Cambridge Audio MeloMania 1 Wireless in ear Headphones
Cambridge Audio takes a stab at a set of wireless earbuds and hits it (almost) out of the park.
Cambridge has decided to wade into the already crowded pool of wireless HiFi earbuds. Their unique selling proposition? Ridiculous battery life, a rock-solid connection, and amazing sound. Cambridge has a well-established reputation for producing quality gear that doesn’t require you to put a second mortgage on your home to afford it. I own a few of their pieces, the CXA 60 Amplifier paired with the CXN Network streamer alongside the Yoyo L Bluetooth speaker. I love them all and will admit to being a big fan of their sound and industrial design. It’s all very clean, well thought out and pretty to look at. So when I saw they had released the Melomania 1’s I was curious to see if upheld the high standards that I expect from Cambridge.
Introduction
So first a bit of a disclaimer, the first pair of Melomania’s I received were a bit of a disappointment. The sound was just trash. It was all highs, zero lows and not what I was expecting from a brand like Cambridge. So I reached out to see if the first pair I got was a dud. Cambridge happily sent along with another pair and it’s the second pair is what this review is based on.
The Melomania 1, the latest offering from Cambridge Audio, is named after the live music venue on the ground floor of Cambridge Audio’s London R&D center and sets a nice high-bar for earbuds in this category. They run you USD 129 which isn’t cheap but doesn’t place them into the upper sphere of reference HiFi earbuds. For its part, Cambridge has decided to tackle head-on some of the annoyances of wireless earbuds, namely, crappy battery life, tinny sound, and bad connections. And for the most part, they’ve succeeded.
Design
As with all of Cambridge’s products, the Melomania 1’s are wonderfully packaged. The VHS (remember those?) sized, cardboard, the black matte box features a side magnet closure, full-color graphics, and a silver-stamped foil logo. It’s all very well presented. Open it up and you are treated to the two earbuds and charging case nestled in the indented board as if they were making snow angels. On the inside of the cover features a personal letter from Cambridge’s CEO James Johnson Flint. He’s even left his personal email for feedback (nice touch!). Remove the earbuds and housing and below it is the accessories, a micro USB cable, different sized earbuds, instruction booklet, stickers, and brand book.
Onto the product itself, the Melomania 1’s arrive in their ‘stone’ color. It’s a change from Apple standard white or audio standard black. Admittedly, it’s not my favorite color choice, it’s not awful but it reminds me of PCs of old, before the emergence of Apple’s design renaissance. It’s just kind of, meh. The design itself makes up for it though. The earbuds are tiny, weighing in at just 4.6 grams each. The case is almost as light weighing in at 37 grams. This to say the whole package is compact. Cambridge also supplied two different sized silicone carrying cases which slip easily on and off the charging case. There are 6 different colors to choose from, I prefer the orange one. I don’t use it mind you, as I keep the case in my bag.
The charging case flips open from the top and seals tight magnetically. The two buds magnetically snap into place easily. And a 5-light LED indicator lets you know how much charge remains in the case. The left side of the case features a micro USB slot for changing the whole case. I’ve read other review lamenting the inclusion of micro-USB. I’m not one of those people. Sure, the most up to date techie would love to have USB-c, but me, I have so many other devices that use micro-USB already that’s a non-issue.
The earbuds are chunky, yet tiny bullet-shaped beauties. They have just one multifunction button each on the outer side, shaped to look like Cambridge’s logo. They are father touch buttons vs touch-sensitive. They don’t require a hard press, rather a light one and it doesn’t interfere with playback. The button is surrounded by a thin indicator light. There is a metal strip running around the earbuds which ensure a charge every time.