I've tested more than 30 Bluetooth speakers, but this model surprised me for one key reason — and it's not from Bose or JBL

A speaker that's big on style as well as substance

31 Dec 2025, 14:30 · TechRadar

Opinion By Harry Padoan published 31 December 2025

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As someone who’s tested a whole lot of Bluetooth speakers – more than 30, to be exact – my standards are pretty high for every model that I get my hands on. And recently, a speaker landed on my desk that really impressed me – but not due to a gimmick or novelty feature.

Instead, I was blown away by its performance – something I’ll get into the specifics of later on. But essentially, the model wowed me with its nuanced and expansive approach to replicating my favorite tunes, especially considering its moderate mid-sized form.

What speaker am I talking about? None other than the Marshall Middleton II – one of the audio specialist’s 2025 releases. It's a fairly premium model that certainly competes with some of the best Bluetooth speakers that I’ve tested – sonically speaking, at least – here’s why.

Bumpin’ that stereo

(Image credit: Future)

As soon as I started playing tunes on the Middleton II, I was instantly struck by one thing – its spectacular stereo sound. A lot of smaller models will downmix your music to mono or require a second speaker, which acts as a stereo partner. And in all honesty, many rivals that do offer stereo sound aren’t always the most convincing – we even found this with the Sonos Move 2.

But the Middleton II does exceptionally well as a relatively small standalone stereo speaker. The sense of left and right channel separation is, simply put, astonishingly good.

When listening to Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix – a man who loved to play creatively with stereo imaging – the definition of individual instruments was sublime. Vocals on the left and percussion on the right were both perfectly positioned, meaning I was treated to a deliciously layered listen.

What makes this even better is that the audio sounds awesome from every angle imaginable. That’s thanks to the inclusion of Marshall’s 360-degree ‘true’ stereophonic sound.

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