Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 Review

Introduction

True wireless earbuds are a dime a dozen. This part of the headphone market has matured to the point where you could find options that cost as little as £/$25 to as much as £/$1000.

For most, it’s the prices towards the lower end of the market that’ll draw both eyes and ears; and it’s in this category – the budget to mid-price – where there’s been something of a revolution. True wireless offering a performance that’s better than you’d expect.

Sony has, in my opinion, cleaned up with its budget true wireless options, but given the blizzard of options, there are challengers to its crown, such as the Cambridge Melomania A100, which have the potential to give Sony a run for its money.

Design

• Lightweight design
• Comfortable to wear
• Slightly humdrum looks

The original Melomania 1 and 1+ models were unique in design, looking like a pill (some might say a bullet), at a time when brands experimented with the look of true wireless earbuds.

A few years later and everyone’s settled for the earbud and stem, which is what the A100 has gone for.

First impressions are rather humdrum. The plastic look and feel is something you’d expect from a pair of earbuds that cost half as much. While Cambridge has avoided glossing up the earbuds, they look a little boring. They must be compensating for something…

Nevertheless, the lightweight feel of these earbuds means they sit in the ear without trouble. I’ve worn these headphones a lot, and at times they tend to push out, but it’s nothing a little nudge in doesn’t remedy.

They come with touch controls, which if you can remember the farrago with the Melomania Touch, these earphones don’t repeat that mistake with responsive taps and holds. These are buds that are easy to use and comfortable to wear.

An IPX5 rating is slightly higher than expected, the increased rating helps protect the earphones from ‘low-pressured’ jets of water.

The charging case shares the same aesthetic as the earbuds, and on its side is a three-strip LED that shows the current charge. There’s a USB-C input on the back for charging; while the pairing button is hidden on the underside.

Colours are white and black – again a bit boring. It’d be nice if Cambridge followed the lead of its P100 SE and offered more colours. That’d make the earbuds more attractive.

Features

• LDAC and aptX Lossless
• Google Fast Pair
• Melomania Connect app

Cambridge aims to go above and beyond expectations, and this would be the case with the A100 if there weren’t less expensive earbuds boasting a similar set of features.

Regardless, compared to the top dog in Sony WF-C710N, the A100 does elevate the Bluetooth spec. Sony’s own LDAC streaming codec is onboard for higher quality audio, as is Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless, which it claims offers true lossless audio over a Bluetooth connection. Then there’s aptX Adaptive to maintain a connection in the busiest of commuter areas.

Bluetooth 5.4 is the mode for connecting with your mobile device, while there hasn’t been an issue with the connection.

There is a Google Fast Pair to quickly connect to a neighbouring Android device. Bluetooth multi-point enables connection to two devices at once.

I’ll get to the noise cancellation and battery life below, but first, the Melomania Connect app. Like with the M100 and P100 headphones, this is where the value comes in.

Firmware updates, a Gaming mode (latency less than 80ms), Mono mode (using just one earbud), wear detection (prompt and unfussy), a Sleep Mode (disables touch controls), customisation of controls and a seven-band adjustable EQ with the option to create your custom sound.

You’ve got scope to adapt and customise the performance as you like.

Noise Cancellation

• Impressive for the price
• Average call quality

At this price, you’re not expecting an equivalent performance to premium options above £200 / $200, but the Cambridge Melomania does a good job convincing you that it is indeed possible. The ANC performance is excellent.

Yes, it is a combination of the fit and noise-cancelling itself; so finding that best fit is a priority, but once done, the A100 offer impressively suppressive performance across all kinds of transport.

Trains, buses, the Underground – low and high frequencies – everything calms down when these earbuds are in place. Voices are diminished too, putting the sole focus on what you’re listening to. I’ve used these headphones a lot over the past few months, and I’m always impressed by how much noise they stop.

The Transparency achieves the opposite by allowing sounds in, and does so clearly, and while there’s slightly less bass to the sound and perhaps a smaller soundstage; the tonality of the sound doesn’t change much, which is a plus.

Call quality is where the Melomania A100 is on unstable ground. In quiet areas, it’s pretty good – walking down the road with cars and there’s not much to distract. Jumping on the DLR in Canary Wharf and the performance takes a hit. Voice pick-up became mumbly, there was more background noise – like most true wireless, the A100 are good in quiet areas and less so when the decibels ramp up.

Battery Life

• 6.5 hours per charge
• Fast-charging
• Wireless charging

The battery specs on the Cambridge website are slightly confusing (perhaps even misleading) in suggesting battery playtime is 21 hours with ANC on. Is that on a single charge? Is that from the case? It’s rather vague.

Having prodded Cambridge about said figure, it’s actually 11 hours per charge without ANC, 6.5 hours with it on.

In the real world, which Bluetooth mode the headphones are in will affect mileage. If it’s LDAC, you can expect closer to four hours on a single charge. Listening to AAC and you’re in line with Cambridge’s expectations with shy over six.

Caught short? Fast-charging provides 3.2 hours of charge from 10 minutes (that’s sans ANC, however). There is wireless charging support, with the Melomania A100 Qi-compatible but not certified. They haven’t gone through the same levels of testing as Qi-certified products have.

Sound Quality

• Big, rich bass
• Wide soundstage
• Energetic delivery

Here’s where the wheat gets sorted from the chaff – and yes, the Cambridge Melomania A100 are very much the wheat, not the chaff. The problem Cambridge has, however, is that their rivals have plenty of fibre too.

To describe the A100’s sound is one which is energetic, vibrant, big and with rich bass. If you’re a bass lover, you’ll enjoy the power and size of the A100’s delivery. The Dynamic EQ option plays a part, offering more ‘loudness’ when engaged; but depending on your predilection for bass, you might find it a bit over the top or to your liking.

Compared to the Sony WF-C710N or the EarFun Air 4 Pro+, the scale of the bass is certainly bigger, as is the soundstage, which feels more like an IMAX screen compared to the Sony and EarFun’s most traditional cinema venue. The energy, sense of scale and clarity of voices give it the advantage over the Sony in that regard.

The sense of sharpness to the highs is better on the Cambridge than the Sony, with a listen to GoGo Penguin’s Ascent. But where the A100 falters is the degree of detail and clarity it offers. The Cambridge is boisterous to a fault, and it lets the Sony slip past with its greater levels of midrange insight.

Sony’s options are the more balanced listen, less concerned with energy and richness; more about subtlety and scrubbing up better in terms of overall detail.

It’s against the EarFun where Cambridge’s approach becomes even clearer. The Air 4 Pro+ offer greater sharpness, clarity and detail with treble; a crisper sense of midrange detail and clarity with Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun. Like the Sony, the EarFun’s bass is good but not as full-bodied as the Cambridge; the balance it strikes is more even if that’s what you prefer.

Cambridge has made its bed, and I don’t think it would be displeased with how it looks – or more how it sounds. But the choice for more energy, bigger bass and soundstage does leave it a little short as far as clarity, detail and insight go.

Having LDAC and aptX Lossless aren’t necessarily the big guns to focus on, and the tuning of the driver has a greater impact on the sound you hear. I enjoy the Melomania A100’s sound a lot – it excites, but I think the more revealing sound from the Sony and EarFun is what I’d go for.

Should you buy it?

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