portable speaker Kilburn II. It's just as large as the Acton II.
Stanmore II, on the other hand, is twice as big as the Acton II, and is more of a small shelf speaker.
Smaller size of Acton II forces downsizing the amplifiers as well. This is why Acton II is equipped with 30 W woofer and the Stanmore II with 50 W woofer.
The two tweeters at the ceiling are identical (15 Watts) in both speakers.
Difference in the loudness department, on the other hand, doesn't seem as much: 101 vs 98 dB.
Unless you're an audio expert, technical specs might have confused you here. It certainly did confuse me.
Because I thought 50 W vs 30 W woofer difference would cause a bigger gap in loudness, but then I've learned something:
The decibel scale isn't linear, but logarithmic.
Which means that the difference between 101 vs 98 dB is MUCH more than the difference between, say, 83 vs 80 dB.
101 dB is almost 1.5 times as much as the 98 dB!
Because it's not only difficult to measure, but also fails to deliver what a casual customer cares the most about.
So it might not be an efficient indicator of loudness most of the time.
But, in our case, since the inner amplifiers are stacked similarly, it isn't misleading.
So what does this tell us?
It tells us that there will be a significant difference in loudness between the Acton II and Stanmore II.
Now... Assuming average wall insluation, sound proofing and room acoustics... and assuming you're not looking for drunk party level loud but still fairly loud...
Acton II would be able to fill the bill for living spaces up to, say, 160 square feet (15 square meters). Anything larger and I'd recommend the Stanmore II.
Also, Marshall speakers don't propagate sound 360 degrees (unlike Beoplay M5, for example). So the distance from the speakers is also a primary factor here. I'll assume it's either corner or wall placed. If not, shift these values accordingly.
But... loudness isn't the only advantage you get from a stronger amplifier.
Which brings me to my next point...
Sound quality
I think this is at least just as important as loudness.
If you're going to be listening to your speakers in an apartment flat without significant sound proofing, it might be even more important than the loudness.
The winner doesn't change here - it's Stanmore II. And the reason is the same: More powerful woofer.
Don't get me wrong. Acton II still sounds pretty good. Compared to other less capable speakers such as the Kilburn II, it sounds noticeably better.
However, Stanmore II, on the other hand, delivers clearer sound than the Acton II.
It's more distortion free at both high and low volume levels.
Qualcomm aptX impact
Qualcomm aptX is the latest and greatest Bluetooth format.
It basically compresses the digital audio and then decompresses it upon arriving the source. In the end, it minimizes the quality loss. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AptX
Stanmore II is equipped with the this latest Bluetooth format whereas the Acton II isn't.
RCA Input
Another difference is the availability of the RCA input:
I had no idea what this connection is and whether I would want to have it or not. So I decided to ask about this to a Customer Rep and here's what they said:
Canberk: Hi, do I need RCA input
Pam: Hello, thanks for writing in. I am not sure - RCA is a wired input, usually used with TVs and turntables.
Canberk: Acton II Bluetooth doesn't have an RCA input, right? Whereas the Stanmore II Bluetooth does have it?
Pam: That is correct, yes
Canberk: So I can't connect an Acton II to a TV. No wire connection at all?
Pam: There is an auxiliary connection, but not RCA. You would need to confirm what connection options your TV offers, to know for sure.
Canberk: Does RCA connection have a wider range of use than the AUX? Generally speaking, is RCA used more often than the AUX out in the market?
Pam: I don't believe so, no
Canberk: But I guess what you're saying is that some devices out there might only offer RCA connection and not an AUX connection?
Pam: Yes, that can be true for certain devices, like turntables
Canberk: What about most of the recent TV's?
Pam: They all differ in what they offer, so I am not able to give a blanket statement, unfortunately.
Canberk: OK - thank you !
Even if RCA wasn't another deal on the table when deciding between Acton and Stanmore, I'd still get the Stanmore...
So this was just something extra for me. I was going to get the Stanmore II anyway.
Durability
Before you buy go ahead and pull the trigger on one of these speakers, I'd recommend you to consider durability as well.
If you won't be gentle to these speakers, don't get them. Their coverage and overall structure aren't made to stand against strikes and scratches. It seems like it's almost possible to peel the surface with my bare fingertips.
These 60's rock and roll hipster speakers are made to be an elegant and functional piece of your authentically furnished home, boutique store or a music studio, etc.
You can't toss them around or throw them into the back of your pick-up truck and forget about them.
You get the picture. Their outer shell is vulnerable.
Video reviews
Here are some good reviews that helped me:
Marshall Acton II Bluetooth Review
Marshall Stanmore II Review