Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: A distinguished debut

Having not released a pair of headphones since 2021, Cambridge Audio launched its first over-ear option, the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, shortly after revitalising its true-wireless lineup with the Melomania M100. It’s safe to say this year has been a big one for the British manufacturer.

I’ve spent the past few weeks testing the Melomania P100, and while I have a few grumbles, I’ve been rather taken by them. They’re strong all-rounders with an aesthetic that belies their price and, spatial audio aside, tick all the key specifications and feature boxes.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: What do you get for the money?

The Melomania P100 have a list price of £229 but cost £199 at the time of writing. That’s highly competitive for a pair of well-constructed over-ear noise-cancelling headphones that operate over Bluetooth 5.3 and support the aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive codecs in addition to AAC and SBC.

Weighing 330g, the Melomania P100, which are available in the White reviewed here or Black, use 40mm three-layer composite drivers to deliver audio and have three microphones on each earcup to handle hybrid noise cancellation and phone calls.

In addition to attenuating external sound, they offer a transparency mode for environmental awareness, wear detection and support for Google Fast Pair, Siri and Google Assistant access via on-earcup control buttons.

They’re compatible with the Melomania mobile app, which lets you switch noise-cancelling modes, select from a range of preset EQs (or customise your own), engage the low-latency Gaming Mode, and choose whether you want the headphones to automatically switch off after a certain period of inactivity. You can also select the language in which you hear feedback such as “Power on”, with a unique option available that I’ll discuss below.

Rounding out an impressive specs sheet is a stated battery life of up to 60 hours with active noise cancelling enabled and a whopping 100 hours with it turned off. That’s up there with the best stamina around. Of the over-ear headphones I’ve reviewed this year, only the Marshall Monitor III ANC outlast the P100 when tackling ambient sound.

Cambridge Audio also supplies a braided USB-C to USB-C cable for charging, and a USB-C to 3.5mm cable for connecting the headphones to analogue sources. Both can be stored in a compartment in the P100’s carrying case, although this is a bit large for my liking.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: What do they do well?

The Melomania P100 may not eat at the very top table where audio quality is concerned but they sound great for the money. Some may find the default Flat EQ mode a little too true to its name but it presents heaps of detail clearly and coherently. It also serves as a solid baseline from which you can tweak your way to an engaging and satisfying sonic experience.

I bumped up the mid-range a few notches using the custom equaliser and found the additional presence made a significant difference. The Goo Goo Doll’s Black Balloon immediately sounded more engaging while maintaining excellent levels of instrument separation and detail retrieval.

I got good mileage out of the various EQ presets, too, particularly those tuned for Electronic and Rock genres. The bounding bass on Ginchy and Padre Guilherme’s house track Citadel was delivered with throbbing intensity but no shortage of control, while the eerie choral elements in the breakdown were hauntingly crisp. As the tune built to the second drop, the P100 handled the ramping up of tempo and volume smoothly, lifting me up gradually before dropping me back down into a heady state of righteous euphoria.

The noise cancellation on offer is very good, too. I found the P100 cut out most disturbances in the office, with only the pesky natter of colleagues making its way to my ears with any real impact. Out in the wider world, the P100 were never anything less than very competent. Despite this, I wouldn’t put them in the same bracket as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones or Dyson OnTrac, both of which cancel external sound remarkably well.

It’s worth remembering that the Melomania P100 cost half the price of those options and, to their credit, look more expensive than they are. That’s particularly true of the white model I was sent for review, which I think is very fetching despite being rather bulky.

The final two areas in which the P100 stand out couldn’t be more different, with one giving them a huge practical advantage over their rivals and the other being little more than an amusing novelty.

Let’s get the boring useful stuff out of the way first; the Melomania P100’s battery life is outstanding. I’ve been using them for over three weeks now and they’re not even close to needing a charge, so I have no reason to doubt Cambridge’s claim of 60 hours with ANC engaged.

And then you have their pièce de résistance, the one killer feature that should make you buy them over any other over-ear headphones. I’m exaggerating of course, but I do love the inclusion of voice prompts from Matt Berry of The IT Crowd and What We Do in the Shadows fame. After selecting “Southwark” in the Audible Feedback section of the app, you’ll be able to enjoy Laszlo Cravensworth announcing the mode you’re in when you press the ANC button. Three weeks in, I’m yet to tire of this.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: What could they do better?

There were a couple of aspects of the P100’s design that I wasn’t enamoured with. There was ample room in their cups to accommodate my ears and in general, they sat on my head happily enough. However, the fabric that lines the headband is dimpled and quite coarse and the friction it created on the top of my shiny dome chafed after a while.

This is only going to be an issue if you’re follically challenged, but it did put me off using the P100 for longer listening sessions. I was also quite aware of the sheer size of the things on my head. I felt a little bit like one of the Cybermen from Doctor Who while wearing them; I like the design language, but the Melomania P100 are not what one would consider svelte.

The control buttons weren’t completely to my liking, either. The options on the left earcup are great; I appreciated the sliding switch for powering the headphones on and putting them into pairing mode, and the ANC button is easily accessible.

The buttons over on the right earcup aren’t quite as well thought out. The play/pause button that sits between the volume up and volume down buttons is tiny, making it hard to locate at times, and the volume buttons need to be held down rather than pressed once to make adjustments. Adjustments also took longer than expected too, which I found a little frustrating.

I touched on the size of the carrying case earlier, but it’s worth reiterating that lugging the P100 around is more onerous than with many other headphones of their ilk. As the headphones don’t fold, you will want to have the case on hand most of the time, which means you’ll need a bag big enough to throw it in. This wasn’t a big deal for me as I typically have a large backpack with me, but if you’re looking to travel light or are going on a trip abroad, the P100 may not be the best choice.

On the features front, the P100 are more than satisfactorily equipped but they do lack something carried by several of their contemporaries: a proprietary spatial audio mode or support for other spatial audio formats. Admittedly, this is generally reserved for more expensive options such as the Sony WH-1000XM5 (360 Reality Audio), Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Bose Immersive Audio), Apple Airpods Max (Apple Spatial Audio), but given the increasing popularity of these formats, it’s a shame Cambridge Audio hasn’t sought to incorporate one here.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Should you buy them?

Unless spatial audio is a strict requirement for your next pair of over-ear headphones, the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 should definitely be on your radar. I was consistently impressed by both their sound quality and ability to cancel external sound and they’re very keenly priced given their specification.

The irritation of the scratchy headband is only going to affect a small percentage of people, while the unwieldy carrying case and slightly awkward playback and volume control buttons are hardly deal breakers.

Lots of people are still buying the Sony WH-1000XM4, and who can blame them when they’re available for just £175? But if you’re looking for something newer, shinier and with a BAFTA TV Award winner in tow, “press the [Buy Now] button, you doughnut!”