Asking for a fiend

Feel like a bit of Cannibal Corpse? Marshall’s latest and smallest voice-controlled rock box awaits your command…

R3 800 / marshallheadphones.com

Carrying on the tradition of naming its wireless speakers after seemingly random bits of London, Marshall has dubbed its latest model in honour of Uxbridge Road, the location of founder Jim Marshall’s first shop.

The Marshall Uxbridge Voice with Amazon Alexa, to give it its full name (there’s also a Google Assistant version), is designed for those who want their Alexa chats to have a bit of rock-star quality. This ‘compact sonic powerhouse’ is aimed at those who don’t have the space or cash for one of the company’s pricier models.

Inspired by guitar frets, the long rockers on the top control volume, bass and treble. They’re responsive but tricky for subtle tweaks – yes, the Moana soundtrack is a banger, but accidentally blasting out Disney classics at ear-shattering volume is hard to style out.

Voice controls work well, with the far-field mics hearing all our demands even with How Far I’ll Go cranked up; but max things out and you might find yourself yelling “Alexa, for the love of God turn it down!” more than once.