Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ Earbuds, True Wireless Bluetooth 5.0, Hi-Fi Sound, in-Ear Stereo Earphones for iPhone and for Android, with Portable Charging Case (Black)

Edit: 6 months later and I'm still enjoying these. The only issue is once in awhile they go dark, but you just have to press and hold the button, and eventually they announce they "turn off"...implying they were on, even though they were playing dead. Then press again to turn on and all is well. Other than that once in awhile quirk, these sound great for music (good bass without bloating the midrange, nicely balanced sound, crisp yet smooth highs, good detail, not fatiguing, can listen for hours) and the buds and case have survived a few drops. Use them almost every day. Fit is perfect with one of the generous array of included tips, comfortable for hours, never falls out, excellent passive noise isolation. They are great for what I paid, a C note - but at this new lower price they are a steal. I am hoping for a "Melomania 2.0", upgrading the already impressive sound, LDAP and aptX-HD, maybe a few more bands on the EQ or other features, keep everything else basically the same - Cambridge can take my money with such a product.Original review: This is for the Melomania 1 - I note this as Amazon as usual continues to lump multiple products together in one listing, causing confusion (at least to me). To replace my venerable LG Tone neck wrap style earbuds, which have given good service but are starting to fall apart after 2 1/2 years, first I bought the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0. Not good. App is awful. pairing issues. I think I got the old model as "2.0" was nowhere to be seen. Returned. Ordered the Melomania 1 . "Please don't suck, Please don't suck" became my mantra. Well, they decidedly don't suck. These buds are great.They paired right away, after I followed the directive to charge for 30 minutes. Everything is thoughtfully designed and well executed. The controls work well, the tactile click is great and it requires just the right amount of pressure. Volume up or down is accomplished by pressing and holding the button on the right or left, respectively. This works a treat. The case opens with just the right amount of pressure too. Case is plastic, but with a metal hinge, and is nice. Very ergonomic, and compact. Fits into the key pocket of my jeans. The app is surprisingly slick, and you can do a lot, even register your product or get tutorials or even tech support (which I've had no reason to try). Few products are so thoughtfully designed for pleasant use. Even the packaging was nice, and you get a credit card sized...well, card that has the controls listed so you can refer to it. Classy!Now, the sound. They're pretty laidback. Treble was depressed and I thought a bit too much midbass for my tastes. However, they seem to be opening up now with a few hours use. Also, the EQ in the app is very effective. Treble is there to be coaxed out. Midbass can be tamed and still get some visceral sub bass. Pretty good level of detail. I noticed a nice luxuriously extended cymbal decay on one particular Ultravox track. Pleasing sound. I expect the sound may improve and open up a bit more with usage. I wasn't expecting miracles from a BT earbud, but these are good enough that I might not be as bothered as I might've been, if my next phone lacks a headphone jack. They sound better than my LG buds, which don't sound bad by any means. Format/Codecs are aac or apt-x. These do not have Apt-x-HD or LDAP. Music still sounds good. Audiobooks sound really good with these buds. You get every inflection of the author's voice, which makes the audiobook just that much more immersive. You can also use just one bud at a time, which is good for audiobooking at work so you can still be aware of what's going on.Fit - plenty of tip options included. I found that the small memory foam tips are perfect - they're comfortable, stay in the ear perfectly, and offer a considerable amount of passive sound isolation.I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts, so I was very eager to make sure I could easily go back 10 seconds, in case I get distracted or have to talk to someone. 2 clicks of the left earbud, and it does that. Perfect. It's quite forgiving if you're a beat late on the 2nd click - still does what you want. Again, bravo for such a user friendly product.I can't speak to call quality as I haven't tried it yet and it's not really a big priority for me personally. Don't know about battery life yet either but if it's even 80% of the listed specs, it'll be more than plenty for me. Durability remains to be seen, but they inspire confidence - even though the buds and case are mostly plastic, they seem sturdy and well made. You can't expect all metal at this price bracket, particularly given the performance. If Cambridge ever releases a "pro" model with step up features (Aptx-HD/LDAP) and fit 'n finish, I'd be tempted, as the value proposition of these relatively inexpensive buds is already plenty high.

To start with the good - the memory foam cushions work fantastic and you can buy additional replacements for cheap. They really work so great that I can play along to music on my drum kit without any extra ear protection. The sound quality is as good as you could ask for at this price range, and the battery life is great too.Negatives, the form factor really sucks. Just not an ergonomic design for earbuds. They never sit perfectly comfortable, and the entire base of the bud is a button so it's really hard to adjust them without pausing what you're listening to. I've had a lot of issues with connection - they often need to be powered down and powered back on to have both connect properly. They have this annoying issue where I'll be listening to something and they'll cut out for about 10 seconds. Then I hear "Melomania connected" and audio comes back with the volume reset to max. There are also weird connectivity issues where, for example, I'll be hiking with the earbuds in and my phone in the right pocket of my backpack. Sometimes the connection gets so finicky that whenever I turn my head to the left, the left earbud cuts in and out. There doesn't seem to be a way to fix it. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens I might as well take the left bud out.UPDATE: I'm about 8 months in on owning these buds and one side or the other will occasionally not work for hours or days with no way to fix, I just have to wait it out. When they do work, the connectivity is completely shot and they need to be manually reconnected every couple of minutes. Pure garbage.

Hello Melomania 1 ! Yes!! Okay so I am an avid ear bud guy and I own or have owned pretty much every relevant ear bud released in the last few years. I am looking for the perfect bud and will try to stop as soon as I find it. The ones I haven't owned were the first Melomania 1 buds. The reason was simple; in spite of the great reviews, I hated the look of the the buds themselves. They were like Frankenstein pegs jetting out of your ears. Cambridge Audio is an old British company. They specialize in high end audio and claim to just be music fans that design great stuff for fellow music fans. I believe them. When I saw these being released, in spite of keeping this same design, I finally caved. I had to know. I am glad I did. I finally get it but they are not perfect and my design concerns were spot on. So, with all of that, here is the breakdown of the good and bad. Though be warned, there isn't much bad.The Good:-Sound: It starts here as sound is where it all happens. If they don't sound good, what's the point? These sound absolutely amazing. When compared to the Jabra 85t's, the latest Bose QuietComfort's, the Samsung Buds Pros, the Klipsch T5 II's, and the Airpod Pros, these are right up there if not better than all of them. They have a surprisingly wide stage. Solid lows, full mids, and crisp punchy highs. There is virtually zero audio lag when watching videos. Further CA supports a number of Codecs here including AptX and AAC so both Android and iOS users can get the most out of them. I was concerned that a single 5.6mm driver could be good. Rest assured, it is. These are natural sounding so bass heads might be a little bummed but I cannot imagine that many folks will be unhappy here.-The Case: Maybe the most underappreciated part of ear buds in my opinion as that is what you have to carry everyday. This case is solid gold. The buds lock in tight. You kind of have to twist them in as they seat in a specific way to charge but, once in, they aren't going anywhere. It is slim and easy on the pocket. The top almost slams shut, the magnets are so strong. One upgrade from the originals is USBC charging. Great addition! Further, the case packs 4 additional charges from the 8 or 9 hours the buds pack. Brilliant! The only downside is no wireless charging but with nearly 45 hours of total battery life on a full charge, I just don't miss that here.-The App: Another big win here is the Melomania app. It is just slick. You can remap buttons, update the buds, adjust the EQ, and more. Plus, it is very polished. Really well done. I cannot tell you how many apps out there could learn from CA here.-Intangibles: 2nd Gen Bluetooth 5.0 for easy pairing and a super stable connection. You can use either bud independently. Your content will autopause if you pull out a bud. Just so much good.The Bad:-Form Factor: So I hate the peg design. They give you both silicone and Comfort moldable tips which helps. I would highly recommend the Comfort tips as they really make things more stable but it just can only do so much with buds that hang out of your ears like this. I will point out that CA did a lot to take weight out of these. The originals Melomania 1's each weighed 9.2g. These are 50% lighter at 4.6g. Well done. They have really cool circular lights that subtly glow when in use. I just cannot get past the design though. CA is on to something here but they need to make these smaller for me anyways.-Missing Items: There is no ANC here. Most high end buds have this these days but CA isn't charging high end prices. They are just giving you high end buds so this omission works fine here. There is no transparency mode or ability to hear your surroundings other than removing a bud. Not the best.-Call Quality: Not great but not horrible. Just make sure the mics are twisted down and you will have decent calls. CA put a small dimple on the side of the buds that sits just above the mics. Just feel for it and make sure it is pointing down or, better yet, slightly angled towards your mouth for best results. There are many ear buds that are much better in this department but these aren't unusable.Conclusion: So when it comes to ear buds, I am not often left at a loss for words but I almost am here. What CA has managed to accomplish for $139 should make all of us almost wonder why on earth we have considered spending so much more in the past. Almost. The big posts sticking out of your ears is still a problem. However, when you look at the field of competitors, hear these things in action, and consider all that these give you for the price tag, I just don't know that there is a better all around value in the ear bud space at this time. Yes, for $200, I sill take my Jabra 85t's and Galaxy Pros over these. Yes, for $279, the Bose are better. At $139 though, if sound and music is the driving force, buy these. They are awesome.***Update***Okay, I had to wait for this review to post so I could add something I discovered in terms of fit. I went down to the smallest silicone tip they offer, which I never do, but that allows the buds to sit a little deeper in my ears. Still secure and still sound amazing. Further, they don't stick out of your ears quite as much. After just about a week here, I am still very happy. They are my current daily drivers. Oh, one other side note. I am not sure I gave Cambridge Audio full credit for how well these are made. The fit and finish of the entire set up from case to ear buds is outstanding. Very well engineered! Cheers to the team at CA! Buy with absolute confidence.One more additional thought. Was on the phone today with a friend that was testing out the new Master & Dynamic MW08 (mine are coming soon I hope) and I had one of these in my left ear. He sounded great. Half way through he pulled his new buds and put me on his phone. Two minutes later he asked what I was using and I told him I was using the Melomania buds in my left ear. He said I sounded perfect. I was at work and had a lot of noise around me. They may be better at calls than I thought. Solid.Okay, one last thing...I promise! I have been testing both the new Master & Dynamic MW08's and the new Bowers & Wilkins PI7'S buds. It has been about a month since I have used these Melomania buds. I fired them up today and just am more impressed than ever. These should get absolutely smoked by the respective $300 and $400 buds. They aren't at least with sound. The others both offer more features and sound better butbit is marginal. These are a steal. Unreal Melomania!