STEREO GUIDE verdict
With the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, the British brand is trying to compete with Sony, Sennheiser and Bose with Bluetooth and sophisticated ANC.
Despite their years of head start in development, the over-ear from the island proved to be extremely competitive in the review, from the sound to the ANC.
Advantages
- Balanced, playful sound
- Very comfortable fit, suitable for long-term use
- Long battery life
Disadvantages
- Sits too loosely on the head for sports
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Sound: Tonal balance / transparency9.2
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Sound: Bass / Dynamics9.1
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Usability / Connectivity9
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Price/Performance9.6
The British brand Cambridge Audio, originally known for classic hi-fi components, is making a powerful push into the future-fi segment. After the amazingly good, but not perfect Melomania M100 true wireless in-ears and the retro gem Evo One comes the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100: wireless over-ear headphones with active noise canceling (ANC) and the promise of real high-end sound for travel.
That alone will not be enough against the strong competition in this segment: Bose, Sennheiser, Bowers & Wilkins and Sony are some names that seem unbeatable. The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 doesn’t even try to engage them in a price war or score points with the most insulating noise-canceling. No, the battery life of up to 100 hours (with ANC deactivated) and the highest possible wearing comfort are the disciplines in which the P100 wants to score points alongside the “British sound”.
Cambridge Audio doesn’t spend much time on fashionable variants and exotic trend colors: The P100 is available in black or white. For a better standing with young, conscious buyers, Cambridge focuses on ecological aspects and emphasizes the sustainability of materials such as the vegan artificial leather cover (please don’t eat it!). You might think this is unimportant for headphones, but the biggest ecological achievement is actually hidden in the small print: The P100’s battery and cushion rings can be replaced, which guarantees the headphones a maximum lifespan.
Cambridge Melomania P100: Connectivity and functions
Bluetooth according to the powerful 5.3 standard is likely to be the most frequently used connection option. The wireless connection also enables HiRes resolution, at least with aptX Adaptive compatible devices. For iPhone users, the equally high-quality AAC codec is also integrated.
Multipoint connection with two devices worked without any problems in the practical test. This is particularly practical if you use the P100 to listen to music on your computer but want to make settings on the app from your smartphone.
USB-C or a 3.5 mm jack adapter for analog sources are available for wired operation. The digital USB connection was recognized and activated as sound output under Android and Windows devices without any problems. The P100 did not work as smoothly as hoped with Apple devices.
Top equalizer and simple app
The Cambridge Melomania Connect app must be found in the App Store or Play Store, depending on the device. This can be done easily using the code supplied, provided the smartphone is enabled for such links in the store. Manual searching is somewhat confusing, as there are two versions for the old and new generation of Melomania. Our tip: The version with the orange Cambridge logo is the right one. Pairing and setup are then child’s play, especially as the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 automatically registers on the smartphone if it is not yet connected.
The most important feature of the app is probably the 7-band equalizer. Perhaps not quite as easy to use for laymen as a simple treble/bass control, but with a little practice it enables perfect acoustic adjustment to your own taste. In addition to the ready-made presets, you can also save and name your own curves. Absolutely top!
Noise canceling and transparency mode can also be switched in the app, whereby the intensity of the former can be changed again in three stages. However, we hardly thought this was necessary in our practical test. In addition, the app offers a low-latency mode for videos and computer games, a few useful displays, voice change and wear detection – this remains clear, but we didn’t really miss any functions known from competitors.
Classic operation without touch
The operation of the headphones themselves is just as intuitive and simple. Cambridge does not rely on multiple or customizable touch surfaces here, but on classic buttons at the bottom of the earcups. On the right-hand side there is play/pause, volume control and track skip via a double-click of the +/- buttons. On the left is the on/off switch with Bluetooth connection option and a button for noise canceling. Simple and good.
Classic hi-fi virtues
The sound conversion of the Melomania P100 is just as classic. We were really surprised to see a classic hi-fi amplifier with Class A/B circuitry in the data sheet. It is supposed to provide a particularly natural sound – which is all the more surprising given that the Melomania P100 is a master of battery life and class A/B amplifiers are generally considered to be power guzzlers.
The actual transducer capsules are equipped with 40 mm drivers that use a sandwich membrane made of polyurethane and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) – according to the manufacturer, this should guarantee long-term stability of the material properties, but still behave particularly musically. Looking inside the earcups, we noticed how strongly the drivers are beveled. A trick used by the developers to imitate the natural sound incidence direction of loudspeaker reproduction or live sound and thus enable better spatial imaging.
Practice, ANC and wearing comfort
But first, we dedicated the first round of the practical test without music to the secondary virtues. When it came to wearing comfort, the Cambridge P100 left only satisfied faces. They sat surprisingly comfortably on several ears and wrapped around the auricles without pinching or creating a feeling of warmth. The vegan leatherette convinced us, as did the rather slow-reacting memory foam cushion rings, which should be given a few seconds to adjust perfectly. The headband can be infinitely adjusted to different head sizes and remained stable in one position for a long time.
Precise adjustment of the headband length is also necessary, as the P100 sits rather loosely on the head compared to other travel headphones. If the length is not correct or if you don’t place it exactly on the top of your head, this impairs the tightness of the capsules and therefore the effectiveness of the ANC. If you have a narrower head, we recommend trying out the fit of the P100 first. Otherwise, it can loosen, especially with strong head movements, which does not necessarily make it the first choice for sporting activities.
If it fits correctly, nothing stands in the way of amazingly good noise-canceling. You shouldn’t expect too much isolation or total silence from the Cambridge Audio. Even at the highest ANC level, it still lets some outside noise through. However, the attenuation is so linear, natural and unagitated that it is not perceived as a shortcoming except in extremely loud environments. The ANC does a great job, especially on planes and trains (the long-life battery doesn’t go to its knees even during the usual train delays), but in noisy road traffic or in windy conditions you can sometimes hear slightly strange differences between the left and right sides.
Microphones and transparency mode
In very quiet surroundings, a minimal background noise can be heard at all ANC levels. Not disturbing, and in terms of level well below what we had to attest to the competition from Sony or Bose, but perhaps a reason for audiophile music listeners to activate the normal mode at home. The transparency mode did an average job, but lacked some clarity when making announcements in train stations and on airplanes.
On the other hand, we would like to praise the speech recognition of the built-in microphones, which did not convince us with the in-ear Cambridge Audio Melomanio M100. Phone calls or video conferences work without any problems with surprisingly good speech intelligibility, which we have only experienced with headsets with boom microphones.
Audiophile ambitions: Sound of the Cambridge Melomania P100
But the main purpose of the Cambridge Audio is to reproduce music in maximum quality anyway. Here, the Melomania P100 delivers without restrictions. In terms of tone, it is initially on the natural, unspectacular side compared to other competitors in its class. It avoids a booming bass as well as garishly hissing highs.
Natural and unspectacular does not mean “fun-free” – on the contrary! The P100 impressed us in all audiophile disciplines with practically all music genres. We didn’t have to use the 7-band EQ very often in practice because the Melomania P100 simply plays “correctly” ex works. This is especially true for the “Natural” setting; the linear preset sounds a little too monitor-like.
That doesn’t just mean “tonally correct” and sufficiently fine resolution, but he also gave the music a special drive, a special magic, from rock to pop to jazz and hip-hop. This was due in large part to his plausible spatial imaging, which projected neither a feeling of distance nor overly intrusive proximity to the head, but rather reproduced it exactly as we would wish. The reproduction was not as large as with other speakers that are deliberately tuned for wide spatiality, but rather somewhat more compact and at the same time more present.
Lots of hi-fi at a moderate price
But the P100 is also one of the best ANC headphones we know of in terms of fine dynamics and homogeneity of sound. This tempted us to listen to the first ANC over-ear from Cambridge for hours on end. Which you can do without any problems, because the pads sit quite loosely, pressure-free and comfortably on your ears. In contrast to some competitors, the ears don’t get too hot under the P100.
Does the P100 sound better than any of its competitors? Well, from a pop, rock, jazz, classical and acoustic music lover’s point of view, yes. If you want to listen to electronic music with overly hard beats and extreme levels, you might not be completely convinced by the low bass. It sounded natural, deep and rich, but at the end of the day did not convey the hardness, speed and assertiveness that you would expect from a club.
For everyone else, the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 is simply one of the best sounding ANC headphones currently available.
Cambridge Audio Melomania P100: Conclusion and alternatives
In this price segment and slightly below, the competition seems unbeatable at first glance. If you’re looking for wireless ANC headphones with perfectly isolating noise-canceling, 3D head tracking or a bewildering array of functions, you’re better off with Sony, Apple or Bose.
In contrast, the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 is unbeatable in terms of battery life, wearing comfort and sound quality. The tonal tuning strikes the perfect balance between high-fidelity balance, dynamic playfulness and pleasant spatiality. A Bowers & Wilkins PX7S2 certainly sounds more spectacular, chisels the treble more finely and puts more pressure on the bass, but it doesn’t sound as homogeneous and natural as the Melomania P100. The only one that can keep up here is the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4, but it sounds a little more sober and less spacious than the P100. In this respect, a clear purchase tip from our side!
Technical data Cambridge Audio Melomania P100
- Manufacturer’s recommended retail price: 280 euros
- Type: Over-Ear
- Transducer principle: dynamic
- Weight: 330 gram
- Special features: ANC, up to 100 hours battery life (60 with ANC), USB-C, analog adapter
- More at www.cambridgeaudio.com
