Marshall’s Acton IV and Stanmore IV Pack a Customizable M-Button

Marshall put its next-generation Acton and Stanmore home speakers on sale on July 7, 2026. The Acton IV starts at $300 and the Stanmore IV at $400, both in cream and black, four years after the third-generation versions came out. the launch coverage of the Acton IV and Stanmore IV outlines a refreshed analogue feel, better tweeters, and a customizable control that didn’t exist on the prior models.

Below the spec sheet, owners of the older Acton III, Stanmore III, and Woburn III now have a multi-room path they didn’t have before. The path runs through a small streaming hub Marshall released in January, called Heddon. The hub sells on its own for $300 and is included free when you buy two or more eligible Marshall home speakers from the brand’s website.

The Two New Speakers, Up Close

Both speakers keep the line’s guitar-amp silhouette and ditch the brushed-metal trim of older Marshall models for a brass-and-black control plate on top. The cabinets are 100 percent wood, wrapped in PU leather, with FSC certification on the wood used. The launch coverage detailing FSC-certified wood and repair-friendly parts notes that knobs, feet, and the front grille can be replaced if they wear out. Repair-friendly design is rarer than it sounds for a speaker in this price band.

The cream and black finishes are the only two options at launch. RCA inputs now sit on the underside of each speaker, an upgrade over the previous rear placement, so the cabinet can sit flush against a wall without cables showing. A 3.5mm AUX jack lives up top, next to the source button.

The Stanmore IV is the bigger unit and the louder one, with two 25W Class D amplifiers driving its 0.75-inch tweeters. A separate 60W Class D amp pushes a 5-inch woofer. The full Stanmore IV specs and review lists the speaker at a 36Hz-38KHz frequency response and 8.81 pounds. Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC, LC3, and LDAC codec support covers the wireless side.

The Acton IV is the smaller bedroom option; Marshall did not break out equivalent amplifier figures in the launch materials. Marshall’s pitch is that Stanmore is for larger rooms and Acton for smaller ones, with both delivering the wider dispersion the brand is highlighting. Pricing sits $100 apart between the two, which sets the choice for buyers based on room size.

What’s Actually New in the Sound

The headline audio change is wider dispersion. Marshall redesigned the tweeters and the waveguides around them so that sound reaches more evenly across a room. Sit off-axis and the vocals still register; stand in the doorway and the bass still lands.

Below that, a redesigned bass port improves airflow for cleaner low-end at the same cabinet volume. Marshall’s Dynamic Loudness feature adjusts high and low frequencies as volume drops so a playlist still sounds full at conversation level. Tighter limiters at the top end keep things clean when the speaker is cranked. The Stanmore IV holds together at high volume where the Acton IV starts to muddy, per Tom’s Guide’s review.

The M-Button, in Plain Terms

The single new control on the top plate is the M-button, a small brass toggle that, by default, fires up Spotify and starts playing where you left off. Marshall calls the integration Spotify Tap, and a single press moves from cold speaker to music without unlocking the phone.

The button is customizable through the Marshall Bluetooth app. Owners can reassign it to a specific EQ preset, an internet radio station, or the voice assistant on their phone, depending on what they reach for most. The change takes a few taps in the app and is reversible, so the button can match a morning playlist routine on weekdays and a different EQ preference on weekends.

The M-button sits on the top plate alongside three analog dials for bass, treble, and volume. None of those basic tone controls require the app. A Source button cycles between Bluetooth, AUX, and RCA. The control pattern across the top plate is the same on both speakers.

A buyer who always starts the morning with the same playlist gets the M-button to remove one round-trip through a phone. For occasional listeners, the default Spotify Tap is the cleanest version of the feature. The button’s job is to take the cold-start out of getting music going.

The M-button’s default Spotify Tap shortcut handles the most common use case. Buyers can also reassign it; the press-and-go logic works either way.

Where Older Marshall Speakers Fit In

The Acton IV and Stanmore IV both ship with Auracast, the Bluetooth broadcast standard that lets multiple compatible speakers play the same source. Pair two of the new speakers and they sync. With the Heddon hub sitting between them, a new Stanmore IV can sync with the older Acton III on the bedroom shelf or the Woburn III in the den. The setup works without replacing any existing Marshall speaker.

Marshall’s Heddon hub launched on January 21, 2026, ahead of the new speakers, and was designed to give older Marshall home speakers a path into multi-room setups. Heddon’s RCA inputs allow a selected range of older-generation Marshall speakers to join the system without Auracast, extending their usable life, per the January announcement of the Heddon streaming hub. The hub pulls music from streaming services over Wi-Fi and rebroadcasts it over Auracast to Acton III, Stanmore III, and Woburn III speakers already in homes.

Gustaf Living Rosell, Marshall’s Chief Product and Innovation Officer, framed Heddon as a living platform in the company’s January announcement. The framing fits because the same multi-room path now extends to the brand’s newest speakers. For a buyer who already owns an Acton III or Stanmore III, the new speakers add to the existing setup without replacing anything. Each new generation fits alongside the previous one through Auracast and the Heddon hub.

Music listening habits keep evolving, and Heddon is designed to evolve with them. We see Heddon as a living platform. Through future software updates and close collaboration with our community, we’ll continue to expand its possibilities with more features and by introducing additional product categories.

Existing owners with an Acton III can plug the new speakers into the same multi-room setup as the older one. A buyer starting from scratch gets the Acton IV as the entry point. Marshall throws in the Heddon hub for free with a pair of eligible Marshall home speakers, including the Acton IV and Stanmore IV.

The Heddon Itself

Heddon is small, mains-powered, and intentionally minimal. It connects to a home network over Wi-Fi, accepts a stream from a handful of leading services, and rebroadcasts that stream over Auracast to nearby Marshall speakers. The Marshall Bluetooth app handles grouping, playback, and firmware updates.

The hub supports the following streaming sources at launch:

• Spotify Connect
• TIDAL
• Apple AirPlay
• Google Cast

Marshall’s Heddon hub launched on January 21, 2026, with the deal of half price for customers buying one eligible Marshall home speaker and free with two or more. Engadget’s coverage of the new speakers cites the standalone hub at $300, while Tom’s Guide’s later review lists it at $299. Both figures appear in current coverage, so buyers should check the Marshall website for the precise current number. Marshall has not changed the deal terms since the January announcement, per the company’s launch release.

For existing Marshall owners, the calculation is whether the multi-room hook is worth $300 standalone. New buyers pairing the Acton IV and Stanmore IV get the hub included free, which is the cleaner entry path. The hub connects the new speakers to any older Marshall speakers already in the home, completing the multi-room setup.

What the New Speakers Don’t Do

The Acton IV and Stanmore IV are Bluetooth-first speakers with no Wi-Fi streaming and no voice assistant support. The omission is a deliberate positioning call by Marshall, and it sets up a clear comparison with the Sonos Era 300, which sells for $449 and adds both Wi-Fi streaming and a voice assistant, per Tom’s Guide’s review.

The Klipsch The Three Plus, at $399, also lacks Wi-Fi, putting it closer to Marshall on features but at a similar price. Marshall’s pitch for the omission is that the speakers are designed for direct, analogue-feeling playback, with smart-home integration left to other devices on the buyer’s network. Lossless streaming, voice control, and Sonos-level Wi-Fi integration are not on the Marshall spec sheet for either speaker.

Pricing and Availability

Both speakers are available now from Marshall’s website and from select retailers. Engadget’s coverage confirms cream and black at launch, with the Acton IV at $300 and the Stanmore IV at $400. SoundGuys’ coverage lists the same speakers at $299.99 and $399.99.

Key figures for the Marshall Homeline IV launch:

• $300: Acton IV entry price
• $400: Stanmore IV entry price
• July 7, 2026: launch date
• 4 years: gap since the prior generation
• 2 or more: eligible speakers for a free Heddon

The Acton IV is the lower-priced entry for smaller rooms; the Stanmore IV is for buyers who want louder, room-filling playback. The Stanmore IV is $20 pricier than the Stanmore III’s launch price, per Tom’s Guide’s review. Marshall’s launch materials describe both new speakers as the fourth-generation successors to the Acton III and Stanmore III. The cabinet look carries over from the previous generation, while the control layout gets the new M-button and the brass detailing.

For buyers outside the US, Tom’s Guide’s UK review lists the Stanmore IV at £349. The same review frames the Acton IV at the equivalent UK entry point. Neither speaker has been announced in additional colorways at launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do the Marshall Acton IV and Stanmore IV cost?

The Acton IV starts at $300 and the Stanmore IV at $400 in the US, both available in cream and black. Marshall’s website lists the current pricing; SoundGuys’ launch coverage lists the same speakers at $299.99 and $399.99.

When did Marshall announce the new speakers?

Marshall announced the Acton IV and Stanmore IV on July 7, 2026. Tom’s Guide’s Stanmore IV review confirms the announcement date and frames the two speakers as the brand’s Homeline IV lineup.

Can the new speakers connect to my older Marshall speakers?

Yes, with the Heddon hub. The hub, launched January 21, 2026, broadcasts music over Auracast to Acton III, Stanmore III, and Woburn III speakers. Selected older-generation Marshall speakers can also connect through Heddon’s RCA inputs, per Marshall’s announcement.

What does the customizable M-button do?

By default, the M-button launches Spotify Tap, starting playback without unlocking your phone. Owners can reassign it through the Marshall Bluetooth app to an EQ preset, an internet radio station, or a voice assistant.

Do the Acton IV and Stanmore IV support Wi-Fi streaming or voice assistants?

Neither speaker has Wi-Fi streaming or a built-in voice assistant. Both rely on Bluetooth 5.3, with SBC, AAC, LC3, and LDAC codec support, plus RCA and 3.5mm AUX wired inputs.