Cambridge Audio's latest earbuds have ANC, aptX Lossless / Adaptive, 11 hour battery life and clever audio adjustment
The Melomania A100 in-ears are available now for the reasonable price of £119 / €139 / $149.99 (about AU$247).
The original Cambridge Audio Melomania earbuds were a brilliant surprise. They cost a fraction of the price of their rivals and to my ears, sounded way better than earbuds that cost considerably more.
The British brand has since refined the formula over successive generations, including the four-star Melomania M100, but now there's a brand new set of budget buds – the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100.
The A100s are wireless ANC earbuds, and they feature the same class AB amplification found in the firm's acclaimed CX and EX series amps. The amplification powers 10mm neodymium drivers which promise deep bass, rich mids and crystal-clear highs.
Cambridge Audio Melomania A100: key features and pricing
The headline feature here is the newly developed DynamEQ technology, which sounds like it's been designed specifically for me. It's crafted to keep your music perfectly balanced irrespective of volume, and it does that by "subtly" adjusting the bass and treble throughout the volume curve.
Usually, as you adjust the volume of a track, the levels of bass and treble start to sound different – so treble can get harsh when you go loud to boost the bass, and bass can be overly boomy when you go low to cut the harshness. DynamEQ should help you get the right sound without having to turn things up too loud or too quiet.
Inside, there's a dual-core Qualcomm Kalimba DSP with support for LDAC, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive. Bluetooth is 5.4 with multi-point pairing, and there's a new version of the companion smartphone app.
The AirPods-esque stem design is available in a choice of black or white, and come with a selection of silicone tips and a compact charging case. Battery life is 11 hours on a single charge with ANC off, and a decent 6.5 hours with ANC on. The charging case adds up to 28 more hours of playback and fast charge gives you three hours from a ten-minute charge.
The Cambridge Audio A100 earbuds are available now directly from Cambridge Audio and from Amazon in the UK, Europe and Asia, priced at £119 / €139 / $149.99 (about AU$247). They'll launch in the US later this year.
