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What’s interesting about this jump in endurance is that it’s disproportionate to battery capacity. The Kilburn II comes with a 5,200 mAh cell, while the new model is only 5% larger: 5,500 mAh. Clearly some significant efficiencies have been gained. In fact, Marshall is so confident in the Kilburn III’s power reserves that it now lets you charge your devices from the speaker’s USB-C port.
A word of warning: the direction of the charge depends on the Kilburn state. When the speaker is turned on, charge flows out to phones and other accessories. However, when the power is cut off, the amplifier will draw power from it. The Kilburn won’t automatically turn off when you plug in a USB device, but if you turn it off manually (or connect a device while it’s turned off), it will drain your phone instead of charging.
Marshall App via Simon Cohen
To help extend battery life, you can enable up to three saving modes in the Marshall app: set the maximum charge to 90%, set the charging speed in hot and cold conditions, and limit the charging speed when plugged in. When the battery eventually dies, the access door at the bottom of the cabinet makes it easy to replace. Previously, you had to completely disassemble the amplifier.
Unfortunately, Marshall doesn’t include a 30W USB-C PD power adapter, which you’ll need to quickly charge the Kilburn (20 minutes provides about 8 additional hours of playback time) or to fully recharge the speaker (about 3 hours). This is probably because Marshall doesn’t want you to use such a powerful charger as your main power source, and actually warns you against using it in an application.
However, less powerful chargers will slow down the process considerably; A typical 5W charger may take up to 22 hours to fully recharge. The 10-bar LED battery meter on the top panel makes it easy to monitor how things are going, so you can tell when it’s really slow.
Sound quality
This speaker sounds great for its size and price. It won’t rock your house party on its own (it gets decently loud but not so loud as to wake up the neighborhood), but it has a degree of bass resonance that I typically associate with larger units, and decent balance through the frequency range. Distortion is very well controlled; Even with the volume at max, Billie Eilish’s “Bad Man” only hinted that it was too much for the system. I noticed a slight loss of detail at the top of the screen, as well as a slightly harsh display in the highs. This was most evident with strong female songs like Adele’s “Skyfall.”
Marshall App via Simon Cohen
Fortunately, there are plenty of modifications available to create a blend that suits your taste. Within the silver-icon Marshall Bluetooth app (not to be confused with the gold-icon Marshall Wi-Fi app), you’ll find five EQ presets (the default Marshall setting plus four others), as well as the ability to create your own using the five-band equalizer. The “M” button on the Kilburn III’s top plate allows you to switch between Marshall tuning and another preset of your choice.
If those aren’t enough, you can turn on the speaker’s dedicated bass and treble knobs for more range (or just use them on their own).
The Marshall driver arrangement, which places a full-range transducer front and rear, makes it more versatile in terms of placement than traditional front speakers. Marshall’s claim about full, 360-degree sound is accurate: Place the Kilburn III in the middle of your space and there won’t be a bad seat in the house. On the other hand, placing it in a corner or close to a wall will affect the sound, so there are some placement adjustments in the app that can help the speaker compensate to some extent.
Just kind of stereo
Photography: Simon Cohen
The brand’s claim of “stereo” sound should be taken with a grain of salt. The Kilburn III does reproduce both the left and right channels—hence, it’s technically stereo—but you won’t experience true stereo separation. Instead, you can think of it as a single sound source that has a very expansive effect.