Design and features:This model has touch controls for play/pause, track skip/receive/end calls and activate ANC, Volume control, EQ, Voice assistant and Spotify TAP. Either earpiece can be used alone for one ear monitoring of Bluetooth streamed audio and telephone communications. Charging/carrying case has built-in rechargeable battery that the manufacturer claims can be used to recharge the earphone batteries for an additional 24 hrs. of playtime for a total of 30 hrs with A.N.C on or an additional 34 hrs. of listening time for a total of 43 hrs. with ANC off. Quick charge feature gives 1 hour of playtime from a 15 minute charge. Can be recharged via USB cable or optional wireless compatible charging devices. Manufacturer claims water resistance IPX5 for earbuds and IPX4 for case. Has automatic pause feature - pauses audio when either earphone is taken out of an ear; audio automatically restarts when the earphone is placed back in the ear. Has power on/off and Bluetooth connect/disconnect alert tones. The free Marshall Bluetooth app download for Apple and Android mobile devices can be used to check earphone battery level, change between preset and custom EQ settings, customize touch control settings and update firmware. Bluetooth connected Apple mobile devices using iOS Version 5 and above will show the battery level.
Sound quality:We found the MOTIF II A.N.C delivers sound quality that falls in the very good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks and excellent active noise reduction. With the Marshall Bluetooth app set at the Original Marshall Sound setting (as received state of the headphone) the bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes deep, but is a somewhat prominent and a bit boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is a bit hazy, grainy and congested (think sonic traffic jam) and the lower midrange lacks a bit of body. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is extended but is a bit prominent, sizzly (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer have a sound reminiscent of bacon frying) and smeared. The sound has a weak sense of liveliness, it is somewhat closed (sound-wise it's fairly obvious you have something plugging your ears) and does a decent job of recovering room ambience in the upper midrange, but so-so elsewhere. Mixed character - Warm bass, and coolish treble. The overall sound can be summarized as somewhat bassy and a bit grainy, sizzly and smeared. The tone settings of the app do have a noticeable effect on the sound of these headphones. Noise Canceling: Excellent noise reduction across the entire frequency range with the low frequencies reduced the most. Orientation changes the noise reduction characteristic - when the noise is coming from the front more high-frequency noise can be heard. The noise canceling feature does not produce any background noise that can be heard when there is no audio program to drown it out. A faint rushing sound can be heard when there is no audio program to drown it out.
Comfort and Fit:As typical of in-ear models they produce a sense of pressure in the ear canal opening that might be uncomfortable for some.
Small
Users with small ear bowls might find that the earphone body feels bulky in their ear bowl, but that they will stay in place during casual use and are very stable even with vigorous head movement.
Medium
Users with medium ear bowls will probably find that they stay in place with no problem, and that they are very stable even with vigorous head movement.
Large
Users with large ear bowls will probably find that they stay in place with no problem, and that they are stable even with vigorous head movement.
Incidental contact with the touch controls can cause unintentional playing or pausing.
Hitting the stem that hangs out of the ear can knock an earphone loose and cause it to fall out of the ear.
