You will be excited if you’ve ever heard the brand’s award-winning sound, whether it be through hi-fi sound systems or loudspeakers, particularly after seeing the buds’ entry price of $139, which easily undercuts the Apple AirPods.
Listeners are greeted with a dynamic and varied sound that can be adjusted via the companion app, as well as long playtimes, in combination with a clean and appealing aesthetic. Features like improved listening options and multi-codec support help it stand out as one of the top wireless earbuds on the market.
A Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus is available through Amazon or Cambridge Audio directly from Cambridge Audio Store. It comes in two different shades: black and white.
Again, $139 is a reasonable price for a truly wireless earbud with such a comprehensive set of capabilities. The Melomania 1 Plus, in addition to the basic AirPods, has a lesser MSRP than some of the best noise-canceling earbuds on the market. The Melomania 1 Plus lacks active noise cancellation, unlike the AirPods Pro ($249) & Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro ($199). (ANC).
The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus is a fresh breath of air if you’re tired of the long-stem design that Apple is made associated with the category. The virtually bullet-shaped form, which allows for smooth insertion into the ear, offers it a more modern, slimmer look than the AirPods & AirPods Pro. The buds don’t droop or protrude out as much as the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds & Jabra Elite 85t, allowing for more discreet use.
The hard-plastic housing & soft-touch matte finish are of high quality, reaching that perfect spot between robust and attractive. Cambridge Audio developed these buds with IPX5 water resistance, so you won’t have to worry if they fall from a great height or get wet. Just don’t throw them in the jacuzzi; they weren’t designed to withstand submersion or pressurized water jets.
There are a few noteworthy details worth mentioning. Despite being somewhat raised, the designers were capable of giving the multipurpose button a flush appearance. The logo is also indented, which is a great touch. Another feature that sets the buds apart is how they charge, which is a natural transition into the power adapter.
The Cambridge Audio case is more attractive than the basic AirPods case. It was also one of most lighter cases on the market. It’s small enough to fit in a trouser pocket or a day bag. The lid also closes firmly. However, it was the charging system that drew my attention the most. To generate a charge, it makes use of well-hidden electrical connections (the steel ring & ear tip grille). It’s unique, and it exemplifies the brand’s commitment to innovation.
To fit various ear shapes, six silicone tip sizes & four memory foam tip sizes are there in the package. When moving around, the default pair produced a good seal to maintain the buds stable.
A Melomania 1 Plus provides adequate comfort, but one will avoid wearing them for lengthy periods of time. Because you may have pain all around concha after 2 hours of listening. Furthermore, hitting the buttons forces the buds deeper in your ears, which might cause discomfort over time.
Cambridge Audio went above and beyond to make these earbuds outstanding audio quality. The Melomania 1 Plus offers a special setting called High Performance in addition to 5.8mm carbon materials drivers and compatibility for the newest aptX and AAC codecs. To maximize sound, this uses the same hi-fi-grade power found in Cambridge Audio’s acclaimed CX family of stereo amplifiers.
Most of the songs sounds pretty close to their original mixes, especially jazz classics. The instrumental distinction on Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay” is recommended to be heard on these set of buds in this price bracket, as the energetic horns, melodic bassline, and other instruments are well separated, and steady hi-hats were all crisp and distinctive. Most of this performance was carried across into fusion genres such as jazz-rap: Gang Starr’s “Words I Manifest (Remix)” kept its smooth & up-tempo resonance, with the buds faithfully recreating DJ Premier’s forceful drum rhythms and piano samples.
The vocal range is another highlight of the Melomania 1 Plus. With the default sound profile highlighting the sad vocals on Led Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,”. This helped establish the record’s somber mood. With each string plucked, the acoustic guitar had accessibility that felt strange.
The noise cancellation isolation isn’t particularly effective if there is one complaint. The tips, on the other hand, retain the buds in place. The seal struggles to block out noise at a high level, letting external sounds into the soundscape. ANC would be really useful in this situation. The great news is that unless the alarm goes off just a few meters away from your ears, any noises heard aren’t distracting enough just to pull people away from the music.
Touch controls and on-ear sensing aren’t available on the Melomania 1 Plus. Instead, it features physical buttons that use to operate a wide range of media. These split among each bud and it engages with a single or double-press gesture. Playback (play/next track/ pause/previous track), volume, answer/end call, & voice assistance are all available. The buttons are snappy and provide a lot of tactility, which ensures that users get the orders they want.
Hands-free actions and inquiries are available with Siri and Google Assistant. The mic array from Cambridge Audio performed admirably in terms of speech recognition, taking up every word and interpreting long-winded requests with ease. On Android, iOS, and macOS devices, creating calendar invites, opening programs, and looking up sports scores was a breeze.
The Melomania app has a few features, the most useful of which is the Equaliser. You can choose from six well-balanced presets or create three unique sound profiles that can be fine-tuned to your hearing preferences: Balance (the default), Rhythm and blues, Electronic, Bass Boost, Rock, & Voice. Each of these works well with the genres and topics they represent. Although I advise sticking with Balanced, activating Voice on YouTube clips & podcasts provides a lot of enjoyment. R&B and Bass Boost are also good choices for urban music genres.
There are toggle options again for codecs selection and all other features, and an Audio Mode with two situations: Low Power as well as the mentioned High Performance when you tap the Settings button at the bottom.
The Hub (also known as the home screen) has a simple interface yet is visually appealing, with a dark blue colored background, white lettering, and neon symbols. The battery level indicators for every bud are very well, and the Find My Earphones option is conveniently located at the bottom.
Firmware upgrades are available, albeit you might have technical difficulties downloading the most recent version. You are able to upgrade the right bud. However, the left would not pair with Google Pixel 2 XL. Then connected it to Pixel 3 XL and completed the download. It’s a strange problem, but one worth mentioning.
Playtimes in low power mode are among the best in the category, with a charge time providing 9 hours of use. In this setting, phone conversations, streaming, and volume reduce battery life by around an hour, however, 8 hours is still more than enough time to work with. It also lasts nearly twice as long even as AirPods Pro (4.5 hours) and yet is comparable to top performers like the Beat Powerbeats Pro (9 hours) and Master and or Dynamic MW08 (10 hours ). I used the buds for 1.5 hours every day before recharging them on the fifth day.
When completely charged, the charging case can last up to 45 hours. Calculate 5 additional charges, which is nearly double the 24 additional hours provided by the AirPods charging case. Unfortunately, wireless charging did not make the cut.
The Melomania 1 Plus is practically a must-buy if you’re on a (limited) budget and want affordable attractive earbuds that also sound and look better than both AirPods variants. But also give you twice the playtime.
The sound profile works well with all types of music and works well with other media including podcasts, movies, and eBooks. The craftsmanship is excellent, and getting 45 hours of gameplay is fantastic. Most crucially, the Melomania 1 Plus comes at a fraction of the cost of high-end headphones such as the AirPods Pro as well as the MW08.
The lack of ANC & transparency settings may not affect some people. But they join call quality also as earbuds’ two major flaws. Recently evaluated the Examples as follows TWS NBQ, which offers ANC for only $59. So the omission is difficult to overlook, even if it isn’t a dealbreaker.
Regardless, Melomania 1 Plus is deserving of an Editor’s Choice award. It’s a fantastic value because you’d be remiss not to consider it.
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