STEREO GUIDE verdict
The Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 impressed in the review with its high-end sound and powerful battery.
Pros
- audiophile and of course for all genres
- Outstanding resolution and space
- Very long battery life
- Good app with great EQ
Cons
- Wearing comfort not optimal, pinches small ears
- Microphone and Bluetooth stability not optimal
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Sound: tonal balance / transparency9.6
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Sound: Bass / Dynamics9.2
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Ease-of-use / Connectivity8.8
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Price / Performance9.1
The fact that classic hi-fi brands are venturing into the headphone sector is nothing new. And Cambridge Audio, known for classic amplifiers, Bluetooth turntables and very cleverly designed home streamers, also had a series of true wireless earbuds in its range. We have already reviewed the Melomania Touch . With the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100, the successor is now on the market. At 200 euros, it sits right in the middle between the mid-range and upper-range in this segment, and promises some remarkable technical features in addition to “British sound”.
The first thing that stands out in the data sheet is the enormous battery life: the two earbuds last up to 16 hours without recharging, 52 hours including recharging in the case. With ANC activated, this is reduced to a still impressive 33 hours.
But Cambridge Audio also promises cutting-edge technology in other areas, such as the latest speech separation options from chip supplier Qualcomm, self-adapting noise-canceling and support for the aptX Adaptive codec with resolutions of up to 96 kHz and 24 bits.
Solid technology package
The battery life is all the more impressive when you take a closer look at the amplifier section. The English manufacturer promises that the Cambridge Melomania M100 were “developed by real hi-fi engineers”, who consequently used a real Class A/B amplifier in the earbuds. A technology that is otherwise more familiar from classic home stereo amplifiers with thick heat sinks, which is known to hi-fi fans for more natural and warmer, but also poorer efficiency.
The micro-amps drive a diaphragm with a diameter of 10 millimeters on each side, which is one of the largest diaphragms in the in-ear range that can fit into such a housing. Accordingly, the housing is also somewhat chunkier, while the weight of 6.6 grams per earbud is still within the usual range.
The battery case is somewhat larger and heavier than the competition, and the two earbuds snap into it comfortably when magnetically attracted. However, since it is nicely rounded and not too bulky, we think this is perfectly acceptable in view of the enormous battery power.
Operation and app
From the TWS reviewer’s point of view, there are no surprises when it comes to operation: the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 are also controlled via touch surfaces on the left and right capsule. The range of functions is good. The manufacturer has also kindly included a quick start guide in credit card format.
The voice announcements as feedback for switching between noise-canceling, transparency mode and normal were a bit annoying after a short time, especially because of the resulting delays. However, there is a simple option in the app to replace them with sounds or switch them off. If you don’t want to miss the beginning of an announcement in an airplane or train station, we strongly recommend this.
Great EQ in the app
The Cambridge Melomania Connect app must first be found in the App Store or Play Store, which can be somewhat confusing due to two different versions for the old and new generation Melomania. Once installed (expert tip: the version with the orange Cambridge logo is the right one), the connection was exemplary fast and stress-free. That’s what we want from other manufacturers too!
The highlight of the app is the 7-band equalizer, which, with a little prior knowledge of sound technology, enables perfect acoustic adjustment to the ear canal and listening tastes. In addition to the ready-made presets, you can also save and name your own curves. There is no better way to do this!
The touch commands of the left and right earbud can also be freely programmed or individual ones deactivated. 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.
Special modes can be activated for certain situations, such as a low-latency mode for computer games, a sleep mode to deactivate touch sensitivity and a mono mode if you want to split the pair of earbuds between two people.
Otherwise, the app is limited to standard functions such as firmware updates and displaying the battery status.
Five-fold adapter selection and insertion into the ear canal
During the first test run, the Cambridge Melomania M100 initially feel quite loose and unobtrusive in the ear. However, this is a fallacy, because for good bass and effective noise-canceling they have to sit really tightly in the ear canal. This means that compared to the intuitively comfortable fit, you have to make another quarter turn with a few millimeters of depth until the two earplugs are really tight in the ear canal.
This is no problem for most headphones because the manufacturer supplies five different adapters: silicone seals in three sizes and foam adapters in a further two sizes. The English normal ears seem to be slightly larger, as the “S” adapters seemed more like “M” adapters from other manufacturers. Therefore, listeners with very small ears or narrow ear canals should definitely try out the Melomania M100. Otherwise they could literally come up against limitations and find the fit of the M100 oppressive.
If the two earbuds fit tightly, a small problem arises when the noise canceling is activated: Both earbuds must sit identically tight in the left and right ear canal, otherwise the noise canceling will result in different cancellations and a very strange phased feeling on the eardrum. If this is not possible due to different sized ear canals, you should try the foam adapters or generally refrain from using the Cambridge Melomania M100.
Natural, but not outstandingly strong ANC
After adjusting the seat accordingly, we were able to listen to the noise canceling. In a normal environment, this delivered a convincing but not outstanding performance at the highest level: As in an anti-stress cabin in an airport, particularly low-frequency noise sources such as aircraft turbines appeared very pleasantly even and naturally muffled. But muted really also means: muffled, they never disappeared completely, as we know from the best-in-class TWS from Sony or Bose. On the other hand, we can only describe the cushioning as pleasant, natural and relaxing. In very quiet surroundings, you will notice a minimal but not disturbing background noise. This becomes almost inaudible if you select the medium or low ANC intensity, but then only a subtle, but very natural attenuation of external noise remains.
A small drawback: the Cambridge Audio M100 doesn’t like crosswinds any more than an overloaded Boeing on landing. This doesn’t throw the passengers off course, but it does make a strange crackling noise. We can therefore only recommend the Melomania for sports and outdoor activities to a limited extent. In urban environments close to busy roads, you could also experience how the noise reduction mode tried to adapt and constantly changed its attenuation.
Overall, the noise canceling left a very good, if not perfect, impression. A quick tap on the left-hand receiver takes us to transparency mode.
Transparency with extra and microphone quality
First of all, a positive detail: the Melomania M100 does a very good job of suppressing uniform, noise-like sounds, even in transparency mode. This has the amazing effect on trains and planes that the background noise is reduced, but the announcements remain. In railroad stations and tunnels, the transparency effect also avoids the otherwise dreaded reverberant clatter or emphasis of sharp-sounding frequency ranges. Unfortunately, the speech intelligibility of announcements in transparency mode was still only average.
We were somewhat disappointed when making phone calls and in urban field use: we would only describe the speech intelligibility of the M100 as average compared to its competitors; the six microphones resulted in a somewhat muffled transmission and sometimes choppy initial words. The Bluetooth connection was also not always stable when an obstacle spontaneously came between the transmitter and the earbuds. On the other hand, the multipoint connection with several devices worked perfectly.
This is what the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 sounds like
We had already optimized the fit of the earbuds with noise-cancelling, so nothing stood in the way of checking the sound quality. And this is where the Cambridge Melomania M100 really delivered: its reproduction was spatially wide, had drive and resolution without being annoying, and sounded rich and full. You couldn’t wish for a better sound balance in a true wireless in-ear.
Whether pop, acoustic music, jazz or rock: The Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 convinced in every situation with natural sound colors, fine details and a very subtle representation of details. The fact that the latter neither led to obtrusiveness nor to a loss of homogeneity made the Cambridge Audio a top performer among the TWS we reviewed.
If you want a little more vocal warmth and spatial distance in the sibilant range, you can achieve this quite quickly with the 7-band EQ.
The bass reproduction is also excellent: when the TWS is correctly positioned, it is deep, rich, full and to the point with the beat, without pushing itself forward in the musical action. Fans of hip hop and techno may object that the low bass doesn’t push quite as hard and club-like, but remains more on the natural side. But that’s more of an advantage with all other genres, from pop to classical.
Cambridge Audio Melomania M100: Conclusion and alternatives
The first TWS with noise-canceling from the English hi-fi brand Cambridge Audio has two major selling points in the competitive environment: The Melomania M100 offers an outstandingly long battery life and a high-end sound experience that is convincing for almost every musical taste and can still be adjusted with the equalizer. We also liked the ANC very much, even if it is not the strongest on the market. Music listeners who want maximum bass pressure and hardness might prefer the MiiEgo MiiBuds Play or JBL Tune 230 NC . But the bottom line is that the Melomania remains the best-sounding in-ear in its price class and the next price class up.
In terms of secondary virtues such as microphone quality, noise-canceling intensity, suitability for sports and the app’s range of functions, it doesn’t make any major blunders, but it has to fall behind the best competitors. For active listeners, the Sennheiser Sport TWS is our alternative tip if the sound quality is slightly compromised and NC is not required, and the Sony WF-1000XM5 is our alternative tip if the focus is on effective noise canceling.
Buy Cambridge Audio Melomania M100
Technical data Cambridge Audio Melomania M100
- Manufacturer’s recommended retail price: 200 euros
- Type: In-ear
- Transducer principle: dynamic
- Weight: 6.6 grams each
- Special features: Splash water protection according to IPX4, ANC, up to 16 hours battery life independent of case (10 with ANC), 49 (or 33) hours with case
- More at www.cambridgeaudio.com
