Designed to deliver a colossal audio experience for both TV and music, the Heston 120 is billed as true Marshall creation made by the same designers and to the same standards as the company’s famous pro audio kit.
Designed to amplify the story on screen, and then keep the music playing beyond the credits, Heston 120 has been created to deliver immersive and spacious sound for both TV and music, thanks to features including Dolby Atmos and DTS-X. Fitted with 11 drivers facing in different directions, Heston 120 uses spatial audio to create surround sound. Engineered for a powerful, deep and rich bass, Heston 120 also makes special effects sound even more lifelike, with even bigger impact, says Marshall.
Boasting the latest wireless technology, Heston 120 integrates with TVs with HDMI eARC or external devices through the HDMI Pass-through and connects to music streaming services using
Wi-Fi. Turning on Bluetooth gives access to the latest LE-audio technology including Auracast and Heston 120 is also equipped with analogue RCA input for external music players.
Style and substance
Featuring Marshall’s signature style, Heston 120 brings rock ‘n’ roll flair to the TV-sound category through a combination of tactility and textures. From knurled metal knobs inspired by Marshall’s amp heritage through to the wrapped leather trims and brushed metal panel, these elements have been added with precision, making Heston 120 a style statement. Heston 120 is also repairable with replaceable parts including the fret, end caps, drivers and circuit boards.
Mixing the best of the old with the new, the analogue control panel with tactile audio settings is a playful yet functional nod to Marshall’s heritage. The bass and treble can be instantly altered through the controls and it’s easy to save presets for quick access to a favourite playlist or radio station. Heston 120 comes with a range of different sound modes to fit the moment, including Music, Movie, Night and Voice.
Alternatively, the sound can be adjusted from anywhere in the home using the new Marshall app, controlling everything from volume to and EQ. New for the TV sound range, the app features room calibration to help find the perfect acoustic fit for any space.
“We know that soundbar owners use their soundbar to listen to music, yet most soundbars are not built for both music and TV. This gave us a reason to exist and an opportunity to really shine with our legacy in music and audio,” says Anders Olsson, Senior Product Manager at Marshall Group.
“We spent hundreds of hours fine tuning Heston 120. It was important to us that we spent equal time and effort on both TV and music, not one over the other. Everything inside is tailored and engineered to have very specific roles to give you an optimal audio experience, no matter what you’re watching or listening to,” adds Ed Camphor, Audio Technology and Tuning Lead at Marshall Group.
Heston 120 is the first in the TV-sound range from Marshall. Heston 60 and a subwoofer, Heston Sub 200, will launch later in the year.
Interesting move this and the product does sound pretty good, especially in music mode and has impressive off access delivery to fill even large spaces with good quality audio.
Sounds pretty good, EI’s view
Chatting to the Marshall team at a recent event, clearly this is intended as a retail channel type of system initially, but for installers who have a customer who loves the Marshall brand that needs either secondary room audio resources or main audio for a smaller space or apartment, there could be something interesting here. Especially when the smaller version, the Heston 60 and the subwoofer arrive later this year. The soundbar is available to selected retailers from this September.
To celebrate the launch of its first-ever TV soundbar, Heston 120, Marshall also teamed up with MTV for a brand-new MTV Cribs special, Starring East Anglian rock-royalty and EI favourite, the Hawkins brothers from the Darkness. Check out the results below.