Cambridge Audio Melomania True Wireless Earbuds (ONE, Black)

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.

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 Doing extensive Research on getting earphones I was torn between the Tevis, the 1more and the Melomania. After reading more and more into I decided to go with the melomania. Sound and Connectivity: The sound is great for it, I usually have Sennheiser and Sonys. And this reached at their level even with a bit of latency. The connectivity is good at times but most the times the connection dropped on mine. I live in a semi crowded area. So in the day I thought it was just fighting the interference. But when it came to night and these headphones were 100% charged the connectivity was dropping and I could barely understand any of the music. Like it Skipped every syllable. The reviewers I've seen said it was good, but I believe some of them were a bit "Over zealous" with their reviews. Like on YouTube. I wont name any names there, but you will have seen them since you got to this page. Design: Its designed well, I really love the shortcut keys you have they did an amazing job with that and its hard to find that sort of Accessibility with these kind of headphones. They do feel light and like hollow plastic if that makes sense? They are very light weight and the ear buds they come with have varying sizes. Even with all of them they didn't stay in my ear for too long. They fit and I felt it go in, but it hurt my ears. And they would constantly fall out like they lose suction. Especially when I'm cooking or when I need to pick up something they will just fall out. And the worst part is when they fall out you wont notice it so you have to be super careful with your movement and be observant. Because they are super light weight. Battery life: Superb Battery life Quick charging Its amazing for that. Like they have spoiled us with this amazing battery life. Kudos to them. Calls: Its terrible for calls, the connectivity was bad and it kept dropping. It sounds like an echo from what I was told when I spoke. And it constantly sounded like I was in a tunnel and slightly Muffled. I called my friends on Discord, Skype, and normal mobile calls. (all on my phone) all had the same result. So be warned with calling. Ending statement: If you want something to listen to music its perfect for it. Be careful when using them in crowded areas like just generally walking outside in the park, or in town. You will get latency issues. As all Bluetooth devices get this so this isn't a melomania exclusive issue. Its an Overall Bluetooth issue. Charge is fantastic. Call qualities are bad, Connectivity is mediocre. Sound is great. My overall review of this would be a 7/10

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.

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!

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

So after reading the overwhelmingly positive reviews (and ignoring those about a poor fit), I ordered these with great optimism. My experience with these buds has been mixed and ultimately disappointing and they have been returned. High quality product, build quality and materials used gave me a sense of assurance that these are robust and would last a while. Battery life was incredible, charging case is small and solid with huge battery life to pump into the earbuds. Bluetooth pairing was super fast and simple, tested walking around the house/garden away from my phone, and around the gym with no dropouts or issues even when quite some distance away from the phone. Can't fault the sound quality, it was crystal clear highs, relatively deep bass and the overall sound produced made listening to music a joy. The sound quality was up there with the best I've ever heard from earphones and rivals man over-ear cans that I've used. My issues were with the fit and call quality. The earphones come with 3 sizes of rubber tips and 1 of expanding foam type. Tried all sets, but could not get a comfortable fit which also means a poor seal, of course leading to sound leakage and poor sound isolation. They seem to be quite a chunky build, and due to the straight design opposed to the usual curved design of the tip that slides down your ear canal, I had to jam them so hard into my ears that it was painful, and the end fit was very uncomfortable for more than 10 minutes of use. They would also slightly loosen when in the gym squatting and deadlifting, so not even moving around a lot. As for the call quality, I tested it over several days with over 10 different recipients. All reported a very echoed sound, as if they were on loudspeaker. They also reported background noise was overpowering my voice to the point that we were unable to hold a conversation, therefore these are unusable in busy areas such as commuting or in shopping centres. Finally, a common complaint with call quality was that the recipient could hear their own voice repeating back to them, very strange. If you're considering purchasing these I'd definitely recommend trying to get your hands on a pair to test out the fit with your ear, as this seems to be the biggest downfall with these buds, as reported by more than just a couple of users. But if they fit well and you don't care about making calls, they are an incredible piece of equipment for you. TLDR; - Sound quality 10/10 fantastic - Connectivity/bluetooth 10/10, fast and never dropped out - Battery life excellent - Terrible fit (for me!), uncomfortable, painful for longer than 10 minutes, cannot get good seal - Awful call quality, almost unusable

I absolutely loved my Melomania earbuds but sadly, for now they are lost. They have incredible sound quality and the best battery life I have experienced in a wireless earbud in a long time. I'm no audiophile and I would love to be writing this as I listen to them to describe the sound as best I can but they are lost (did I mention they were lost?) so can't. I will do my best to recall the sound. There are some annoying points to these earbuds too and we will get to them. Sound on these is great. They have won awards for their quality and I can see why. Vocals are clear, the sound is crisp and not muddied, bass is strong but not overpowering. There is detail you can her with these earbuds which you can't catch with others. The sound quality for me is superior to my much more expensive BOSE over ear headphones which surprised me. Battery life is exceptional. I could listen to music for pretty much all of my working day with one charge however there was never really any need to push this as at lunch time I just chuck them in the case and recharge whilst eating and then go again. I would fully believe the 45 hour claim from the manufacturer. Comfort is fine for an ear canal style earbud. They look huge in the pictures but aren't actually all that bad. You can get a nice snug fit with the included tips but as always if you want best sound quality and noise cancellation you should go find a nice memory foam type tip. They haven't ever fallen out of my head when walking with them and because there is no cable you get no cable rub noise. Noise cancellation in these is passive and not active but is surprisingly powerful. I can comfortably ignore people at work with these in and not have to listen to any of the office gossip. GREAT! Some points to note about these and some areas where the manufacturer needs to make some improvements. Bluetooth connection. This may be down to the phone but I suspect not as I have no other connection issues with anything else, but sometimes BT will just not connect. When you take the buds out of the case they should auto connect but there are times when this doesn't happen and you have to put them back in the case, close the case, open the case and then hope it works the next time. It's very, very annoying when this happens and it did happen more often than I would like. There are touch controls on the buds, they are somewhat fiddly to use sometimes and because of the design when you want to use them you are effectively pushing the buds deeper into your ear canals, yes you could use a lighter touch but sometimes this results in the press not being registered so you just have to keep on pressing. Not sure how they could get around this issue with this design but it certainly needs addressing. The tips you get with the buds are great but they will NOT last you more than 6 months. There are a few more in the box but they will expire. This isn't exclusive to CA tips however when the tips expire they WILL get stuck in the case and you will have a fun time trying to dig them out. This is especially annoying if you are out in the middle of no where on a walk and this happens. inside the use of these earbuds for talking on the phone is more or less OK but outside you can forget about it. I'm not surprised by this considering how far from your face these will be but just wanted to mention it. Overall, even with these annoying points I still loved these earbuds and will keep searching for them. You might want to consider how easy these are to lose too but this is definitely not exclusive to these earbuds. Anything small without a tether is easy to misplace. Despite all of this though I would recommend these to anyone over anything else in a heartbeat. At £99 they stomp all over all other earbuds and should be the pair you go looking for next. I used them with my iPhone 11, connected them to my laptop and also a pixel 3 XL and all of them worked absolutely fine. Go buy them, I would...