Pros: unique look, good sound for many formats of listening and recording
Cons: one of the gold Marshall logos fell off
With all the amplifiers and practice devices out there it’s not surprising that guitarists are paying a bit more attention to headphones than in the past. While ear buds are smaller, there are times when a little piece of plastic in the ear canal can be a pain in the neck, and over-the-ear headphones can look like something a NASA ground control crew would have worn in the 1960s. So the happy medium is the “on ear” style, and Marshall Amplification has thrown their hat into the ring with their Marshall Major headphones.
They share a bit of the Marshall Amplifier aesthetics: the famous Marshall script, gold appointments, tolex textures, and the drivers seem to have a similar grille cloth as their speaker cabinets. No problem with adjustability, and they can fold up into the headband a bit for easy storage and portability. The cord is a decent length, and seems on par quality wise. The 1/8″ connector also has a knurled barrel, and a spring support, which is great, but with the abuse a lot of headphones go through, a detachable cord would have been a nice option.
Sound wise, they’re nice. For a passive set of headphones, they are pretty powerful sounding. You might want to re-configure your EQ a bit to really optimize them. I found they had a bit more high end than similar headphones, but adjusting the EQ solved it.
For recording, they’re a lot better than what some high end studios have in their arsenal, in both sound and comfort. Wearing them for a long period of time wasn’t a big deal at all. Considering that they are “on ear,” they still had a good seal, and blocked outside noise just as well as some “over the ear” models. Using them with the headphone jack on an amplifier had good results as well. Listening to MP3s was not an issue, either.
The only downside was one of the small gold Marshall logos fell off after a week or so of use; it didn’t affect the function or sound, but on a new item it’s definitely a negative. Apparently the glue holding it in place wasn’t that strong.
For the price they’re a good deal, and overall if you’re looking for a set of headphones that work well with your amp, on-the-go recording, or MP3 player, these will do the trick. Plus, they’ll let anyone who sees you wearing them know that you’re a guitar player!