Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch review

But what are they like in reality? We put them to the test to find out. In this Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch review, we cover everything from design and comfort, to sound quality and features including battery life and voice control.

Want to know how these earbuds compare? Read our Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 review and JBL Reflect Mini NC review. You can also check out our pick of affordable options in our best budget wireless earbuds round-up.

Jump to:

• Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch review: summary
• What are Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch?
• How much are Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch?
• Design
• Features
• Sound quality
• Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch set-up
• Difference between Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch and Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+
• Our verdict
• Where to buy

Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch review: summary

We had high hopes for the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch, but connection issues, overly sensitive touch controls and an uncomfortable design made them hard to love. First, let's start with the positives. As you would expect from a Cambridge Audio product, the sound quality is superb. There's no active noise cancellation but the noise isolation technology works well to keep out most background noise. And the battery life is great, too. On a single charge, the earbuds last just under nine hours at a push but that can be extended to 50 hours with the charging case.

However, there are some issues that meant we didn't often enjoy wearing them for the full nine hours. The touch controls are extremely sensitive so we would often pause or play music every time we adjusted the earbuds. Second, we had some connection issues that meant the earbuds would randomly disconnect from our smartphone and struggle to reconnect. Finally, the fit is secure so they won't fall out but the stabilser earfins do make them pretty uncomfortable to wear for more than a couple of hours. The earbuds' sound quality is great, they're just let down by the execution. If you're looking for a pair of Cambridge Audio earbuds, you're much better off spending your money on the brilliant Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+.

Price: The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch are available at Amazon for £129.99.

Key features:

• Stabiliser earfins for secure fit
• Customisable EQ settings
• Up to 50-hour battery life
• Voice control via Google Assistant and Siri
• Touch controls to play/pause music and answer calls
• IPX4 water resistance

Pros:

• Good sound quality
• Long battery life
• Secure fit
• IPX4 water resistance

Cons:

• Connection issues
• Awkward touch controls
• Uncomfortable over long periods

What are Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch?

The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch were the second true wireless earbuds revealed by the brand. Released earlier this year, the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch have touch controls rather than the physical buttons found on the older Cambridge Audio Melomania 1.

Priced at £129.99, the mid-range earbuds feature IPX4-rated water resistance, voice control via Google Assistant and Siri and stabiliser earfins. The latter come in multiple sizes (as do the silicone tips) to get the best fit.

What do Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch do?

The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch have a good range of features including a long battery life, IPX4 water resistance and customisable EQ settings via Melomania app. These are all features that are more common in more premium models so it is great to see them in earbuds costing less than £130.

• Stabiliser earfins for secure fit
• Customisable EQ settings
• Up to 50-hour battery life
• Voice control via Google Assistant and Siri
• Touch controls to play/pause music and answer calls
• IPX4 water resistance

How much are Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch?

The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch are available at Amazon for £129.99.

Are Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch good value for money?

For the price of £129.99, the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch do offer a lot of features. Some of these, including customisable EQ settings via Melomania app and the 50-hour battery life, are more commonly found in more premium models so it is good to see them here. The addition of IPX4-rated water resistance is also welcome as it gives users that added assurance.

However, some features like the touch controls are not executed as well as we would have liked, and there are a couple of features like in-ear detection that are missing. Overall, we would say that the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch aren't bad value for money but the brand's Melomania 1+ earbuds offer a better experience for the price.

Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch design

Available in black and white, the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch come in a microfibre leather (vegan friendly) charging case. Despite initial worries that it would mark badly, the case is actually pretty robust and not easily scuffed. LED lights on the front of the case indicate how many charges are left and the brand's logo is embossed on the top.

The earbuds have a gloss finish and stabiliser earfins to aid with noise isolation and to prevent the earbuds from falling out as you go about your day. There are three size options and they work well to keep the earbuds secure. However, they do also make them pretty uncomfortable. We struggled to wear them for more than a couple of hours before the earbuds started to hurt.

As the name suggests, the earbuds have touch controls and a single tap will allow you to pause or play music and answer calls without reaching for your phone. The controls are quick to learn but are extremely sensitive. It is almost impossible to touch the earbuds without activating the touch controls. This often meant we would pause the music every time we adjusted the earbud, which becomes annoying pretty quickly.

• Style: The design of the earbuds is actually pretty sleek, despite the inclusion of stabiliser earfins that can make earbuds look quite sporty.
• Robustness: The microfibre leather case does not mark easily and the earbuds are finished to a good standard.
• Size: The earbuds sit flat in your ears and don't particularly stick out, while the case is compact but wide.

Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch features

There is a good range of features that come with the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch. These include IPX4-rated water resistance, customisable EQ settings and voice control via Google Assistant and Siri.

An IPX4 rating means that, while the earbuds are a long way from being waterproof, they are protected against water splashes from any angle. Put another way, you don't want to be wearing the earbuds in the pool but they should handle a sweaty workout or downpour of rain just fine.

Downloading the Melomania app will also give you access to various audio settings including customisable EQ settings and six pre-set modes to help get the right balance for your music and hearing. Customisable EQ settings aren't always an option but can be really helpful for any dedicated audiophiles. Plus, with the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch, they work pretty well.

Another feature you can find on the Melomania app is 'Find My Earphones'. As expected from the name, it is a function that helps you find your misplaced earbuds by showing you the location of where you last connected to them from.

Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch sound quality

The brilliant sound quality is the saving grace of these wireless earbuds. Both music and speech sound great. Music sounds rich and well-balanced and can easily rival the likes of the Grado GT220, which are double the price.

The volume range is good too, although there is a small chance of sound leaking at high volumes. The lack of in-ear detection doesn't help either so music will not automatically stop playing when you remove the earbuds.

Noise isolation technology helped by the snug fit keeps out most unwanted background noise but there is a transparency mode for when it is useful to hear what's going on around you. This is handy when it comes to hearing traffic during your morning run.

Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch set-up: how easy are they to use?

Setting up the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch initially was relatively fuss-free. Cambridge Audio boasts that the earbuds should auto-pair with an iPhone or Android smartphone straight out of the case. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for us. Instead, we had to hold down on the earbud's surface to trigger the pairing. With Bluetooth settings on, we could then pair with the earbuds. This was easy enough to do, but wasn't the seamless experience promised.

The connection issues continued beyond this point, too. On a number of occasions, the earbuds would randomly disconnect from our device and we would have to go back into the Bluetooth settings to reconnect the earbuds. Again, this is more of an annoyance than anything else, but a less than ideal experience.

What is the difference between Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch and Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+?

The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch are not the brand's only true wireless earbuds. The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ are the brand's latest earbuds and are a successor to the original Melomania 1.

While the earbuds are around the same price point and both have brilliant sound quality, there are some significant differences. First, the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ come in a bullet-shape and have physical buttons rather than the touch controls of the Melomania Touch. We found this bullet shape to be a lot more comfortable over long periods as the Melomania 1+ don't have stabiliser earfins.

However, they both feature a good water resistance rating and a decent battery life. The Melomania Touch win battery life battle lasting up to 50 hours but the Melomania 1+ are only just behind because they still last an impressive 45 hours.

Our verdict: should you buy Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch?

There's no doubt that the sound quality of the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch is brilliant, but the earbuds are let down by too many niggling issues. We struggled with connection issues throughout testing, with them randomly disconnecting from our smartphone and struggling to reconnect. Second, the touch controls are extremely sensitive so we would often pause or play music every time we adjusted the earbuds. This isn't a major issue but does become quite annoying over extended use. Finally, they're uncomfortable. The stabiliser earfins do a good job at ensuring the earbuds remain secure in your ears but they also make them pretty uncomfortable to wear for more than a couple of hours.

That's not to say there are no redeeming features. As you would expect from a Cambridge Audio product, the sound quality is great. There's no active noise cancellation but we didn't really miss it as the noise isolation technology works well to keep out most background noise. And the battery life is good too. On a single charge, the earbuds last around nine hours but that can be extended to 50 hours with the charging case. For those of us who often forget to charge our earbuds, this is a lifesaver.

Overall, the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch are a good pair of earbuds at a good price. Unfortunately, they just don't wow in the way the brand's other earbuds, the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+, do.

Rating:

Some categories (sound quality and features) are weighted more heavily.

Design: 3/5

Features: 3/5

Sound quality: 4/5

Set-up: 3/5

Value for money: 3/5

Overall rating: 3/5

Where to buy Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch

The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch are available at Amazon for £129.99.

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