Marshall Major Major V

The Marshall Major V packs a staggering 100-hour battery and wireless charging into a rugged, foldable on-ear design with Bluetooth 5.3. Sound quality is strong once you dial in the EQ, but there’s no ANC and call quality is just okay. Prices are all over the map, but we’ve seen it as low as $90, making it an unbeatable travel headphone if you don’t need silence. If ANC is a must, skip it; otherwise, this is one of the best battery-focused buys out there.

Marshall’s Major V is a headphone that knows exactly what it wants to be, and it’s not trying to compete with noise-cancelling over-ears. This is an on-ear wireless set built for one thing: disappearing into your bag for a week and still having juice when you pull it out. With a claimed 100 hours of playback, Bluetooth 5.3, and a foldable design, it’s aimed at travelers, commuters, and anyone who hates micro-managing battery life. The iconic Marshall look doesn’t hurt either.

Inside those leather-wrapped earcups, you’ll find a single 40mm dynamic driver tuned for that signature Marshall sound—think punchy lows, smooth mids, and crisp highs. You also get wireless charging, an included 3.5mm cable for wired listening, and a customizable brass M-button that can launch Spotify Tap or your voice assistant. At 186 grams, they’re lightweight enough to forget you’re wearing them, at least for the first couple of hours.

But there are trade-offs. There’s no active noise cancellation here, and call quality is firmly mediocre. The default sound is bass-forward in a way that won’t please everyone, and on-ear designs can create pressure over time. Still, if you’ve ever scrambled for a charge before a long flight, the Major V might be your new best friend.

The headline grabber is that 99th percentile battery, and it’s not marketing fluff. In our testing, 100 hours of listening time is a genuine landmark in this category, and the quick-charge feature—15 minutes for 15 hours—means you’re never truly stranded. Wireless charging just adds to the convenience. Connectivity is also top-tier, thanks to Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio and solid multipoint switching between two devices. It’s a smooth experience that simply works.

Sound quality lands in the 90th percentile across our database, which is a standout result, but the out-of-box tuning won’t suit everyone. The bass is thick and immediate, almost leaning into that live-venue rumble, and it can muddy the mids if you’re not careful. However, the Marshall app’s EQ (even with just one custom preset) transforms them into something more balanced. That’s where the Major V shines: with a quick tweak, you get clean detail and decent instrument separation. That said, calls are a weak spot (51.1 score) and the mic, while passable, doesn’t excel in windy conditions despite the company’s claims.

Pricing for the Major V is a mess across stores. The realistic range we’ve spotted starts at a tempting $90 from some retailers, while others list the same headphone for an eye-watering $14,999 (that’s either a typo or a very optimistic vendor). Stick to the low end. At $90, these are a steal for 100 hours of battery, wireless charging, and a foldable design that actually slips into a jacket pocket. Even around $120 to $150, they make a strong budget case against far pricier ANC cans.

Compared to something like the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 (often $250-350) or the Sony ULT WEAR (around $200), you’re trading noise cancelling and arguably more refined sound for double the battery life and a smaller form factor. If you don’t need ANC, the value proposition is hard to beat.

The Major V sits in an odd corner of the market: on-ear, long battery, no ANC. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 is a more direct rival in the “great sound, long battery” category, but it’s over-ear with top-tier ANC and a higher price tag. The Sony ULT WEAR offers booming bass and effective noise cancelling, but its battery is about 30-40 hours, far behind Marshall’s triple-digit claim. Then there’s the JBL Live 770NC, an on-ear with ANC that costs a bit more and can’t touch the Major V’s stamina.

If you want on-ear lightness without ANC, the Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT is a cheaper competitor but lacks the battery bragging rights and that classic Marshall aesthetic. Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, meanwhile, are over-ear masters of comfort and ANC, but they’re in a totally different price bracket. The Major V’s trick is giving you a week of playback and a design people actually stop to ask about, for the cost of a nice dinner. You just have to be okay with hearing the world around you.

Skip the Major V if you need active noise cancellation for commuting or an open office. The passive isolation is okay for casual listening, but it won’t silence engine hum or loud chatter. Frequent callers should also look elsewhere; the microphone is mediocre at best and the overall call score is a lackluster 51.1 out of 100 in our testing. If you’re an audiophile chasing a flat reference sound out of the box, the heavy bass profile might annoy you, and with only one custom EQ slot you can’t easily switch between presets. Finally, if you find on-ear pressure unbearable after an hour, consider the over-ear Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra—they’ll cost more but keep your ears happier on long flights.

If you’re a traveler who forgets to charge things, or someone who needs a backup pair that won’t die on the last leg of a journey, the Marshall Major V is a no-brainer. You get incredible battery life, wireless charging, and a foldable build that disappears into a backpack. Pair that with audio that cleans up beautifully with a bit of EQ, and you’ve got a travel companion that earns its keep.

But if you take calls daily or work in a noisy cafe, the lack of ANC and average microphone will bother you sooner rather than later. The same goes for anyone who finds on-ear pressure uncomfortable during long sessions. In those cases, it’s worth spending more on an over-ear model with solid ANC, like Sony’s ULT WEAR or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. For everyone else, the Major V is one heck of a bargain—especially if you snag it at that $90 price.