I usually avoid on-ear headphones, but Marshall has me seriously reconsidering

pros and cons

Pros

• Comfortable
• Detailed sound
• Apple Find My and Google Find Hub support

Cons

• No wear detection
• Wired mode requires power

The Marshall Milton ANC are an all-new pair of headphones that borrow the best parts of over-ear headphones and fit them inside a comfier on-ear form factor. They successfully bridge the gap -- both in price and positioning -- between Marshall's flagship Major series and the more affordable Monitor line. 

I've been wearing them for 10 days now, and I didn't think I'd love a pair of on-ear headphones so much. Here's why.

Comfort for days

Marshall products have a distinct, luxurious look, and the Milton ANC are no different. The leather-textured finish, gold logo motif, and overall aesthetics scream Marshall DNA. The only headphones they look similar to are the company's own Major 4. You get similar square earcups with rounded edges that fold for better portability.

The Milton ANC are light on the head, and their TPU-molded earcups make them comfortable to wear for long periods. I live in the Delhi heat, where my iPhone gets warm in the sun and most headphones usually trap sweat on my ears, but at no point did I feel like taking them off and wiping the earcups.

Also: I traveled 2,700 miles with Sony, Apple, and Sennheiser headphones - this pair sounded the best

They didn't warm my ears to an uncomfortable degree, even after two hours on my commute. However, if you wear glasses, Milton's clamping force could feel tighter than ideal after 45 minutes or an hour of use. 

The left ear cup has a customizable button, which registers single-press and double-press.

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I like buttons on my headphones, and the Milton ANC has two. There's a multi-directional brass button on the right ear cup. It doubles as a power button (long-press) and as volume and playback controls.

On the left ear cup, you get a customizable M-button that registers a single press and a double press. The single press can be assigned to toggle ANC, EQ, Soundstage (Marshall's spatial audio mode), and voice assistant, whereas the double press is meant to access Spotify Tap. 

The controls are intuitive, and I got used to them within the first day of use. However, I wish the M-button supported long pressing, so I could have Soundstage access alongside ANC without reaching for my phone. If you have a source device with a 3.5mm audio jack for wired listening, the Milton ANC includes a USB-C-to-3.5 mm cable in the box. However, you'll need to power on the device for it to work in wired mode.

Marshall is also focusing on longevity with its new headphones. The Milton ANC has a user-replaceable battery and ear pads. The latter can be replaced with a simple twist-and-pull mechanism. This improved repairability should help increase the lifespan, which is great news for those of us who like to keep our tech in working condition for as long as possible.

Let's talk about sound

They have impressive ANC performance for the on-ear form factor.

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The Milton ANC features 32mm dynamic drivers and supports Bluetooth 6.0 with AAC, SBC, LC3, and LDAC codecs. These also support Auracast, and the app includes a menu to help you find and join broadcasts. This feature is in beta, though. I paired them to my iPhone 17 Pro Max using the AAC codec and to my Vivo X300 Ultra for the LDAC experience. They also feature multipoint connectivity, allowing you to connect them to two devices simultaneously. I had no issue switching between my two phones.

Out of the box, the Milton ANC leans toward a more powerful bass. It is strong without affecting the vocals or muffling them. AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" sounded lively and energetic, with good instrument separation. On the other hand, Regina Spektor's piano-led "Us" had clear vocals without sounding shrill at high frequencies.

Also: Frustrated with your Bluetooth? How multipoint works - and why it sometimes won't

I enabled the Soundstage feature for most of my listening and only noticed a slight difference. You can fine-tune the spatial experience by playing around with Soundstage's virtual room settings. I set it to "large," which gave my music more breathing room without sounding too artificial.

The soundstage isn't as big as you'd get from a pair of flagship over-ear headphones, but they make for an immersive experience, nonetheless. I enjoyed listening to all kinds of genres without feeling tired by a thumping bass. The Milton ANC sounds warm, detailed, and overall fun for most genres. If that's not your type, you can adjust the EQ from the app.

How good is the ANC, anyway?

Marshall bundles a soft pouch with its Milton ANC on-ear headphones.

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As for the ANC in the Milton ANC, these are the first Marshall on-ear headphones to support it. It is hard to get ANC right on this form factor because the feature requires a good level of passive noise cancellation, which is possible only on over-ear designs. Once your ear is covered by the earcups' padding, it is harder for noise to penetrate. 

However, on-ear headphones don't offer the same level of padding because they sit on top of your ears. I had low hopes for ANC, but it was better than I expected. The Milton ANC can eliminate street noise and low-frequency consistent humming, like from an air conditioner, very well.

It doesn't compare to the Sony WH-1000XM6 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultras of the world, but the ANC performance is impressive for a pair of on-ear headphones. You also get a decent transparency mode for when you need to hear your surroundings.

A solid app and rich feature set

The Marshall Bluetooth app is one of the best headphone apps out there.

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The Marshall Bluetooth app is one of the most straightforward apps from an audio company. It is simple, easy to use, and lists all the features on a single screen without overwhelming you. At the top, you get settings for ANC adjustment, and as you scroll, you'll find other features, including M-button customization, Soundstage, and Spotify Tap, among others.

One of these extra features is Battery Preservation, which works like the iPhone's battery settings. It lets you preserve battery life by limiting the maximum charge, adjusting the charging speed, and controlling the charging temperature. You can slide a rectangular box to set Preservation to None, Standard, Medium, or Max.

Also: The AirPods getting a custom equalizer with iOS 27 is a bigger deal than you think

Like other Marshall headphones, the Milton ANC doesn't support wear detection for automatically pausing media when you take the headphones off. While using the Milton ANC, I really missed this feature. I use earbuds in my daily life, so I am accustomed to my music pausing as soon as I pull them out of my ears. I forgot about the absence of this feature on my first day of use and had the music playing on my desk for an hour before I noticed. However, the Auto Power-Off feature can counter this to some extent if you remember to pause the music.

Marshall offers two settings to select the time limit before your headphones pause automatically. First, when connected and paused, and second, when not connected. I've set both to 10 minutes so my headphones don't drain the battery if I forget to switch them off. 

The Milton ANC can be tracked on the Apple Find My app as well as the Google Find Hub.

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The Milton ANC is also one of the first headphones to support Apple Find My and Google Find Hub location tracking services. This is a highlight because it is enabled in your phone's native Find My app rather than the headphones' app.

You can pair them to the Apple Find My network like any other third-party item. Make sure the Milton ANC are in pairing mode, then open the Find My app > tap Items > tap the + icon, and your iPhone should display the headphones.

Also: Your iPhone is getting enhanced Bluetooth tracking with iOS 27 - but there's a catch

I charged my Milton ANC on day two of use, and they're still running strong. Marshall promises 80 hours of battery life with ANC off and up to 50 hours of playback time with ANC on. I've only been able to deplete it to 50% so far. These are very impressive numbers, and I'm glad I don't have to charge my new headphones weekly, even though I use them regularly.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Marshall Milton ANC are the best on-ear headphones you can buy right now, in terms of wearability, style, performance, features, and price. You can buy the Beats Solo 4 for $230, but you won't get ANC, or you can go for the $160 JBL Live 680NC, but you'll miss out on the aesthetics.

The Marshall Milton ANC is the perfect balance of everything. I'd love for them to have wear detection, but there's not much else to complain about. For $230, you get the comfiest on-ear headphones with decent ANC, great sound, iconic repairable design, and an excellent feature set.