I've loved music for as long as I can remember. When I was 10 years old, I told my parents I wanted to learn the guitar — and learn the guitar I did. I wanted to be like Billie Joe Armstrong.
But I am, by no means, a pro guitarist, and I play very casually for myself (although I did used to play in my high school band). I play the bass too, and owning a bass means I need an amplifier because there's no way to use it without one. But I've always wished I had an amp and high-quality speaker all in one so that I could listen to my favorite tunes when I wasn't playing the guitar — and looks like that wish has come true in the form of the Marshall Bromley 750.
The Bromley 750 is Marshall's first-ever party speaker, and when I listened to it for the first time, all I could think to myself was, "Boy, what a debut." With more wired and wireless connectivity options than you could ask for, long battery life, an immersive lighting system, and almighty bass, it doesn't give you much to complain about. But that's not even the best part: it doubles as a guitar amp... as well as a karaoke machine! It's the speaker I've been waiting for.
Rock 'n' roll, mesmerizing design
As someone who reviews tech for a living and has tested her fair share of audio gear, I have come across every type of speaker: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Marshall Bromley 750 belongs to a secret fourth category: the outstanding. I've been a fan of Marshall's styling for a long time, and I've always found the British company's historic guitar amps simply beautiful, and the Bromley 750 borrows the same, classic, premium styling.
The Bromley 750 looks more like a guitar amp than a speaker, with its body and dials sporting a black and brass matte finish, and it looks downright stunning. The grilles that cover the front, top, side and rear woofers and tweeters are well built, and the golden Marshall branding looks great.
I have come across every type of speaker: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Marshall Bromley 750 belongs to a secret fourth category: the outstanding.
What I love most about the Bromley 750, though, is the integrated stage lighting located behind the front grille. It's customizable (three modes) via the button above the grille, and one of the modes makes the lighting react to the music you're playing. Not only does it work well and makes you feel like you're at a gig, but it's also classy and not garish, like RGB lighting on some speakers.
I use the Marshall Monitor III ANC headphones every day, and one thing I love about the cans' design is the clickable control dial which resembles an electric guitar's input jack. The Bromley 750 shares a similar design philosophy: every button and dial resembles something you'd find on either a guitar or an amplifier. It's oh-so-satisfying to turn the dials or feel the lovely tactile feedback when pressing its buttons.
And it sounds even better than it looks
I could wax poetic about the Marshall Bromley 750's design but then we'd be here for days, so I'll talk about something that's even better than its looks: the sound quality. I don't say this often, but the Bromley 750's sound profile is flawless, so much so that I was actively looking for flaws and yet, I found none.
The Bromley 750's sound profile and equalizer are customizable via the bass, treble and Sound Character (Dynamic to Loud) dials, so you can tailor it to your listening style. When the Sound Character dial is turned all the way up to Loud and the volume is at its highest, the speaker gets very loud, making it perfect for gatherings and DJ sets. It sounds fantastic outdoors as well as indoors, as I tested it in both environments.
With its 500W power output, the bass sounds meaty yet not booming, and mids and highs sound well-balanced, while True Stereophonic 360° sound ensures you hear the same audio regardless of the listening angle. I truly appreciated hearing every note Roger Waters plucked on his bass in Pink Floyd's 'Money,' and being able to hear the slot machines going off at the beginning of the track around me felt extremely immersive.
Even though the bass is loud and powerful, it doesn't overpower other instruments or vocals. For instance, in 'Up From the Bottom' by Linkin Park, which is a nu-metal track with guitar riffs and heavy drums, all the instruments as well as Emily Armstrong's vocals sounded melodious. The Bromley 750 is perfect for thumping electropop too, so fans of the likes of Charli xcx, Daft Punk and Chvrches will be pleased with its performance.
Being able to change the Sound Character on a scale of Dynamic and Loud is advantageous too. Turn the dial to Dynamic and you get refined, detailed vocals with plenty of fidelity (in the absence of LDAC or aptX support). Go to the opposite end of the spectrum and you've got solid low-end impact that shakes the floor.
A multi-purpose, versatile beast
The Marshall Bromley 750 isn't like any ol' regular speaker. It's a party speaker, after all, and its wide array of connectivity options will keep everyone satisfied. In terms of wireless connectivity, you get Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC and LC3 codec support, as well as multipoint connectivity. Wired connectivity is even better with a 3.5mm aux port and USB-C for wired playback, two XLR/6.35mm combo ports for microphones and acoustic/electric guitars, and RCA ports for keyboards and turntables.
Yes, because you can connect a microphone to the Bromley 750, this means you can use it as a karaoke machine. As a karaoke enthusiast, I love this feature, and I also love that there's a reverb/delay dial above the speaker's front grille, enabling you to add effects to not just karaoke performances, but to your instruments too.
I plugged an electric guitar into the Bromley 750 and spent some time noodling on it, and it worked exactly like an amp does. There's plenty to like about Marshall's debut speaker, and for musicians and mobile DJs, I'm finding it hard to fault.
The elephant(s) in the room...
Sure, the Marshall Bromley 750 is great. I'd even say that it's near-perfect. Near. That's down to two reasons: lack of traditional stereo-speaker support, and the steep, steep price. The lack of stereo-speaker support means you can't synchronize two Bromley 750s together, which feels like a missed opportunity to me — especially because it's meant to be used to soundtrack parties and DJ sets.
I can get over it, that's fine, but perhaps the second point is even harder to digest. The Bromley 750 costs a lot, retailing for $1,299 / £899, making it the most expensive speaker I've tested (so far). It isn't for the faint of heart, but if you can afford it, I really can't think of reasons not to buy it.
To paraphrase Joey Tribbiani: The design? Good. The features? Good. The battery life? Good. The sound quality? Gooooood.
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