Marshall Heston 120 soundbar blends cinematic audio with rock music attitude

Iconic audio brand Marshall has launched its first ever soundbar, designed to offer an immersive listening experience for both music and movies.

The Heston 120 blends Dolby Atmos and DTS:X spatial audio technologies with Marshall’s signature rock-and-roll aesthetic, and signals an interesting expansion for the brand, which has long been associated with guitar amplifiers, headphones and Bluetooth speakers, into the increasingly competitive home entertainment market.

Engineered around 11 separate drivers, and boasting a 150W powerplant, the Heston offers a 5.1.2 channel configuration. Drivers are positioned to direct sound forward, sideways and upwards, complemented by an integrated subwoofer.

Marshall says equal emphasis has been placed on film soundtracks and music playback. “We spent hundreds of hours fine tuning Heston 120,” said Ed Camphor, Audio Technology and Tuning Lead at Marshall Group. “Everything inside is tailored and engineered to have very specific roles.”

The unit supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, with HDMI eARC and HDMI pass-through. Bluetooth LE-Audio with Auracast support, Wi-Fi streaming, and analogue phono inputs expand its compatibility across both legacy and modern systems.

The soundbar offers a physical control panel, with stylised knobs to access bass and treble adjustments, as well as user-defined presets. There’s also the option of (an all-new) app control.The app allows users to calibrate the soundbar to their room’s acoustics.

Inside CI has had an early preview of the Heston 120, and it seems that the three year development process invested in the product has been time well spent. The bar offers a robust, entertaining soundstage, with both Dolby Atmos and two channel sources. The way it handles stereo, making use of all its available drivers, is particularly interesting; it’s a lot more subtle than you might imagine.

While Marshall’s heritage in live music and studio equipment is well established, its entry into the TV audio space puts it up against seasoned competitors such as Sonos, Sony, and Samsung. For AV professionals and installers, the Heston 120 offers potential differentiation thanks to its blend of physical design and live music pedigre.

The decision to incorporate Bluetooth LE-Audio with Auracast is also noteworthy. While adoption of the standard is still in its early stages, it does provide forward-looking compatibility with emerging audio ecosystems and multi-device broadcasting.

Marshall has confirmed that two additional products, a more compact Heston 60 soundbar and a dedicated Heston Sub 200 subwoofer, will follow later in the year.

The Heston 120 is available to pre-order, priced at £899.99 ($999.99) via Marshall.com, with general availability from September 16.