The Melomania M100 earbuds sound great, but have a few quirks

For those looking to intentionally listen to music, the Melomania M100 might be a compelling option. Sit down in your comfiest chair and drift away for hours—this is what Cambridge Audio designed these earbuds for. Built by hi-fi engineers in London, the company states they are “helping your music sound its best”.  While they excel in pure listening sessions, issues can come up when you’re doing more than just sitting back and enjoying your music. Let’s dive into this M100 review to find out whether they are worth the money.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the Melomania M100?

The Melomania M100’s case is pocketable but definitely noticeable when carried. It’s also not the easiest to open with one hand. At first, I had trouble taking the earbuds out of the case—pinching the smooth plastic housing caused my dry fingers to slip. However, pushing the earbuds from the bottom of the case pops them out almost too easily, sometimes making them slide onto the silicone-lined lid.

As for the earbuds themselves, they’re comfortable to wear for long hours. I tend to be sensitive to fit, but I had no problems wearing them for over four hours at a time. The lightweight plastic construction helps prevent discomfort, and they fit snugly enough to stay in place even during a run. Thankfully, I found the earbuds don’t accidentally trigger the wear-detection feature. Keep in mind, the wear detection only pauses and plays music when removing or inserting both earbuds rather than just one.

The gaming mode reduces latency for watching videos, and a mono mode is available via the app, which is useful for those with hearing impairments in one ear. There’s also a sleep mode that disables touch controls, but the earbuds are a bit too bulky to wear comfortably in bed—unless, of course, you sleep like a vampire.

How do the Melomania M100 connect?

The Melomania M100 use Bluetooth 5.3 with support for aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, SBC, and AAC. While Auracast isn’t currently supported, the hardware is capable of future support with Bluetooth 5.3. Multipoint connection works well, and I only experienced two minor disconnection issues in my weeks of testing—both were quickly resolved by reinserting the earbuds into the case.

How long do the Melomania M100’s battery last?

In our battery testing, the Melomania M100 lasted 10 hours and 15 minutes with noise cancelling enabled via APTX adaptive. That’s an entire eight-hour work day and an hour commute to and from. Fast charging for 10 minutes provides 1.5 hours of playback with ANC enabled. With the case you get up to 33 hours with ANC on and 52 hours without ANC, meaning you’re unlikely to be left without a charge.

How well do the Melomania M100 cancel noise?

The Melomania M100 cancels noise well, blocking out most ambient sounds. However, I encountered a strange bouncing noise effect whenever I took a step while jogging, walked downstairs, or shook my head quickly. Otherwise, general movements don’t create that bouncing sound effect. This issue only occurs on the Highest ANC setting—medium and low settings significantly reduce the effect. It doesn’t seem to be a fit issue, as I tested multiple ear tips. Interestingly, when I had others in the office try the M100, most didn’t notice the problem. This makes me suspect it’s only an issue for those more sensitive to specific frequencies.

Looking at the isolation chart the Melomania M100 do a great job in masking the higher frequencies. The ANC picks up the slack of the isolation covering up a decent amount of lower-pitched rumbling. I’ve had an enjoyable time on the train, the active noise cancellation keeps the distracting and painful noise to a minimum. I do sometimes miss the announcements as they’re completely drowned out. Overall they have a more than acceptable noise cancelling performance.

How do the Melomania M100 sound?

The Melomania M100 are Cambridge Audios’ first set of earbuds with noise cancelling. Nothing in particular about the sound quality stands out as I found the sound clear and aligned with my listening preferences.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the sound of the Melomania M100 was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

The Melomania M100 attains an Overall score of 4.6 in MDAQS testing, meaning most listeners will likely enjoy their sound. The Timbre score of 4.9 suggests a pleasing tone, but the Distortion score of 3 indicates that more discerning listeners might find them lacking in absolute clarity. With an Immersiveness score of 3.7, these earbuds provide a decent sense of spatial audio, which means you can generally tell where the source of a sound is coming from.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.

Objective Measurements

The Melomania M100 comes close to our preference curve. There is a slight bump to the bass, but true bass heads might still find it lacking. The treble has a noticeable bump from 3khz to 6khz which might be fatiguing for some. There’s a dip in the 6khz to 14khz region, making the M100 sound less airy or open, but not to the point of sounding extremely dark.

Can you use the Melomania M100 for phone calls?

Yes, the Melomania M100 can be used for calling applications. As per usual, in a quiet space the microphones perform relatively well. Unfortunately, voices sound far away the moment noise comes in. The issue comes in when you’re in noisy public spaces, as the mic cuts in and out in an attempt to cut out the noise, especially for lower-pitched voices. If you’d like to hear what the microphones sound like, take a listen with the samples below.

Melomania M100 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Should you buy the Melomania M100?

At $219, the Melomania M100 with its long battery life, comfortable fit, and pleasant sound are a decent choice for work-from-home use or casual listening sessions. However compared to most of the budget lineup at half the price, if you aren’t looking to get the Melomania M100 specifically for how it sounds, you can skip these. There are no extra features or anything that specifically stands out. They’re pleasant-sounding earbuds, but without any striking features that make me want to recommend them specifically, you are better off saving your money.

What should you get instead of the Melomania M100?

If you have the budget, the Technics EAH-AZ80 from Panasonic come with a more premium build ($417 at Manufacturer site). The AZ-80 have less battery life, with similar performance in ANC. Despite being heavier, the AZ-80 has a similar fit to the M100.

If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro are a good option ($129.99 at Amazon). They have good sound quality, great noise canceling, and a unique charging case, for a lot cheaper than the Melomania M100.

Frequently asked questions