For the last half-century, Marshall Amps have helped shape the sound of modern music. They've traveled on the Highway to Hell with AC/DC, been on the receiving end of some Monterey grinding from Jimi Hendrix and have even shared the stage with God himself, but now the iconic brand is heading to our living rooms with the launch of the Hanwell. Developed in partnership with Marshall Headphones and Zound Industries, the new active loudspeaker is the first home audio product to sport the Marshall script logo and continues the late Jim Marshall's legacy of loud.
Following its triumphant entry into the world of personal audio with the launch of the Major and Minor Headphones in 2010, Marshall now has its sights on home audio amplification with a new active loudspeaker named after the Father of Loud's very first shop in London. Whereas the awesome Marshall Fridge from earlier this year may have looked the business, the Hanwell does actually include audio amplification technology.
Inside the stylish black vinyl (Tolex)-covered wooden cabinet sit a 100W Class-D amplifier, dual 6-inch long-throw woofers and bass porting to watch over low end output, and two ferrofluid-cooled hi-fi tweeters to take care of the higher frequencies. Users plug an audio device into the top of the Hanwell via the 3.5 mm jacks on the supplied double-ended guitar-like coil cord. The upper face features a brushed brass metal plate that's home to classic control dials for volume, bass and treble (which only go up to 10, in case you're wondering), a source audio input jack, a retro analog power switch and a red power status light.
The Hanwell borrows the gold logo and the fret cloth on the front from the company's vintage amps. There's also a splash of gold piping to remind us that Marshall is celebrating its 50th year in the business, and each unit will be branded with a numbered anniversary edition badge.
Although it may look like a guitar amp, it isn't. The designers state emphatically that this unit should not be used with guitars, but it has been designed to bring the trademark Marshall tone to home audio.
Zound Industries told us that more information will be revealed closer to the release date, which is currently pegged for some time in November for an, as yet, undisclosed price.
Source: Marshall Headphones