Audio review
Marshall Stanmore III Review: Bass and Treble, With a Hole Between
Three sources praise the low end and the sparkle. All three also find the midrange thin, and one lab scored it below the model it replaced.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Marshall
Marshall Stanmore III
Good · researched from 3 sources
A beautiful object that makes a big, bassy, sparkling noise and does not do voices especially well. Buy it for a turntable and a room, not for streaming or for anything where the singer matters most.
- Buy if
- Turntables and analogue sources, on the RCA and aux inputs · Filling a large room, on a measured 94.3 dBA · Anyone who wants physical tone controls rather than an app
- Skip if
- Vocal-led music, on three sources' midrange findings · Lossless streaming, since there is no WiFi · Anyone expecting stereo width from a single cabinet
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
The agreement
DXOMARK: insufficient midrange, compromising vocal clarity.
Stereo Guide: limited true stereo separation, with a mono midrange from a single 5 inch driver.
Apple Insider: stereo separation nearly imperceptible.
Three sources, three ways of describing the same thing. The Stanmore III has two tweeters spreading the top end and one bass driver handling everything below the crossover, which includes most of a human voice.
The result is a speaker that sounds enormous on electronic music and puts the singer further back than you would like.
And the disagreement
Stereo Guide scored it 86 percent, praising mature sound and formidable bass.
DXOMARK scored it 134 out of 200, placed it eighteenth in their global rankings, and concluded it underperforms the Stanmore II it replaced.
Their reasoning is specific: bass distortion on transients, compression pumping during loud playback, and higher Bluetooth latency than the previous generation, on top of the midrange.
Both were listening to the same speaker. One weighted the excitement, the other weighted the artefacts.
What the bass actually does
80 watts total, with 50 of them driving a 5 inch woofer through a bass-reflex port, reaching a claimed 45 Hz against the Stanmore II's 50.
Stereo Guide calls it rich, differentiated and powerful, and impressive for the size class. Apple Insider found the low end stayed controlled even at volume and compared it favourably against a first-generation HomePod.
DXOMARK's qualification is the one to hold onto: bass precision and punch are highly volume-dependent, which is a polite way of saying it tightens up when you turn it down.
Loud, measured
DXOMARK at maximum: 94.3 dBA on correlated pink noise, 91.6 on uncorrelated, 89.9 on hip-hop, 82.7 on classical.
Apple Insider filled a room with high ceilings.
This is a mains-powered box, not a portable, and it behaves like one.
Bluetooth only, at this price
No WiFi. No lossless streaming, no multi-room, no AirPlay.
Apple Insider raises it as the main criticism and it is a fair one, because the Sonos Era 100 elsewhere in this catalogue costs less and does all of it.
What the Stanmore has instead is RCA and 3.5 mm inputs, with the aux on top, which makes it an unusually good partner for a turntable. Apple Insider's closing recommendation is exactly that: buy it for a record player rather than as a wireless speaker.
The knobs are the best part
Volume, bass and treble, in brass, on the front. Stereo Guide calls the scheme impressively intuitive for the class.
Apple Insider is scathing about the app by comparison: basic bass and treble control, placement settings, no nuanced equalisation, and advertising for other Marshall products.
DXOMARK's one gripe with the hardware is worth knowing: the first few volume steps jump steeply, so setting it quiet enough for background listening is fiddlier than it should be.
How it scored
The overall 7.5 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Sound quality
DXOMARK scored timbre 137 of 152 while identifying insufficient midrange that compromises vocal clarity. Stereo Guide praises rich powerful bass and finds the treble snotty at high volume.
Value
Stereo Guide scored it 86 percent. DXOMARK placed it 134 out of 200, eighteenth in their global rankings, and says it underperforms its own predecessor.
Build quality
A 4.25 kg cabinet with a fretcloth grille and brass knobs. Apple Insider calls the styling beautiful and the power switch satisfying.
Ease of use
Three physical knobs for volume, bass and treble, which Stereo Guide calls impressively intuitive for the class. DXOMARK criticises steep jumps in the first few volume steps.
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX, plus 3.5 mm and RCA inputs, and no WiFi at all. Apple Insider says that rules out lossless streaming at this price.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- DXOMARK measured 94.3 dBA of maximum output on pink noise
- Stereo Guide praises rich, differentiated and powerful bass extending to a claimed 45 Hz
- 80 W total, with 50 W driving the bass and dual amplifiers for the tweeters
- Three brass knobs for volume, bass and treble that work without the app
- RCA and 3.5 mm inputs, which Apple Insider says suit a turntable
- Apple Insider found it filled a room with high ceilings while keeping the low end controlled
What we didn’t
- All three sources find the midrange weak, and DXOMARK says it compromises vocal clarity
- DXOMARK scored it 134 out of 200 and says it underperforms the Stanmore II
- No WiFi, so no lossless streaming, which Apple Insider raises at this price
- Apple Insider and Stereo Guide both find stereo separation nearly imperceptible
- DXOMARK reports bass distortion on transients and compression pumping when loud
- Apple Insider calls the app disappointing, offering little beyond bass and treble
Specifications
| Power | 80 W total, with 50 W for the bass driver per Stereo Guide |
|---|---|
| Drivers | Two tweeters and one 5 inch bass driver in a two-way crossover |
| Bass extension | 45 Hz claimed |
| Maximum output | 94.3 dBA on correlated pink noise per DXOMARK |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX, 3.5 mm and RCA inputs; no WiFi |
| Dimensions | 35 x 20.3 x 19 cm per Stereo Guide |
| Weight | 4.25 kg |
| Controls | Power toggle plus volume, bass and treble knobs |
| DXOMARK score | 134 out of 200, eighteenth globally |
| Power source | Mains only; no battery |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
3
sources reviewed
DXOMARK is the only source publishing a structured measurement protocol, and supplies the sub-scores, the maximum sound pressure figures across four content types, the artefact findings and the comparison against the Stanmore II, scoring it 134 out of 200. Stereo Guide supplies the amplifier and driver configuration, the dimensions and weight, the connectivity list and the assessment of the controls, scoring 86 percent. Apple Insider supplies the listening impressions, the app criticism and the observation about stereo separation. The three broadly agree about the midrange and disagree about whether the overall result is impressive, and both positions are reported.
What we read
Common questions
What is wrong with the midrange on the Marshall Stanmore III?
Is it better than the Stanmore II?
How loud does it go?
Why is there no WiFi?
Are the knobs worth anything?
The bottom line on the Marshall Stanmore III
A beautiful object that makes a big, bassy, sparkling noise and does not do voices especially well. Buy it for a turntable and a room, not for streaming or for anything where the singer matters most.
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