Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) vs Marshall Monitor II ANC

The Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) is an exemplary product and sets the bar for all other Closed-Back Headphones at the $210 budget.

The Marshall Monitor II ANC, however, is merely passable for its price. We suggest taking a look at some better options if you're considering buying a Closed-Back Headphone in the $330 range.

The Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) has managed to do great in various roundups conducted by reviewers from highly trusted sources that perform objective in-depth testing, like Tom's Guide, CNET, Laptop Mag, and SoundGuys - it was dubbed "Best Sony headphones overall" by Tom's Guide, "Best of previous generation" by CNET, and "Excellent sound paired with great noise cancelling" by Laptop Mag. Any product that's held in such high regard by some of the most reliable sources should be considered by everyone who's looking for a Closed-Back Headphone at this price.

Moving on to the Marshall Monitor II ANC: it was unable to reach the very top of any roundups from sources that conduct reliable and unbiased testing. Nonetheless, it still managed to impress reviewers from a number of such sites, like Windows Central, Tech Advisor, Headphone Review, Expert Reviews, Techradar, Android Central, The Verge, PCmag, TrustedReviews, and Wirecutter (NYTimes), enough for them to include them on those lists.

When we thoroughly analyzed their review scores, we learned that all of the sources that tested both Closed-Back Headphones, including Expert Reviews, Pocket-lint, Tech Advisor, PCmag, Headphone Review, and Techradar, preferred the Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) over the Marshall Monitor II ANC.

We also took a look at which sources they managed to impress the most. The Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) was liked best by Expert Reviews, which gave it a score of 10, while the Marshall Monitor II ANC got its highest, 9, score from Windows Central.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Closed-Back Headphones on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Closed-Back Headphones being 7.4 out of 10, whereas the Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) and Marshall Monitor II ANC managed averages of 9.0 and 8.2 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) vs. Marshall Monitor II ANC comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.