I could sum up this article in a single sentence: the T3 Award-winning Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ wireless earbuds have just dropped in price and you should absolutely buy a pair – but I should probably explain why too.
Cambridge Audio is famed for its fantastic hi-fi kit, and following our full Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ review we rated them as the best affordable option in our best wireless earbuds guide, and the best cheap headphones overall. I completely agree: in fact, the Melomania 1+ are so good I bought a pair with my own money and wore them absolutely everywhere to listen to absolutely everything. I even used them for mixing my own music. And now they’re even cheaper so they’re an even better buy: just £99.95/$99.95. And this is a permanent price drop, not a temporary deal.
Don't look. Just listen
With hindsight I should probably have bought the black ones rather than the stone-coloured ones, which have a bit of an 'NHS hearing aid' tone to their rather underwhelming looks. But other than that and the fact that the left and right buds look identical, that’s all I can criticise about the Melomania 1+. They're rock solid, they lasted for ages – 9 hours solo with another 36 hours from the charging case – and while there’s no active noise cancellation they fit so snugly I never felt I needed it.
Most importantly, they sound spectacular. I laughed out loud when the bass came in on an old favourite; I’d only ever heard it sound that good once before, in a listening room of audiophile kit where a single speaker cost more than my car. When my best friend put in her own pair of Cambridge Audios and hit play, I got an instant, all-caps text message of absolute joy.
Joy is my very favourite thing about tech and my very favourite thing about music, and I loved my Melomanias because they delivered it in spades. And if you’re wondering why I’m using the past tense if Cambridge Audio earbuds are so great, you’re right: I don’t have them any more. I was so impressed by the Melomania 1+ that I now listen on their big brothers, the Melomania Touch.
