Marshall unveils Heston 120, its first soundbar for $999.99

(Credit: Marshall)

• 🔊 Marshall has announced its very first soundbar

• 👀 It’s called the Heston 120, and it looks a lot like the company’s guitar amps and other speakers

• 📝 It features 11 drivers, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X support, HDMI eARC, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and more

• 💰 Marshall is charging $999.99 for the soundbar, and it launches June 3

Marshall, known for making iconic guitar amps and some of the best-looking wireless speakers on the market, just announced its first soundbar. The Heston 120 is Marshall’s first attempt at an alternative to other soundbars like the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 and - most notably - the Sonos Arc Ultra. It packs in a ton of tech, impressive speakers, and more into a quintessentially Marshall design. The kicker? It’s a thousand bucks.

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(Credit: Marshall)

The Heston 120 has an all-in-one design, integrating 11 active drivers with up-firing tweeters to enhance depth perception, side-firing drivers to bounce sound off your walls, front drivers for enhanced vocal clarity, and dual rear-facing subwoofers with four passive radiators for powerful bass. All of this is wrapped in Marshall’s signature faux leather finish with bronze accents - and it looks really good.

With the hardware setup, Marshall is able to deliver “true” Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 surround sound, designed for both music and movies. You also get support for DTS:X. Marshall includes four different default sound modes: movie, music, night, and voice, all of which can be customized. There are adjustable knobs on the top for volume, EQ, and source settings, and they all have haptic feedback. You’ll also be able to pair a Heston Sub 200 if you want extra bass.

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(Credit: Marshall)

For connectivity, there’s HDMI eARC support, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6, RCA stereo and mono slots, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Auracast, and Airable. It pairs with Marshall’s redesigned app that also integrates EQ settings and an option to automatically optimize sound quality based on the room you’re in.

Overall, it seems like a compelling package. For $999.99, it’s certainly on the higher-end of things, but it checks a lot of boxes if what you want is an alternative to the Sonos Arc Ultra. Marshall says it also plans to release a smaller Heston 60 soundbar later this year, which will likely come with a lower price, in case this one is too expensive.

(Credit: Marshall)

Marshall is launching the Heston 120 on June 3. It’s up for preorder now. Third-party retailers will get a hold of the speaker on September 16.

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Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.