Marshall's New Alexa Speakers Which Look Retro Gorgeous Are The Good News in Dark Times

The Marshall Uxbridge Voice is a ray of hope as we struggle to come to terms with the lockdown in many countries while the world attempts to bring the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, under control. Music is one of the few true getaways, and all that becomes even better with good speakers. Well known British audio company Marshall has warmed our hearts with the first glimpse at the upcoming Uxbridge Voice smart speaker. The latest smart speaker addition to the company’s line includes direct access to Amazon Alexa virtual assistant and support for Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay 2 streaming standards.

Each Marshall Uxbridge Voice speaker measures 5.04-inch x 6.61-inch x 4.84-inch, which makes this almost as compact as a Google Home or the Amazon Echo smart speakers. They tip the scales at 1.39kg, which is lighter than a lot of laptops that you can buy. In fact, the Marshall Uxbridge Voice are also more compact than their own siblings, the Acton and the Stanmore. These speakers integrate a dual farfield microphone array so that they are able to detect you saying “Hey Alexa” even for some distance away. Each Marshall Uxbridge Voice speaker has the enclosed cabinet design with a 30-watts Class S amplifier for the woofer and tweeter. You get adjustable bass and treble controls too, something that has been a hallmark of Marshall speakers for years now.

The Marshall Uxbridge Voice will be available worldwide from April 8, with prices set at 169.99 GBP and 199 USD. The India-specific prices of these speakers is not yet announced. You will be able to buy the Uxbridge Voice in two colours—white and black. While you can connect with these using Amazon Alexa, Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2, there is also the simpler option of Bluetooth. These speakers can also be configured as multi-room speakers, if you intend to splurge on more than one of these—and they work with 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks.

In fact, that is not all. In the coming months, the Marshall Uxbridge Voice will also launch with support for the Google Assistant and Tencent’s Xiaowei assistants. The Uxbridge Voice with Tencent Xiaowei will be available from May 4 will the Google Assistant version arrives on June 11—and prices will remain the same across the board, irrespective of which voice assistant version you choose.