Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ True Wireless Earbuds – Bluetooth 5.0, Hi-Fi Sound, In Ear Headphones for iPhone and Android with Charging Case and App Control (Black)
Designed and Engineered in the UK
For the last 50 years, we’ve worked hard to deliver products that help you to hear your music at it’s very best – with nothing added, nothing taken away. Designed and engineered in London, by the same team responsible for our award-winning Hi-Fi, Melomania 1+ are no exception. Immerse yourself in high-quality audio, without the hassle of wires, wherever you are.
| Dimensions: | 5.9 x 5 x 670.56 cm; 280 Grams |
| Model: | C11185K |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Cambridge Audio |
| Dimensions: | 5.9 x 5 x 670.56 cm; 280 Grams |
| Origin: | China |
Well what can I say for the money these things are amazing. I like the look of the Bose but to be completely honest these are just as good and a lot less money. I have Bowers and wilkin speaker and Bose so I am very fussy when It comes to my audio. I expect high quality sound and believe me these live up to that expectation !!!!! They are also very generous with the amount and selection of ear bud sizes so I’m sure you will find one that fits your ears ( something I’ve not seen with other makes of ear phones. They did cut out in playing Audio at first but once I’ve updated the firmware they are perfect. You can also use the app to adjust the sound eg base/ trebile/ mid range. They are well worth buying. I give them high scores and the only reason I’ve not rated the battery life is due to I’ve not used them long enough to rate this yet.
. I’m one happy customer. Thank you Cambridge audio for making an amazing and affordable set of wireless buds.
Well what can I say for the money these things are amazing. I like the look of the Bose but to be completely honest these are just as good and a lot less money. I have Bowers and wilkin speaker and Bose so I am very fussy when It comes to my audio. I expect high quality sound and believe me these live up to that expectation !!!!! They are also very generous with the amount and selection of ear bud sizes so I’m sure you will find one that fits your ears ( something I’ve not seen with other makes of ear phones. They did cut out in playing Audio at first but once I’ve updated the firmware they are perfect. You can also use the app to adjust the sound eg base/ trebile/ mid range. They are well worth buying. I give them high scores and the only reason I’ve not rated the battery life is due to I’ve not used them long enough to rate this yet.
. I’m one happy customer. Thank you Cambridge audio for making an amazing and affordable set of wireless buds.
I had Melomania 1 before, swapped it for melomania touch which wasnt great and regretted the swap! 1+ is fantastic and on every level better then 1 and touch. You wont regret, Its best of both without the let down pointers of the touch. BUY IT!
I had Melomania 1 before, swapped it for melomania touch which wasnt great and regretted the swap! 1+ is fantastic and on every level better then 1 and touch. You wont regret, Its best of both without the let down pointers of the touch. BUY IT!
I went in on a pair of Samsung Galaxy buds before these, which were middling and for my apparently misshapen ears, painful to wear for any length of time.
The Melomania +1’s blow them out of the water. They’re on par, if not better than my wired buds, which is more than I could’ve asked for.
Comfortable to wear once you’ve dialled in the right silicon tips, of which there are over a dozen to choose from. The earbuds themselves are discreet, and don’t feel like you’ve got two large strawberries sticking out of your earlobes. They feel just like regular earphones, except… no wires. What an age we live in.
Sound-wise – dreamy, generous soundstage; little to no fatigue (this is where they beat out my wired buds); bass is clean if not exactly thumping – but not inadequate providing you’re not a total bass head (you know who you are); and the mids and highs lean towards balance over accuracy, which is a godsend if you find the latter shrill and uninviting.
I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself an audiophile, but, really, any perceived shortcomings with these are only owing to Bluetooth, so in that respect, they really, really deliver.
Hats off Cambridge Audio. Hats off.
I went in on a pair of Samsung Galaxy buds before these, which were middling and for my apparently misshapen ears, painful to wear for any length of time.
The Melomania +1’s blow them out of the water. They’re on par, if not better than my wired buds, which is more than I could’ve asked for.
Comfortable to wear once you’ve dialled in the right silicon tips, of which there are over a dozen to choose from. The earbuds themselves are discreet, and don’t feel like you’ve got two large strawberries sticking out of your earlobes. They feel just like regular earphones, except… no wires. What an age we live in.
Sound-wise – dreamy, generous soundstage; little to no fatigue (this is where they beat out my wired buds); bass is clean if not exactly thumping – but not inadequate providing you’re not a total bass head (you know who you are); and the mids and highs lean towards balance over accuracy, which is a godsend if you find the latter shrill and uninviting.
I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself an audiophile, but, really, any perceived shortcomings with these are only owing to Bluetooth, so in that respect, they really, really deliver.
Hats off Cambridge Audio. Hats off.
Having struggled to use cheap Bluetooth wireless earphones held together by a wire (which kept catching in my neck), I took the plunge and bought these as my first true wireless set. It has to be said, they are not the sleekest looking ear buds around, but what they lack in looks they more than make up for where it counts. The sound quality is truly stunning, and I am constantly amazed by the detail I have previously been missing on tracks I have listened to for years. I have seen a lot of people complaining about the fit, but I have genuinely had no problem. There are a few sizes of rubber and memory foam adaptor supplied, and it is definitely worth spending time getting the best fit. It makes a huge difference to the sound and and the noise blocking. Actually, I struggle to see how people find they don’t fit as the bit that goes in your ear, and the adaptors that cover them, are pretty much the same size and shape as for any earphones I have ever owned. Battery life is amazing, too. I have been using them for about an hour a day and putting them back into the case after use, and have only had to charge the case a couple of times since Christmas.
Of course they are not prefect, but none of the niggles are particularly serious. The Bluetooth connection is pretty reliable, although sometimes one fails to connect and you need to put them both back in the case then take them out again to force them to reconnect. Not sure if this is just Bluetooth being Bluetooth, or a design fault of the earbuds, but it is a little annoying. The end of each earbud is also a large button, and it is easy to push this when fitting or removing the earbud. You soon get used to handling them to avoid this. I find it impossible to remember the controls, beyond pressing and holding left or right to reduce or increase the volume and tapping either button to pause/start. I have inadvertently initiated calls by pressing accidentally, so would much prefer if the controls were just volume up/down and pause/start, but that is probably just me! I also had one of the memory foam adaptors tear when trying remove it to clean it, but Cambridge Audio sent some replacements free of charge, so I’m not too annoyed about that.
Overall, I would highly recommend these to anyone who wants true wireless earbuds that sound amazing and don’t cost silly money.
I was happy with my RHAs but the battery was deteriorating so opted for these. These looked a bargain (and they are a bargain).
I am fussy when it comes to earphones and my wife will attest to the piles of cables and old equipment strewn over my office!
These are worthy of a review and a thumbs up.
First the pros: comfortable, easy to use, good sound (actually very good), amazingly good battery life, people have mentioned issues with the buttons and it’s true that when adjusting fit particularly with gloves on you can stop playing, that being said it isn’t a problem as the button is easy to find and responsive.
Cons sometimes (maybe 1 time in 10) they don’t connect immediately and have to be put back in the case or oddly stay connected when back in the case. There really isn’t any noise cancellation to speak off certainly when compared to my Sony Noise cancelling earphones.
That being said the battery is a particular plus and the sound is as good as one might expect from Cambridge Audi on (given the small physical presence). It’s. a thumbs up from me.
Update some months later
Still happy overall. Have to say that getting them to link to the phone can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes they don’t connect on opening case and taking out other times they stay connected when they have been put back in case. The other issue is the case itself the ear tips can disconnect and stay in the case even thought the bud is out. Very annoying. Still good but probably 4 stars and have some annoyances to be dealt with
I was happy with my RHAs but the battery was deteriorating so opted for these. These looked a bargain (and they are a bargain).
I am fussy when it comes to earphones and my wife will attest to the piles of cables and old equipment strewn over my office!
These are worthy of a review and a thumbs up.
First the pros: comfortable, easy to use, good sound (actually very good), amazingly good battery life, people have mentioned issues with the buttons and it’s true that when adjusting fit particularly with gloves on you can stop playing, that being said it isn’t a problem as the button is easy to find and responsive.
Cons sometimes (maybe 1 time in 10) they don’t connect immediately and have to be put back in the case or oddly stay connected when back in the case. There really isn’t any noise cancellation to speak off certainly when compared to my Sony Noise cancelling earphones.
That being said the battery is a particular plus and the sound is as good as one might expect from Cambridge Audi on (given the small physical presence). It’s. a thumbs up from me.
Update some months later
Still happy overall. Have to say that getting them to link to the phone can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes they don’t connect on opening case and taking out other times they stay connected when they have been put back in case. The other issue is the case itself the ear tips can disconnect and stay in the case even thought the bud is out. Very annoying. Still good but probably 4 stars and have some annoyances to be dealt with
I’ve been using these for almost three weeks and they work really well for listening to audio – the quality is great (check out other reviews for more detail).
However, the call quality, even in a quiet environment, is shockingly bad! So if you’re looking for something you can also use for calls, then look elsewhere!
I’ll keep these for the audio quality as that’s why I purchased them (hence the 4 stars), but I’m already looking for an alternative that can hopefully give me both a great listening experience AND call quality.
I started writing a long-ass review, but who really cares what an Amazon buyer says that much?
TL:DR, they sound GREAT! ((Former semi-pro musician and hobbyist audiophile.) 79 is an absolute steal for this combo of slightly warm but reasonably natural sound with good bass and decent sound stage. Easy to pair/connect and comfy to wear. Just make sure you use the foam tips, not the silicon ones.
They’re not the last word in clarity, timing or bass when compared with more expensive wired headphones, but I reckon they’d be pretty hard to beat for everyday quality and convenience.
Looking forward to trying them with better foam buds, but I already love them!
Delivered 6 hours ago and already love them and wanted to share why I am so thrilled. In the last two years have binged on acquiring both earbuds and cans, at middle to lower end of price range, probably because I had never found any I was completely satisfied in every respect.
These are the exception. In the limited time I have had them all my wishes have been met et al:
1. Easy pairing
2. Easy control for volume, pause etc
3. Quality sound. Right up there or thereabouts with the best end to my humble hearing
4. Though these are not noise cancelling, unbelievable the way the world is shut out when the music plays
5. Love the small case but doesn’t feel tiny like it is – so practical to take with you
5. Quality feel to both buds and case
6. Incredible value considering all the above
Note – I read these buds have been superceded by a newer model hence the recent price fall, presumably to clear stock, so be quick to snap these up
The sound quality of these can really not be understated, the depth of sound you get listening to music is really the best I have heard in a pair of ear buds. They are designed as monitors so no complaints there. The case is also exceptionally small, it is much smaller than the Airpods and slightly smaller than the Airpods Pro, with amazing build quality to match, they feel very high end and the case has a satisfying snap when you open and close it. The only improvements I would suggest would be wireless charging and USB C.
The buds themselves have a great design but it won’t be for everyones ears, I didn’t find them too bad, but they can stick out a lot depending on the shape of your ears, I found the fit on one ear was much better than the other for example. They are very tiny and they can be quite fiddly to get back in to the case, so be careful!
The main drawbacks of these headphones are the microphone quality and the Bluetooth the connection quality. The microphone is borderline unusable, I had multiple calls where people could not hear me at all or complained about feedback, I imagine due to the fact there is no stem for the microphone. As for the connection quality, over the course of two pairs of these I have had I experienced very spotty connection when using an Apple device, however it should be noted that my experience on Android was much better. They also come with a really annoying voice saying “Melomania Connected” etc. every time something happens. The final nail in the coffin for these as a daily pair of buds for me was switching between devices, it was a real pain and I could never reliably switch between devices without spending ages faffing around in a Bluetooth menu, I think this could be because each bud registers as a separate Bluetooth device and it’s hard to tell which one is actually connected at any given moment, for that reason I ended up returning these and going with a more integrated pair of buds.
If you are planning to use these on just one device, and only care about music quality I can’t recommend these high enough, however think twice if connecting to multiple devices or call quality is important to you.
These are the best sounding true wireless earphones I have tried, and also have the best battery life and a very stable connection. The sound is clear with good bass and trebble and a wide soundstage. They are suitable for all types of music. The max volume level is average.
There are a couple of negatives – these have a slightly cheap feel. The packaging, charging case, silicone buds etc are all of the same quality as one would expect from 30 made in China no-name earphones. There is no app so no chance of firmware updates or equaliser controls. One earbud discharges faster than the other (depending on which one is removed from the case first as this acts as the master unit). The battery in the case slowly discharges even when the earbuds are not in use. They are slightly large in the ear and do not stay securely in place for long. They do not have much style.
Still, this is a good product and 4 stars are deserved at the current price of 79.
After going through many cheap pairs of headphones I was looking for something more reliable but also better sound quality without spending loads of money. After reading many reviews I settled on the Cambridge Audio melomania.
Firstly the packaging is 100% recyclable. Even using soya ink and potato starch plastic. Well done Cambridge Audio!
The sound quality is excellent. Very clear and crisp and good balance of bass and treble. They come with 8 different types/sizes of ear buds so you need to play around and find what fits best for you to get a good seal. I have gone with the memory foam that give a good seal and do almost block out all surrounding sounds ( even traffic noise, so be careful if out running or on a bike!) The sound quality and lack of outside noise means you don’t have to have them so loud either which is great for your hearing too. The appearance is different to many earphones out there but the design is about giving the best sound quality. I use them for running and they fit securely and don’t move or fall out. I have not been able to test the full battery life but have had them on for 3 hours and still plenty of battery life.
I have dropped one star for workouts as you can hear the vibration as your foot strikes the ground in some circumstances ( hard ground/downhill, or that my just be my heavy footed running style!) doesn’t really cause me an issue and the other positives outweigh this.
They are fantastic indoors whilst working from home and prefer to use these than a speaker system.
Overall a great product and for only 80.
Firstly at the currently discounted price these are very good value for money 79.95. I chose these for the superior battery life and based on Cambridge Audio’s reputation for superior audio products. Overall I am very happy with my purchase. However the one major niggle are the ear pieces. They are non standard, so I could not simple swap over the ones I am comfortable with from my wired earphones. The selection provided was not great, the shapes are wrong for my ears. I finally found a set I could use, however I do not trust using them outside the house, due to possibility of losing them.
The sound quality is wonderful. As others have mentioned, I am hearing elements in the music, previously not heard with my other earphones. The touch controls are surprisingly usable.
I also bought the recommended silicon case for the charger. This was a disapointment, it does not fit well and the cutouts do not line up.
As mentioned above the charger requires the older style USB lead, a short one is provided.
These have got a 5* review in What Hifi and it’s well deserved. They are well priced and sound fantastic. They fit my ear well – both comfortably and securely. The bluetooth connection to the phone is robust. I have no complaints at all. Whilst different people have different ear canals, and not everyone can get a secure fit with earbuds that just plug into the ear you get the usual range of different sized silicon buds with these plus two memory foam buds. The latter work well for me and though I don’t use them for outside runs (I don’t like my ears blocked when road running) I think they would stay in (in my case) for all but the most energetic workouts. The sound is well balanced and the battery life is superb for true wireless buds – 9 hours. The small hard plastic case provides another 4 charges in addition. The case is quite small and comfortably fits in your pocket. So no complaints, and given the price currently an absolute bargain.
These have got a 5* review in What Hifi and it’s well deserved. They are well priced and sound fantastic. They fit my ear well – both comfortably and securely. The bluetooth connection to the phone is robust. I have no complaints at all. Whilst different people have different ear canals, and not everyone can get a secure fit with earbuds that just plug into the ear you get the usual range of different sized silicon buds with these plus two memory foam buds. The latter work well for me and though I don’t use them for outside runs (I don’t like my ears blocked when road running) I think they would stay in (in my case) for all but the most energetic workouts. The sound is well balanced and the battery life is superb for true wireless buds – 9 hours. The small hard plastic case provides another 4 charges in addition. The case is quite small and comfortably fits in your pocket. So no complaints, and given the price currently an absolute bargain.
Having read some reviews I can only conclude that some are blaming these earphones when it maybe their equipment ears or expectations that lead them to give such low stars. These need to be fitted correctly with the appropriate sized bud after which the quality would be hard to beat for in ear phones. EQ easily adapts them to all musical tastes with exception perhaps of the bass head. The buttons can be fiddley admittedly and exercising in any vigorous sense would be a no no. Equally taking phone calls (I dont) may prove awkward. But, I find these fantastic. The sound stage is wide, definition surprisingly clear. You may lose a little on the higher end vocals but these are in ear phones and you should not be expecting miracles. I find them useful when roaming around the house doing the chores, contact is maintained with the odd exception when near other electrics, the odd temporary break by the washing machine for example. Noise blocking is sensible and normal background noise unnoticed. Leakage is absolute minimal. 5 stars from me for what I want.
I ordered these for my mother who is 72 years of age and because of lockdown she had to pair them up herself to her iPad and iPhone. She did this without me even having to FaceTime her and explain how to pair them. She said it was so easy. She loves the fit in her ears and the fact she can have stereo phone calls not like some other headphone I could mention. She has told me they sound better that her beats solo which I had gotten her but they were wired and she now wanted wireless. I’m sure if my mother is happy with them then everyone else should be as she is very fussy.
Overall I’m happy with these. Using them with my Apple products but didn’t like their AirPods nor did I want to pay the inflated AirPod Pro price. They don’t work as seamlessly though. Regularly they don’t connect when they should, they also drop out more than some cheap Chinese Bluetooth buds I had previously did.
Sound is really good…when you get the fit right. But that seems really difficult on these compared to other buds I’ve tried. I’m regularly “screwing” these in only for them to loosen again quickly. I’ve tried different tips and foam ones work best but they still aren’t perfect for me.
I also hate how they look…feel a bit like Frankenstein’s monster with these bolts sticking out my ears…
Nice looking phones in a nice sturdy case.
Having some connection issues now and then- robot voice saying “Bluetooth on. Bluetooth disconnected, Bluetooth on. Bluetooth disconnected…” Bit of a pod bay doors moment. Maybe it’s a) my stupidity or b) my Android. But my other Bluetooth phones (Bose and Skullcandy) just go beeep, and connect. Every. Time. Problem seems to go away by putting the Melomanias back in the case, and taking them out again.
Sound on these is clear, colourful, detailed. In fact, I’d probably say it’s the best sound I’ve ever experienced from in-ear phones. It’s the sound I was hoping for at this price point. Definitely not disappointed there.
Design – generally excellent. Looks-wise 10/10. The retrofuturistic flashing circles around the outside of the phones are very smart. Functional too as they indicate various states e.g. pairing mode, charging, etc.
One small but significant quibble – the supplied silicone tips seem long and thin and don’t stay in my ears. It’s as if they were designed for another primate species. I’d clocked this in numerous reviews before buying though, so I paid a tenner for the Cambridge Audio foam tips which are much, much better. Just a shame that it adds over 10% to the cost of having a working pair of Melomanias. I’ll give the silicone spares to my pet baboons.
All in all, I’m happy with this purchase.
*Update – after a few days’ heavy use, I have to say I love these phones. The sound is great, and with the foam tips, the fit is perfect.
Music used to test phones was all Flac or CD and included:
YG – My Krazy Life
Tom Waits – Alice
Durutti Column – The Return Of The…
Aphex Twin – SYRO
The Blue Nile – Hats
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
I’m not usually the one to write reviews, but I’m so impressed with these that I simply felt obliged to write one.
After being with wired earphones for a while I thought I’d go down the path of the ‘true wireless’ buds that have been garnering popularity. After a bit of looking around I was stuck between these and the Sony WF-1000XM3s: these were what I wanted to go for based on sound alone, which is obviously what you want a decent pair of earphones for; but I was quite unsure based on the number of people saying they couldn’t get them to fit right in their ears, a problem so severe that many were knocking an entire star off for it. However, after considering how many reviews I saw about the Sonys regarding them sounding poor, and after agreeing with myself that I have big ears, I went for the Melomanias.
Fast forward less than a day (thanks to Amazon Prime, of course) and there they were, laid on my doormat after being posted through my letterbox. Initial impressions were that the packaging is very premium, which was rather surprising because it’s all made out of… well, recycled cardboard. Slip the box out of the sleeve and you’re presented with two objects: a piece of paper from the CEO James Johnson-Flint thanking you for your purchase etc; and the main part of the packaging, holding the case for the buds, the charging wire and a little envelope with gold lettering which reads ‘For Those Who Listen’. Inside it is your usual literature, as well as a handy credit card-sized piece of paper listing the touch control combinations, and a neat little booklet of sorts guiding you through the history of Cambridge Audio. There are extra tips for the buds stowed away in a clever little mechanism, which slides out of the box; there are two pairs of memory foam tips, and three different sizes of ‘normal’ tips which have two pairs each, so you have a good bit of variety. I initially went for the memory foam ones but found them to be a little uncomfortable after a while, so I swapped them for the largest pair of tips. Pairing the buds is easy: turn on Bluetooth on your device, take the buds out of the case and select one of the buds that appear; both buds will show up, but only connecting to one is necessary, as they are both synced with each other.
So, now comes the important part: the buds themselves. What do they sound like? Phenomenal. Like, seriously, I’m not sure whether it’s because I’ve had poor earphones in the past or something but these sound simply amazing. The clarity and the range of sound is exceptional, meaning that I could hear absolutely everything that was going on in everything I tested, even things I’ve personally never heard before in music I’ve listened to for years—this ranged from frenetic techno such as Aphex Twin and Autechre, to orchestral pieces such as the score for 1917, and a bit of everything in between. The bass is nice and punchy, not overemphasised but natural, and this may be contrary to what other reviewers have said because they fit perfectly in my ear. I shove them in, give them a wiggle about to find the optimum position and they stay there—never do I feel like they’ll fall out. And, whilst these earphones don’t have ANC, the good fit I have ensures that I couldn’t hear my surroundings anyway, so WF-1000XM3s with your clever ANC processor eat your heart out. The touch controls are rather run of the mill, in which the sides of the buds are physical buttons that you press rather than true touch controls, but this doesn’t bother me as I don’t use these anyway. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the microphone as I haven’t made or received any calls with these. One other thing I can comment on, though, is that the buds themselves have an enormous battery life and the case has an even more enormous battery life to boot.
I do have some niggles with these though. The first is that the charging method is via micro-USB, which is a shame considering that virtually everything is transitioning to the more modern USB-C. The second is that these do not support wireless charging, which again is a shame, especially for a product like these which would probably benefit from not having the circuitry for a physical charging port and instead just rely on wireless charging. The third is quite nitpicky, but the charging port location is on the side of the case, and I feel that it would look better if it was on the bottom of it instead. But these issues are rather unimportant I suppose, and none of my issues are from how they sound which is very much a good thing, as these buds are something special.
As I mentioned, I was stuck between these and the WF-1000XM3s. Right now, I’m very happy that I went with these, so much so that I’ve spent virtually all day listening to my entire music library again with a huge smirk on my face. If you’re in the same boat as I was in then I believe my review is proof-is-in-the-pudding enough for you to make a decision.
Truly amazing earbuds.
I’ve read countless reviews over the last few months looking for the best earbuds for what I want within the budget I’ve set.
First of all I’m an iPhone user. My apple headphones kept getting tangled and caught on gym equipment so I was continually stopping, readjusting restarting which along with sweat making then loose just killed the rhythm.
So the criteria was mainly for gym but as I also like to stream with Netflix etc that also needed to be accounted for.
Comfort – I have fairly small ears and many different EarPods I’ve tried didn’t feel safe in my ears apart from my old Jabra X4s. These kind of screw into the ear canal and coupled with the right size bud fit really nicely. Getting the right fit also makes a huge difference with sound quality so take your time finding the right fit. Comes with plenty of different sized buds. They do not fall out and as they’re light they feel really secure even during a heavy workout. Great fit for long periods.
Sound quality music- OMG these sounds absolutely amazing and that is no exaggeration. I like all kinds of music from indie, blues to trance. I’m no musician or sound engineer but crikey the detail these pick up. I’m hearing elements that I didn’t know were there before. There’s no app to change anything like my old Jabras but Cambridge walk all over them in every way. The bass is just right. They may not be as loud as my Jabras but these more than make up for it with it with the quality especially on vocals etc. I cannot stress how clear these sound. Cambridge have excelled with these earbuds.
Sound quality streaming – I like my shows and chose a new Discovery episode to test these on. Absolutely no issues with latency. Lips synced perfectly when watching on my phone and these picked up some really great sound effect details as well as vocals etc that I didn’t pick up with my Apple wired headphones or on the sound bar from watching on tv.
Connectivity – These are so easy to connect to any device. Just seconds. Ranging from android work laptop to iOS iMac and iPhone. Just pop both buds back in case between switching. Easy peezy.
Calls- ok a little tinny but by no means an issue on this front.
Controls – Touch type using between L & R buds. Subtle but effective buttons that work perfectly. Don’t have to press too hard so no discomfort when in the ear when changing volume or tracks etc.
Build – Light but solid. The buds light up nicely and magnetically pop into the case with a reassuring ‘click’. The case feels solid. Easily fits in my pocket and has a 5 dot recharge display. I will buy the outer case and clip later though.
Overall these are easily and by far the best quality earbuds that I’ve tried beating Jabra, Apple, Bose and Jaybird that I’ve tried. Premium quality.
So I have been using these earbuds for a little over 4 months now and I can only say that they are fantastic! For the small size they really do pack a punch!
Pros: don’t look as daft as other earbuds with the little tail bit dangling down.
Sound quality is immense. I’m noticing bits in the background of songs I’ve listened to many times that I’ve never noticed before.
Volume is plenty loud enough and impressive for how small they are.
Battery life is great and they can be recharged 5-6 times from the case before the case needs recharging itself.
They come with 4 different tips one of which is memory foam although I prefer the rubber ones.
All genres sounds great. As someone that listens to everything from Eminem to slipknot to the Beatles to Beethoven I can safely say that these sounds great whatever you’re listening to. Ive noticed other ear/headphones tend to favour particular genres.
Cons: The only cons I can really think of the range isn’t the best. Getting up and going to a different room to grab something generally causes them to lose connection but this is not really a big deal.
Sometimes it can be a bit of a faf to get them connected. I have had to switch Bluetooth off and back on my device several times before they connect to it but most of the time connect as soon as you take them out of the case.
All in all I love these earbuds and for the current price they are an absolute steal! I have included some pictures to try and give you a size scope of these buds.
So I have been using these earbuds for a little over 4 months now and I can only say that they are fantastic! For the small size they really do pack a punch!
Pros: don’t look as daft as other earbuds with the little tail bit dangling down.
Sound quality is immense. I’m noticing bits in the background of songs I’ve listened to many times that I’ve never noticed before.
Volume is plenty loud enough and impressive for how small they are.
Battery life is great and they can be recharged 5-6 times from the case before the case needs recharging itself.
They come with 4 different tips one of which is memory foam although I prefer the rubber ones.
All genres sounds great. As someone that listens to everything from Eminem to slipknot to the Beatles to Beethoven I can safely say that these sounds great whatever you’re listening to. Ive noticed other ear/headphones tend to favour particular genres.
Cons: The only cons I can really think of the range isn’t the best. Getting up and going to a different room to grab something generally causes them to lose connection but this is not really a big deal.
Sometimes it can be a bit of a faf to get them connected. I have had to switch Bluetooth off and back on my device several times before they connect to it but most of the time connect as soon as you take them out of the case.
All in all I love these earbuds and for the current price they are an absolute steal! I have included some pictures to try and give you a size scope of these buds.
I could sum up my thoughts on one word: Wow!
Now, I am not an audiophile and I have always bought cheap phones and buds, thinking that they all sound the same and why would I pay more than a few for a set. But the Melomania 1 have changed my viewpoint on this!
I had done a lot of research into which wireless Bluetooth earbuds to buy and I was torn between the Melomania 1, Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 pro and the Lypertek Tevi. Each had good reviews interspersed with negative reviews (as is always the case) but the Melomania edged it for me due to their look. So I took the plunge and forked out my 100.
They arrived next day (great job as always Amazon) without problem.
I opened up the parcel and was greeted with the brown cardboard box packaging of the Melomanias. I was a bit disappointed with first appearance but quickly got over that when I opened the box. The presentation is beautiful with the snazzy little charge case in view. It helped that the packaging is almost all recyclable cardboard (top work Cambridge Audio).
Next I took out the instructions and spare tips (of which you get a variety of the silicone ones and two sets of the foams – M and L I think), so you are well covered with options.
Next it was the case for the buds. This is beautifully crafted and an awesome feeling case. It is compact and unobtrusive and just looks wonderful. The hinge on that opens and closes the case just feels so smooth. This really is a work of art! My only criticism is the fact that the case is charged with a standard micro USB and not USB-C.
So I then try the buds. I used the buds as they were -using the silicone tips fitted on dispatch. The fit was good and comfortable so I kept them on. I listened to some music and could immediately hear the clarity. Crisp, clean and a cut above my previous JLab go Air (which is still good for a 30 set of buds!). I was impressed. There was just a really nice balance to the tones. I was satisfied.
The touch controls (volume, track forward and back, calls etc) on the buds are smooth, intuitive and very responsive so that was another big thumbs up.
And then the BIG difference. I decided to try out the black foam buds that came in the packaging. Super easy to fit. I put the buds back in my ears and put the music on…………….I was BLOWN AWAY by how good these were. The foam buds transformed a very good sound into a truly awesome one! I didn’t know that such a simple change could offer so much.
The sound was so much deeper, fuller, bassy (but not overpoweringly so). It was spectacular!!! I was (I AM STILL) blown away by the sound quality of these buds with the foam tips.
If I had to describe the sound as a visual description, it would be that of oozing warm runny honey being poured over my eardrums. It is just so warm, loving, sweet and all encompassing. It gave me a sense of well controlled power being channelled in the right quantity into my ears. Its perfect.
A truly wonderful set of buds that has changed my view of how music should be heard.
Excellent work Cambridge Audio, and thank you!
These are great if they fit your ears. Sound is excellent (if they fit properly), battery is excellent, case/charger is a good design (if using the supplied tips), bluetooth connects well………..but in-ear headphones only sound good if they fit your ear canals well otherwise the noise isolation is lost, sound quality goes (you lose the bass), and for these ones with no other attachment to the ear- they fall out.
Personally, all of the supplied tips were too small for me so I spent 16 on T-600 comply tips (s/m/l sizes), the large ones fit me and the headphones sounded great – all good until trying to get them into the carrying/charging case where they just about squeeze in but are slightly too long to allow the connection to charge up. I didn’t want to take off the tips each time I charge (or cutting the ends off them to make them fit) so I returned the headphones, which is a shame because they were very close (literally about 1mm) to being really good.
Other reviews say the T-600 tips solved the size issue if you have wider ear canals than the supplied tips, so perhaps there are slightly different versions that work – but the Cambridge Audio information makes it clear that using non-supplied tips can prevent charging so I’m not so sure how other people have done it without that issue.
I cannot recommend these earphones enough, I’ve been using them for 2 months now and still love them!
The sound quality is fantastic for the price, with crisp detail and good volume. I have used entry-level over-ear headphones such as the Skullcandy Hesh and Audio-Technica ATH-M30X before buying these. The bass from these easily surpasses any over-ear headphone I’ve tried which is very impressive given their size. The Melomania’s come with 4 earbuds so I would recommend giving each a try for a day or two to see which gives the best seal as this is key to getting the best sound quality, particularly when it comes to bass. I found the high-tones a bit sharp straight out the box but this was easily fixed with an equaliser, which I would highly recommend using them to get the most out of their sound. I use Equaliser FX Pro which is very simple and works on both Android and iOS and have attached the settings I used for them in the pics.
The battery on the headphones and charging pack is also very impressive, I use them regularly for several days before having to charge them again. Bluetooth connectivity on both my phone and laptop is very fast and I only occasionally have issues connecting which is fixed by putting the earphones back in the charging pack to reset them.
The on-board functions such as play, skip and volume work very well because Melomania uses buttons (the glowing end of the earphone seen in the pic) rather than touch to activate them. Activating the personal assistant also works well. I have tried using them to answer calls but have had people complain of quiet volume issues, although I think this may be a case of putting the earphone in correctly so the mic faces the mouth properly.
I would also recommend getting the case (see green silicon case in pic) as it really helps protect the earphones and makes it less likely to fall out your pocket. It isn’t the greatest design because the top lid can slip off sometimes and I wouldn’t trust the flimsy carabiner ring on the side to hang it off anything, but for protecting your 150 headphones from damage it’s worth the tenner.
Finally, I was worried the shape of the headphone would give me a Frankenstein appearance when wearing them but their profile is actually much smaller when in your ear and look fine.
So overall, to get the most out of these earphones you have to spend some time getting the right ear-bud seal and equaliser settings, but even straight out the box the sound quality is excellent. These are a great addition for people passionate about sound who can’t afford to blow a grand on a pair of headphones.
I bought these for teaching music via Zoom hoping that they might also be decent for ‘proper’ listening. Well, I was blown away by the sound quality at this price. I have a pair of Sony HD650 which are quite high end wired headphones costing about 400. The Melomania are not in a much lower league in terms of sound, certainly not 300 difference. In fact, as a professional musician with decently trained ears I would say there are pros and cons to both. Using the memory foam buds (they give much more depth to the sound as they seem to sit deeper/more fully in the ear canal) the sound is warm and has good depth. The Sony has Moore sense of space around the sound which ultimately makes me probably prefer them my point is really that I shouldn’t be comparing the two because the Melomania are so much less expensive. The fact that they are Bluetooth and very convenient to use is an added bonus. I mainly listen to classical music so the observations above may be a bit different for other styles (although to my ears it they sound great in all styles). Don’t hesitate to buy!!
With the standard silicone eartips these earphones sound terrible. With the compatible Comply foam eartips the fit, bass response and overall sound quality is a world apart and truly satisfying.
For reference, the first version of these earphones were total junk, never connecting properly, sounding awful and always running out of battery prematurely. Once a terminal fault developed, I returned mine for a replacement. To my surprise, I received the 1+ edition by return. This update model sounds better, works better and even has a modern USB-C charging port. I am delighted to have received them and now really enjoy using them with the superb Comply eartips.
Thanks to Cambridge Audio for offering this excellent updated replacement product. They have quickly become my favourite earphones.
With the standard silicone eartips these earphones sound terrible. With the compatible Comply foam eartips the fit, bass response and overall sound quality is a world apart and truly satisfying.
For reference, the first version of these earphones were total junk, never connecting properly, sounding awful and always running out of battery prematurely. Once a terminal fault developed, I returned mine for a replacement. To my surprise, I received the 1+ edition by return. This update model sounds better, works better and even has a modern USB-C charging port. I am delighted to have received them and now really enjoy using them with the superb Comply eartips.
Thanks to Cambridge Audio for offering this excellent updated replacement product. They have quickly become my favourite earphones.
I have very few issues with these earphones. Cambridge Audio are already onto something good, and they’re very close to greatness.
Positives:
– They sound GREAT. Not the most bass ever so if that’s what you’re after, maybe look elsewhere, but it’s not weak either.
– Tips, particularly the memory foam ones fit very nicely in the ear.
– Case. Wonderful size and feel, fits in all pockets. Clean look. Great battery capacity. Easily readable indicator.
– Isolation. These passively isolate pretty damn well.
My only nitpicks are:
– The buds occasionally make contact with the lid of the case when opening and closing it. This may cause wear over time (but I haven’t seen any yet).
– The buds themselves can be a bit uncomfortable on long listenings on the actual outer ear, as they can stick into the ear a bit. A survey/research into ergonomics and a slight redesign could 100% solve this.
– The controls – kind of. They’re self explanatory and easy to work, but I occasionally find myself turning the volume up/down when I don’t want to.
– The lights. I actually like them 90% of the time, I just wish there was a way to turn them completely off on the earbuds for nighttime.
In addition to the issues above, things for a future iteration:
– A ‘Plus’ or ‘Pro’ model that costs more but has ANC and passthrough.
– Wireless charging and/or USB C on the case.
After comparing several brands including the award winning Sony earbuds. I decided on these, and I’m very happy I did. I wasn’t a fan of the look of them, and I’m still not. They look like they wouldn’t be secure enough. But I was surprised at how secure they are. They can take a bit of fiddling about to get a good seal with even sound between them. But when they’re in correctly they come to life. They aren’t too crazy with bass or treble. They sound very natural and surprisingly spacious. The only downside I see is that there is no app to support them. So no future updates, unless the guys at Cambridge Audio can sort one out. Having AptX Bluetooth codec and great battery life for under 100 swung it for me. I definitely recommend these true wireless earbuds.
I’m using these for general music listening from a mobile phone, so not the most sophisticated input source, but they reveal enough about the source to differentiate between a 320K .mp3 and a high quality .flac file.Sonically, these are fairly even handed with a fair degree of detail without harshness or sibilance. Battery life seems very good. I never listen for long enough to discharge the earphones before they go back in the case, but the phones / case combination certainly sees me get well over a week / 25 hours of listening per charge. 45 hours is claimed, with the right program material and volume it could be possible.
The bluetooth connection seems very stable. Indoors, there is never a disconnect. Outdoors, I’ve only experienced a disconnect when the charging case was in my pocket, masking the phone’s bluetooth antenna, which is to be expected. Otherwise rock solid connection.
There is only one downside I can see with these and it is that some may struggle with the fit. The nozzles are unusually large and none of the supplied tips gave a good enough seal. I’ve found Cambridge Audio’s own large foam tips (sold separately at 15 for 5 pairs) to provide a good seal with a little “screwing them in”. With these tips, sound isolation is very good, you may prefer silicone tips with less isolation if out and about near traffic.
I’m a bit of a Hi-Fi nut and listen on serious equipment at home. These are the first set of earbuds that I have actually really enjoyed music through, so I’m probably going to investigate a dedicated music player and more head fi in the future. A good product!
I’m using these for general music listening from a mobile phone, so not the most sophisticated input source, but they reveal enough about the source to differentiate between a 320K .mp3 and a high quality .flac file.Sonically, these are fairly even handed with a fair degree of detail without harshness or sibilance. Battery life seems very good. I never listen for long enough to discharge the earphones before they go back in the case, but the phones / case combination certainly sees me get well over a week / 25 hours of listening per charge. 45 hours is claimed, with the right program material and volume it could be possible.
The bluetooth connection seems very stable. Indoors, there is never a disconnect. Outdoors, I’ve only experienced a disconnect when the charging case was in my pocket, masking the phone’s bluetooth antenna, which is to be expected. Otherwise rock solid connection.
There is only one downside I can see with these and it is that some may struggle with the fit. The nozzles are unusually large and none of the supplied tips gave a good enough seal. I’ve found Cambridge Audio’s own large foam tips (sold separately at 15 for 5 pairs) to provide a good seal with a little “screwing them in”. With these tips, sound isolation is very good, you may prefer silicone tips with less isolation if out and about near traffic.
I’m a bit of a Hi-Fi nut and listen on serious equipment at home. These are the first set of earbuds that I have actually really enjoyed music through, so I’m probably going to investigate a dedicated music player and more head fi in the future. A good product!
Since being in lockdown it’s been hard with my boyfriend also working from home. I love listening to music but in our flat it’s become a battleground of when I have my music on vs. when he’s playing Xbox. I did lots of research before buying (and was quite confused!) Cambridge audio came up time and time again.
I was a bit concerned if I was paying over the odds (Creative were on offer for c.60), but i felt there were too many reported issues with Creative and star rating was lower and I didn’t want to regret this purchase.
From the moment you open the box you realise the quality, care and love that’s gone into making this product, the build quality is robust and the buttons are so easy to use.
I got these Saturday morning 16 May and they have barely left my ears since. It is an absolute joy – the battle now is my boyfriend trying to get any attention!
The quality of the audio is so special – I was listening to a piano recital and can even hear the cushion squeak! Sadly, for my poppy dance music they don’t go quite loud enough, but I guess that’s to protect my hearing and I’m sure the science is right for the long term!
Did have a couple of issues re: connectivity and blue tooth with left and right, but think it’s because you’re only meant to have one device connected (I’m using an iPhone)
Anyway, long and short, this is the best money I’ve spent and even within this short time period already feel they’re brilliant money for value and so difficult to take out – because I love them so much!
PS. Just to add, I’m not a headphone expert and usually prefer my speaker way loud, and so this has been a miraculous change to my way of life and me, so just saying in case you’re a bit like that also 🙂
Since being in lockdown it’s been hard with my boyfriend also working from home. I love listening to music but in our flat it’s become a battleground of when I have my music on vs. when he’s playing Xbox. I did lots of research before buying (and was quite confused!) Cambridge audio came up time and time again.
I was a bit concerned if I was paying over the odds (Creative were on offer for c.60), but i felt there were too many reported issues with Creative and star rating was lower and I didn’t want to regret this purchase.
From the moment you open the box you realise the quality, care and love that’s gone into making this product, the build quality is robust and the buttons are so easy to use.
I got these Saturday morning 16 May and they have barely left my ears since. It is an absolute joy – the battle now is my boyfriend trying to get any attention!
The quality of the audio is so special – I was listening to a piano recital and can even hear the cushion squeak! Sadly, for my poppy dance music they don’t go quite loud enough, but I guess that’s to protect my hearing and I’m sure the science is right for the long term!
Did have a couple of issues re: connectivity and blue tooth with left and right, but think it’s because you’re only meant to have one device connected (I’m using an iPhone)
Anyway, long and short, this is the best money I’ve spent and even within this short time period already feel they’re brilliant money for value and so difficult to take out – because I love them so much!
PS. Just to add, I’m not a headphone expert and usually prefer my speaker way loud, and so this has been a miraculous change to my way of life and me, so just saying in case you’re a bit like that also 🙂
So first up, I wouldn’t consider myself an audiophile, nor am I particularly knowledgable on the technicalities of top-end hi-fi. I do follow tech fairly closely, so when looking for a new pair of wireless earbuds, I looked at a few different options (including what many believe to be the best-in-class WF-1000XM3’s).
I decided to get the Melomania’s for two key reasons:
– Excellent review from What Hifi?
– The Price
Now I’ve been burnt before by inexpensive Wireless Earbuds – specifically Mobvoi’s Ticpods – which put me off Wireless buds for a bit. I’ve been running over-ear cans for the last year or so, as I’m a bass-head and need decent bass reproduction to enjoy a lot of music. But enough background, what are the Melomania’s like?
Pros
– Clear, crisp audio, with bright highs and mids
– Easy Setup and Pairing with plenty of easy to follow documentation
– Simple design, not too flashy
– Comfortable fit and various tips to suit different types of ears
– Small Form Factor
– Great battery life
– Price!
Cons
– Bass reproduction out of the box is lacking
– No ANC
– Micro USB for charging
– No companion app on Mobile
The part I want to touch on really quick is the bass reproduction. Out of the box, I’d call the lows and bass fairly “Limited” with not much punch. But here is the great thing about these buds – tweaking the balance on an inexpensive equalizer gave them a fantastic sound, with no distortion. It speaks to the build quality on these things that tweaks to the factory tune continued to produce clear and crisp audio whilst increasing the bass.
So no real complaints here. The one big thing to consider here is whether you go for these or the more expensive Sony’s (as the out of box tune on the Sony’s is arguably superior for someone like myself and includes ANC, an App, USB-C) but considering the price point, you get some much value from Team Cambridge. I’d recommend these.
I had both these and the AirPods Pro. For anyone interested, here is how they compare.
Sound Quality:
I’m no audiophile but I can tell a good pair from a bad pair. To me they’re as good as each other and I was happy with both. Airpods Pro noise cancellation was nice for blocking out ambient sound (fans, air con units) but its not true isolation as you get with larger earphones. It wasn’t a game changer but would be nice to have if you’re on a train/coach. It only dampens wind noise if it’s a windy day.
Comfort:
Both cases are similar sizes. The lid on the CA case opens around 100 degrees from the hinge, my fingers hit my lid as I try to remove them. Taking them out is a 2 handed job. The Airpods have a weighted lid which opens wider and overall the case feels a bit better quality.
Airpods felt more comfortable in the ear, they don’t have the ‘suction’ air pressure feeling. The CA’s need a good seal and I find they fit best when you kind of screw them into the ear. I also find they’re fiddly to put back in the case when the L/R indicator isn’t facing you, both buds are identical.
The in-ear controls are a little uncomfortable with the CA’s because pressing the button means pushing them into your ear. The Airpods squeeze control was better and little things like auto-pause when taking one bud out are nice features.
Connectivity:
I have an iPhone and the Airpods are designed to work seamlessly. My CA’s connect like regular bluetooth devices, about once a week for some reason I need to manually reconnect which is a bit annoying at times. Mostly though they’re good.
Firmware updates are terrible on CA’s – they require an android device! But tbh looking at the release notes there hasn’t been a firmware upgrade worth going through the pain for yet.
Airpods felt like they had a slightly smaller sound lag but there’s not much in it.
Battery life:
CA’s much stronger in this area, noticeably better. While I personally never need buds to last more than a few hours at a time, remember battery is non replaceable and deteriorates as the years go by, so I’m glad to have the large buffer with the CA’s.
Call quality
Airpods were much better, CA’s don’t always pick up my voice well enough for the person to hear me unless I talk loudly. You have to decide if that improvement is worth the extra 150.
Value:
At less than half the price, and with the long life promised by the battery, I kept the CA’s over the AirPods Pro. They’re the more sensible buy for sure. If Apple made theirs cheaper (say 100-150), I would probably swing the other way though as I did slightly prefer the Airpods overall.
Tried a stack of buds before settling on these. (IMO only ones better would be the Senn TW Momentums, but with a battery life of about half what you get with the Melomania and the case drain issue it was a no brainer for me. The sound difference is there, but not that great to my tired ears…though Senn Mk2’s promise to be an improvement I hear).
Another good thing with these Melomania is the case is very small and compact, smallest case I’ve seen, so if you are in a suit you can carry it in your pocket easily. I charge the case up maybe once a month and I use them frequently on a 40 minute each way journey into work. (that was before the Covid-19 Virus and work at home).
The memory foam inserts change the signature markedly, these then become loads more bass-ey and then the passive noise cancelling pretty much shuts out all ambient noise, but beware if your train is diverted you will miss the announcement; I ended up at Kings Cross once because of these… True story that… … You also get that bone conduction effect with the memory foam pads where you can hear yourself breathing and walking, so I went back to the silicone tips just so I don’t arrive at work late and I like that I can hear a little of ambient sound if the volume isn’t maxed out.
Should I talk about the impressive wide yet intimate soundstage, sonic subtleties with a powerful cavernous bottom end that doesn’t bleed into the forward midrange which doesn’t bleed into the sparkling top end which isn’t fatiguing from any peaks, fast pacing with a complex simple smooth playful decay, uncompromising cohesive detail, laid back and laid forward, U V and W sound profile with a lush clinically clear top end and yes, you will hear things in Dark Side of The Moon and Hotel California that you have never heard before, Nick Mason dropping his sweat band mid way through great gig in the sky, Don Henley pulling his socks up just before the vocals cut in, Excision breathing in gently before announcing he Guess I got my Swagger back, and that obscure Vietnamese throat warbling trio that nobody has ever heard of will appear to be standing right in front of you such is the realism and neutrality you can only get from a dozen monoblock Krells and Focal Grande Utopia’s connected with titanium unidirectional interconnects … These Melo’s will give your whole playlist a whole new lease of life. and . Or not. Who knows. bleh… bleh… bleh…
To sum up, Great sounding small (if slightly odd looking- but better in black tho) earbuds.
Only con is the name sounds a little too much like melanoma, but its a small price to pay. (Apologies to anyone suffering)…
I like them…
I bought these to replace a cheap set of oriental ones I had bought to see if I was comfortable with them. My intention was to at least partially replace a set of quality over ear headphones I use, but as I work from the kitchen table they took up lots of table top space for just occasional use. The first set I bought convinced me I was happy with ear buds so I took the plunge (18 Vs 100)
Initially I wasn’t too impressed. They didn’t seem to fit in the ear as well as the others which are a different shape, with the usual right angle fitting, whereas these are straight. Noise cancellation seemed almost nil and the buttons were easily activated when putting them in my ears.
So not a great start.
However, after a few days of use it became apparent they are more secure in the ears than the other ones,which is almost counter intuitive when you consider the shape.
Then I realised there was one set of memory foam tips which I tried and, presto, noise cancellation solved. It’s not really noise cancellation, just blocking, but not too bad.
Connecting them to my laptop was a doddle, but it became apparent, disconnecting the right hand speaker was equally a doddle, albeit unintentionally. A bit frustrating to begin with, but I just got into the routine of reinstalling them every few days.
Accidental button activation largely goes away once you get used to putting them in your ears carefully.
I’ll only mention the range because people will be curious. I don’t get a good range but I’m certain that’s my laptop’s fault, with a wimpy Bluetooth – in a 2,500 Porsche Design item!!! Both sets of earbuds are the same, despite others achieving 5m or more distance through wall. So, no stars knocked off for that.
The case is smaller than the other set as well, and if you’re active, it would slip in your pocket unnoticed.
The redeeming feature that will make you stick with them is the sound. I’m no audio freak, but if I could put a scale of comparison between the cheap earbuds and theses, it would be something like 10% compared to 90%. The noise from these things rival my conventional headphones, it’s glorious. Whilst others might describe it as bassy (which it is compared to the others) I find it a very natural sound you can listen to either music or movies with comfortably.
Unexpectedly, after a few weeks of getting used to them, they have replaced my conventional headphones completely. They are connected by the time you get them from the box to your ears, take up no tabletop space whatsoever, and the case holds a great charge. Nor have I run out of power in the ear buds themselves.
All in all, I have awarded then 4 stars to reflect the occasional disconnection problem and the fact they are describes as noise cancelling, which isn’t really true in the conventional understanding of active noise cancellation.
I bought these to replace a cheap set of oriental ones I had bought to see if I was comfortable with them. My intention was to at least partially replace a set of quality over ear headphones I use, but as I work from the kitchen table they took up lots of table top space for just occasional use. The first set I bought convinced me I was happy with ear buds so I took the plunge (18 Vs 100)
Initially I wasn’t too impressed. They didn’t seem to fit in the ear as well as the others which are a different shape, with the usual right angle fitting, whereas these are straight. Noise cancellation seemed almost nil and the buttons were easily activated when putting them in my ears.
So not a great start.
However, after a few days of use it became apparent they are more secure in the ears than the other ones,which is almost counter intuitive when you consider the shape.
Then I realised there was one set of memory foam tips which I tried and, presto, noise cancellation solved. It’s not really noise cancellation, just blocking, but not too bad.
Connecting them to my laptop was a doddle, but it became apparent, disconnecting the right hand speaker was equally a doddle, albeit unintentionally. A bit frustrating to begin with, but I just got into the routine of reinstalling them every few days.
Accidental button activation largely goes away once you get used to putting them in your ears carefully.
I’ll only mention the range because people will be curious. I don’t get a good range but I’m certain that’s my laptop’s fault, with a wimpy Bluetooth – in a 2,500 Porsche Design item!!! Both sets of earbuds are the same, despite others achieving 5m or more distance through wall. So, no stars knocked off for that.
The case is smaller than the other set as well, and if you’re active, it would slip in your pocket unnoticed.
The redeeming feature that will make you stick with them is the sound. I’m no audio freak, but if I could put a scale of comparison between the cheap earbuds and theses, it would be something like 10% compared to 90%. The noise from these things rival my conventional headphones, it’s glorious. Whilst others might describe it as bassy (which it is compared to the others) I find it a very natural sound you can listen to either music or movies with comfortably.
Unexpectedly, after a few weeks of getting used to them, they have replaced my conventional headphones completely. They are connected by the time you get them from the box to your ears, take up no tabletop space whatsoever, and the case holds a great charge. Nor have I run out of power in the ear buds themselves.
All in all, I have awarded then 4 stars to reflect the occasional disconnection problem and the fact they are describes as noise cancelling, which isn’t really true in the conventional understanding of active noise cancellation.
I decided to try and go for these earbuds after spending some time going through a number of websites comparing these types of devices. And even though I’m not an audiophile, I did know the brand Cambridge Audio for their higher end stuff. So naturally I got excited when I realised they have made some true wireless earbuds which sound great and are cheaper than some of the more direct competition – particularly if active noise cancellation isn’t a requirement for you.
The sound is really good, clear detailed and on the neutral side (I’m not a big fan of artificially heavy bass). I listened to some music with a range of sound styles, from some more acoustic bits, to heavy parts with a lot of complexity (and even walls of sound), and the earbuds performed really well across the whole frequency range.
They are also small, lightweight and discrete. I know this can vary from person to person, but in my case they fit quite comfortably with the included ear tips and, because they are so light, you can sometimes forget you have them on – which to me is a good sign. The controls on the earbuds are also intuitive enough to use, even though they are not touch sensitive.
The only problem I had with them was that when I took them outside and tried play music from my phone, the connection would breakup occasionally (like several times in 15 mins or less) – something which I saw as a deal breaker at the time. This lead me to contact customer support and I actually had the first pair replaced, to try and confirm whether I was just unlucky with that pair or if it was something else. To cut a long story short, I ended up trying these both a different pair of earbuds (from a different brand) with my phone, and also these earbuds on a different phone. The result is that I am now convinced my original issues were not a fault on the earbuds side, but on the mobile phone’s side (I have a Samsung Galaxy S8).
I did a bit of research on this and came across a number of discussions from people having similar issues with different earbuds and different phones, and so I tried looking for possible solutions. So, because I know that other people here complained about the same issues with these earbuds, I wanted to share my experience, which I’m hoping might help some of you. I ended up switching off some phone features like Adaptive battery and app optimisation for the Bluetooth app, as well as clearing the phone’s cache (including the Bluetooth cache). It now seems to me that the problems I was facing were related to a mix of the phone trying to be smart in optimising the energy usage of the Bluetooth, which might have cause occasional dropouts, as well as my phone accumulating crap which didn’t get cleaned up automatically. After I did these changes, I took my earbuds out and in about an hour did not have a single audio breakup.
If you experience the same issues as I did, I can’t promise the steps I took will solve your problem, but in the very least I recommend you give them a try, to double check if the problem still persists.
As a result, I decided to keep the earbuds and give them five starts because, now that I’m convinced my problem was with my phone, I really cant fault them for anything.
I just posted a review on Echo Buds last week, which I replaced with these buds. I did my whole headphone journeyman piece on that review, but suffice to say, Ive had a lot of headphones in my time, and these buds are absolutely astonishing! I must admit to being put off by the lack of an app, and also the price drop to 99 made me doubt them a bit more. Let me put ur mind at rest if u feel the same. These phones don’t need an app, the signature is on the money , they don’t need wings, they are so light and the ability to twist them in means they are rock solid for running (I’ve run 30k on them over the last week and they haven’t missed a beat), noise cancelling ( probably a gimmick on in ear headphones with such effective passive isolation), Bluetooth stability , brilliant, although I have had a couple of issues, but in the same place on my runs, so I’m sure it’s outside interference). The case design, perfect (and my daughter has AirPods so I can compare them), the controls… perfect, can do everything with the buds alone (why can’t all the buds use this scheme?) and then the audio… these are audiophile, full stop… listening to Spotify, tidal hifi and tidal master quality … brilliant. Where they really stand out is in previously listened to poor recordings, on other phones, muddled bass, harsh highs, lost mids… with the melomania, tranpartent, breathless, and smile inducing… Awesome. Buy these and enjoy the inner smugnesss as u stand next to others on the tube with Aipod Pros, senheisers, Sony’s, B&O, knowing ur listening to the smart choice. Shhh, don’t tell anyone!
I just posted a review on Echo Buds last week, which I replaced with these buds. I did my whole headphone journeyman piece on that review, but suffice to say, Ive had a lot of headphones in my time, and these buds are absolutely astonishing! I must admit to being put off by the lack of an app, and also the price drop to 99 made me doubt them a bit more. Let me put ur mind at rest if u feel the same. These phones don’t need an app, the signature is on the money , they don’t need wings, they are so light and the ability to twist them in means they are rock solid for running (I’ve run 30k on them over the last week and they haven’t missed a beat), noise cancelling ( probably a gimmick on in ear headphones with such effective passive isolation), Bluetooth stability , brilliant, although I have had a couple of issues, but in the same place on my runs, so I’m sure it’s outside interference). The case design, perfect (and my daughter has AirPods so I can compare them), the controls… perfect, can do everything with the buds alone (why can’t all the buds use this scheme?) and then the audio… these are audiophile, full stop… listening to Spotify, tidal hifi and tidal master quality … brilliant. Where they really stand out is in previously listened to poor recordings, on other phones, muddled bass, harsh highs, lost mids… with the melomania, tranpartent, breathless, and smile inducing… Awesome. Buy these and enjoy the inner smugnesss as u stand next to others on the tube with Aipod Pros, senheisers, Sony’s, B&O, knowing ur listening to the smart choice. Shhh, don’t tell anyone!
When it comes to battery life, this pair of earphones are near impossible to beat. It’s amazing.
Others have complained about connection issues, but honestly I’ve only experienced the same as with any Bluetooth pair of headphones. In busy areas, it’s likely to cut out a bit and come back. If you walk about busy London underground stations at peak time, you’ll likely find this happening. But it’s not happened to me on trains or most of the time walking.
It’s important to note that Bluetooth connectivity is largely dependent on the quality of the device you’re connecting to. I use a Pixel 4 and the Bluetooth is high end. I’ve used Sony phones in the past that have very poor Bluetooth modules and earphones cut out a lot. The same earphones on a device with a better Bluetooth module had no issues. So that might be another reason why people have been having trouble.
The biggest issues I’ve found with this pair of earphones is that although the sound quality is generally good, it’s a bit muddy or bass heavy. That could easily be rectified with a sound equaliser, but they don’t have a corresponding app with which to do this and if you use Spotify, you don’t have that option either.
The volume is also a little low for my liking. But fo tips do isolate the outside noises quite well (but they also contribute to the bassy sound… So it’s a case of compromise).
I think with an app in the future to manage the equaliser, this pair would get 5 stars. But otherwise, it’s a solid 4.
For the money, it can’t be beat on quality, build, style and battery.
These wireless ear buds are fantastic value. The sound clarity is great and there is enough bass for me. However for those that want ear bleeding bass these may have missed the mark. The feel and look of the product is quality and I love the halo lights around the function button.
These fit me really well and haven’t fallen out nor do they protrude that much from my ears, although I haven’t got small ears. My wife on the other hand does and she had issues getting them to stay in and fell out. However got a reasonable fit with the smallest silicon covers.
In terms of noise cancellation there is no active noise cancellation, yet if you get the correct fit it passively blocks most external sound. For example tried them whilst riding my motorbike to work and I felt a little claustrophobic as could not hear traffic around me.
I would really like Cambridge to provide better calls via these ear buds, there needs to be some form of active noise cancellation or something else to improve the quality of phone calls. I have been told by everyone I call that I sound far away “on a conference call” or on loud speaker. Additionally the mic seems to pick up everything around you so even worse when outside walking by a road or if it’s a windy day.
The battery has got a lot of mileage haven’t been able to fully test this yet as I like putting them away in the case when not in use.
I like these so much that I am always trying to find an opportunity to use them.
I had read many reviews on these and wanted a pair of in ear wireless that had as good quality as my over ears (B&W P7’s). Having had a few other cheaper pairs and loathed to pay top dollar for the Sony or Apple leading pairs I decided to give these a hesitant go.
Product quality is exceptional, case and phones excellent build and will last.
Sound (when u get the fit right) is fantastic. Good deep bass and full range. Not massively better than my cheaper ones however I think I got lucky with those (Encafire in ear ones). The sound however is excellent and doesn’t distort at high volume (which is wear I listen to them). Call quality isn’t amazing, better than my Encafires in noisy places but not massively.
My only challenge with these was getting a “sealed” fit. I contacted CA customer svce who sent me bigger foam tips. I stuck with the middle silicon and now have a fit that works (they’ll never fall out but took a bit of Time to work out the ideal fit).
Overall excellent product but not quite 5 star. For the price and compared to others more expensive I would recommend. Excellent customer service as well from CA
I had read many reviews on these and wanted a pair of in ear wireless that had as good quality as my over ears (B&W P7’s). Having had a few other cheaper pairs and loathed to pay top dollar for the Sony or Apple leading pairs I decided to give these a hesitant go.
Product quality is exceptional, case and phones excellent build and will last.
Sound (when u get the fit right) is fantastic. Good deep bass and full range. Not massively better than my cheaper ones however I think I got lucky with those (Encafire in ear ones). The sound however is excellent and doesn’t distort at high volume (which is wear I listen to them). Call quality isn’t amazing, better than my Encafires in noisy places but not massively.
My only challenge with these was getting a “sealed” fit. I contacted CA customer svce who sent me bigger foam tips. I stuck with the middle silicon and now have a fit that works (they’ll never fall out but took a bit of Time to work out the ideal fit).
Overall excellent product but not quite 5 star. For the price and compared to others more expensive I would recommend. Excellent customer service as well from CA
Straight up – I love these headphones.
I was lucky that I got to try them before I bought. But I can highly recommend – if you’re looking for in-ear wireless headphones I can honestly say the Melomania’s haven’t put a foot wrong!! Cambridge Audio have made something truly special here – and the price is about a third that of the only genuine competition I can think of.
Sound quality
First up the sound quality is remarkable. Certainly the most detailed and expressive sounding in ear headphones I’ve heard in a long time, possibly ever. The clarity throughout is exceptional. You’ll hear details you might otherwise miss and the definition between instruments is seriously impressive. I tested against a pair of Sennheiser Momentum wired in ears, and the Cambridge Audios had better detail, clarity and warmth. They were louder with richer, better timed bass and much more expression.
I’ve tested them on a range of music from different eras and genres and been impressed throughout. The bass response is good – although this will be dependent on the fit in your ear (as with any in-ear headphones). But I don’t agree with the reviews that say the bass is flat. I think it’s rich, detailed and the timing is superb. Very balanced and punchy sound.
Connectivity
It took all of about 10 seconds to pair with my Google Pixel 4. And I’ve had no issues since. Pop one out of the case and by the time it’s in my ear I can hear the reassuring voice saying they’re connected. I love that I can use one by itself – ideal for office use. Take the second one out of the case, and by the time it’s in my ear it’s already synced with the first one and is playing. It’s really really impressive.
Build quality
The case is solid and satisfying when you click it shut. The charging mechanism is simple and easy. It slides easily into a pocket and really protects the headphones. Everything about these headphones screams quality, and I won’t get bored of opening the case to see the two headphones gently pulsating white light like some sort of alien waking up in its pod. Very nice touch!
Battery life
So far it’s as advertised, which is awesome. I’m using them all day at work and never worrying in the slightest about battery life. They’re truly unrivalled in this department.
Comfort
They fit in my ears perfectly with the bud they came fitted with. Granted this will vary for different users, but I have no complaints. They’re incredibly light which helps massively!
Noise cancelling
They have no active noise cancelling, however the isolation is very good. With music playing I feel completely immersed in the music.
Overall you can’t beat these for value, sound, battery, build quality and portability – absolutely first class! Everyone I’ve showed them too think’s they’re awesome – people are particularly taken with the build quality and the case – it’s a lovely thing to hold in your hands!
I had a pair of wireless earbuds from another manufacturer that made a slight metallic, tinny ‘buzz’ on tracks when low bass played and nothing else and there was delay on the audio when watching video. So I wanted something else and saw these.
All I can say is WOW! These earbuds (or in-ear monitors as Cambridge Audio call them) are phenomenal. Truly awesome.
Sound:
The sound they produce is simply stunning. The bass is incredible – clear, tight and beautifully deep (just listen to Angel by Massive Attack to see what I mean). Using these monitors, I have heard parts of the track I haven’t heard before. The sound is all encompassing and you really feel every note. I listen to a wide array of music – from classical to pop & rock through to LoFi, dance and electronic. These monitors deal with each and every one of them without missing a beat. The soaring strings of Sibelius to the deep lows of Leftfield are delivered perfectly.
Comfort:
I have worn these for several hours at a time since owning them and my ears have never felt uncomfortable. I tried the silicon tips at first and found they were a good fit and provided good passive noise cancelling. Then I tried the foam tips and they were fantastic! They took a bit of fiddling to get on and need to be warmed slightly to get them to fit easily in your ear, but once they’re in and adjusted to give the best sound, they are rock solid. My only ‘complaint’ would be that there isn’t much by way of choice when it comes to size – one set of foam tips, and three sets of silicon. It would be nice to have a few more foam tips to choose from.
Connection:
So far, no issues at all. I’ve wandered around the house and left my phone in the lounge and stayed connected all the time. I’ve also walked around the town where I live and past lots of houses with lots of WiFi that could cause interference and they never lost connection once.
Controls:
These are great! I love being able to control everything from the earbuds, especially the volume. The previous buds I had did not offer volume control and having on these is fantastic!
Voice calls:
Brilliant and clear. I’ve used them for several calls and i can hear everything very well and nobody I have spoken to has had any issue hearing me.
I can’t recommend these highly enough. I haven’t been paid or given these to review, I shelled my own hard earned cash for them and this is my honest view. They do look a tiny bit odd because they stick out of your ear and make you look vaguely like Uhura from Star Trek!! But it’s well worth it for the amazing sound you get as a result.
Very nice system. Since they are based a stone’s throw from me I had to try.
The images make it look like quite a long item but it goes quite deeply into the ear and doesn’t stick out.
However, I was unable to use out of the box as the supplied earbuds were all very small, so that they neither sealed out ambient sound nor stayed in securely. I purchased some additional tips (Misodiko S550 – Large) which are around 13mm diameter and these do the job with a snug fit in the ear. The only drawback is that they are a very tight fit in the charging case. They can be inserted and made to contact the charging points by pushing down firmly but do evert themselves when removed and have to be turned outside-in again.
All-in -all a very nice system with the Lahndahn touch, but maybe a next generation might be designed for adults with normal ears instead of for children or mice 😉
Update: August 2021. Having had the 3rd party eartips constantly come off in the charging case and a few times in my ears, I had to resort to supergluing them to the buds. The problem is that despite the superlative audio engineering, the product engineers failed to add a retaining ‘barb’ to the earbud shank (see photo) so that the eartips just slide off. Cambridge were kind enough to supply my with a free set of Large foam tips which fit nicely but again have started coming off the buds and sticking in the case, time to get out the superglue again. Come on Cambridge – this is nearly the perfect system, just sort out the size and retention of the eartips!
This is my first pair of True Wireless earphones and I’m very pleased! Initially I wanted to get the AirPods a couple of years back, but they weren’t “quite right” (especially given how much they cost)… I’ve heard the sound leakage from other people who have them on the Tube (very annoying!) and still not sold on the way they look (i.e. odd). [Having said that, I use the wired EarPods at work for making calls as they’re supremely comfortable and I make a lot of calls throughout the day with my job.]
So… I’d read the review of these back in the Summer and they apparently had better sound quality (and Cambridge Audio have a good reputation), so when the price dropped to 100, I thought I’d get them. I was a bit nervous of spending this much on a set of wireless earphones, particularly ones this small (in case I lost them), but I think I’ll be alright!
Onto the earphones themselves. Having done my research, I have to say it’s totally worth taking the time to try the different sizes of ear tips as the fit has to be right. They have to form a seal inside your ear canal (to get best sound quality), without being uncomfortable. Personally, I found out that I needed larger ear tips, which seal the ear canal without feeling like I’ve jammed them in. This also means they’re more likely to stay in and not fall out… The feeling you want it “held in place”, rather than “rammed in your ear”!! Even though they look big / chunky, they’re not and sit in the ear quite nicely (i.e. comfortable) and are very light.
Once you get the fit right, the sound quality is *clear* — I can’t emphasise that enough… Significantly more so than a lot of other earphones that I tried. Also the bass is very good… Some people have said they can’t hear or feel the bass — that’s because they haven’t got the fit / seal right of the tips inside their ear canals. If the ones supplied are no good, then I’ve seen 3rd party suppliers on Amazon selling replacement ear tips in a variety of sizes and materials.
I like these because they’re light and discreet and I would agree with reviews that the sound quality is a lot better than headphones more expensive than this price point (originally these were 150 — and the sound is significantly better than the AirPods, for example).
I’ve only made a few calls with them — if you’re in an environment where it’s not too noisy, call quality is very good (according to the person on the end of the line), but if there is some ambient noise or it’s a windy day, then it can pick those up. I haven’t tried them in a noisy environment (the office) much and I can imagine a lot of background noise will be picked up. I imagine this is where the AirPods win out as the microphone is on the end of the arm and you can direct it at your mouth.
These earphones don’t have noise cancelling and to be honest they don’t need it… [Rather I certainly don’t need it. I’ve tried it on other phones (including the AirPods Pro) and think that while it’s very clever, I don’t particularly like it. Especially when travelling, I like to be aware of my surroundings.] Again if you get the fit right, most of the ambient noise is quietened down (say reduced by 85%?), so they’re pretty decent earplugs too! Once you switch on the music, you are still “aware” of what’s going on around you but without it ever disturbing your listening. You can always turn it up and at full volume these are *loud* (like “ow” loud!!), so that will certainly drown out any irritating noises!!
Really pleased with my purchase!
As a diehard audiophile wannabe, I am always on the lookout for good sounding headphones. I tend not dabble with IEMs mainly because I don’t find in-ear solutions very comfortable. The market is also oversaturated with bluetooth headphones and despite what many reputable magazine reviews have raved about (i.e. the Sony WH-1000XM3 to name but one) I haven’t been particularly impressed with any from a sound quality point of view.
Sound quality is of absolute paramount importance to me (mainly because I listen to music) followed by comfort and compatibility. To be honest, up until now I have been sceptical about bluetooth technology and whether it could actually delivery good (or dare I say it, audiophile) sound quality. I have previously owned a couple of top end bluetooth headphones (including the Bowers and Wilkins PX model) and have felt slightly underwhelmed by the sound quality.
So, onto the Cambridge Audio Melomania’s (or “CAM” for short). I must admit I took a bit of a punt on these, they were in the Amazon Black Friday sale and they had a few mixed reviews but I did some research on these before I pulled the trigger.
Firstly, this is not the first Cambridge Audio product I have purchased, I have owned a couple of DVD players and they have very good reputation in the audiophile community. However, this is the first personal audio/headphone product of theirs I am aware of.
Secondly, the packaging is what you kind of expect from a reputable audio company. If I was to be picky then I would criticise the lack of ample ear tip choices (more on that later).
The actual ear monitors are bigger than I thought but they are very lightweight, which is key to making sure they stay in your ear and don’t ruin the overall listening experience. The monitors come with a very nice and portable charging device and usb cable. So far so good. I have since found out that Cambridge Audio also produce a carry case specifically for this device for a tenner. Again, nitpicking here but for the sake of an extra tenner should have been included in the accessories that come with the monitors.
Onto the most important thing…sound. I must admit I was slightly underwhelmed when I first tried them out, the stock memory foam ear tips come are very small, the accompanying large silicone ear tips did not look like a large size and they failed to do the job
The one thing I have learnt over the years when using IEMs is that it is absolutely vital to achieve a good seal with the ear tips. This important to get a good treble and bass presentation, if the fitment is too loose then they will sound too anemic, too tight they will sound too boomy. A criticism I level at all IEM manufacturers (with the exception of RHA) is they don’t tend to provide a wide range of stock ear tip sizes to cater for different ear canal sizes.
This is where tip swapping or purchasing a pair of aftermarket tips come into play.
Now one of the characteristics of the CAM is the nozzle that goes onto the ear canal is quite large which means a universal ear tip will not suffice. Luckily, I had some comply foam tips (T600) left over for use with my Audeze iSine 10s which also bear the same nozzle measurements.
Using the stock iSine ear tips (size M) did the trick and I was able to get a good deal which meant all of a sudden the sound quality notched up significantly compared to using the stock tips. However, when I tried the comply foam tips this where I found what the sound quality notched up significantly and I find that not only are these now my go to IEMs but can wholeheartedly recommend these to other users on the basis they provide excellent sound quality, are extremely comfortable and very practical to transport around.
I had some reservations about the fact they use APTX and not APTX HD technology but this has quickly been disregarded because they sound amazing!
These are a very affordable proposition and without hesitation you should give them a go, you will not be disappointed and if you do encounter any sound degradation then you know what you need to do!
After a disappointment with Soundpeats ‘Dual dynamic drivers’ earbuds I decided to up the budget threefold and bought some Cambridge Audio Melomania 1’s. Skip to my verdict: They’re terrific!
The clarity that the Melomania’s deliver is a revelation. Until you hear music from a clearer source than you are used to, you don’t realise what you have been missing.
The Melomania’s are billed as an audiophile’s earbuds with a relatively natural flat sound response, meaning not for bass heads. However, I found they had too much bass. That’s right, too much bass!
After an hour’s charging I went straight for the foam ear tips because foam tips have served me well in the past with other true wireless earbuds like the Enacfire Future Plus or the now redundant Soundpeats active noise reduction wireless earbuds. However, the foam tips have a greater mass than the silicone ones and this seals my ear canal more efficiently creating more bass. I had to use a sound equaliser to cut the bass (a 6db cut at 60Hz — ie. cut by half) to stop the bass overpowering the mid and high tones. Putting in the lighter silicone tips reduced the bass naturally to an acceptable level without needing to use the equaliser. For me this was the solution. Bass heads stick with the foam.
With the right size silicone tips giving a snug and comfortable fit I found I wanted to listen to my music for hours. I say “wanted” because many earbuds I have tried were so unremarkable and underwhelming I was glad to put them back in their box. But with the Melomania’s I couldn’t get enough of my playlists and hid myself away so I could listen some more. When was the last time you wore headphones or earbuds that had you enjoying your music all over again? For me this was a refreshing change.
I mentioned that I achieved a ‘snug and comfortable fit’. Before buying them I spent several weeks watching YouTube videos and reading countless reviews here on Amazon and the question of ‘fit’ was a recurring topic. People even knocked off stars for a ‘poor fit’ and praised for a ‘good fit’.
There is no question that achieving a snug fit is absolutely essential if you are to hear any bass and avoid the ‘tinny’ sound reported by some. So let’s try and clear up this tricky subject? Fit is purely subjective. It varies from person to person, ear canal to ear canal, it’s a lottery. Some fit you, whilst others fit me. It isn’t rocket science yet folk complain the earbuds ‘were a poor fit’. What were they expecting? “One size fits all” perhaps? Don’t be silly!
Let’s face it, Cambridge Audio buy-in silicone tips just like Sony, Sennheiser, Soundpeats, etc. It’s daft to think that one manufacturer’s tips are so different to another’s! So my encouragement is to approach the question of tips as a Second Task. You might get lucky and the ones supplied fit perfectly, or (more likely) you will need to experiment with others off Fleebay before you get success. But it’s well worth investing the time to get a decent sound, and also a comfortable fit. So please, enough of “the fit was poor”, because no two ear canals are the same. (even left and right may need different size tips). Lecture over!
Incidentally, I own a pair of Shure 535’s with custom silicone inserts (hot silicone poured into your ears for a totally custom and super perfect fit), and some Grado RS1’s over ears. I used both for comparison purposes and I can say with total confidence that either of the above knock the spots off the Melomania’s, but they are wired and cost many times more, so it’s not a fair fight. Bluetooth it seems, has not evolved sufficiently to compete with wired headphones quite yet. However, if you must go wireless then the Melomania’s musicality, clarity, and faithful fidelity will have you thinking about what to listen to next, rather than what’s stuck in your ears. I found myself jumping from song to song in my music library like a kid in a sweet shop, completely forgetting about the Melomania’s. After all, enjoying my music is why I bought them!
I have not had any connection problems although I use them indoors, and I find the push switches on the ends of the buds to need only a gentle push. They are also a tad smaller than I expected. Curiously their unique round design makes it easy to insert them properly, because you can simply rotate them slightly as you push them in. Simples! I attach a photo of them, and the case, on a standard CD case to give a sense of scale.
At around 119.95 they are not cheap, yet I think they represent excellent value for money given the superior sound they produce. If you are in to your music then ignore the glut of 35 earbuds on Amazon and treat yourself to some Melomania’s. I’m SO glad I did.
I have tried alot of top of the range wireless earphones but these are the best I’ve heard they go load too and make sure you get the right seal with the ear tips then you will see how these in ear monitors are fantastic value for the price I would pay double the cost even to get these baby’s do much detail to the music trust me I know alot about audio and these have blown me away plus you get 9 hours on on charge and another 36 hours out the case they come with sorry to go on but if you are looking for top quality sound well look no further 1010 no jokes
I love the understated earplug design, the audio quality has been stellar, I have been discovering details in songs I have already listened to a thousand times before with those! Battery life is superb and the case is weirdly amazing to use (that clear satisfying click when you close the cap) and it “grabs-holds” the earphones in place easily.
Using those for calls though, that unfortunately has not been good at all, most of the times I have to switch the call to the phone in order for the other end to hear me properly. In my case it was not an important feature I was looking for in my earphones search and thus it’s something I can live with.
Product support from Cambridge Audio has been one of the best I’ve ever experienced, very helpful, providing in depth and honest answers. Don’t hesitate to contact them for anything you might need help with, even if you are struggling to get the right fit with the ear tips!
To sum it up I would give 4 stars to the product due to the call quality not being good, but they earn the 5th one with their amazing support.
Initially wearing these after the first charge I was a little underwhelmed. They connected staright away, however, the sound was less than impressive. Tinny and not a hint of any low frequencies. I tried every sized silicon ear bud. It wasn’t until I got to the foam comply one that the sound suddenly transformed. With a tight seal in my ear. The highs and lows sounded incredible. I am sure once these IEMs are run in they will sound even better.
I’ve only had them a few days and haven’t really had the chance for an extended listen. For now, they sound stunning. Clarity with the perfect amount of bass.
Expected to struggle with getting a good fit after reading other reviews but they were good from the outset.
Only had them for a week but sound is amazing!
OK, so they are to replace a seven year old 40 pair of in-ears, but the overall sound quality is very good indeed.
After fully charging before use, they have been used every day & still not needed a recharge. Can thoroughly recommend them.
March’20 update – Still superb sound inc. great bass. But my ears have become very sore occasionally after 3-4 hours use spread over a couple of days commute. Cleaned them alcohol wipes used again after a week with same (sore) results. Maybe my ears don’t like ‘in-ears’
Expected to struggle with getting a good fit after reading other reviews but they were good from the outset.
Only had them for a week but sound is amazing!
OK, so they are to replace a seven year old 40 pair of in-ears, but the overall sound quality is very good indeed.
After fully charging before use, they have been used every day & still not needed a recharge. Can thoroughly recommend them.
March’20 update – Still superb sound inc. great bass. But my ears have become very sore occasionally after 3-4 hours use spread over a couple of days commute. Cleaned them alcohol wipes used again after a week with same (sore) results. Maybe my ears don’t like ‘in-ears’
Well what can I say ? Well done CA as I find these the best truly wireless earbuds on the market and I have tried and returned over 5 pairs and these are by far the best sounding (who doesnt love AptX), best fit (thanks for the new larger in-ear foam tips you sent me) and most stable connection (must be that bluetooth 5 connection) of the bunch. Battery life is exceptional and they are now paired to 6 devices with not one dropout so far. Make sure you get your fit right and its just fantastic.
I think the only thing I would say for the mark 2s would be a case that can stand vertically so easier at the gym to put them away and maybe an iOS app so you can alter the sound signature and update the firmware (having to use an android device to recently upgrade the firmware was a little annoying)
I have the new Sony in-ear wireless too and these are 95% of that for half the price (and the Sonys aren’t waterproof) – Keep it up CA !
First and foremost, I personally had no issues with fit like some people have complained about. The tips that were preinstalled on the earbuds were perfectly fine for my ears. They stay in place very securely.
I wouldn’t say I’m an audiophile, but I appreciate good sounding music. I look for controlled and punchy bass when I purchase audio products and I knew that with these being monitors they have more of an audiophile sound profile. However, to my amazement, the bass on these is definitely present without being overpowering. Everything seems to have coherence, the bass, mids and highs. Nothing feels left behind.
I know some earbuds have more emphasis on bass, but these are just fine. If I was to knitpick I’d ask for an app where I can adjust the equaliser settings. Just slightly more bass would be ideal but I’m more than happy with what’s on offer.
Where these monitors shine is clarity and definition. There is just so much detail in the sound. It’s like you’re in a bubble. Now that’s not to say the sound stage is narrow, no. It’s pretty broad, but not wide. I like it. You can tell where certain sounds are coming from.
I have a few bones of contention. There seems to be a delay in connecting the left and right buds. The lady announces connection in the left ear a fraction of a second before the right.
The build is pretty good, although you can tell they’re assembled in China. The buttons on the top (which you click) appear to slightly jagged edges. You can tell this when the halo lights glow. However, this is just a minor cosmetic thing. I just more attention to detail was used.
All in all these are an incredible piece of kit. As far as bang for your buck goes in truly wireless earbuds, I think these top it. Sure there are the Sony M3s and the Sennheiser Truly Wireless Momentums which cost double and possibly have better build quality, but as far as sonic fidelity goes, I think these are on par.
Battery life is still to be tested, but I have my hopes up as people have said very good things about it.
There’s loads of poor reviews about connectivity issues, faults and fit issues. Your gonna either love these or hate these. I’ve gone through a few pairs of true wireless earphones incl Bose Sport, RHA, Jabra, Beats, Sennheiser etc etc.
The brands above are great in their own bracket of “sound stage”. It depends on what you use them for, beats u listen to, device u use, media file types etc etc.
For me, gym and walking about is what I’m using them for and these are by far the best fit, least obvious when in your ears and best sounding for the beats I listen to. Due to the snug fit, noise leakage is minimal and I can’t hear the outside world whilst they’re in my ears.
It’s all about the bass for me and Dre Beats use to deliver on that up until Apple took them over. These sound amazing with ultra low frequency tracks but again, it depends on the device and your media player settings on how u cater the sound to ur taste.
I’m using Power Amp on my Samsung Note 10+ and these honestly blow ur brain when listening to low frequency tracks yet don’t compromise your mids and highs.
Update the firmware immediately after receiving to fix any sound or connectivity issues. Freely available via Cambridge Audio’s website via an app you need to install on your media device (instructions provided on their site).
U can’t go wrong for 120 squid compared to the others. I paid 250 for the Sennheiser buds but returned them as they just didn’t fit or sound right for me.
I suppose I’ll have to wait a couple of months to see how durable and reliable these are but shall update my rating if I experience any issues.
I have been looking for a replacement for my Bose soundsport (the wireless ones with a wire between them) because after a couple of years use they have fallen apart. Sound from them was very good, no ANC but their sort of twist in design sealed well and negated this. After about 6 months the clip on them broke (spring clip on the cable) which was annoying as I sometimes listen with only one earpiece in and using this clip supported the weight of the dangling earpiece.
I nicked one off some Skype headphones at work and with a bit of superglue made a slightly ugly replacement.
A few months on and the volume control has split at one end meaning the control doesn’t work so well and now the o/off button rubber cover is jiggly at best.
So, replacement needed.
What hi-fi reviews/awards as always first stop for a shortlist.
I already have the on ear AKG wireless ANCs as a reference and they truly are great, but not always convenient with their large on ear design.
I initially ordered the Bose soundsport totally wireless ANC set, previous award winners. Sat still they are great, sound as good as my old ones, but while walking I could hear them banging their driver housing against my ear getting a muffled bop with each stride – while I may expect that while running, which they aren’t designed for, I mean a normal walking pace.
So back they went. Opted to try the Sony award winners, got a little of the same, not as bad, but the ANC and signal processing just made music sound weird. The software gives different ANC options and none of them sounded right to me, just heavily processed.
Incidentally I’m currently listening to Amazon Music HD for source.
So the Sony’s sounded fine without ANC on but still with the bop sound when walking and a slight noise of air passing the protruding buds due to not having ANC on to get anything like a faithful reproduction.
Back they went and I happened across the review for these Cambridge Audio buds.
I was hesitant as they are comparably so cheap….
9 hours battery life seems about right having now used them – don’t get mislead by the 36 hours or whatever as they requires recharges via the case. This is great though as it means you can listen on your commute or whatever, then pop them in the case while you do your job/activity, then they are charged for the return without needing plugging in anywhere – I just think the marketing for that is a little misleading.
My first impressions were “wow, they’re small”.
They are, pleased they had a carry case as they’d be easy to lose.
They have stayed in my ears well, but I’m still scared when I go to the toilet with them in 🙂
Nothing to secure them. Plop.
ANC works well, very well. Just popping them in and switching on without playing music confirms this.
Sound is excellent, neutral, faithful, not harsh when pushed, detailed and not fatiguing. They sound good, in fact absolutely great for the price – in my opinion better than the “double the price” rivals.
CA have really surpassed themselves with this product. It will without a doubt be the award winner for class/price in the 2019 awards (unless a new miraculous product appears).
My only gripe is the led accents on the earbuds that glow when in use for the first few minutes, surprising how much that lights up a dark bedroom. But it is only a little gripe, a companion app that could turn that off would be great.
QI charging would have been nice rather than micro USB – next model I’m sure will have.
Don’t hesitate with these. Buy them if you are looking for some true wireless in ears.
I’ve had these a week now and they haven’t made my ears sore but I’ve likely only used them in three hour sessions. I left the silicone tips on they came with, but may try the other two pairs included for fit to see.
If you get them I hope you enjoy them as much as I am. These may end up being one of those products reminisced about in hi-fi history like the nakamichi dragon, wharfedale diamond, or mission Cyrus one.
I’m almost exclusively trash. I’m used to cheap wired headphones and I usually hate change, as well as not really knowing what good audio sounds like. So, this review is from the perspective of an overall swamp goblin who doesn’t know what they’re really talking about.
The audio quality is great as far as I can tell. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but everything seems to come through pretty clear. Bass is strong but not like, too strong. It’s not tinny. I can hear parts of songs I never noticed before. Sound wise, these headphones are making me love music again. Love that.
Build quality seems pretty solid. The case is nice, everything feels secure, and nothing looks or feels cheap. You’d hope so too because these are a hell of a lot more expensive than my usual cheapo wired earbuds. No faults here.
As far as I can tell, the battery life is actually great. I listened to various stuff on Spotify for about 2.5 hours, give or take, and I was at about 65% battery by the time I took them off. By this time I was ready to whap them back in the case, so I don’t foresee any battery issues unless I’m stupid and forget to charge the case. Lovely.
I was worried about the look of them when they’re in, because a lot of the marketing photos looked a bit like Frankenstein but the bolt goes through your ears instead. I’m pretty pleased to note that they’re not overly stupid looking in real life. They really don’t stick out as much as the pictures let on, and they feel really secure when they’re in. Haven’t dropped one so far, knock on wood. Brilliant.
After wearing them for a while, they did get a little uncomfortable. But this is like 3 solid hours of having them in. It wasn’t bad, but I could definitely feel some pressure. Easy solution: take a break every so often. Every pair of headphones will feel a bit uncomfy after that long, and because of that I’m not taking off any stars for this slight uncomfortability after multiple hours. Moderate use is totally comfy. We stan.
Range wise I’ve not noticed any issues so far. If I leave my phone in one room and go across to another, through multiple walls and doors, it does struggle and eventually cut out. But being in the same room works perfectly well. This is the same range I’ve had from other Bluetooth connections so again, I’m fine with that.
The only thing I do see as a potential issue is losing one. As far as I can tell there isn’t a way to track the individual buds. So, don’t be stupid about it. Put them back in the case when you’re done, and don’t lose the case.
While these are totally a luxury product and cost a decent chunk, so far I’d say they’re pretty good. They’re also quite a bit cheaper than other competitors, but with a much better battery life. They’re delivering everything I wanted so far. I was between these and a couple of others, and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with my choice. Definitely worth picking up.
I bought these as a replacement for my Jabra Elite 65t, and the improvements are stunning.
First and foremost, sound quality. It took me trying 3 different eartips, but finally with the memory foam tips I got the seal needed and the sound transformed into a rich and glorious soundstage. Highs, mids and bass are all there and all clear and distinct. (If you see reviews stating they have no bass, then they have not achieved a good fit. ) Let’s put it this way, the sound is good enough to make me sell my sennheiser momentum over ear headphones, these are the best in ear headphones I’ve owned.
I was worried they may not fit my ears as I always end up having to use the largest tips supplied, but actually they for great. Very light and comfortable.
Battery life is amazing. I only.use them for my.commute so haven’t tested the full 9 hours but combined with the case I can use them for well over a week without a recharge of the case. My jabras only lasted 3 days.
The case is worth a mention. It’s surprisingly small, and the earphones fit into it very well with the lovely little magnetic snap.
Overall these have transformed my opinion on truly wireless earbuds. Sound quality belies their stature and I would thoroughly recommend to everyone – just make sure you use the right tips to get a decent fit and seal.
My first task was to find the right tips. I found that the memory phone ones worked best for my ears. All of the others produced a thin, bass light sound.
I had to really compress the memory foam tips and push the headphones firmly into my ears to match the bass of my over ear Oppo PM2s for example.
When walking there have been no dropouts outside unlike others have commented on.
The noise isolation is quite good but I found that the bass is slightly less noticeable on the move (walking).
When sitting still in a quiet room the sound quality is impressive. I’ve tried a wide variety of test tracks in the short time I have owned these and all have impressed.
They have a natural sounding bass. But in the optimal position for bass, I find they alter their presentation of the mid-range sounding slightly “veiled” compared to over-ear headphones. Everyone’s ears are different so it’s critical to experiment.
The above is me nit-picking a bit when you take into account the asking price. They are not cheap but I’m used to an over ear design costing 5 times the price. And they are a significant step up from the 30-40 true wireless designs Amazon sells which I also own.
Overall I have enjoyed listening to these headphones and will be using them extensively when walking and working around the house which is, after all, what they are designed for.
For serious listening without the wires they make a pretty decent proposition.
I am an audiophile. Let there be no mistake, these headphones are exceptional.
In summary there are 3 points to be noted
1) The sound quality – The mids and highs are balanced and lows pack a good punch. Just make sure you use an earbud that fits snuggly. It’s practically reference quality (hence the “monitors” reference Cambridge Audio make). I’m sold on the use of Graphene.
2) The battery life is class leading. Coming from AirPods, these are a mile ahead (9hours without a charge!)
3) The case is slim and portable. Yes it’s only micro USB to charge but we all have 100s of these anyway.
You won’t regret it assuming the included ear buds fit snuggly.
Then when you factor in the price, it is truly remarkable what Cambridge Audio have done. I would have happily paid 50% more.
I had Jaybird 3 (failed battery charging after 1 year), Soundpetes -no volume control on buds too quite, then these Cabridge audio, No drivers for windows or Android, direct pairing no problems so far. These are perfect with spotify since spotify now have a sound tuning feature which allows you to tune earbuds to your own ear sound characteristics. So you can boost base/mid/treble to your liking.
Fit can be difficult as you really have to twist then to get them to sit and seal into the ear ( I have average small ears).
Once sealed in they sound great, Only one side fell out once.
Charging pouch is great, hours of play time.
Spare foam tips 5.5mm
M550S
w.w.w..amazon.co.uk/misodiko-Replacement-Memory-Foam-Earbuds-M550S/dp/B07DNGTJ5W
Down sides: easy to press the button when putting them in ears, so if your on a call, you could easily disconnect, No app interface yet be nice to store profiles and vol. presets. No built in eq or balance for people with ear in-balances.
Excellent sound for the price only niggle is that sometimes you have to put them back in the case to connect.
Buds can feel slack having to fiddle about for secure fitting etc.
Once all that’s sorted the sound is wonderful dynamic and powerful fast punchy bass.
I own the Jabra 65t and these out smart these as regarding bass 65t are good but a lot of flaws with the left earbud.
For 119 these are brilliant no fancy app noise cancellation is good not so good with wind but still ok.
British manufacture can give all the rest a run for their money, as these sound simply superb.
I honestly don’t think you could get better sound Quality than these in ear monitors at the asking price of 120, having said that if you have found these remotely “tinny” or poor sounding it’s down to poor fitting buds. Please take the time to try all 4 sets provided as the sound will differ greatly until you find the correct size to seal these snugly in your ear canals. I tried the smallest 1st and had “tinny” lacklustre sound, for me it’s the next size up or the foam buds which fit perfectly and transform the sound completely.
Once the correct buds are fitted the sound from these is beautifully balanced, plenty of bass if the track has it and very detailed with good dynamics to percussion. I find that these buds block external sounds very well and even sounded great whilst cutting my lawns with a petrol mower, only hearing the Mower in between tracks at a moderate volume.
I can’t comment on battery life as I have only used these for approximately 7-8 hrs of listening over the past few days, the same for call Quality as I haven’t used them for that as yet but I love the sound signature that these have, if you can achieve a good fit you won’t be disappointed
Well what can i say about these. I am speechless in all honesty. How did Cambridge Audio create such a mind blowing pair of earbuds. Ive used Bose, Senheiser and beyer high end audio headphones at stupidly high prices But these little beauties for 119 are just something else. The audio quality is better, the bass is deep and strong the highs are superb along with the mids, they are in all honesty made with some kind of wizardry. the connection never fails the controls are easy to use they are very comfortable to wear. This has been the best purchase of 2019 for me. I cant wait to see the next revision from Cambridge Audio. What an unbelievable sounding pair of earbuds. If your a bit of a bass head like me these are just what you need.
So they dont have an app. for me thats no issue as i stream audio from spotify and that has an EQ within it and can easily control the earbuds, you can play to your hearts content until you find what your looking for should you need to.
Initial thoughts are that these buds are a quality product. From the packaging to the buds themselves, everything is well made with great attention to detail.
The sound quality is brilliant and the noise cancellation is perfect for me. I haven’t had a chance to test the battery life but it looks very good.
The case is light and neat and snaps shut with a satisfying magnetic click.
My only concern before they arrived was how much they might stick out of my ears and whilst they do stick out they’re not as bad as I first thought.
All in all definitely five stars for the price.
Pros – Great sound, great battery life, nice small case.
Cons – The foam tips are the best and most secure option but they won’t last long and you only get 1 pair. I get a noticeable latency delay when viewing youtube. Call quality isn’t great but that isn’t a priority for me. No app for setting, firmware updates etc.
Overall these are brilliant and would say the best true wireless earbuds to buy at the moment. Especially at this price range. I don’t mind the micro usb charging with the amount of battery life you get and these provide great noise isolation but to make these perfect the next model needs wireless charging,usb-c fast charging, more replacement tip quantities/variations and aptx low latency for viewing films etc.
Other alternatives are Airpods which have no noise isolation at all which is a shame because I am an Apple fan. The Sennhesier Momentums have terrible battery life and I find the Sony WF1000XM3 big, ugly and the case too big.
Pros – Great sound, great battery life, nice small case.
Cons – The foam tips are the best and most secure option but they won’t last long and you only get 1 pair. I get a noticeable latency delay when viewing youtube. Call quality isn’t great but that isn’t a priority for me. No app for setting, firmware updates etc.
Overall these are brilliant and would say the best true wireless earbuds to buy at the moment. Especially at this price range. I don’t mind the micro usb charging with the amount of battery life you get and these provide great noise isolation but to make these perfect the next model needs wireless charging,usb-c fast charging, more replacement tip quantities/variations and aptx low latency for viewing films etc.
Other alternatives are Airpods which have no noise isolation at all which is a shame because I am an Apple fan. The Sennhesier Momentums have terrible battery life and I find the Sony WF1000XM3 big, ugly and the case too big.
Update 09/09/2019: I have received a reply from Cambridge Audio relating to this review and am told that it does indeed work on Safari in iOS so this may be a fault my end. I am happy with their response to these issues and I therefore have upgraded my review to 4 stars. Sound quality is, as other reviewers have said, very good, no complaints there. Something that hasn’t been mentioned by anyone is that you cannot update the software/firmware on an Apple device, iPhone, iPad iPod/iMac etc. It has to be done on a device running Android, how ridiculous is that!! No links work on their website if you run it on Safari on iOS, can’t believe how ‘anti Apple’ this is! Do Cambridge realise how many prospective purchases they are turning away or how many returns from people who only find this out when they go to the upgrade page on their website! How is it they thought better than to warn people of this in their promotional advertising, hoping they would never want to update their earbuds I suppose! So poor from such a great company, massive disappointment for me!
I have had these for just over a week and can honestly say they are the best wireless headphones I have owned (so far!). Battery life.. I have charged when I got them and used every day for two hours or more and they still have 80% charge!
Fit… with the memory foam tips they are a perfect fit , not fallen out and very comfortable. Shame they only come with one set of memory foam tips and no obvious place to buy replacement… hopefully CA will resolve this as I’m sure the headphones will outlast the tips!!
Sound – for a pair of wireless buds the sound quality is insane.. absolutely mind blowing in some of tunes I have heard parts I had not heard before even in open air!
All in all I am completely happy with these and would recommend to anyone looking for a top quality pair of wireless earbuds
I have had these for just over a week and can honestly say they are the best wireless headphones I have owned (so far!). Battery life.. I have charged when I got them and used every day for two hours or more and they still have 80% charge!
Fit… with the memory foam tips they are a perfect fit , not fallen out and very comfortable. Shame they only come with one set of memory foam tips and no obvious place to buy replacement… hopefully CA will resolve this as I’m sure the headphones will outlast the tips!!
Sound – for a pair of wireless buds the sound quality is insane.. absolutely mind blowing in some of tunes I have heard parts I had not heard before even in open air!
All in all I am completely happy with these and would recommend to anyone looking for a top quality pair of wireless earbuds
A lot of people are saying they have connection issues. I did too for a while. I eventually found out the problem was actually my phone. I believe the phone is much more likely to be the problem in a lot of the cases appearing in reviews.
I have a OnePlus 3 and by simply turning off WiFi while using Bluetooth has dropped the amount of connection issues I have to almost zero. This might be a big turn-off for a lot of people, but each phone is different, and at home where there’s less interference, there are far fewer connection problems.
As for everything else, the headphones work great! They don’t lag behind, they are loud enough to be heard while on the Central Line in London (which is saying something) and they fit very nicely in my ear.
The only thing I don’t like are the volume controls. The current system of pressing and holding to change the volume is flawed as pressing it for too short of a time pauses the music. the volume doesn’t change for the best part of 2 seconds which is very frustrating for minor tweaks. If we could twist the end of the headphones or if just changing the volume was a bit more instantaneous, then it wouldn’t be as big of a problem.
Overall, I love these headphones. They last for ages, charge up quickly, and connect to both my phone and my PC very quickly. Hopefully they last a long time too.
A lot of people are saying they have connection issues. I did too for a while. I eventually found out the problem was actually my phone. I believe the phone is much more likely to be the problem in a lot of the cases appearing in reviews.
I have a OnePlus 3 and by simply turning off WiFi while using Bluetooth has dropped the amount of connection issues I have to almost zero. This might be a big turn-off for a lot of people, but each phone is different, and at home where there’s less interference, there are far fewer connection problems.
As for everything else, the headphones work great! They don’t lag behind, they are loud enough to be heard while on the Central Line in London (which is saying something) and they fit very nicely in my ear.
The only thing I don’t like are the volume controls. The current system of pressing and holding to change the volume is flawed as pressing it for too short of a time pauses the music. the volume doesn’t change for the best part of 2 seconds which is very frustrating for minor tweaks. If we could twist the end of the headphones or if just changing the volume was a bit more instantaneous, then it wouldn’t be as big of a problem.
Overall, I love these headphones. They last for ages, charge up quickly, and connect to both my phone and my PC very quickly. Hopefully they last a long time too.
Having previously purchased budget true wireless headphones and finding them somewhat tinny and lacking in volume, I decided to treat myself.
These come in a smart compact case and were smart looking. They did feel like a step up in quality. Overall they are a little bulky and stick out of the ear more than my prior set. However the quality of sound is excellent, easy to control and I have grown to like these a great deal. I did have some minor issues with bluetooth connectivty after a week of purchase. I was able to fix this by re-pairing and works fine now. This does sometimes happen with all bluetooth devices and a re-pair often fixes the connection issues.
The supplied silicone ear tips worked just fine. I did try the foam ones but they were not bery robust and tore easily just trying to put them on – so will stick with the silicone ones. Indeed since the purchase I bought the rubber case protector and also some spare ear tips – all also available from amazon.
I am sure there are headphones with better sound but for the price they are very good and certainly meet my needs as a person who wanted a decent high quality pair or true wireless headphones without breaking the bank.
Having previously purchased budget true wireless headphones and finding them somewhat tinny and lacking in volume, I decided to treat myself.
These come in a smart compact case and were smart looking. They did feel like a step up in quality. Overall they are a little bulky and stick out of the ear more than my prior set. However the quality of sound is excellent, easy to control and I have grown to like these a great deal. I did have some minor issues with bluetooth connectivty after a week of purchase. I was able to fix this by re-pairing and works fine now. This does sometimes happen with all bluetooth devices and a re-pair often fixes the connection issues.
The supplied silicone ear tips worked just fine. I did try the foam ones but they were not bery robust and tore easily just trying to put them on – so will stick with the silicone ones. Indeed since the purchase I bought the rubber case protector and also some spare ear tips – all also available from amazon.
I am sure there are headphones with better sound but for the price they are very good and certainly meet my needs as a person who wanted a decent high quality pair or true wireless headphones without breaking the bank.
Having previously purchased budget true wireless headphones and finding them somewhat tinny and lacking in volume, I decided to treat myself.
These come in a smart compact case and were smart looking. They did feel like a step up in quality. Overall they are a little bulky and stick out of the ear more than my prior set. However the quality of sound is excellent, easy to control and I have grown to like these a great deal. I did have some minor issues with bluetooth connectivty after a week of purchase. I was able to fix this by re-pairing and works fine now. This does sometimes happen with all bluetooth devices and a re-pair often fixes the connection issues.
The supplied silicone ear tips worked just fine. I did try the foam ones but they were not bery robust and tore easily just trying to put them on – so will stick with the silicone ones. Indeed since the purchase I bought the rubber case protector and also some spare ear tips – all also available from amazon.
I am sure there are headphones with better sound but for the price they are very good and certainly meet my needs as a person who wanted a decent high quality pair or true wireless headphones without breaking the bank.
I was satisfied with my mid-priced wired earbuds until they stopped working after several years of use.
I decided to replace them with wireless earbuds and do away with the inconvenience of wires. After reviewing the earbuds available I opted for the Melomania 1, a good choice.
I had been satisfied with my previous earbuds, but the Melomania’s are in a different league. The clarity and level of detail in the sound is astounding. I was a little concerned about the possible fit, but they fit my ears perfectly and are very comfortable.
I am no audiophile, but would recommend the Melomania’s unreservedly for their sound, comfort and exceptional battery life.
I loved everything about these, apart from the lack of bass and that came down to the fact that I couldn’t get a decent fit. Even with the equaliser turned to deliver max bass on my iPhone, I found bits of a track we’re being lost no matter what I tried. Listening to one of my favourite test tracks, Teardrop by Massive Attack the bass should be right there crisp and in your face and it just wasn’t. Mid range and trebles are great and far superior to the Apple AirPods, which they replaced. I just cant do without the bass. Maybe it’s my ageing ears? I have a pair of Onkyo E700M inear phones and the bass in them is superb and I don’t have to jam them down my ear canal. I sent the Cambridge back because I can’t live without a decent bass.
I loved everything about these, apart from the lack of bass and that came down to the fact that I couldn’t get a decent fit. Even with the equaliser turned to deliver max bass on my iPhone, I found bits of a track we’re being lost no matter what I tried. Listening to one of my favourite test tracks, Teardrop by Massive Attack the bass should be right there crisp and in your face and it just wasn’t. Mid range and trebles are great and far superior to the Apple AirPods, which they replaced. I just cant do without the bass. Maybe it’s my ageing ears? I have a pair of Onkyo E700M inear phones and the bass in them is superb and I don’t have to jam them down my ear canal. I sent the Cambridge back because I can’t live without a decent bass.
Great sound and excellent noise cancellation.
I had to return my first pair as there were issues with the Bluetooth connection and stability wasn’t great.
The second set are much better and seem to hold connection when outdoors.
I’ve had poor customer service experience with amazon over quite a few different products over the years so decided to try and contact Cambridge Audio directly to resolve the problems – I can only say that they have been excellent and have been really quick in their communication and in sensing a replacement set to me.
Great pair of earphones and definitely worth looking into as an alternative to one of the bigger brands. I also use these when cycling indoors and haven’t had any problems with sweat ingress.
Overall, much better than initially thought.
Thank you
Great sound and excellent noise cancellation.
I had to return my first pair as there were issues with the Bluetooth connection and stability wasn’t great.
The second set are much better and seem to hold connection when outdoors.
I’ve had poor customer service experience with amazon over quite a few different products over the years so decided to try and contact Cambridge Audio directly to resolve the problems – I can only say that they have been excellent and have been really quick in their communication and in sensing a replacement set to me.
Great pair of earphones and definitely worth looking into as an alternative to one of the bigger brands. I also use these when cycling indoors and haven’t had any problems with sweat ingress.
Overall, much better than initially thought.
Thank you
I’ve bought various pieces of audio/visual kit from Cambridge Audio over the years. I’ve always found the company’s products reliable, good value and of a generally outstanding quality. If anything the Melomania 1 earbuds have exceeded my expectations. They are tremendous, just make sure to use the right size earbud tips to ensure a good seal and they will deliver a neutral, balanced aural soundstage across the board from high to low.
If you love music buy these with confidence they really are a treat for your ears, your mind and your soul.
I had a pair of Powerbeats Pro and had to send them back, they were too lose and the sound was terrible. I went back to my Beats X. Then I seen the Melomania 1’s. Mixed reviews but I loved the look at the stated 45 hour battery life. What can I say, they are amazing. Sound is fantastic, rich, clear and immersive. Charging case is dinky. The buds are comfortable and light and no drop outs. I love them. Will just have to get the stone coloured pair now. I would not hesitate in recommending these and what a great price for something so great. Cambridge Audio have created something great here.
I had a pair of Powerbeats Pro and had to send them back, they were too lose and the sound was terrible. I went back to my Beats X. Then I seen the Melomania 1’s. Mixed reviews but I loved the look at the stated 45 hour battery life. What can I say, they are amazing. Sound is fantastic, rich, clear and immersive. Charging case is dinky. The buds are comfortable and light and no drop outs. I love them. Will just have to get the stone coloured pair now. I would not hesitate in recommending these and what a great price for something so great. Cambridge Audio have created something great here.
Only received these earbuds 1 day ago,first impression was nice small easy to carry case earbuds themselves aren’t too large,I’ve read reviews from people who were disappointed in how the earbuds kept falling out during exercise,I changed the buds to the large and I’ve found they stay in place perfectly and seeing as I’m on crutches and find it easier to hop about,when I’m in my apartment,maybe
It’d be different if I got sweaty,but at the moment,I can’t fault their stickability,the sound is on par with my (bang and olufsen) over ears headphones,slightly more tinny,the charging cable was tiny only maybe 18″ in length I looked through my collection of old usb charging cables and found a 1mtr usb micro cable,I’ll use that in future,set up was a doddle,I’m sceptical re 45hrs of battery,so far I’m pleased and would recommend them,I find them comfortable to wear,I bought the black buds,their not cheap but much better
Value than and more well known makes,also like the recharge speed 30mins from flat to full.+ their a UK company.
Maybe like me you are weighing up whether to buy the Cambridge Audio (CA) Melomania or Sony WF-1000XM3 earphones? I ended up ordering the CA ones, and here are my reasons for this choice, as compared to the Sony ones the CA earphones are:
100 cheaper
Water resistant
Come with a smaller charger (more on this later!)
Earphones don’t stick out as much as Sony’s when in the ears
No need for an app – and the controls looked more intuitive
Now I haven’t tried the Sony’s (which I understand from reviews might have more bass) but I’m more than pleased with the sound quality of the CA’s. I took the time to select the earbuds that gave me the best fit from the four sets provided (turned out to be the foam ones) and so the best sound quality and bass. And I’m hearing some parts on tracks that I’ve played that I hadn’t noticed before when I used cheaper wired headphones connected to my phone.
Talking of which, connecting to my Sony phone’s bluetooth was easy – after the initial recommended 30 minute charge of the earphones they connected up straightaway with no problems. I’d only say that they won’t like to be several metres away from my phone as I move from room to room (unlike my bluetooth speaker) but I guess that may be to do with them being much smaller units? But this isn’t a major issue.
The controls are really as intuitive and as easy to remember as I hoped. And I love the fact that either earphone can pause and play music/answer or reject a call/bring up Google Assistant. It also makes sense that only the left earphone can turn the volume down and play the last track and only the right earphone can turn volume up and play the next track. The Sony ones looked much more complicated – although they do have the added bonus of noise cancelling, although the CA ones have this too but for phone calls only.
Overall I’m really impressed with the sound, well thought out design and the brilliant 45 hours of playing time available from the earphones and the charge unit. And who knew that the little front pocket on Levi jeans that was originally put there for pocket watches over 100 years ago would now come in so handy for my new earphones charging unit!
Having just tried the Creative Outlier Air airbuds, the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 are clearly lighter, smaller and better sound quality, but the greatest difference lies in the control buttons: much easier to use than the Outliers which are practically unusable. The case is also smaller and the buds are easier to remove. All in all this is a more refined product: recommended.
Edit: regarding the poor microphone performance, it’s easily solved by taking one earbud out of the ear and placing it close to the mouth to speak into it.
I’m by no means an expert when it comes to sound systems but I’ve been about long enough to know the difference between a good sound and a bad one. I can honestly say that these pods are absolutely crisp and deliver what I can only describe as a beautiful sound, the clarity is gorgeous. Select the correct tips and get the fit right and they suddenly come alive.
I’ve had my eye on Cambridge audio for quite some time now and plan on buying some of their hifi components and these have definitely convinced me that Cambridge audio are a force to be reckoned with. The packaging is classy, I was genuinely impressed as I fumbled through the box, very well put together package and is a statement of who they are and what they’re capable of.
Well done Cambridge, you’ve just gained another loyal customer 10 out of 10
So after reading some both stellar and negative reviews, I decided to take a gamble and give these buds a try. So what do I think?
The build quality of the case and the buds is great and the charging box is nicely compact. The buds are light and comfortable in the ears. The buttons on the buds are push button yet require little effort so you don’t risk pushing the buds further into your ears and causing any discomfort. The controls fwd/rev, pause, vol up and down are logical and easy to remember. Unlike the Jabra 65T, because the buds are circular, the buds easily drop into the case without fuss and are magnetically held in place.
Bluetooth connection is solid (I’m using oneplus 7pro) and I’ve had no latency or drop connection issues.
Battery and sound performance is outstanding, battery life lasts forever and the sound is very clear, well balanced and not too bass heavy. Unfortunately there is no app to change EQ settings but the default sound is really good so that’s by no means a deal breaker. It’s defiantly worth trying the different sizes and the foam buds for the best fit /seal to obtain the best sound.
sound, build, battery all great quality (1 charge has lasted me a week with average use). everything functions really well. The fit isn’t perfect as some have mentioned. I had to change the earbuds to the largest size and I’m by no means a big man (5’9″ average build). Yawning, chewing, moving sharply cause them to shift in your ear and so I can’t recommend them for running (lower impact exercise might be ok but if you’re breathing heavily you’ll probably move your cheeks and thus ears). They’re great for work, pottering around the house and overall they’re probably worth the money if you’re going to use them like I do.
sound, build, battery all great quality (1 charge has lasted me a week with average use). everything functions really well. The fit isn’t perfect as some have mentioned. I had to change the earbuds to the largest size and I’m by no means a big man (5’9″ average build). Yawning, chewing, moving sharply cause them to shift in your ear and so I can’t recommend them for running (lower impact exercise might be ok but if you’re breathing heavily you’ll probably move your cheeks and thus ears). They’re great for work, pottering around the house and overall they’re probably worth the money if you’re going to use them like I do.
I had high hopes for this product. It’s had many good write ups and reviews online. I’ve tried a lot of totally wireless buds and have lost or damaged them via the washing machine, so I’m always keen to see what’s available.
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Upon opening, I was delighted to see that they had a nice case and I like the way the earphones click into place. The lid is strong enough not to fall open, but not ridiculously so that you can’t open them when you need to. It’s a little disappointing that it’s Micro USB rather than USBC, but I suppose this is to keep costs down. They really are among the lowest priced premium buds available.
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Comfort wise, I’ve tried the various options and they won’t stay in easily, but I did find an improvement with the foam tips rather than silicone. They are comfortable to a point, but I found the dug into my outer ear and began to feel a bit uncomfortable over time. They’re certainly light, but they do stick out a bit. This is a problem with all totally wireless though…One size does not necessarily fit all. Your mileage may vary. I did contact Cambridge Audio regarding replacement tips, but there are no comply ones available and they made no suggestion of where to buy more. The supplied foam tips don’t inspire confidence of longevity.
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Connection was not always perfect sadly, with some stuttering of sound after hanging up a call, but then again that may be my phone or external factors. I feel like they’re a software upgrade away from sorting out the foibles, however the manual states they do not require an update so they are a completely finished product…I wonder if that may change.
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I really wanted to love these, but there are compromises to be made…apart from the sound. The sound is arguably the most important factor. They sound incredible. By far the best wireless headphones I’ve listened to. Nothing even comes close. They are well balanced with a nice wide sound stage. Fast, punchy Bass without being overbearing. Bright sparkling trebles with well presented mids. Really feel like they are tuned to perfection. Balanced and rich. Well worth an audition.
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Maybe I’ve got a funny shape of ears as no other review I’ve read had a problem with the fit. The sound is marvelous and better than much higher priced alternatives. Bar none. So, so good.