Stanmore Multiroom speakers crackle when streaming
1

vote

Hi,

I have two Marshall Stanmore Multiroom speakers and I keep having issues with streaming music. I've contacted support multiple times and while they are friendly and try to help as best as they can, I still don't have a solution.

The setup is the following: my two Stanmore Multiroom speakers are in the same room, about 6 meters apart from each other. I have saved a couple of online radio stations and spotify playlists on the devices. The wireless router (a Fritzbox with 2.4GHz and 5GHz enabled) is in the same room, 2 meter from the first Stanmore, 4 meters from the other. 

The problem: When streaming music, half the time it's crackling. By crackling I mean the sound similiar to someone touching the needle of a record player. This is very annoying and not something you want with a speaker you paid €450 for... Now, as both these speakers have this problem, I thought my network was not sufficient. Speedtests (while the crackling is occurring) show I get about 200Mbps down and 30Mbps up. I even bought the Fritzbox to place in the same room to try and solve this problem. 

On the 5GHz network, both speakers only have a signal strength of 25%-45%. On the 2.4GHz network, both speakers get 55%-60%. The crackling occurs on both networks. There is no other wifi network in my surroundings using the same channel, this can be checked on the Fritzbox. This seems to be a very low signal strength while the router is in the same room, with no blocking walls...

The online streams and spotify lists don't have any issues when I listen to them on my phone/laptop, only on the Stanmores.

The last thing support said was to send the speakers to repairs, but I have read the instructions and when they don't find an issue, I need to pay for their work. I would like to make sure I have two faulty speakers before I would return these. Are there any solutions I haven't tried yet? The thing that worries me is that these Stanmore Multirooms are no longer in production... Is this a known problem?

I hope someone can help me with this frustrating issue... Thanks in advance! 

asked 10 Apr 2021 at 08:15 AM

Pieter-Jan Batsleer (1)
Answers: 4
1

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There are a lot of software issues with this speakers that are just NOT being fixed.
I have a similar setup ( Marshall Stanmore + Marshall Acton, both multi-room speakers) and have suffered the following issues so far:

- Speakers make crackling sound  sometimes

- Volume drops, and changing the volume back in the app does not work

- When playing music from spotify on both speakers (Multi), music only starts playing on one speakers. 

- Music randomly stops playing

- Speakers can not be found in app

- Delay in playback when playing music directly over RCA

I have also changed my router to a Fritzbox, and after that to a  TP-Link Deco M5 Mesh setup.
Problems are not fixed. 

All these problems have been issued here on the forum and the reaction is always the same: please contact support@marshallheadphones.com

It is time for Marshall to take their responsability. We don't care that you let another shitty company develop your wifi / bluetooth speakers.
It is YOUR name on the speakers. All of above problems are software problems and could be fixed.  But no. Marshall just totally abandoned this product. In the meanwhile, these speakers are been withdrawn from the market here in the Netherlands.

I didn't just buy marshall instead of sonos, I expected a good quality product from this company. But this is just garbage. 


On a positive note: the looks of the speakers are great and the sound is superb, when it works..

answered 20 May 2021 at 11:12 AM

Kees Lina (4)
1

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Hi there

I have 3 Woburns and 3 Stanmore. I have the same issues as you both describe. THE SUPPORT FROM MARSHALL FOR MULTIROOM SPEAKERS IS SHITTY!!! DO NOT BUY THESE SPEAKERS!

 

- I did however solve the problem of the crackling sound by putting a Shelly plug-S in between the wall socket and the powercord. I have set a schedule in the Shelly plug to cut the power every day for a minute. The crackling sound appears after a 24hrs, so by rebooting them every 24hrs I eliminated the problem. I hope this can help others owners of these really good speaker with VERY SHITTY WIFI AND SOFTWARE PROBLEMS!!

answered 28 Nov 2021 at 04:15 AM

John Kellen (2)
We have the exact same issue for our 2 Acton Multiroom. Whenever they have been turned on for more than 24 hours the sound starts to crackle/become distorted. It is super annoying considering that these WiFi speakers are meant to be powered on 24/7.
Considering the number of people who have this issue it is crazy Marshall haven't made a fix for it yet...
- N M 09 Jan 2022 at 03:47 PM
Can confirm that cutting power for just 10seconds works for me. I have had this problem for 3 years. - Cooper Heart 05 Feb 2022 at 03:35 PM
0

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Hi Pieter-Jan,

For any Bluetooth speaker/headphone issues, please contact support@marshallheadphones.com

Regards

Marshall Support

answered 12 Apr 2021 at 09:09 AM

0

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I am returning the speakers. I have tried everything to improve the audio quality when streaming but it's no use.

It's a pity because the Stanmore Multi-Room are literally the only speakers that I can use my record player on, stream internet radio and look like they fit in an interior. All the other speakers look like crap.

I will post an update if I get an answer when I returned the speakers for anyone interested...

answered 10 Jun 2021 at 03:49 PM

Pieter-Jan Batsleer (1)
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