Cambridge Audio Melomania touch test: a second test transformed

After a first model of true wireless earphones praised for its quality-price ratio, Cambridge Audio returns to the front of the stage and launched, in December 2020, the Melomania Touch. Has the hifi manufacturer been able to correct the faults of the first version? Answer in this comprehensive test, after one month of use.

The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

Small point for the latecomers. Cambridge Audio is an English brand well known for its hifi expertise, especially on its amplifiers and speakers. Created in 1968, in Cambridge (surprise) by a group of young graduates, the brand very recently launched itself on the market of wireless headphones with the Melomania 1. Sold for less than 100 euros, this first version had been hailed for its sound quality, but it had some youthful flaws in terms of the user experience – comfort and connection.

A year later, Cambridge Audio launched its second pair of wireless headphones: the Melomania Touch. New design, aptX compatibility, 50-hour battery life with the case... At 140 euros, what are these true wireless devices worth on the market? We used them for a month and now it's time to give you our full review and review of the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch.

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Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch data sheet

This test was conducted with headphones supplied to us by Cambridge Audio.

An in-ear format assumed and very well exploited

The Melomania Touch keep the in-ear format of the Melomania 1, but offer this year a significant evolution of the design: now, the headphones push the format in-ear to the end thanks to a support fin. The latter is housed in the upper part of the concha of the ear to ensure the best possible support for the headphones, which are logically well anchored at the entrance to the auditory canal.

The design of the Melomania Touch is out of the ordinary // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

The Melomania Touch then offer very good passive isolation, which is welcome when you know that active noise reduction is not part of the product's characteristics. On a daily basis and after a month of use, we have never exceeded 50% volume. In short, these headphones will appeal to those who appreciate the in-ear format, but conversely are clearly not recommended for those who cannot stand having headphones screwed into their ears.

The different tips and fins // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

In-ear headphones require, the Melomania Touch are delivered with several sizes of tips. There are six pairs in total, against three or even four maximum among the competition. Cambridge Audio does not stop there and also provides three pairs of fins of different sizes. The brand wants to do everything to offer the best support and we can only underline this effort since the earphones hold very well in place once the perfect combination of tips / fins has been found. Only a few adjustments are needed from time to time.

The installation of the earphones is very simple: you must first insert the tip, then press on the upper part of the earphone to put the fin in its place. It is sometimes necessary to slightly rotate the body of the headphones to achieve the best fit, but remember that they are quickly put in place since their format completely hugs the conch of the ear. Be careful not to push the cannula too far into the ear canal to avoid an unpleasant plug effect and a degradation of the sound experience at the same time.

So drawn in by my listening session that I'm not smiling // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

The support is unsurprisingly very good and despite this (particularly) in-ear format, the headphones remain surprisingly comfortable for at least two hours of listening. Each earphone weighs 5.9 grams. Our head movements during a 30-minute running session didn't bother the headphones, but the experience wasn't a pleasant one, as we too often felt like they were going to fall off. If you are primarily looking for headphones for sports, we advise you to take a look in our dedicated guide. Be aware that the Melomania Touch are resistant to splashing water thanks to their IPX4 certification – a little sweating won't kill them.

The headphones are not the most discreet since they extend into the upper part of the concha in addition to blocking the ear canal. Above all, the body of the Melomania Touch is quite imposing and displays a certain prominence: they slightly protrude from the ears. The product remains pretty, however, thanks to a curvaceous design that is quite unique in its shape. Nothing to say about the finishes. Each earphone has a diode to communicate the state of the connection, and the external touch surface allows you to interact with your music – we will come back to the touch controls in more detail in the next part.

The surface of the headphones is very shiny // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

This outer surface is glossy black plastic and is stamped with the logo and brand name, which can also be found on the holding fin. The internal surface is also marked with the Cambridge Audio logo and has the connection pins necessary for charging the headphones in their case.

The case of the Melomania Touch

The case of the Melomania Touch benefits from a nice microfiber leather covering (artificial) and is neither imposing nor particularly compact. Its 30 x 72 x 44 mm fits easily in a jacket or trouser pocket, but it will take a little pressure with tight jeans. The case would benefit from being narrower and above all less thick. Naked, it displays 55.6 grams on the scale and count a little over 67 grams with the two headphones.

The Melomania Touch case // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

Important fact to note: the case rests on the touch surfaces of the headphones and therefore does not have a pairing button. There is simply a discreet inscription of the logo and the name of the brand on the top, LEDs to display the state of the battery on the front and a USB-C port on the back. Wireless charging is not included. The hinge of the case inspires confidence. It is not possible to open the case with one hand. Once opened, the latter reveals the engraving “Great British Sound” between the two slots reserved for the headphones.

A funny connection and a beautiful application

The Melomania Touch operate on the basis of the primary-secondary relationship: a single earpiece connects to the phone to retrieve the audio stream and takes care of the send to the second. There is still a particularity: where the headphones that use this relationship have an assigned primary listener (the right one in most cases), the Melomania Touch can change roles without problem. Cambridge Audio definitely does nothing like the others and this particularity is felt on the first pairing: after connecting to the first earphone, the user is invited to accept a second connection request, that of the other earphone. Everything goes without a hitch, but the handling surprises. Thereafter, the headphones automatically connect to the phone, but the two still appear as separate in the list of available devices in the Bluetooth menu — as "Melomania Touch L" and "Melomania Touch R". As explained, only one is actually connected to the phone.

The first pairing steps

Thus it is still possible to use each earphone independently. Let me explain. If I decide from the start to use only one earphone, I just have to take it out of the case and it will automatically connect to the phone. It will then work on its own. I can take the second earpiece out of the case at any time, which will then automatically join the game without temporarily cutting off the music. Second scenario: I listen to music with both headphones and I want to put one away. No problem if the earphone I decide to put in the case is the secondary earphone. Otherwise, the connection is cut, because the primary earpiece is no longer connected and therefore no longer provides the link between the second earpiece and the phone. However, you just have to wait two seconds for the secondary earpiece (now alone) to automatically become primary and connect to the phone before restarting the music.

Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

All the connection procedures are visible and exposed to the user: each time you leave the box, the two headphones tell us in turn or in canon “Activation” then “Melomania connected”. This behavior is too cumbersome and reminds us of that of the three true wireless models from Sennheiser, especially since we find the same slowness at start-up: you have to wait more than six seconds before you can start music, the time that each earpiece turns on, the primary connects, then it links the secondary to the phone.

During our test, the presence of the two headphones " L " and " R " in the Bluetooth settings of the OnePlus Nord N10 twice produced a serious volume bug, which became completely possessed: it lowered and increased on its own by doing the yo-yo, without being able to stop it. This is a very rare case, but we wanted to mention it. Also, the two headphones often show a difference in remaining battery. This is common for a primary-secondary relationship, but the difference is much higher than average on the Melomania Touch: sometimes count up to 25% difference! Strangely, this difference is reduced with use — cf. the two screenshots below. It is not very clear since this behavior is not systematic: sometimes, the first earphone goes out of fatigue while the second still has more than 20% autonomy. A simple display problem, perhaps?

Here, the battery difference is reduced throughout use

Finally, the storage of the Melomania Touch in the case is not perfect since the music sometimes continues to play. It is then necessary to give a little finger to properly align the connection pins of the headphones with those of the case. It is also not uncommon to hear the headphones launch their " Activation " or " Deactivation " once stored in the case. Eventually, these behaviors erode trust in the product and sometimes force us to wait for the red LED (which indicates charging) to light up on each earbud before closing the case — to be sure they are well positioned and that they will not be found completely discharged the next time they are used.

We notice here the red diode which indicates the charge // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

In short, if the Melomania Touch do not suffer from latency or connection stability problems, the way they connect to each other and store in the case needs to be reviewed. Will you pick up some bad news again? The Melomania Touch do not offer a multipoint connection or automatic music pause: removing one of the two headphones from the ear does not trigger any action. Cambridge Audio makes up for it on the touch controls, which work surprisingly well. Here are the different actions offered:

Music is controlled using the tactile surfaces of the Melomania Touch // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

Touch controls have a very low failure rate, which is rarely the case on headphones. The experience is therefore only slightly altered, so much so that we continue to use the touch surfaces to control our music after a month of testing, whether indoors or outdoors, sitting or moving. Note the possibility of managing the volume directly from the headphones, an option that remains quite rare on the market today. Note that a small "beep" is emitted to let us understand that the action has been triggered. Switching to transparency mode is indicated by an announcement.

Only disappointment: the music sometimes pauses when you readjust an earpiece in the ear. Understand that touch surfaces are a little too reactive and that pressing our finger to push the earpiece is interpreted as such and then triggers the associated action – music pause or volume management most of the time. Be aware that actions cannot be customized, but some can be disabled in the companion app. Exactly, let's talk about it.

The Melomania app

The app offered by Cambridge Audio is a success because it works in addition to being simple and pretty. The colors and shapes used give an impression of a video game. The main screen displays the remaining percentage of the two headphones, allows you to manually activate the transparent mode and "find" your headphones. This option is very limited since only the last position of the phone to which the Melomania Touch were connected is displayed – the headphones obviously do not have GPS.

The second tab is the five-band EQ. It is possible to play with them and save up to three presets, or simply go through the six profiles already created by the brand. Purists as neophytes, everyone is served.

Finally, the third tab allows you to disable certain touch controls, choose the language of the announcement voice, update the headphones and determine the codecs (aptX or AAC). Yes, quite rare to be underlined, the application tells us which codec is currently used. It is even possible to switch from a "High performance " audio profile to a "Low power" mode which improves the listening time, but which reduces the sound quality in return. Anyway, switching from one to the other requires a kind of update of the headphones which takes several minutes. This is clearly not practical, especially since we suffered two failures out of three attempts. In short, you won't change your audio profile every morning on the bus.

Good news, the application is available on Android and iOS. Note that the brand's first wireless headphones, the Melomania 1, do not benefit from an application.

A sound experience provided by a hell of a potato and bass

It didn't take long for the Melomania Touch to confirm Cambridge Audio's expertise: the sound quality of these headphones is very good. We notice two characteristics of the Melomania Touch from the first listen: the potato and the bass. Let me explain the potato: the headphones offer an abnormally high volume compared to many other models on the market. It's simple, during our first listening in a quiet place, we found ourselves wanting to lower the sound when it was still below the 25% mark. The passive isolation created by the shape of the headphones (and by the tips and fins) clearly plays a role here. Outdoors, we very rarely exceed 50% volume, which is enough to reduce ambient noise – without justifying the absence of active noise reduction. Beware of distortion at high volume, even if, as you will have understood, we will rarely exceed 75%.

Let's now focus on the second characteristic mentioned earlier, namely the very particular attraction shown by the Melomania Touch for bass. No doubt about the sound signature: Cambridge Audio does not pretend to highlight the low frequencies. The sound is therefore very gripping, even for titles that are not particularly recognized for their bass. This also means that the songs that are usually bass-heavy are all the more so with the Melomania Touch. Fans of electro, rap and metal are therefore served, but do not panic for the others: the equalizer allows you to calm things down to get closer to a more faithful sound.

I even use it for the flora in my garden // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

The voices and instruments are not overwritten, but let's be clear: the sound signature proposed by default is there to seduce, and it does it very well. The sounds remain detailed and offer a very good listening experience. We quickly get into our little bubble. The interpretation of the title No Time To Die by Billie Elish is particularly pleasant with the Melomania Touch: we concentrate on the voice and its nuances without being too assailed by the bass and we can easily distinguish the few piano and guitar notes. The rise of the orchestra is also very well transcribed. The management of the soundstage is also appreciable with songs that play a lot of stereo.

Quick technical point: the Melomania Touch have 7 mm speakers and are compatible with the classic SBC and AAC codecs, but also with the rarer aptX. The tests are carried out with YouTube Music and Amazon Music listening in HD.

Switching from one audio mode to another

A little earlier we mentioned the two audio modes offered in the application: “High performance” and “Low power”. The brand explains that it uses hifi-grade amplification technology to take advantage of “wider acoustics” and “higher dynamic range than ever before”. Quite frankly, we didn't feel a noticeable difference between the two on a day-to-day basis.

A few words about the transparent mode, which allows you to hear (more or less) what is happening around you while listening to your music. That of the Melomania Touch is quite effective, but does not escape the slight breathiness characteristic of this type of option. Nothing really annoying, this transparent mode is enough to hear announcements in public transport for example. It can also be adjusted through the application, but can simply be activated and deactivated with a triple press on the outer surface of the headphones. Finally, there is nothing special to report on the call quality side since we are generally on the same formula as that offered by the majority of true wireless headphones on the market: the caller hears us perfectly in a quiet place, correctly outdoors and with difficulty in a busy street or in the presence of wind.

A convincing battery life under certain conditions

For its Melomania Touch, Cambridge Audio reports a battery life of 7 hours in “High performance” mode and up to 9 hours in “Low power” mode. We wanted to verify these two promises and here are our results. In 'High Performance' mode and at 50% volume, the headphones were able to play music for 5 hours and 22 minutes in a first test and 5 hours and 6 minutes in a second. These scores are within the market average, but they improve significantly when the user switches to the 'Low power' audio profile: we reached 7 hours and 18 minutes, 6 hours and 27 minutes then 7 hours and 33 minutes during a third test. The promise of 9 hours is not kept, but the more than 7 hours offered still place the Melomania Touch above the market average.

The Melomania Touch case is recharged via a USB-C port // Source: Maxime Grosjean for Frandroid

We therefore advise you to switch to the 'Low power' audio profile, especially since we did not notice any difference with the 'High performance' mode as explained in the previous section. Note that a 35-minute call caused the headphones to lose 12%.

According to our tests, the case provides a little more than 4 additional charges for the earphones: starting from a fully charged case and earphones, therefore expect a total of around 30 hours or 40 hours depending on the mode sound. Your Melomania Touch are dry and you only have 5 minutes to charge them in the case before leaving? They will go from 0% to 8% and will then offer you 33 minutes of listening time. The headphones take about 1 hour and 10 minutes in the case to regain all their energy. Once the earphones and the case are completely dry, allow 3 hours and 14 minutes to recharge everything. The case does not benefit from induction charging.

Price and availability

Cambridge Audio is asking the sum of 139 euros for its Melomania Touch. It's 40 euros more than the Melomania 1 when they were released. The Melomania Touch are offered in black or white and are available on Amazon.