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Marshall Acton IV review
Marshall has refreshed its mid-sized home speaker, which promises enhanced bass, dynamic loudness tech and improved tweeters, among other things. Yes, the Marshall Acton IV looks to be quite the improvement over its predecessor, and after testing it for myself, I have to say, it certainly makes good on its promises.
Let’s start by taking a look at the tech specs. The Acton IV features a single 60W woofer alongside two 25W tweeters, helping it to produce powerful and energetic audio. It also has a frequency response of 37Hz-38kHz, meaning it can extend down seriously deep for such a compact speaker — and you can really feel the bass… more on that later.
One standout difference between the Acton IV and its predecessor is its inclusion of RCA connectivity. This makes it a great option for hooking it up to turntables, for instance, and it’s easy to switch between Bluetooth and RCA mode with the built-in source controls. 3.5mm connectivity is back too, if you want to access lossless audio — something I always look out for when testing the best Bluetooth speakers.
Although these connectivity options are all very welcome, it would have been great to see Wi-Fi playback, given that this is a speaker most people will likely keep at home. Streaming using your home’s Wi-Fi network is ideal for such speakers because it provides an even more stable, higher-resoltuion quality than Bluetooth can offer, and means that notification sounds on your source device don’t play through your speaker. Still, there is LDAC this time out — something that Marshall has been keen to integrate into its consumer audio products recently, as we saw with the Marshall Milton ANC. This opens up higher-res wireless playback over Bluetooth (provided you’ve got a source device that supports it), and it works great if you’re streaming on platforms such as Tidal, for instance.
Despite the omission of Wi-Fi, the Acton IV does include Auracast, enabling you to create a multi-room setup with other products from the brand, such as the Marshall Heston 120 soundbar and Marshall Stanmore IV. Some older models, like the Marshall Acton III can also join the Auracast multi-room setup with the Marshall Heddon streaming hub.
I was also interested to find that the Acton IV connects to the newer ‘Marshall’ app, which has so far been restricted to the brand’s TV audio gear. It feels more intuitive and detailed than the standard app, and features a five-band equalizer, which enables you to set three presets of your liking. You can also customize the speaker’s M button to cycle between these. The app also enables you to cycle between different sources, optimize audio with a placement compensation tool, set a standby timer, and adjust the brightness of the speaker’s LED indicators. Good stuff.
One thing that may dissuade some from picking up the Acton IV is that it lacks baked-in voice assistant support. This means that it can’t act like a smart home speaker in the way that a Sonos model would, say.
But, by now, you must be wondering: just how good does the Marshall Acton IV sound? Well it’s good news, because it sounds pretty great. Something that instantly struck me, is that the speaker has a very exciting sound signature, with attention-grabbing and relatively prominent bass, as well as energetic, forward-sounding treble.
This was great for livelier genres like dance tracks. For instance, in Get It On by Jansons, higher-pitched drums came through with serious bite, hitting with speed and precision. Meanwhile, pumping bass came through with great impact without ever overshadowing vocal chops and synths in the mid-range. Even with some deeper house tracks, I was truly wowed by the Acton IV’s bass extension. It can reach down into deep dark depths with great confidence, and even the sub-bass was full-sounding and seismic.
Luckily, the Acton IV continued to perform well with more laid-back tracks. In Ned Doheny’s Sing To Me, soulful vocals were nicely weighted, and came through with solid clarity. They weren’t separated to the point that they occupied a unique pocket in the mix, although when I bumped things up in the mid-range, they had a little more space to express themselves. Bass definitely remained fairly weighty, and although this gave the tune a pleasantly funky edge, some may prefer to mess around with different EQ settings.
It’s also worth noting that the Acton IV has a stereo sound configuration, rather than the basic mono that a lot of Bluetooth speakers use. While it doesn’t produce the most amazing stereo imaging I’ve ever experienced, this is understandable for a smaller-sized speaker. In All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, vocals were well-defined in the left channel, and percussion expanded well beyond the Acton IV’s limited confines. With LDAC on, I also appreciated the speakers attention to detail, with small vocal quirks and subtle percussive elements illuminated to impressive effect.
My main critique of the Acton IV’s audio output relates to its control at higher volumes. Despite including the dynamic loudness tech seen on the Marshall Kilburn III, for instance, I found that the speaker could sound a tad harsh at high volumes. At 90% and above, compression was more noticeable, with highs turning slightly shrill and bass lacking the control I’d experienced at mid-volumes. It’s pretty standard for speakers to compress towards maximum loudness, though, and if you’re looking for meatier sound, the mightier Stanmore IV is available.
Moving on to an area where Marshall speakers always excel now: design. The Acton IV looks very similar to its predecessor, but that’s no bad thing. It has enticing faux leather casing, a neat speaker grille, and a gorgeous golden control panel. Its amp-inspired aesthetic makes it feel like just as much of a statement piece as it is a great-sounding speaker.
The buttons and control knobs are also highly responsive and satisfying to use, and there are even onboard EQ controls for the bass and treble if you want to make some changes on the fly.
But it’s time to address the most crucial question of all: is the Marshall Acton IV worth the money? Let’s start by looking at its price. The Acton IV comes in at $299.99 / £259.99 (AU$430). That’s by no means cheap, and puts the speaker in competition with the Wi-Fi equipped Sonos Play and home speakers like the JBL Authentics 200.
I’d argue that the Acton IV certainly sounds up to scratch for this money. It offers mighty yet refined bass, clean and detailed mids, and vivid highs. It’s also decently powerful, and would make a great fit for a small or medium-sized space. However, the lack of Wi-Fi playback may prove to be a deal-breaker for some — it’s the connectivity method many will favor for home speaker use, and again offers better quality and seamlessness than Bluetooth.
Still, its brilliant design, solid set of features and, of course, impressive audio capabilities, means this is still a great home speaker. All in all, I’d recommend the Acton IV if you want a powerful and stylish speaker, even if you’re a little limited on space. If you want something more portable, the Marshall Kilburn III is a great alternative, though, coming with a handle, 50-hour battery life, and waterproofing at a very similar cost.
Marshall Acton IV review: price & release date
- $299.99 / £259.99 (AU$430)
- First released July 2026
The Marshall Acton IV was released in July 2026, just short of four years after its predecessor came to market. It launched alongside the Marshall Stanmore IV, which is essentially just a larger variant of the Acton. It comes in at $299.99 / £259.99 (AU$430), representing a slight price bump in the US, but continuity in the UK, if we’re comparing it against the Acton III.
Marshall Acton IV review: specs
|
Weight |
5.8lbs / 2.6kg |
|
Dimensions |
10.24 x 6.73 x 5.91 inches / 260 x 171 x 150 mm |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm, RCA |
|
Speaker drivers |
1x 4-inch 60W woofer, 2x 0.75-inch 25W tweeters |
|
Waterproofing |
Not stated |
Should I buy the Marshall Acton IV?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Features |
Nifty app and RCA is a welcome addition, but lacks Wi-Fi playback. |
4/5 |
|
Performance |
Fantastic bass extension and vivid highs with clean mids, some compression at top volumes though. |
4.5/5 |
|
Design |
Brilliant looking speaker with retro, amp-inspired aesthetic. |
4.5/5 |
|
Value |
Not the cheapest, but performance and build help it to earn price. |
4/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Marshall Acton IV review: also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Marshall Acton IV |
Sonos Era 100 SL |
WiiM Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Price |
$299.99 / £259.99 (AU$430) |
$189 / £169 / AU$289 |
$299 / £299 / AU$499 |
|
Weight |
5.8lbs / 2.6kg |
4.3lbs / 2kg |
5.5lbs / 2.5kg |
|
Dimensions |
10.24 x 6.73 x 5.91 inches / 260 x 171 x 150mm |
7.2 x 4.7 x 5.1 inches / 182.5 x 120 x 130.5mm |
5.7 x 5.7 x 7.5 inches / 146 x 146 x 193mm |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm, RCA |
Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C |
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm |
|
Speaker drivers |
1x 4-inch 60W woofer, 2x 0.75-inch 25W tweeters |
2 x angled tweeters, 1 x mid-woofer |
2x tweeters, 1x woofer |
How I tested the Marshall Acton IV
- Tested across multiple days
- Used at our dedicated music testing space at Future Labs
- Mainly streamed music over Tidal
I spent days testing the Marshall Acton IV, listening to hours worth of music, testing its various features, and exhausting every option available in its companion app.
For the most part, I tested the Acton IV in our dedicated music testing room at Future Labs, where I mainly streamed tunes via Tidal on my Xiaomi 17. I started by playing tracks in our TechRadar reference playlist — which features songs from a wide variety of genres — but I also bumped a bunch of tunes from my personal library.
More generally, I’ve spent years testing audio gear here at TechRadar. I’ve reviewed all sorts of tech, from premium wireless headphones like the Sony 1000X The Collexion through to Dolby Atmos soundbars such as the JBL Bar 1300MK2. I’ve also tested more than 50 Bluetooth speakers, including lots of Marshall models, such as the Marshall Middleton II and Kilburn III.
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