The Marshall Acton III is a Bluetooth speaker with the same look Marshall has used on guitar amps since the 1960s. Textured vinyl wraps the body, the script logo runs across the front grille, and three brass knobs handle bass, treble, and volume on top of the unit. Inside, 60 watts of Class D amplification powers a single woofer and two outward-firing tweeters. Bluetooth 5.2 connects to your phone, with a 3.5mm AUX input for wired sources.
A Bluetooth speaker you’ll love cranking to the max
Marshall tuned the Acton III for a full, warm sound you’d expect from a guitar amp. The 30-watt woofer handles bass that you can hear and feel in a medium-sized room, while the two 15-watt tweeters take care of the highs without going harsh on vocals. Outward-angled tweeters spread the stereo image wider than a single-box speaker normally manages, so the sound surrounds you instead of beaming directly at one spot. Dynamic Loudness keeps everything balanced, whether you’re at low background levels or pushing the speaker harder.
Connecting your phone takes about ten seconds. Hold the Bluetooth button on top, find the speaker in your phone’s Bluetooth menu, and you’re streaming. If you’ve got a turntable or CD player you’d rather plug in directly, the 3.5mm AUX port on top of the speaker handles wired sources. There’s no WiFi, no AirPlay, and no Google Cast on the Acton III. The trade-off is a speaker that won’t randomly drop the connection or need a firmware update before you can play music.
The brass knobs on top are the real centerpiece of the Acton III. Each one is grooved for grip and lit with a soft red LED that glows just enough to see in the dark. You can adjust the bass, treble, and volume directly without picking up your phone or opening an app. A small Marshall script logo, the woven front grille, and the heavy textured exterior all add to the guitar-amp aesthetic that the Acton III is named after.
You don’t need the Marshall Bluetooth app to use the speaker. The bass and treble knobs on top handle the basic EQ adjustments. However, the app on your phone unlocks a few extras. Placement Compensation adjusts the audio when the speaker is near a wall or in a corner where reflections affect the sound. Over-the-air firmware updates also keep the Bluetooth software up to date as Marshall rolls out future LE Audio features. Night Mode reduces volume spikes for late-night listening.
Marshall built the Acton III to look like a guitar amp and sound like a speaker that takes music seriously. At $180, down from $300, the Acton III gets close to the price of a basic Bluetooth speaker, without the Marshall name or 60W output. If you’ve been considering a Marshall speaker or want a home Bluetooth speaker that’s not a black plastic puck, the discount makes the upgrade easier to afford.
