Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+, the one for music lovers
Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+.
One of my favourite earphones over the last couple of years is the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 and now they’ve been given a refresh to the Melomania 1+. I received the matte black version and have been giving them the usual routine of tests to see if the upgrade lives up to the originals high standards.
The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ are shaped like bullets for a compact design. The slim charging case slips nicely into any pocket and is well built with a satisfying snap when you close the lid. The buds have a positive snap when you place them back into the case thanks to strong magnets.
On the outside of the case, there’s now a USB-C charging port that replaces the micro-USB port of the original. There’s no wireless charging which some may lament but considering the price I’m happy to live without it.
The circular outer pad of each bud features an attractive LED band that indicates their charging and pairing status. The case has five LED lights that display the state of the case's battery when you flip open the lid. Under the tiny LED light on each bud, the letters 'L' and 'R' are written in blue making them easy to identify.
The overall design and look of the Melomania 1+ are identical to the originals and this isn’t a bad thing. However, they do stick out from your ears a little more than the likes of their more expensive sibling the Melomania Touch.
Those interested in using these for workouts should know that although I never had them fall out, they’re not going to be as secure as the Melomania Touch which feature ear hooks. However, they are sweatproof thanks to IPX5 certification.
The Melomania 1+ come with a selection of rubber and memory foam tips to ensure you get the shape and fit for comfort. After a lot of testing, I found the largest memory foam tips provided the best seal in my ear canals and as a result, sound quality. I was a little surprised at just how much of a difference the tips made to the sound quality. The least effective tip produced a noticeable lack of bass. As a rule, it’s always worth going through all of the provided ear tips when you get new earbuds but even more so with the Melomania 1+.
In terms of comfort, I found the silicone tips slightly more comfortable but I’m a sucker for sound quality so I was willing to forgo a little comfort for the sake of fidelity.
Each bud only weighs 4.6g and overall comfort is excellent — you’ll soon forget your wearing them.
Battery life is class-leading with up to nine hours from the buds themselves in low power mode and a further 36 hours from the charging case for a total of 45 hours. Changing to high performance moded in the app will drop this to seven hours on each bud and 35 hours in total for case and buds combined.
Unlink a lot of other earbuds the Melomania 1+ don’t have touch-sensitive controls and that’s definitely not a bad thing. Too often, touch controls can be annoying because it’s too easy to accidentally hit off the touch-sensitive area. The clickable controls are in each earbud for pausing, skipping, and replaying tunes.Â
A continuous press will shift the volume level up or down — left for down, right for up. You can also accept/reject incoming calls via the control pads. The mic is located next to the ‘L’ and ‘R’ and should be pointed downwards to optimal call quality. You can turn the controls off in the free Melomania app if you don’t like them but I’m not sure why you’d want to.
The Melomania 1+ support Bluetooth 5.0 for a stable signal, as well as SBC, AAC and aptX codecs.
Inside the compact little buds are 5.8mm drivers with diaphragms made from graphene and for such small buds, they’re able to produce incredible sound quality with powerful bass.Â
Again, you do have to find the optimal ear tips to ensure the best possible sound for your ears but when you do, the rewards are plentiful. It really is impressive just how much clarity and range the Melomania 1+ have to offer, especially when you take into account the price. The only small critique I would have is that the soundstage isn’t as spacious compared to the likes of the Sennheiser Momentum 2 but it’s above average.
One obvious omission is the lack of ANC but once you find the best fitting ear tip there’s a decent amount of passive noise isolation. In fact, I found them better at blocking out sound than some earbuds with ANC.
New to the Melomania 1+ is the Melomania app. There’s an excellent EQ with presets and the option to save your own custom settings. You can also upgrade the firmware — something you couldn’t do with the originals.
The Melomania 1+ is a worthy upgrade to the originals and although the improvements are small tweaks, it’s the sum of all the parts that make them one of the best true wireless earbuds you can buy for the price. Yes, they don’t have ANC or wireless charging but if you can live without those features and love good sound quality, you’ll love the Melomania 1+.
Available now from Richer Sounds for €99.95
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