Marshall Tufton

I just came back from a week of vacation with family and friends at a lake cottage. Except for sleeping, we were outdoors most of the time. One evening we had about 15 people around a bon fire, and it kind of turned into a dance party. So I had a good amount of time to listen to this Marshall Tufton. Also had it out on a boat (fresh water lake), and a little spray didn't hurt anything. First off, this speaker is very high quality built with a real metal grate on the front. The feet are semi soft rubber, and the corners are hard durable plastic of some sort. The volume, bass, & treble knobs are nice quality too, and smooth turning. Just below the base port on the back is a 3.5mm AUX port. Use this with a high quality cable and you'll get slight better sound than bluetooth. The actual weight, weighed on a commercial scale is 10.6 lbs. (4.81kgs) I agree with the guy who talked about this being "over bassed". I either had the bass turned to zero or at one or two, and treble turned up to 8 or 9 all the time. (see picture) Also see my Feb 2023 update with HD streaming vs Spotify. We used it mainly on bluetooth, and depending on production quality of the song, I could make slight adjustments. You can pair two phones at once, and found a partner with different music tastes to trade off playing songs. Worked out great. Experimenting with the speaker up against a wall or out in the open air, I found the treble could be turned down a bit when the midrange speaker behind the cabinet could reflect off the wall, but that also increased the bass a bit since the bass port was reflecting as well. When playing loud out in the open, I found the high end treble clipped a little bit, but not enough to bother a bunch of wine and rum drinkers! I found that plugging in my S22u with a dongle and cable into the AUX, the speaker would not clip quite as much as bluetooth. I plan on getting a good DAC to plug into. The battery is quite impressive. I had my phone volume turned up 90% and the speaker volume on 8 for around 3 hours, and still had 8 out of 10 bars of battery left. It would be really cool if you could put two of these speakers together via a cable. It would be easy for Marshall to add this feature, and they might sell two of these instead of one. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase. Portability vs Sound vs Battery life, it's got them all going on pretty damn well. I really like the simplicity of design and operation. Hope this helps a bit for someone looking to buy one. Edit: 4 months later. Still happy with the Tufton, but found out if you connect a CD player to the AUX on the Tufton, the sound is quite a bit better than Spotify. First I bought one of the cheap portable CD players off Amazon. "HOTT Portable CD player". Used a male to male 3.5mm, and the sound was absolute trash compared to Spotify. Returned that HOTT piece of garbage, and bought the Amazon Basics "3.5mm to 2-Male RCA Adapter Audio Stereo Cable", and hooked it up to my Samsung Blu-Ray player, and into the AUX of the Tufton. The sound is much better with a CD on the Samsung player than Spotify comparing the exact same song, as it should be. Much more balanced sound than Spotify, but don't bother with those cheap chinese portable CD players. They have crap audio circuits in them Update 02-23-2023..... The speaker absolutely wakes up when streaming HD or HiFi. The music through Spotify was dull and way too bassy. Had to turn the base almost all the way down. Spotify is 16bit, Amazon Unlimited is 24bit. The Ultra HD songs streaming from Amazon Unlimited sound full and clear out of this Tufton speaker, and allows the tone controls set to normal positions. The HD streaming from AU, Tidal, or any service with Hi Def, sounds better than a CD and makes this Marshal Tufton rock the way it was intended.

Quick answer if you're reading because you're trying to decide between the Kilburn II and the Tufton: Buy the Tufton if you can afford it. Especially if you can get it on sale for $319 like I did. . . Only $60 more than MSRP of the Kilburn II and the Tufton sounds much better (although the Kilburn II is good in its class). Full review: Before I talk about the sound, which I know is important, a few comments about the other features I like. Why am I putting my comments about sound last? Because, let's face it, if you wanted audiophile quality sound you wouldn't buy a mono speaker. You're looking at this for convenience and portability, so allow me to discuss those first . . . Bluetooth: This unit is super easy to pair the first time and, for subsequent pairings, it's amazing how fast your smartphone will link up with this unit. Almost instantaneous and hassle free. Plus, the multi-pairing with more than one phone DOES work (contrary to some reviews I've read) but the only complaint I have there is the sound will pause when another paired Bluetooth device comes within range. A small inconvenience, but thought I would mention. Otherwise, the unit emits a recognizable yet different tone when pairing and unpairing so you know what's going on. The range is great, I calculate 75 feet outdoors and 50 feet indoors without any issues or dropouts. Battery life: When reading about this unit I dismissed the 20 hour claim, figuring that meant standby and much less when actually playing music. Boy was I pleasantly surprised! I play this thing for hours and hours and I think I've only charged it once. Battery life is phenomenal. Size: Don't be fooled like the pictures. It looks like a Marshall stack amp and therefore I thought it would be huge until I checked the specs. Sure, it's bigger than the Kilburn II but it's not massive and certainly very portable, especially with the comfy leather strap. See my picture of it next to an average sized coffee-table hardcover book. Sound: Okay, finally my comments about the sound. Anybody who has heard it has been amazed. Me, a bit less so, I was an "audiophile" for years until my age caught up to me and my hearing deteriorated somewhat. Compared to other bluetooth speakers it sounds great. The best part, true to the Marshall name, it delivers plenty of bass "punch", even in wide open outdoor areas, especially when played loud. When I say "punch" I don't mean "boomy". My only minor complaint, the sound isn't quite as full when played at lower volumes. This thing just wants to be cranked but, either way, it won't disappoint. Look no futher if you need something to rock out an outdoor setting. At lower to mid volumes, however, the vocals sound a bit distant and the midrange is a tad lacking. Good thing I like my music on the loud side. . . . Wish list: I hope someone from Marshall reads this. . . . If anything, I'd love the capability to pair with another Tufton and have true stereo. If that sounds like too much of an ask, I have a pair of Altec Lansing Baby Boom bluetooth speakers that cost only $30 each that will pair in stereo, that's where I got the idea! They sound awesome despite their tiny size. Yeah, a pair of these wouldn't be cheap but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a second unit if I could pair them. . . . Final comments on the Tufton vs. Kilburn II comparison mentioned earlier. I originally wanted a Kilburn after hearing one at a party so I ordered one. On its own, the Kilburn impressed me. However, through some unexpected circumstance I had a chance to compare it to a Tufton in person. It took only one or two favorite songs to make up my mind. The big difference is the aforementioned bass response. Spend the extra bucks if you can. . . .

Great portable speaker! I am a very big Marshall fan. I own many of their guitar amps. I wanted a somewhat powerful, portable bluetooth speaker for when I'm working on tasks around the house. Sure, I can play with my cell phone speaker, but it isn't really very loud. Nothing Marshall is cheap. Let's get that out of the way. I absolutely feel us consumers are paying for the name, but I also feel it has good quality. The speaker enclosure is pretty heavy, but not like tons. I'm guessing a big speaker magnet. It has the basic controls, volume, treble, and bass, along with a button to wake it from sleep mode, and a battery charge LED graph. I forget the exact battery life, but they do state the maximum life is at 50% volume. I keep mine about 60%. It will easily play for several hours before needing to be recharged. Build construction feels like solid wood, well designed, somewhat heavy, but not insane. I really like the look. Sleek and modern. Very user friendly controls. I don't know what the bluetooth range is, but I have my speaker in the living room, and have walked to the garage and to the driveway, and it still plays. Easily 30 feet. It doesn't go concert level loud, but it still plenty loud given the size. I'm not an audiophile, but I feel the sound quality is very good. Not sure of the frequency response, but all ranges that I expect are definitely there. I also really like the leather handle. It's not cheap or flimsy, it feels like a good quality strap. If you can live with the Marshall price tag, I think you will really like this speaker. It's built well, reasonably light, good battery life, very good sound, and looks great.

I've had this speaker for a few days now and I've been doing a lot of comparisons to the JBL Boombox, another speaker that has served me well for over 2 years. The Tufton blows it out of the water. The bass goes deeper than the JBL (literally- the JBL can't go passed 50Hz, I've gotten tones just under 40Hz with the Tufton) and has powerful bass even at low volume levels. The JBL always needed to be positioned in a corner so the passive radiators would reflect the bass forward instead of to the sides. The Marshall has no such issue. The bass is loud, regardless of where you put it in the room. Some reviewers claim there's "no midrange" on the Tufton... while having the bass and treble nobs set to 5. I think if Marshall had just wrote "bass boost" and "treble boost" at the top, then there wouldn't nearly be as many people complaining about lack of midrange. To be fair, the fact that the second midrange driver is at the back instead of the front does not help the midrange at the front, but putting it up against a wall still helps boost that midrange plus leaving bass and treble at 0. Furthermore, having it in the middle of the room still sounds great if you'll be moving behind it multiple times. I've tested this out while doing chores around the house, and that midrange speaker on the back is subtle, but a big difference maker nonetheless. I just love that I can listen to songs the way I want it with flat EQ across the board on both my phone and on the speaker. If I were to do the same on the Boombox, I'll just hear nothing but midrange at low levels and screaming lower-treble at louder levels - this is an issue I've always had with the JBL that I would compensate for with an EQ that boosts base and lowers treble and mids. Perhaps this speaker was just tailored to me since it fixes every problem I had with the Boombox. Powerful and deeper bass than the Boombox with the ability to boost it even more. I don't need a built in mic and call functionality, nor do I need complete waterproofing. The classic Marshall look and style is sweet and can appear almost artistic with the right lighting on it. No pointless LEDs. A charger that's just a cable, no big brick to carry around. Long battery life even with how much bass this thing can power. A perfect rectangle form factor so I can fit it in the tiniest spaces like under desks and between books on a bookshelf. The ability to boost bass and treble as I've generally liked more V shaped audio signatures. It even sounds great at low levels, something I can't say about the Boombox. It gives me what I want, and I recommend it. I got it on sale for $300, a freaking steal if you ask me.

I have a TON of wireless speakers. I have Bose, Bang, Aiwa, Altec, other Marshalls, etc. This speaker is the best I have. Sound is exceptional. Portability is a feature I really wanted in a speaker this size. And surprisingly, battery power is really good. I have left it unplugged for more than a couple weeks with limited play time and the charge has not depleted. I listened to it for 6 straight hours at about 75% volume and it kept on going. The aspect that makes this the "next generation," of Marshalls and bigger portable speakers is its multi-directional sound. With a lot of larger speakers, the sound projects outward and leaving poor quality sound at the sides. This speaker has really improved this over the last generation. Granted, it does not sound good while you are standing behind it, but it's directional range is impressive. One of the Bose I have does 360 degree sound which is a really cool feature but the sound quality and punch of that Bose is not as good as the Tufton. Volume wise, this portable speaker has punch. It will fill my shop with sound and you don't lose sound quality at higher volumes. It competes with the Woburn which is a non-portable speaker. Where does this speaker fit as far as use? This is probably not ideal for your kitchen while you are cooking. It is just too much speaker. But placing it in your shop, outside at the fire pit, at the lake, at a party...it's ideal. I have a 3K square foot shop and it fills it with rich sound. The price on this speaker is high. I managed to get mine on sale here on Amazon and saved quite a bit off of the $399 price. To be honest, at that price point you have a lot of speakers to choose from. But if what you want is a great sounding portable speaker with room filling sound and great battery life, I think it is worth dropping the dough.

I love this speaker, let’s just get that out of the way. Form factor- size, weight, design aesthetic- all perfect. The volume and bass/treble knobs feel solid, and contrary to some opinions, I love the lack of voice control, dual pairing, and all the other add-ons that tend to clutter modern electronics. The bluetooth pairing is painless, and tho I have yet to test the battery life, other reviews lead me to believe it’s as advertised. This is perfection, almost... Some reviews point to the lack of midrange. I get that, but this is what I’m figuring out: this speaker absolutely kills when it comes to bass and volume, with clear, beautiful sound produced from a relatively pint-sized portable speaker. However, how the music is recorded makes or breaks this speaker, and I don’t think it has anything to do with whether it is rock, metal, rap, or pop. It doesn’t matter if the music is bass-heavy, or if the vocalist is a tenor or baritone; it’s all about the production and recording. I’ve been playing all of my favorite albums, from Motorhead and Black Sabbath to Erykah Badu and Sia, from the Beatles to The Mamas and The Papas, and I can say definitively some albums sound absolutely fantastic, while others sound bass-heavy with washed midrange. And, oddly, I had to crank the bass up for Motorhead- go figure. Here is my conclusion: this speaker was purpose-built for a specific sound. If I was a sound engineer I might be able to explain it technically, and if I was a musician I might just say I love it or I hate it, depending on what sound I was going for. But I am neither, I am simply a consumer of music in love with modern digital audio tech. This speaker absolutely rules in almost every area, and all it needs is the ability to fiddle the knobs to allow for more midrange when a recording or a listening ear demands it.

Quality sound is very important to me so I was willing to spend the extra dough. I own a Sony XB-32 which was a little over $100 and really wanted something more. I did a lot of research and came across this beefy little chonker. I bought it "like-new" from the Amazon Warehouse for $$280. Is it three times more speaker than my Sony? Oh yes it is! Sound quality is truly exceptional, and the bottom end is full and punchy. In my barn I have a $100 8" Polk subwoofer hooked up to an Onkyo receiver and this thing outperforms it easily. High end is great, but as other reviewers have said it it's mid range performance does not match the quality of the top and bottom end. Not that's it's terrible, but an discerning ear will notice. Don't let that be a deal breaker for you though because overall this thing will rock your socks off. It does get nice and loud, especially indoors, but don't expect to run the whole outdoor block party from one of these. The good news is that even at top volume it is virtually distortion free. The build quality seems top notch and is what I would expect from a high end speaker. The front grill is very firm and seems very protective in case you were wondering. The knobs have a very nice (not cheap) feel. You turn it on by turning up the volume knob and it has a very satisfying click when you do it. The battery life is incredible so far as a I can tell. I have used it for a few hours unplugged and the battery read out (which is a nice addition) still reads at 85%. This is a no frills speaker as far as applications or voice assistant stuff, but in my case this is exactly what I wanted. I LOVE the carry strap and the small footprint. Trust me, you want this speaker.

I obsessed over this speaker choice. Every internet video, in store test, and review I could find... I listened to all the competitive Sony speakers, JBL extreme 2, Boombox, ion audio, linked Bose revolve+’s, I even purchased (and sent back) a Soundboks 2 and was fortunate enough to hear a sample from the Devialet Phantom. I put a large priority on smooth clean deep bass. To me it’s the salt of music. If the bass in right it brings out the best in all the other frequencies. Given the price, nothing is better than the Tufton. The sound quality at what I consider normal listening volume, (just loud enough to require a slight vocal increase when talking) is in the ballpark of the Phantom for 1/10th the price (as I got the Tufton on sale for $299). Absolute bass amount is the same or better than the Boombox but it goes deeper and is cleaner on the Tufton. Mid range and highs are where it walks away from JBL. Sony is not even close for overall sound quality. Linked Boses have great stereo separation but fall short on bass definition and high end clarity. They also cost twice as much. The Tufton has built in stereo simulation which I evaluated by switching from mono to stereo on my phone and it for sure makes an impact. It’s not close to actually having two separate speakers like the Bose, but it’s better than nothing and much more than a gimmick. The Soundboks 2 was a disappointment. I literately listened to it for 5 minutes and put it back in the box. Sure it gets REALLY loud and sounds great at high volume but anything at normal listening volume completely lacks bass response and the highs are tinny. If you are throwing an outdoor techno party for 100 people the Soundboks is for you, otherwise it’s not. The Tufton sounds great out of the box after dialing the bass and treble to your liking, but it really shines with an external EQ such as the one in Spotify on my iPhone. My 8 year old son’s one word review was “smooth” my wife’s was “crisp” my 10 year old son said he didn’t like it because he was afraid things were going to fall off the walls. Although a little dramatic, it is a good representation of the amount and quality of sound from the package. As many have said the biggest drawback is that you can’t link 2 Tuftons and play in true stereo. I would buy another one today if I could. 100% satisfied otherwise!

It’s a pleasure. Ultimate!

This speaker has punch, if you love deep bass, crisp highs, and an overall scooped EQ, this is the speaker for you. Its a bit bulky but it fits inside my locker at work just perfect. The design is solid, its a Marshall. The best points about this speaker are: Bass quality, battery life, rugged housing, just one slim charging cord, and did I say BASS?!

Buena calidad de sonido

This speaker is powerful and sounds so nice. It’s also visually stunning and the battery lasts for a loong time. I ordered used from Amazon Warehouse Deals and they said < 5% damage on top and < 5% damage on front and honestly we couldn’t find any damage on the speaker itself. We could find damage that matched this description on the outside of the box? Either way - speaker is in perfect condition and we got a bit of a discount!

Llevo tres años usando esta bocina, anteriormente tuve una Bose pero definitivamente esta ha sido una magnífica inversión. El sonido es extraordinario! La pila, funciona de maravilla, te dura dos días (o más) sin problemas usándola a más de medio volumen. La característica de este equipo son sus flamantes bajos, te recomiendo poner tu bocina en una esquina para que resalte el poder de esos bajos. Te conectas vía Bluetooth, subes el volumen a la bocina y modulas el volumen por tu dispositivo sin problema. Sí eres apasionado de la música con calidad, esta bocina te dará un excelente sonido para disfrutarla. Es cara, pero haz la inversión cuando encuentres una buena oferta, no te arrepentirás.