The Acton IV belongs to Marshall’s newly renamed Homeline IV lineup, built to bring that signature Marshall tone into your living room, bedroom, or wherever you want it.
We have covered Marshall’s outdoor speakers before and liked what we heard, but it’s been a while since the brand’s home speakers came up. The Acton IV now sits alongside the Stanmore IV as the smaller of the two.
Marshall seems to have gone through every part of this speaker, looking for ways to improve it, and the outcome caught me off guard, in a good way.
Marshall Acton IV Full Specs
Marshall Acton IV Design
From a distance, the Acton IV looks a lot like its predecessor, the Action III. Look closer, and you’ll notice Marshall reworked the controls.
Using the Acton IV feels great. The brass top panel houses a switch, dials, and a media control, and everything has real weight and texture. The power switch clicks like a guitar amp. The media jog moves back and forth under your fingers.
The dials for volume, bass, and treble turn smoothly. It almost feels like Marshall wants you to forget the app exists. There’s also a customizable M button, which I’ll get to shortly.
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The body combines recycled ABS plastic with MDF wood, and the wood carries FSC 100% certification for coming from sustainable sources. Tap it and you can tell it’s good. Pick it up and you’ll feel the weight too.
Marshall has made repairability a priority in its recent speakers, and the Acton IV follows that pattern. You can order replacement knobs, grille, and feet straight from the Marshall website.
Flip the speaker over and you’ll find the power input, which uses a detachable figure-of-8 cable, along with an RCA input for a turntable or other RCA device.
The 3.5mm AUX input sits on top for connecting other audio sources. One thing to know if you’re hooking up a turntable: it needs a built-in phono stage, or you’ll need a separate phono amp between the turntable and the Acton IV.
You can pick between black with a grey grille and gold trim, or a cream option that looks just as good. Both colors carry Marshall’s familiar look, and the Acton IV stands out because of it.
Marshall Acton IV Features
I already talked about the wired options, but this speaker is built for wireless use first, and that means Bluetooth only, no Wi-Fi.
That’s a bit of a letdown for a home speaker. Tapping into your Wi-Fi network would open up a lot more possibilities, but Marshall skipped that here, same as Bose did with the SoundLink Home.
That said, you get Bluetooth 5.3 with support for SBC, AAC, LC3, and even LDAC, which brings lossy hi-res audio into play.
Bluetooth multipoint lets you stream from two devices at once, and Auracast support means you can connect to other compatible Bluetooth sources by finding them through the Marshall app.
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On the missing Wi-Fi front, Marshall points to the Acton IV’s role as a Heddon streaming hub instead. That brings in Spotify Tap, which already works over Bluetooth, plus Tidal Connect, Google Cast, and AirPlay 2. Got older Marshall speakers lying around? You can wire them into the Heddon hub and build a basic multi-room setup.
The Acton IV also has a Dynamic Loudness feature. It adjusts the highs and lows based on your volume level, so the sound stays clear, warm, and full whether you’re blasting music or keeping it low to avoid bothering anyone. At least that’s Marshall’s claim.
The customizable M button does less than you’d expect. It only stores EQ presets or turns on Spotify Tap. That’s handy if you switch between specific EQ settings often or use Spotify, but it won’t do much beyond that. You get three EQ presets to program into the button.
Placement Compensation gives you a quick way to fine-tune the sound based on where the speaker sits, whether it’s tucked near a wall or an edge.
On the EQ side, you can choose from the default Marshall sound, a mid/treble boost, a mid reduction, or Bass Boost. Three slots come ready to go, each pre-loaded out of the box. Pick Custom and you get a five-band EQ instead, and all of these adjustments work across Bluetooth, AUX, and RCA sources.
Walking through these features covers most of what the app actually does. The rest is simple stuff: volume control, switching sources, firmware updates, and dimming or brightening the LED. It’s a straightforward app, and that works in its favor.
Marshall Acton IV Sound Quality
I expected the Acton IV to sound like most home Bluetooth speakers: solid, but with that nagging feeling that Wi-Fi could have taken it further. That expectation didn’t hold up. This speaker sounds genuinely good for what it is.
The bass hits with real power and depth, helped along by the redesigned port on the bottom. Marshall aimed for a warm sound with a smooth midrange and clear highs, and it lands that target. The overall balance works well across pretty much every track I threw at it.
The soundstage doesn’t stretch much wider than the speaker itself, but it still sounds bigger than you’d expect, likely thanks to the reworked waveguides pushing sound outward. The bass carries plenty of weight without crowding out the midrange, which stays smooth throughout.
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That warmth does mean the midrange isn’t the most detailed you’ll hear, and it doesn’t have the same energy as something like the Bose SoundLink Max. Still, it holds its own on tracks like The Comet is Coming’s “Pyramids,” keeping the rhythm and energy intact.
Playing GoGo Penguin’s “Ascent,” the treble comes through clean and varied, bright without tipping into harshness. The bass stays controlled and confident without taking over the mix, and the low end shows real clarity and range. Nothing sounds crowded or muddy either; you can pick out individual elements without straining. It could offer more detail overall, but from top to bottom, the Acton IV sounds well tuned.
Rock tracks are where Marshall speakers usually shine, so I threw on a few. Queens of the Stone Age’s “Go With the Flow” moves with real momentum and energy, and vocals sit in a good pocket right in the center of the soundstage. That naturalism holds up whether it’s Chris Cornell on “Black Hole Sun” or Abigail Morris on The Last Dinner Party’s “Nothing Matters.”
That same momentum carries Marc Rebillet’s “Reach Out” all the way through, and the stereo separation stands out on this one too. I like the overall tone here: the snare hits on “Black Hole Sun” land right, and vocals across the board sound natural.
Does the balance hold up as you push the volume? It gets loud without much trouble, but with Slipknot’s “Duality,” cranking it up brings more energy and power at the cost of clarity and detail, and the soundstage starts feeling tighter. Turn it down too far, though, and you lose energy and power, along with some of that natural quality. Volume level 5 is where things start sounding good, and level 7 is where it really clicks.
I also hooked it up to a Sharp TT100 turntable and spun Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher. The warmth of the vinyl carries over well, cracks, hisses, and all.
You do need to push the volume higher than you would over Bluetooth, since it plays quieter through RCA, but cranking it up brings out more bass presence, giving the record a full, weighty low end that still leaves room for the vocals.
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The Acton IV caught me off guard. It won’t match the clarity of a Wi-Fi speaker, but I like the tonal direction Marshall went for here. The tuning feels well balanced: clear, detailed, warm, and powerful without losing control. It’s easy to listen to for long stretches, and that alone makes skipping Wi-Fi easier to accept.
Marshall Acton IV Verdict
Another win for Marshall’s growing lineup of wireless speakers. Skipping Wi-Fi feels like a missed chance, but between the sound quality, the looks, the new RCA input, and how easy it is to use, the Acton IV still makes a strong case as a Bluetooth speaker worth your money.
Pros | Cons |
| Clear, warm, engaging presentation | No Wi-Fi support |
| Good looks with new RCA input | |
| Nice and simple to use |
Final Thoughts
After living with the Marshall Acton IV for a few weeks, I’ve come away impressed. The sound is well balanced, with strong bass, crisp highs, and a midrange that’s smooth without losing clarity. It’s not the most detailed speaker out there, but it’s fun to listen to and keeps you engaged.
Spotify Tap makes streaming simple, the new RCA input adds a good option for anyone getting into vinyl, and the Acton IV both looks and feels great in daily use. If you want something portable from Marshall, go for the Kilburn instead. If you want this size at home, the Acton IV is the one to get.
The more time I spent with it, the more I liked it. Give it a try and there’s a good chance you’ll feel the same way.
