The new Melomania P100 are Cambridge Audio’s first true wireless headphones, ANC, … [+]
Barely a month ago I reviewed the latest and greatest ever pair of true wireless headphones from classic British brand Cambridge Audio. The Melomania M100s are the third pair of true wireless headphones released under the watchful eye of Cambridge Audio chairman James Johnson Flint. Producing great headphones has been Johnson Flint’s personal passion and mission, and the man is on a roll.
Now Cambridge Audio has introduced its first pair of true wireless, ANC headphones in the form of the Melomania P100. The engineers at Cambridge Audio have learned a lot about headphones over the past few years and the results have been distilled into this new pair of headphones and it shows.
The Melomania P100 headphones build on more than 50 years of audio expertise that Cambridge Audio has honed, driven by an unabashed passion to deliver truly exciting sound produced by some excellent premium drivers and Class AB amplification.
The new Melomania P100 headphones are extremely stylish and extremely comfortable.
The new headphones have an impressive 60 hours of playtime on a single charge. With active noise cancellation turned off, this figure rises to an astonishing 100 hours. The large battery capacity means the headphones will need charging less often and offer a longer service life, which is good for the environment and your bank balance. With a 60-hour battery life, you can easily squeeze a full week of work out of the P100 or a long vacation somewhere nice.
Johnson Flint is pleased with what its engineers have been able to produce. “The Melomania P100 is the closest you can get to a personal, portable Cambridge Audio hi-fi system. Our award-winning true wireless models gave our listeners an on-the-go introduction to the Cambridge sound, but we wanted to offer music lovers a premier on-ear option as well,” he asserts.
As with all Cambridge products, the P100 is designed, tuned and engineered at the company’s London music venue and headquarters, Melomania, by the same team that designs the company’s award-winning hi-fi equipment.
Melomania’s P100 headphones use custom 40mm drivers and neodymium magnets.
At the heart of the P100 are custom 40mm drivers and neodymium magnets. The drivers are powered by Class AB rather than Class D amplification. This is the same analog technology used in Cambridge’s popular CX Series amplifiers. The result is a warm sound with a deep but controlled bass, forward vocals and a treble that brings definition to the soundstage.
To ensure that the combination of premium drivers and great amplification can reach its full potential, the P100 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform which offers support for aptX Lossless wireless technology, ensuring CD-quality wireless playback and lossy compression.
Like most wireless headphones on the market these days, the Melomania P100 offers active noise cancellation. The ANC feature offers three user-selectable settings, which are No ANC, Transparency Mode, and ANC On. Modes can be switched using the ANC button which is on the left earcup next to the power switch and Bluetooth pairing control.
The Cambridge Audio Melomnia P100 headphones can be connected via Bluetooth and analog … [+]
On the right earcup there are two volume buttons and a special function button with play/pause function. The headphones can also automatically pause music when you take them off, although this feature can be disabled using the excellent Melomania Connect smartphone app which is available for iOS and Android devices.
The cluster of three control buttons also offers many other functions that are accessed by double or triple clicks. These functions include skipping or repeating tracks, calling voice assistants, and accepting or rejecting calls.
Out of the box, the P100 headphones are tuned to deliver that classic Cambridge sound. It’s a transparent and natural signal that sounds great without any distortion. There is an extremely deep bass, but it never becomes weak or powerful.
I gave my favorite test track—Diana Krall’s “Sway”—a spin and was not disappointed. Unlike some wireless headphones, there was plenty of headroom in the volume on offer along with a total lack of background noise that you sometimes hear with Class D headphones.
The Melomania P100 is a fixed design and doesn’t fold like some travel headphones.
The P100 sounds like a disciplined orchestra that always takes the conductor’s time and never falters. The sound must be heard to be appreciated. The tuning is excellent and up there with the best wireless headphones on the market and very similar to the excellent Melomania M100 wireless headphones.
Using the Melomania Connect app, the audio can be modified to suit your tastes. There’s a seven-band EQ that can sculpt the sound to a precise degree, plus six presets are available to suit a variety of music genres.
The P100 headphones have a game mode, which ensures almost perfect synchronization with the sounds displayed on the TV or console when playing games or watching movies. Latency has been reduced to just 80ms.
The ANC feature uses the latest technology available and it shows. This is up there with Sony and Bose technology, the best in the business. ANC has become so good these days that it is unthinkable to travel without a pair of ANC headphones.
The Melomnia P100 true wireless ANC headphones from Cambridge Audio look great in white.
Perhaps the most important aspect of headphones after audio quality is comfort. Once again, Sony and Bose lead the way with headphones that are lightweight and easy to carry, even for hours on a long flight to an exotic location. I’m happy to say that the memory foam and leatherette earcups on the P100 have all the soft elasticity you’ll find on Sony’s WH-1000XM5 or Bose’s QuietComfort.
As well as soft earmuffs, the relatively lightweight P100 has a textile-padded headband to reduce pressure on the wearer’s head. Despite weighing 330g, the P100 feels light to wear. I like that a point for the fontanelle, that high ridge on the human skull, might have made the P100 feel even easier to wear. It’s a minor criticism of an otherwise extremely comfortable pair of headphones
James Johnson Flint tells me that a great deal of time and testing has gone into selecting the ideal clamping force to suit the widest variety of head sizes. There is no mistake. The P100s have just the right amount of clamping pressure to keep them in place, even when exercising, without making your head feel like it’s in a vise.
The Melomnia P100 headphones are well built and the battery and ear pads are user replaceable.
The P100 headset offers anywhere from 60 to 100 hours of playtime on a single charge of the built-in rechargeable battery. Fast charging means a five-minute quick charge can provide up to two hours of playback with ANC on or four hours with ANC off.
Like many companies in the consumer electronics business, Cambridge Audio has upped its game when it comes to durability. The new Melomania P100 is made with sustainable materials wherever possible. The headphones contain 50% recycled plastic and are shipped in 100% recyclable plastic-free packaging. Both the battery and the ear cups are user replaceable to ensure the P100 provides years of use.
The effort to create a more sustainable product builds on Cambridge Audio’s support as a founding donor of the eco-music charity EarthPercent, which was co-founded by Brian Eno of Roxy Music fame.
Verdict: The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 set a new standard in wireless ANC headphones. Not only do they sound great thanks to those custom drivers and Class AB amplification, but the ANC function is in the major league, and you also get great comfort and near-infinite battery life in a design that’s durable for years to come. Considering the P100s are Cambridge Audio’s first pair of true wireless ANC headphones, the company has scored a positive with a product that offers incredible value for money and should probably cost a lot more. If you’re considering buying Sony or Bose ANC headphones, do yourself a favor and give the Melomania P100 a listen. You won’t regret it. Highly recommended.
Price and availability: Cambridge Audio’s Melomania P100 True Wireless ANC Headphones are available from July 2024 at cambridgeaudio.com and Amazon, priced at $279 / £229 / €279 in a choice of white or black and delivered in a box of strong with chain.
Technical characteristics:
- Driver: 40 mm, with 3 layers.
- Magnet: Neodymium.
- Amplification: Class AB.
- Audio codecs: aptX Lossless, SBC, AAC and aptX Adaptive up to 24-bit/96kHz.
- Battery life: Up to 60 hours (100 hours with ANC off).
- Quick charge: Two hours from a five-minute burst.
- ANC Modes: On, Transparent, Off.
- EQ: 7-band adjustment, plus 6 EQ presets.
- Bluetooth: Version 5.3.
- Game mode: 80ms delay.
- User replaceable battery and headphones.
- Connectivity: Choice of wired operation via USB-C to 3.5mm jack or USB-C to USB-C (both cables provided).
- Multipoint connection: Yes.
- Ear pads: Vegan leather with memory foam.
- Headband: Memory foam covered with textile.
- Weight: 330g.
