Since we have effectively gain the earned run average of peakwireless earbuds — a moment when even very affordably price products fulfil the hearing needs of all but the most discerning buyers — it ’s beget hard for many companies to differentiate . It has testify so hard for brands to vie in this new landscape painting that Jabra ( one of the earliest and most successful wireless earbud Maker ) hasabandoned the categoryentirely .
That might help explicate why Cambridge Audio thinks it can succeed with its raw Melomania M100 earbuds . With deep rootage in audiophile - caliber hi - fi components — specificallyreceivers and amplifier — Cambridge is bringing some of that know - how to bear on the M100 . rather of the usual Class D amplifiers that power most wireless earbuds , the M100 use Class AB amps . To a casual audience , that might not think much . But it ’s like catmint for Hawaii - fi fancier because it ’s the same elaboration technology that ’s establish in their favorite appurtenance .
There ’s more to the M100 , like lossless audio and a $ 219 terms that undercuts flagships from Sony , Bose , Apple , and Sennheiser by as much as $ 80 . Is it enough to give Cambridge a fundament at the table and a rest home in your ears ? After several weeks with them , the solvent is yes , but not without a few caveats .
The Melomania M100 unquestionably evoke the understated design cues of hi - fi factor . tranquil , semi - gloss dim plastic and a thin highlight of flatware give the earbuds and case a sophisticated , high-pitched - end feeling . When in your ears , the only hint of the Cambridge brand is its circle - within - a - rotary logo . It ’s so subtle you ’d need to get very close to find it .
The earbuds are a bit on the hefty side . Like most stemless designs , they occupy much of the ear ’s concha — no problem if your ear are self-aggrandising enough to accommodate them , but these will be a challenging convulsion for those with smaller capitulum .
I encounter them to be similar in fit to theSennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 — they ’re comfortable enough for long stop . The inclusion body of two sizes of froth eartips ( in addition to three sizes of silicone tips ) helped with both comfort and stability . Once introduce , they scarcely prompt at all , even when work out . speak of that , with anIPX4 rating , the M100 should have no trouble with exertion or pelting as long as you wipe them fair after each economic consumption .
The case itself is not IP - betray , so it ’s best to keep it away from piss . It ’s also on the big side , and once again the Sennheiser comparability is apt — neither is as pocket-size as theApple AirPods ProorSony WF-1000XM5 .
You get wireless charging plus standard USB - C ( cablegram included ) , and its clamshell palpebra make a generous opening move for enter the bud .
I have a impregnable preference for physical push , but I had no job with the Melomania M100 ’s touch restraint , which were wanton to tap and very responsive . By default , you may contain all of the M100 ’s feature film include playback , volume , rail skipping , earpiece calls , ANC way , and voice assistant entree . The Melomania app lets you disable any of these gesture , but you ca n’t customize them . In other words , gambling / intermission is always a unmarried dab on the correct earbud , ANC manner is always a single hydrant on the left , etc . The only exclusion is if you choose to expend one earbud on its own , in which vitrine all of the commands normally uncommitted on the right earbud get converse to the odd earbud when it ’s running solo .
I ’m fine with this musical arrangement but for one low charge : There ’s no way to toggle between ANC and transparency modes without kick the bucket through the “ normal ” ( ANC off ) way . Since I typically spend my clock time in ANC — only rarely popping into transparency way — it ’s not very convenient to wiretap my way through normal each time .
The M100 are also equip with wear sensor for auto - pausing and resuming your music , which is a handy feature that is becoming progressively common . What is far less coarse — and really unique in my experience — is the mode this works on the M100 . To pause your line , you must remove both earbuds and replace both to resume , which is , well , a lot less handy .
Pairing the M100 is easy — specially on Android thanks to Google Fast Pair — and switching between two couple gadget viaBluetooth Multipointis totally seamless . Cambridge says we ’ll getLE AudioandAuracastcompatibility with a next microcode update .
As you ’d have a bun in the oven , given my intro and Cambridge ’s reputation , the Melomania M100 vocalize great . Even before you dig into the Melomania app ’s telling 7 - band equalizer , the tuning on these earbuds offers a finely balanced sound signature tune , with a tonality that is both warm and clear .
I often detect that factory tuning produces boosted relative frequency ( typically the highschool , though from time to time the lows too ) , but I was dead contented listen to the M100 right out of the box .
Bass is both snappy and definitive , with no bloating . There ’s splendid clarity throughout the mids and highs , and vocals seemed to get through with a particularly strong level of contingent .
Jazz criterion like Dave Brubeck’sTake Fivedeliver the ringing that I always listen for , and track like the Cowboy Junkies’Misguided Angelare fittingly broad , thanks to the generous and accurate soundstage .
I ’m not sure I can definitively say that I can tell the dispute between Cambridge ’s AB amplification and the normal Class D. The only way to be perfectly sure would be if the society created two versions of the M100 , thereby eliminating all of the other variables . Still , I did comment a smoothness in the way mass addition . Some earbuds have a distinguishable sweet spot for good quality . TheSennheiser Accentum Wireless Earbuds , for instance , do n’t satisfy their potential until you hit the 65 % to 75 % level . With the M100 , the remainder between 50 % and 100 % is simply the amount of superpower . Even at full blast ( not recommended for more than a few seconds ) , distortion was scarce perceptible .
Of course , this could also be thanks to the 10 millimetre drivers that Cambridge used , which are virtually 50 % larger than the ones you ’ll find in most earbuds .
Making pinch with the app - based counterweight is both fun and light . you may start with any of the six available presets if you ’re an EQ expert , and then make your own changes . you could lock in up to 20 of your recipe — that ’s a rattling amount of freedom and ascendency .
Cambridge has also integrate Qualcomm’sSnapdragon Soundplatform , which , for the lucky few who have a compatible smartphone , commit you lossless CD - quality transmission over Bluetooth . This feature is waste on lesser earbuds , and do n’t even attempt to appreciate it if you ’re not in a quiet localization . But if you are ( and if you have access to a lossless source of audio frequency ) , you may detect that medicine sounds less rough , especially at either end of the absolute frequency spectrum . Play a few tracks that you know like the back of your helping hand and you may also pick up added detail through the mids that you did n’t even take in had been missing .
That ’s a lot of ifs , and further , the benefit ofaptX Losslessare most noticeable when rise back and forth with a equipment that only supports lossy codecs like SBC and AAC . Still , it ’s genuine enough when you hear it .
The M100 ’s dissonance - canceling can be an mismatched experience . When it ’s good , it greatly diminishes a sort of unwanted noises , from traffic strait to the music your gym insists on playing even though there ’s no agency that 100 sweaty people all have the same taste .
However , Cambridge take to use Qualcomm ’s adaptive ANC , and I do n’t mean it sire the engine room quite right . At random interval , the ANC would let voice in , like the roaring of a hand truck go by . I could never predict which vocalise would touch off it or why , moments after , it would revert back to silence . When asked , Cambridge Audio could n’t really say why either , other than to hint that maybe it was endeavor to accommodate to changes in the conniption of the earbud . no matter of the reason , it would be great to see adaptive ANC as an selection that can be disabled .
Transparency fashion works well , and you’re able to choose how intense to make it — there ’s even a mode that focus on voice . Unfortunately , the one voice it ca n’t center on is your own , so conversation were never quite as natural - sounding as I would have liked . Not that I can lay the blame for this on Cambridge — it ’s a very common weakness shared by almost all ANC earbuds that are n’t made by Apple , Sony , or Bose .
That same lack of self - spokesperson clarity ( or sidetone as it ’s sometimes called ) can be fatiguing when using the M100 for shout . Most of what you get a line of your own voice will come via bone conduction , which is tone down and dull .
In hushed fix , the mics do an fantabulous line of communicate your articulation to your phoner , but that character deteriorates the noisier things get . On the positive side , your callers may never be cognizant that you ’re walking down a officious street — those sounds are effectively delete — but your voice will get increasingly wobbly and compressed as the system is force to recompense .
It ’s arduous to complain about the M100 ’s battery life . With a claimed 10 minute of playday per care with ANC on and a huge 16 hours when it ’s off , most day you wo n’t come close to draining them . If you do , the charge case has another 23 ( or 36 ) hours in the bank , for up to 52 time of day of total hearing time . You could fly around the macrocosm in that time and never need to go looking for power .
Should you call for a quick top - up , 10 minutes will buy you an extra 1.5 or 2.4 hours , severally .
The Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 earbuds are not without their flaws , but in general , they ’re an outstanding value for folks who place a strong emphasis on sound quality above all . Some of the quirkiness — like ANC modality switching and the pauperization to remove both earbuds for auto - pause — may get addressed over sentence with firmware updates . I ’m not as optimistic that the glitchy ANC behaviour is as easy to set up . Still , the M100 extend a premium sound experience for a cost that ’s within reach for a lot of buyers .
