I thought Marshall could do no wrong — until I tried its latest mid-range headphones and disliked this one major thing

Marshall just launched brand-new over-ear headphones for the affordable price segment on May 19, 2026. The Marshall Milton ANC headphones retail for $229.99, walking headfirst into a starkly competitive neck of the woods: budget wireless headphones.

The Milton ANC have been getting overwhelmingly positive reviews everywhere I look online, which I don't fully understand. Audio quality-wise, the pair does a fantastic job, right on the money. But the entire wear experience is destroyed by what I feel are the smallest ear cups in the world.

This is a very subjective experience, so you be the judge of whether my hands-on experience is relevant to you. If you have the ears of a child, you can skip the review and go ahead and buy them. Otherwise, read on, my friend.

Initial setup and customization is a breeze

The Marshall Milton ANC connect via Bluetooth, but you can also use the included 3.5mm audio jack to the USB-C port to plug them into your smartphone manually. This does, however, prevent app usage.

First-time installation and setup is easy breezy. Turn the headphones on, enable Bluetooth on your phone, and almost immediately, a connection request pops up thanks to Google Fast Pair. After that, you can even add the Milton ANC to your Google Find Hub or Apple Find My Device.

Then you open the Marshall app to customize ANC, the dynamic equalizer, M-button settings, power-off timer settings, soundstage options, and more.

There is a dedicated Auracast broadcast section to tune in to nearby broadcasts. Noise cancellation can be switched between three modes: ANC on, ANC off, and a transparent mode. The ANC mode allows you to adjust the level of noise cancellation with greater granularity.

Unlike the Marshall Monitor III ANC, there is no dedicated ANC button. The M-button can be customized to toggle that while doubling as the Spotify Tap trigger. You also don't get auto pause/play when you take the Milton ANC on and off your head.

The physics of the Marshall Milton ANC headphones

Marshall advertises the Milton ANC as extremely lightweight, portable, and comfortable headphones with better airflow than other Marshall headphones.

These are quite bendy, and they only weigh 200g, so half of those claims are true. You can fold both ear cups and stow the Milton ANC headphones away in small spaces. They even fit in a handbag, or oversized baggy pant pockets. But the prongs that extend from each ear cup stick out at odd angles when folded.

My biggest issue (and only major complaint) with the Marshall Milton ANC is the square ear cups. I have so many questions for Marshall. Why are the ear cups so small? Are they built for Lilliputians, because what in the Whoville is going on?

I do not have big ears by any measure, so I can't imagine others with even larger ears than mine having a positive wearing experience with these. It felt like I was wearing children's headphones with these on.

And why square? I know a lot of over-ear headphones do have boxy ear cups, but the size and shape make for a bad combination. I had to position the Milton ANC ear cups just right, but I still felt they didn't fully or ergonomically cover my ears. Not to mention, I have plenty of piercings in each ear, including helix and tragus piercings, so that added to the discomfort.

Should you buy the Marshall Milton ANC headphones?

To me, the Marshall Milton ANC headphones are proof that a brand can do everything right, but if the design isn't truly ergonomic or inclusive, it's not worth buying.

Even at the full retail price, the Marshall Monitor III ANC headphones are better than the Milton ANC. However, you can currently get these $380 headphones on Amazon for $229.99 — the same price as the Milton ANC.

So tell me, if one can find good deals on the Monitor III ANC, why would anyone buy the Milton ANC? Unless you have really tiny ears, I suggest you go for the bigger, better headphones.