The segment of true wireless in-ears is probably one of the most extensive on the entire audio market. Almost every hi-fi company now offers at least one pair of completely wireless in-ears with an obligatory charging or transport case. Cambridge Audio launched a very special pair of headphones this year with its Melomania Touch, which are said to excel in wearing comfort.
Founded in Cambridge in 1968, the company emphasizes that it has used an elaborate process to find the optimal fit for the majority of all auditory canals. To do so, it collected more than 3,000 ear impressions from test subjects. In our test, we want to take a closer look at whether the new True Wireless In-Ears really are a reference in terms of wearing comfort. In addition, we put the stylish headphones through their paces in terms of sound. After all, sound performance is probably the most significant discipline for audio products.
Technical details
| Headphone type | In-ear |
| Design | True-Wireless with removable ear wings |
| Connection | Bluetooth 5.0, aptX, AAC, SBC |
| Control | Touch gestures or via app |
| Frequency range | 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz |
| Driver | 7 mm |
| Battery power | 9 hours (in-ears) and 50 hours (charging case) |
| Special Features | Transparent mode and clear app |
| Dimensions and color | Headphones: 23 mm x 24 mm and 5.9 grams, Charging Case: 30 mm x 72 mm x 44 mm and 55.6 grams, Colors: Black or White |
| Price | € 24.95 * |
Package contents
At a price of 139.95 euros (MSRP), you get a high-quality piece of technology with the Melomania Touch. This is already clear from the packaging itself. Here, it doesn’t have to be torn open, but only unfolded thanks to the practical magnetic closure. This makes unpacking fun!
The most positive first impression is also maintained when you take a closer look inside the package. Besides the Earbuds themselves, you will find the practical charging and transport case as well as the matching charging cable with USB-C port. On top of that, Cambridge Audio includes different ear molds and ear wings.
The earpieces come in three different sizes (S, M and L). The earpieces in M were already installed on the plugs themselves at the factory. Cambridge Audio calls its special ear wings “Comfort Bands”. In addition to the pre-assembled pair of special wings, the manufacturer includes three more.
Design and build quality
Even at first glance, it’s clear that the Melomania Touch are a high-quality, yet chic piece of engineering. Cambridge Audio scores first and foremost with the design of the charging case. While you can hardly notice any differences in this discipline among many manufacturers by now, the British present a creative pebble look that can be seen, but also felt. After all, the special soft varnish with its rough surface makes for an exciting feel and at the same time ensures that you won’t drop the case so easily.
We find it a bit of a shame that the hinge is not made of aluminum or a similarly high-quality and durable metal. Cambridge Audio uses a pure plastic hinge here. This could prove to be a small Achilles’ heel in the long run. Again, we think the five LEDs on the front are great.
Here you can see how much “juice” the transport case still has up its sleeve. The positive impression of the case also continues with the earbuds themselves. These are also made of plastic, but this does not detract from the high-quality look and feel.
As befits modern in-ears, the Melomania Touch do not do without splash water protection. Here, Cambridge Audio relies on a certification according to IPX4 standard, which should ensure solid protection in light rain showers and possible sweat splashes. However, this also means that you should by no means jump into a pool with the in-ears in your ears.
Astonishing staying power
When it comes to battery performance, you simply have to give the Melomania Touch top marks. This applies to both the charging case and the in-ears themselves. The former allows storing a whopping 50 hours of runtime. If you charge the plugs, they last for just under 9 hours.
These are really good values that leave an exceedingly positive impression, especially in direct comparison with the competition. Thus, the popular AirPods from Apple are clearly put in their place with their just 5 hours of battery life.
The Controls
Cambridge Audio relies on a special touch control for its in-ears. With the help of touch gestures, you can adjust many different settings. In addition to play and pause, you can also adjust the volume. Access to the helpful Alexa and Google Assistant is also possible here. You can see which gesture performs which action not only in the user manual, but also in the convenient app.
Although I am personally a self-confessed hater of touch controls on headphones and prefer the feel of classic buttons, I got along surprisingly well with the Melomania Touch. After a short time, the gestures became second nature and everything worked effortlessly. However, when I then dared the endurance test and rode the subway, I had to realize that even the in-ears from Cambridge Audio can’t avoid the typical problems of touch control.
During a quick sprint to the subway, the in-ears slipped ever so slightly. When I went to reattach them properly, I accidentally typed. This is exactly what bothers me so much with touch gestures. Perhaps the problem could have been eradicated if the sensors were not too sensitive. But that is complaining on a high level, since the touch control rather falls into the “nice to have” category in my eyes anyway. A checkmark in the app ensures that the touch control is simply deactivated.
In my opinion, the lack of a sensor that registers whether the in-ears are in the ear or not is a clear point of criticism. Such sensors allow the headphones to automatically pause or resume playback when one of the earpieces is inserted or removed. Since this feature is now even found in mid-range in-ears, Cambridge Audio could have quietly donated the same to the Melomania Touch.
Wireless music enjoyment with the most important codecs
To ensure the most stable connection possible without cables, Cambridge Audio relies on Bluetooth 5.0. Accordingly, I did not have to accept any connection interruptions in the test. Getting there was not a problem either. As you know it from many higher-priced true wireless in-ears, you simply have to connect one of the two headphones to your source device. Following that, the second one automatically connects.
Within my nearly 80-square-foot apartment, the in-ears were powered everywhere by my iPhone’s signal. Speaking of the iPhone. In terms of codecs, the Melomania Touch offer optimal support of Apple’s smartphone thanks to AAC. Android users are happy about aptX. We find it cool that the in-ears feature Qualcomm’s “True Wireless Stereo Plus”. This not only ensures an even more stable connection between the music source and the headphones. On top of that, the feature is supposed to be characterized by high energy efficiency and thus get the maximum out of the battery.
Overwhelming smartphone app
The handsome in-ears can also be optionally controlled entirely via the handy app for iOS and Android. But aside from that, you can also make many other settings here. For example, some will probably decide to disable some or even all touch gestures. This way, unwanted incorrect inputs can be avoided. Unfortunately, you cannot customize the pre-programmed gestures. So, you’ll have to be satisfied with the control preset by Cambridge Audio.
Otherwise, the app called “Melomania” scores with a good overview. So you can see the most important info about the in-ears on the main page. In particular, the current connection is displayed in detail here. The battery capacities of the two headphones are probably of particular interest here. Furthermore, the app offers a practical search function. With “Find my Earphones” you can search for lost headphones.
Hifi enthusiasts will be pleased with the built-in 5-band equalizer. Here, you can put together your own sound image according to your mood. Those who like to listen to different genres can use the three memory slots to save their own presets.
If you don’t feel like playing around with the equalizer, you can access the presets. Cambridge Audio covers the most important music genres. Within the app, you can also view the available codecs. What’s cool is that Cambridge Audio uses the same amplifier technology even for its very small ones as it does for its large amplifiers from the hifi segment.
This allows a choice between “low power mode” and “high performance mode”. The latter provides a better sound, but also shrinks the battery life considerably. The maximum of 9 hours then turns into 7 hours.
Sound quality and wearing comfort
For me, there are two disciplines in true-wireless in-ears where fluff can weigh heavily. In addition to a good sound, they should also be able to offer a comfortable fit in the ear. When you put the in-ears into your ear canal for the first time, it immediately becomes clear that Cambridge Audio has definitely ensured a high wearing comfort. The pre-installed fitting pieces in size M fit me perfectly right away. Thanks to a weight of just 6 grams per earbud, you hardly notice the headphones.
But enough about wearing comfort. Let’s move on to the supreme discipline – the sound. And this is where the small in-ears really come up trumps. When I first listened to them, I had the feeling that I was wearing a pair of over-ears on my head. Why is that? Cambridge Audio conjures up such a wide soundstage with the Melomania Touch that you can hear every instrument clearly. This not only makes for wonderfully clear guitar solos, but also powerful bass. Finally, they score not only in the high and mid-range, but also in the low-frequency range.
The positive first impression was maintained even when I increased the volume once. Of course, when you listen more closely, you realize that the Melomania can’t create such detailed sound images as, for example, the Sony WF-1000XM4. However, these also play in a completely different price range. The in-ears from Cambridge Audio are more suitable as all-rounders that can reproduce any genre well. It’s just this balanced sound that I found surprisingly pleasing.
If you don’t like the sound, you can always make adjustments in the equalizer. Personally, however, I have to say that Cambridge Audio has already created a wonderfully neutral sound ex works. I didn’t have to make any adjustments here. In direct comparison to the Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC (our review) headphones we recently tested, the headphones always sat so firmly in the ear that you could rely on a constant sound image.
After I had listened through the most diverse genres, the positive first impression of the Cambridge Audio did not change. Quite the contrary. I am really amazed at the sound performance the small in-ears conjured up. Whether it was massive EDM, creaky guitar solos, monophonic and polyphonic vocals or classical music – the Melomania Touch always delivered.
Transparency mode for better clarity
Unfortunately, Cambridge Audio’s Melomania Touch do not have active noise cancellation (ANC). In view of a price of just under 140 euros, however, you can not expect this. However, Cambridge Audio provides its headphones with a special transparency mode. The purpose of such a feature is certainly debatable. Nevertheless, the same applies here: Having is better than needing.
In transparency mode, the immediate ambient noise around the wearer is recorded by microphones and passed on to the listener slightly amplified. At the train station or airport, for example, this ensures that you can still understand loudspeaker announcements perfectly even when listening to music that is too loud. The strength of the transparency mode can be conveniently adjusted in the app.
Practical hands-free system
The built-in microphones not only serve to make a transparency mode possible. On top of that, they ensure that you can comfortably make phone calls with the Melomania Touch. And how! I can’t remember ever having headphones in this price range that performed so well in terms of recording quality. You don’t have to put up with any annoying hiss here. Instead, they score with a natural voice reproduction. Thus, the wireless in-ears can also be used for the next Zoom conference without any problems.
Conclusion
The positive impression left by the Melomania 1+ from Cambridge Audio is easily maintained by the Melomania Touch. So you get a really great sound here as well, which should flatter pretty much every ear. If you don’t like the balanced sound, you can make adjustments in the clear app. The British improve their wireless in-ears especially in the area of wearing comfort. Thus, you sometimes do not even notice the feather-light headphones in your own listening channel. In addition to more comfort, Cambridge Audio has also provided a better grip. Fears of loss are unfounded here.
The manufacturer also makes real quantum leaps in terms of appearance. After all, the chic design immediately makes it clear that this is a high-quality piece of technology. The touch control is an innovation, which could have been missing for all I care. Personally, I see it more as an improvement than a practical and helpful feature. However, there will certainly also be friends of the touch-sensitive controls. I like the fact that you can also deactivate the touch control in the app if you are afraid of incorrect inputs. The software for iOS and Android also offers a lot of customization options, such as a 5-band equalizer.
The transparency mode is also certainly practical for one or the other and, in combination with a very long battery life, makes the Melomania the perfect headphones for commuters. Like the Melomania 1, the new edition also convinces with an impressive value for money and even surpasses the same. Better workmanship, fancier design, more features. It is really amazing what Cambridge Audio is able to offer here at an RRP of just under 140 Euros. If you’re looking for some True Wirless in-ears anyway, we highly recommend the Melomania Touch.
Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch
Workmanship
Comfort
Sound quality
Recording quality
Features
Value for money
90/100
Really good sound meets maximum wearing comfort and a great value for money. However, the annoying touch control would not have been necessary.
