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!

These are great if they fit your ears. Sound is excellent (if they fit properly), battery is excellent, case/charger is a good design (if using the supplied tips), bluetooth connects well...........but in-ear headphones only sound good if they fit your ear canals well otherwise the noise isolation is lost, sound quality goes (you lose the bass), and for these ones with no other attachment to the ear- they fall out. Personally, all of the supplied tips were too small for me so I spent £16 on T-600 comply tips (s/m/l sizes), the large ones fit me and the headphones sounded great - all good until trying to get them into the carrying/charging case where they just about squeeze in but are slightly too long to allow the connection to charge up. I didn't want to take off the tips each time I charge (or cutting the ends off them to make them fit) so I returned the headphones, which is a shame because they were very close (literally about 1mm) to being really good. Other reviews say the T-600 tips solved the size issue if you have wider ear canals than the supplied tips, so perhaps there are slightly different versions that work - but the Cambridge Audio information makes it clear that using non-supplied tips can prevent charging so I'm not so sure how other people have done it without that issue.