The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 earbuds have a fantastic sound that suits all music types, long battery life, and they are really easy to use — all for a great price.
Let's get this straight from the start: Most truly wireless earbuds look unattractive because they stick out of your ears. You won't buy the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1's for the look, unless Frankenstein's Monster is your style icon.
Our review model came in black, but there some white ones are available too. The shape is best described as bullety, and the control system classic, as the end caps are big physical buttons that are easy to locate and press. You get simple controls too. Hold the buttons to raise or lower the volume, double tap to advance or go back, and press once to pause. Easy, and more importantly, reliable.
The case is small, black, and made of plastic. It's similar in size to the AirPods, but cheaper feeling with its quickly smudged soft-touch finish. Flip the top to take out the bullet earbuds, which are securely fixed in using magnets.
Of all the earbuds tested here, these were the ones that were hardest to get a comfortable fit. They're not heavy at only 4.6 grams, but because they poke out of my ears quite far — ears are all different, so they may fit you differently — they tended to feel like they're loose. I settled on the included Comply foam tips in the end, which made sure they felt secure. Despite this looseness, they never once fell out, even when used at the gym.
Each bud has a 5.8mm graphene driver inside and paired with the iPhone XS Max, the Melomania 1's are little rockets. They deliver an overwhelming level of volume, a bass response that borders on the extreme, and a stunning clarity that reveals every detail in the music you're listening to.
Cambridge Audio dedicates itself to the "British sound," which has been embedded deep inside the Melomanias. Guitars and drums are front and center, while the vocals fill the wide soundstage. The listening experience is exciting, joyous, and often epic.
The British sound really suits guitar-driven, vocal-heavy rock and pop songs. Band Maid's "Daydreaming" kicks like it should, with lead singer Atsumi Saiki's voice never being overpowered by Tōno Kanami's guitar or Hirose Akane's drums — instead getting the balance exactly right. The real surprise comes when you discover how fantastic the Melomania's are for dance and bass-heavy music.
Mat Zo's progressive house masterpiece "The Sky" is superb, for example: Soaring, detailed, and with a controlled, pumping bass line. Apink's Eung Eung, and Hug Me are full of bass and mids, but never at the expense of the group's stunning vocals. I could listen for hours.
Battery life is fantastic. Charged, the buds last for nine hours, and the case delivers a further four full charges for 45 hours listening before the whole thing needs plugging into a charger itself. Disappointingly, the case has a Micro-USB port, rather than a USB-C port. A decision that may have been made to keep the price down, this may annoy those who have made the switch to USB-C charging on their phones. However, it doesn't need constant recharging due to the long battery life, so it's not a disaster.
Provided you prioritize sound and battery over aesthetics — and in this case you really should — it's impossible to dismiss the Melomania's very low price, and welcome simplicity. They're one of the cheapest we tested, don't bother with a complicated app, and arguably sound just as good as the most expensive set, plus they have the longest battery life too. Our recommendation: Save some cash, buy the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1s, enjoy the superb performance, and forget about the looks.
Pros: Long battery life, excellent sound, competitive price, simple to use
Cons: Unattractive design, fit takes work to get comfortable, Micro-USB charging port
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 2 hours recharge using Micro-USB
Charging: Nine hours use time, four charges from the case, for a total of 45 hours
Codecs: AptX, AAC codecs
Durability: IPX5
App: No