Earphones that stay-in-touch for great sound quality
Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch.
I was really impressed with the sound and battery performance of the original Melomania earphones when I reviewed them in 2019. The latest Melomania Touch are an improvement in features, sound quality, comfort, and similar stellar battery performance.
The Melomania Touch case and earbuds have a premium feel and style that exceeded my expectations based on their retail price. The case is faux leather with the Cambridge Audio logo embossed on the lid. There are five LED lights that indicated the battery fuel level and charging status. Around the back is a USB-C charging port but unfortunately, the case doesn’t support wireless charging.
Opening the case reveals the stylish Melomania Touch earphones. They come with replaceable ear tips and ear wings. You get small, medium and large wings which makes finding the right size to suit your ears much easier. These aren’t necessary as such as the earphones will stay in your ears but if you like to wear earphones while running or exercising, they make a massive difference to keeping them secure in your ears. The ear tips come in three sizes too and you get a spare for each size which is a nice bonus.
Finding the correct size of wing and ear tip for your ears is essential and especially so with the Melomania Touch. I usually find the medium size works best for me but you should experiment with all of the sizes to ensure you get the best fit for optimal comfort and sound quality.Â
I ended up using the small as the medium was a little less comfortable and the small ear tip helped me get the buds further into my ear canal, which helped loudness and bass.
The ear wings really help to keep the buds secure in your ears and I could not shake them off regardless of what I was doing. Both the earbuds and case support IPX4 which is good enough to protect them from sweat and a few drops of rain.
You can use the Melomania Touch in either High Performance or Low Power modes. High-Performance mode provides the maximum quality and sound experience with a listening time of up to seven hours from each earphone and 40 hours in total when you include the case.Â
Low Power mode extends the listening time to up to nine hours and 50 hours in total. You can change this setting via the Melomania app which is available for iOS and Android.
The earphones charge up when placed in the case pretty quickly but the case takes up to two hours for a full charge from empty. This is pretty impressive and a good couple of hours above the average for earbuds.
Bluetooth 5.0 provides a stable connection and I didn’t notice any issues while moving around the house. Audio codecs including aptX, AAC and SBC are supported but not aptX HD and LDAC. The latter two are less standard but maybe a little disappointing for those who enjoy a higher bit rate and hi-res audio streaming services like Qobuz. That being said, I could hear an improvement in audio quality when using Qobuz and tracks with hi-res audio.
Both earbuds have a touch-sensitive pad on the outside. Simply tap on the earbuds to play and pause music, skip tracks, change volume, take handsfree calls, switch on Transparency Mode and summon Siri or Google Assistant. Like most touch controls, accidental touches are unavoidable but you can turn off individual controls via the Melomania app. This level of control over touch inputs is excellent. Most earbuds only allow you to either have touch controls on or off.
There’s no ANC which may or may not be a deal-breaker for some. There is a certain amount of passive noise isolation and with music playing, it is hard to hear what’s happening around you. Three taps on either earbud will toggle transparency mode on and off and its strength can be tweaked in the Melomania app but I didn’t find it very effective. I like to be able to hear myself during calls and even with transparency mode on, my voice was a little muffled.
As companion apps go, the Melomania app is one of the slickest. I tested the Melomania Touch on firmware version 1.3.1 and you need to use the app for future updates. In the app, you can see the battery charge status for each earbud but not the case. You can also use the Find My Earphones feature which will locate them via Google Maps based on their last know location.
There’s also a five-band equaliser for tweaking the bass, mid-range and treble. You can save up to three custom sound profiles or use one of the six presets.
Cambridge Audio are a well-know sound company with 50-years in the industry, so it should come as no surprise that the Melomani Touch have excellent audio quality. Using 7mm dynamic drivers with a graphene cone which Cambridge says they chose for its outstanding strength and rigidity.
For such lightweight earphones, the bass is surprisingly tight and controlled. It doesn’t get too powerful either even at high volumes. The mids are also excellent with a nice warmth that should suit a majority of genres.
In particular, while listening to 60s and 70s folk music the vocals were impressive with a clarity and charm I like. On more modern tracks vocals can get a little lost in the instruments and the soundstage is good but not as expansive as earbuds like the Sennheiser Momentum 2s.
Overall sound quality though is exceptional and not just for the price either and although the highs did get a little harsh at times, the overall listening experience was really enjoyable.
The Melomania Touch earphones are excellent, producing an exceptional audio quality at a decent price. The lack of ANC may turn some off but these stylish earbuds are one of the best I’ve tried and come highly recommended.
Available from cambridgeaudio.com €139.95
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