If sound fidelity is a priority, this is a sound option

I’ve been testing the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1s for over a month and although they’re not perfect, they manage to equal and in some areas, even improve on Apple’s Airpods.

Right from the letter that addresses the purchaser as a ‘music lover’ from the CEO of Cambridge Audio, James Johnson-Flint, it’s clear that the Meloman 1 earphones are geared towards those who appreciate music quality. They have their own case that houses the earbuds for safekeeping but it also charges them. The case itself is charged via the micro-USB port on the side of the case.

Once charged, Cambridge claim that you’re good for up to nine hours of use. The case will give you four full charges for up to an additional 36 hours of use. In effect, that means 45 hours of continual use, and I found I never had to worry about charging. Also, there are five LED indicating battery capacity on the front of the case making it really easy to know when you’re running low and need a charge.

The earbuds themselves pop into the case and are magnetically held in place making sure you always get a good connection for charging.

I received both the black and off-white versions of the Melomania’s for this review and although I personally preferred the black, the white does look good too. It’s nice to have the choice, unlike the Airpods, which only come in white.

Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Black

While testing the Melomania 1’s, I listened to a lot of music and watched a lot of videos and movies. In terms of video, there are some issues with a slight lag in the audio. This is particularly annoying during dialogue where the audio is slightly behind the video. I found this on both android and iOS devices.

Unfortunately, there’s no companion app to change settings or play around with sound equalisation. Not a big deal though because you get good controls via the buttons on each bud from volume up/down, play/pause/skip and the ability to summons your voice assistant. Also, voice quality from the mic isn’t as good as some of the other earbuds I’ve tried but it does get the job done.

In terms of comfort, I would say that you need to pick the correct fitting tip of which there are three silicone and one memory foam. They have larger than usual drivers which is a good thing for audio quality but makes them a little less comfortable in your ear

Overall, I got used to wearing them for long periods without discomfort.

They look well in your ears and certainly not ugly like so many other earbuds. They don’t protrude either and I never felt like they were ever going to fall out but your mileage may vary.

The Melomania 1’s support AAC and aptX audio codecs and they work with Siri/Google Assistant, Bluetooth 5.0 and IPX5 rating means they’re water and sweat-resistant too.

The word clarity came to mind while listening to music on Tidal’s HiFi quality setting. The soundstage isn’t very wide and I would have liked a little more bass, but the level of detail you can hear on these tiny earbuds is superb. I found that to get the best sound you really have to make sure you push the buds right into your ear. The genre of music will influence the type of headphones that best suit you, but I like that they don’t have a particular bias and produce or more flat response overall.

I loved using the Cambridge Audio Melomani 1 earbuds as an avid music lover where sound fidelity is my priority.

Available now €130