How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want marathon battery life and a leather-and-brass rock aesthetic, choose Marshall Minor IV True; if you need active noise cancellation and a tougher, more premium build for travel and workouts, choose Bang & Olufsen Beoplay.
• Marshall Minor IV True — biggest strength: 30+ hours of playtime with the charging case, plus multipoint pairing that remembers up to 8 devices. A genuine all-day, all-week earbud.
• Marshall Minor IV True — biggest trade-off: No noise cancellation at all. The spec sheet lists noise control as "None," so you get zero ANC.
• Bang & Olufsen Beoplay — biggest strength: Active Noise Cancellation with an IP57 waterproof and dust-resistant rating — the rare earbud that handles both a noisy flight and a rainy run.
• Bang & Olufsen Beoplay — biggest trade-off: Shorter battery life. Up to 7 hours per charge and 20 hours with the case, well under the Marshall's 30+.
• Pick Marshall Minor IV True if you want the longest possible listening time, a signature warm sound and a design that looks like a guitar amp.
• Pick Bang & Olufsen Beoplay if you want to block out the world, take calls in the wind, and wear your earbuds in the rain.
The Minor IV True is built around one idea: keep the music going. Marshall rates it at 30+ hours of wireless playtime, and the charging case carries a 500 mAh battery that matches that figure. Plug it in and a full charge takes about 3 hours. For someone who hates hunting for a charger every other day, that's the headline.
The design leans into Marshall's heritage. The case is leather, the earbuds are black, and the whole package weighs almost nothing — 0.01 kg for the buds, 40 g for the case. Inside each bud sits a 12 mm dynamic driver with a 20Hz–20,000Hz frequency range and 32 ohm impedance at 110 dB sensitivity. That's a warm, full-bodied tuning rather than a clinical one, and it's the sound Marshall fans already know.
Controls are touch-based, and the companion app lets you set a personal EQ. Multipoint pairing means you can connect to two devices at once and it remembers up to 8 previously paired ones, reconnecting to the last device it saw. Setup is simple: open the case, hold the button until the LED pulses blue, and pick MINOR IV in your Bluetooth list.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay: Who It's For
The Beoplay Eleven is the opposite philosophy: block the world out and look expensive doing it. The build mixes aluminium, hardened glass, polymer and silicone, and the gem-like touch surface on each bud is made from that toughened glass. It's a design statement as much as a listening tool.
The core feature is Active Noise Cancellation, which B&O describes as its best noise cancellation in an earbud to date. Add an IP57 waterproof and dust-resistant rating and you have earbuds rated for jogging in the rain or a beach day — a genuinely rare combination. The 9.2 mm dynamic driver covers a 20–22,000Hz range with 16 ohm impedance, so the tuning extends a touch higher than the Marshall's.
Call quality gets real attention here. There's an enlarged microphone inlet padded with a fine wind-filtering mesh, which should help your voice cut through on a windy street or a busy office. Battery is rated at up to 7 hours per charge with ANC on, and up to 20 hours including the case. A full charge takes about 1.5 hours, and the case tops up in roughly 2.5 hours. Bluetooth is 5.2 with a 10-metre range, and multipoint connection is supported.
Who should buy it? Travellers, commuters, gym-goers and anyone who takes a lot of calls on the move. Who should skip it? If you want maximum playtime between charges, the Marshall wins by a wide margin — 20 hours versus 30+ is a real gap.
• Best for battery life → Marshall Minor IV True. 30+ hours versus 20 hours with the case is not close.
• Best for noise cancellation → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. The Marshall has none; the Beoplay has full ANC.
• Best for workouts and bad weather → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. IP57 waterproof and dust-resistant beats IPX4 water resistance.
• Best for multipoint device juggling → Marshall Minor IV True. Two simultaneous connections and memory for 8 paired devices.
• Best for call clarity in wind → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. The enlarged mic inlet and wind-filtering mesh are purpose-built for it.
• Best for higher-frequency detail → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. Its range reaches 22,000Hz versus the Marshall's 20,000Hz.
• Best for a warm, characterful sound and app EQ → Marshall Minor IV True. The 12 mm driver and Marshall app tuning are aimed at musicality over neutrality.
• Best for a metal-and-glass premium look → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. Aluminium, hardened glass and silicone versus Marshall's leather case and plastic build.
In my opinion, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay is the better all-rounder for most people. Active noise cancellation, an IP57 rating and a stronger call setup cover the situations where earbuds actually earn their keep — flights, commutes, runs, calls. The Marshall Minor IV True is the pick if battery life is your deciding factor or you simply love that Marshall sound and style, and 30+ hours is a real advantage. But if I had to choose one pair for daily life, I'd take the Beoplay for its noise cancellation and durability. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since the gap between them matters.
FAQ
There's no single answer — it depends on what you value. In my opinion the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay is the stronger premium pick for noise cancellation, weather resistance and call quality, while the Marshall Minor IV True is the stronger pick for battery life and multipoint convenience.
Pairing is standard Bluetooth. On the Beoplay Eleven you enable Active Noise Cancellation from the touch controls after pairing. On the Marshall Minor IV True you open the case, hold the button until the LED pulses blue, then select it in your device's Bluetooth list — but note it has no ANC.
"Most premium" usually comes down to materials and features. By that measure the Beoplay Eleven stands out with its aluminium and hardened glass construction, IP57 rating and active noise cancellation, while the Marshall Minor IV True counters with a leather case and an app-driven EQ.
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See also: Bang & Olufsen Beoplay vs VENTION USB Sound Card, JBL Vibe Flex True vs Monster Clarity 101Plus, JVC Sport True vs Turtle Beach Stealth 500