Marshall Woburn 2 Vs Sonos 5: Which To Buy?

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The Marshall Woburn II Bluetooth is the most costly of Marshall’s newly improved Bluetooth speaker options, costing $499.99. There aren’t any poor cars in the company’s new collection, but the Woburn II Bluetooth is our favorite. It provides a robust sonic experience that can be customized using in-app EQ as well as bass and treble knobs on the speaker itself. The sound is clear and balanced, and it will appeal to enthusiasts of vintage guitar amps in particular. Despite its hefty price, the Woburn II Bluetooth is the Editors’ Choice for high-end Bluetooth speakers.

The Sonos Five is the company’s most powerful and largest wireless speaker, and it delivers the same level of detail and musical delight as the company’s other devices. This top-tier model (due out in June 2020) features increased storage space, processing speed, and, uh, wireless radio capability. Does this imply that it isn’t a significant improvement?

Marshall Woburn 2 vs Sonos 5: Comparison Table

Features	Marshall Woburn 2	Sonos 5
Launching Year	2018	2022
Brand	Marshall	Marshall
Model Name	Woburn 2	Emberton
Connector Type	Bluetooth	Bluetooth
Available Colors	Black	Black, white
Average Battery Life	12 hours	2 days
Charging Time	1.5 hour	2.5 hour
Compatibility	Smartphone, Tablet, PC, All Bluetooth Devices	Smartphone, Tablet, PC, All Bluetooth Devices
Bluetooth	Version 5.1	Version 5.0v
Connection Distance Range (Bluetooth)	10 m	10m
Online Price Ranges	Rs.42,800	Rs.53,999
Customer Ratings	4.3/5	4.5/5

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Marshall Woburn 2 vs Sonos 5: Detailed Analysis

Design

Although Marshall devices, in general, look like amplifiers, the Marshall Woburn II Bluetooth looks exactly like a regular guitar amplifier. It’s massive, measuring 12.2 by 15.8 by 7.8 inches (HWD) and weighs a hefty 18.9 pounds. It would look great next to some miniature amplifiers for practice. Aside from its size, the Woburn II Bluetooth’s design is quite identical to the rest of the new Marshall speaker lineup. It is encased in either black or white leather-like material and has a tweed grille with the Marshall emblem on the front face. The front and knobs are coated in brushed aluminium, with gold accents to mimic the look of a guitar amplifier. This large and attractive speaker can fill a room with sound.

The Five, on the other hand, like the rest of Sonos’ products, has an exceedingly plain design—almost to the point of boredom, given its bigger size. The Five is available in black or white and includes a metal grille that is easy to clean, as well as little icons on the top plate that act as play/pause controls and are flanked by two smaller ‘buttons’ that can be covered to alter the volume. You can also swipe over these to skip tracks, which is fun, though in low-light circumstances the lone light above the play/pause symbol can make things difficult to find. The Sonos Five, despite being roughly the size of a big shoebox (and weighing 6.36kg), isn’t quite a cuboid due to its grille piece being slightly larger than the back end and the baffle being slightly twisted out and slanted upwards to assist sound dispersion.

Performance

The five-band in-app EQ works in tandem with the speaker’s bass and treble knobs to fine-tune things to your preferred sound signature. The Woburn II Bluetooth was put through its paces with the bass and treble knobs in the centre and the app set to flat. The bass and treble knobs will now follow the app in the chain, allowing you to separately change the loudness of the lows and highs. The Woburn II Bluetooth offers a robust sound when set to flat mode and the bass and treble are near their midpoints. The Woburn II Bluetooth produces earth-shattering bass at moderate to high settings, making it ideal for tracks with significant sub-bass content, such as The Knife’s “Silent Shout.”

Unfortunately, when the volume is set all the way up on this music, the distortion becomes audible. This speaker’s volume is deafening when turned all the way up. Even if you don’t have any dogs or neighbours, you won’t have to travel that far very often. The Woburn II Bluetooth produces thunder even at modest (but extremely high) volumes, and the bass can be turned up to the point where it shakes walls. This knob (together with the EQ) also allows you to reduce the bass if that’s not what you’re looking for.

The Five, in classic Sonos fashion, isn’t interested in providing a muted or delicate sound; rather, it’s here to bring the bass and make you feel it, and we’re not complaining. We’ve made it plain that we prefer it if you have access to TruePlay tuning, but we understand that this isn’t always the case.

If you carefully weave your iPhone through the air around your room (do it with purpose, because the app will notify you if you’re not moving quickly enough), the bottom end echoes in a way that other speakers, even those of similar proportions, cannot. TruePlay improves on the dynamic rise and fall of each sound item, and the leading edges of notes and horns in hip-hop albums like Lethal Bizzle’s Fester Skank are just a little more visible.

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Marshall Woburn 2 vs Sonos 5: Quick Result

Particulars	Marshall Woburn 2	Sonos 5	Which one is the best?
Battery Life	Amazing	Good	Marshall Woburn 2
Deep Bass	Not Bad	Good	Both
Sound Quality	Great	Great	Any

Marshall Woburn 2 vs Sonos 5: Final Verdict

We also like Marshall’s Acton II Bluetooth and Stanmore II Bluetooth, but the Woburn II Bluetooth is our favourite. Yes, it’s the most costly of the lot, but given the degree of sound it produces, I wouldn’t say it’s overpriced; I’d be less confident making that claim for the other two models, which are less expensive but not quite as good. It has the same design, software, and basic capabilities as the previous model, but the addition of a subwoofer elevates it to our top selection for the finest all-around wireless speaker. If the vintage style of the amp isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other terrific options in this price range. Consider purchasing the JBL Boombox or the Sonos Beam. There isn’t a single speaker who doesn’t dazzle.

If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck in terms of sound quality, look no further than the Sonos Five. To each his own, however; if Bluetooth streaming is critical to you and you run Android, seek elsewhere. While the Sonos Five has many appealing features (AirPlay 2, Sonos’ industry-leading multi-room platform, plenty of flexibility for future expansion, and a user-friendly and dependable UI), it also lacks some (Google Cast, voice assistance, and Bluetooth, specifically).