If you've so much as picked up an electric guitar in the past few decades then you're more than likely familiar with the Marshall Amps brand. You might not be quite so aware of the company's line of stereo speakers, developed in partnership with Marshall Headphones. The Kilburn is the latest product to bring the brand's timeless looks into the home audio arena, offering a compact, wire-free listening experience with a lengthy (claimed) battery life.
The new entry joins the company's Stanmore speaker – the followup to 2012's Hanwell model – and the Woburn and Acton that we checked out in Berlin last year. The Kilburn is similar to the Acton, but has more of a focus on portability. Playing at half volume, it's rated for 20 hours on a single charge.
Connecting to the new active speaker can also be a cable-free experience, with built in Bluetooth 4.0 alongside a standard 3.5 mm input. Inside, there's a 4-inch woofer alongside a pair of three quarter-inch tweeters and three amps (one 15W and two 5W).
Like its bigger brothers, the Kilburn offers classic Marshall looks, with analog knobs for fine tuning the sound. This being a portable device, it includes a leather strap that draws inspiration from the guitar strap. The speaker measures 242 x 140 mm (9.5 x 5.5 in) and weighs in at a hefty 3 kg (6.6 lbs).
The Kilburn will be available in a choice of black and cream, launching worldwide in June 2015. It's priced at US$300.
Source: Marshall
