Nothing fills me with such warm, fuzzy, caramelized nostalgia for my college days as seeing a full stack of Marshall amps, whether it’s on stage at a live music gig or in a photo of a classic rock god or goddess on stage at the Fillmore or Woodstock or take your pick.
Marshall Amplification has built the landscape of popular music ever since the late 1960s. I drool whenever I hear a signature Marshall tone spitting out electrified guitar signals, and it’s taking all my willpower not to run off at the mouth into full guitar geekdom.
They’ve been pumping out little Bluetooth speakers here and there for a few years now. Why did it take so long for Marshall to move into full-width TV soundbars? No matter. The Heston 120 goes on sale tomorrow, June 3, and you can pre-order it if you just can’t calm your nerves enough to wait.
Heston 120 (opens in a new window)
a natural evolution
Just look at that handsome beast. It’s the spitting image of a Marshall amp, with the maker’s signature black-and-gold look. And that Marshall script in gold right smack dab in the middle of the speaker grill, just as it’s always been on (almost) every Marshall amplifier over the last six decades.
Sonos would have a strong claim as to the most handsome soundbar. The Arc and Arc Ultra really look damn good, especially in person. But with the release of the Heston 120, I think that award for best looker in the soundbar category. People without the faintest clue of Marshall’s rock heritage will notice how good it looks.
Supporting both Dolby Atmos and DTS-X, the Heston 120 packs 11 drivers inside its handsome casing. You can connect it to a TV via either HDMI eARC or HDMI, or you can just connect to devices wirelessly via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
You’ll have the flexibility to listen to television and movies through the Marshall, and then stream music to it from your phone, tablet, or computer. Pre-order the Heston 120 on Marshall’s own site to make sure there’s one waiting for you on launch day, June 3, or just purchase it when it goes live.
There’s no word yet on release dates, but Marshall says the Heston subwoofer and Heston 60 (almost certainly a smaller speaker for creating a surround sound setup) are launching later this year.
Heston 120 (opens in a new window)
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