The Cambridge Audio Melomania M100: True Wireless Meets True Lossless

True Wireless Earbuds by Cambridge Audio

Cambridge Audio has launched a promising new contender in the fiercely competitive category of true wireless earbuds. The new Melomania M100 ($219) is the first from the British brand to offer lossless audio support and active noise cancelling, all while delivering longer battery life than its predecessors in the award-winning Melomania headphones series. The M100’s spec sheet starts strong with an impressive 10 hours of playback with ANC activated, or 16 hours with ANC switched off. The included charging case can add another 23 hours of playback with ANC, or 36 with ANC off. For those of us who are mathematically challenged, Cambridge helpfully points out that the package can therefore deliver a maximum of 52 hours of listening while you’re on the go. Thanks to the buds’ fast-charging abilities, just 10 minutes of charge time adds 2 hours of ANC-enabled playback when you’re crunched for time. (It takes about 2 hours for the buds to charge from 0% to 100%.) The case can be charged wirelessly thanks to Qi wireless charging compatibility. Comfort is another factor when it comes to long-haul listening sessions. Cambridge says that the M100’s ergonomic design was informed by data from “thousands of pairs of ears,” resulting in an earbud that is “well-balanced and light enough that you barely notice you’re wearing them.” Three sizes of silicone tips and two sizes of memory foam tips are included to ensure both lasting comfort and a snug, isolating seal.

Cambridge Audio Melomania M100: Sound Quality

Cambridge Audio reportedly developed a custom 10mm dynamic driver using premium materials and neodymium magnets. Together with the buds’ built-in Class AB amplification, the driver delivers “incredible sound quality – deep, controlled bass, realistic vocals, and beautiful treble clarity,” according to the company. In order to provide the M100’s “premium driver and class-leading amplification” with the highest-quality digital audio signal possible, Cambridge’s engineers chose to outfit the earbuds with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound with aptX Lossless wireless technology. As I discussed in my 2022 article “Is Qualcomm’s New ‘aptX Lossless’ Technology The Holy Grail of Bluetooth?”, aptX Lossless is the first truly lossless Bluetooth codec. This means that, under ideal conditions, the codec can carry a CD-quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) audio signal from the host device to the playback device without relying on lossy compression. All previous Bluetooth codecs use lossy compression, which involves discarding some portion of the data in order to reduce the size of the files being transported.

By adopting cutting-edge tech like aptX Lossless, Melomania M100 were crafted to be our best true wireless earphones so far, to take on all comers and show what real audio expertise can deliver.

— James Johnson-Flint, owner of Cambridge Audio

But as is often the case, these statements about lossless audio must be taken with a grain of salt. The biggest caveat to consider is that, in order for aptX Lossless to work, both the playback device and the host device must be packing the appropriate Qualcomm hardware (specifically the Snapdragon 8xx platform). So it’s not enough that the Melomania M100 can play nice with aptX Lossless — you also need a phone or tablet that is similarly equipped. At the time of writing, I was able to identify 46 smart phones with the necessary Qualcomm hardware to send an aptX Lossless signal, and most were from brands that I’ve never heard of. There were some phones from Sony, Asus, and Motorola on the list, but not a single one from Apple, Samsung, or Google. So if you use an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy, a Google Pixel, or pretty much any other popular phone, you’ll have to wait for your next upgrade to benefit from aptX Lossless. Apple’s iPhones have thus far eschewed support for any version of aptX, stubbornly sticking to the AAC codec, with its relatively low bitrates. (I had hoped that Apple would launch its own lossless wireless technology when the company’s Apple Music streaming service began delivering 100% lossless audio back in 2021. I’m still waiting.) Luckily for iPhone users, the Melomania M100 does support AAC, alongside its aptX Adaptive connectivity, which scales up to 24-bit/96kHz. It’s worth pointing out, though, that lossy compression is used to pass high-res content (i.e., anything above CD-quality), arguably negating the potential sonic benefits of the high-resolution files. 

Cambridge Audio Melomania M100: Additional Features

When designing the M100’s software package, Cambridge’s engineers considered feedback from users about previous Melomania products. One common concern was about the often annoying process of Bluetooth pairing. (This is a nearly universal headache for Bluetooth products.) Apple’s AirPods essentially solved this problem by incorporating a special hardware chip that greatly simplifies the process of pairing them to Apple host devices, such as iPhones and iPads. But competitors Google and Microsoft don’t have the luxury of assuming that the people who use their phones, tablets, and laptops, will also use their matching earbuds. As a result, both Google and Microsoft have engineered software-based solutions that can be adopted by any headphone manufacturer. The M100 supports both of these: Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair both promise effortless Bluetooth connection to an Android phone/tablet or Windows PC. The M100 earphones broadcast their availability, and the Android or Microsoft device will then prompt the user to pair. Simply click “Yes,” and pairing is complete. This process will be familiar to anyone who has used AirPods with an iPhone, but will feel like magic for anyone who is used to doing it the old-fashioned way. A physical button on the charging case can also be used to put the earphones into Bluetooth pairing mode.

Touch control is another area in which the M100 is said to improve upon its predecessors. Cambridge tells us that the touch controls have been refined to be more responsive and intuitive, and that the functionality of each touch sensor can now be individually customized via the all-new Melomania Connect app. Other software improvements include Gaming Mode, which ensures “near-perfect screen/sound sync,” according to Cambridge Audio. This mode can also be used to correct syncing issues with certain video content. Cambridge says the M100’s latency is measured at 80ms. The earbuds are equipped with Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio, and future firmware updates will deliver support for AuraCast Broadcast Audio and the high-quality, battery-saving LC3 audio codec, according to the company. Cambridge says that the M100 takes future-proofing seriously, and is “built to last and adapt to the next phase of wireless tech.”

The M100’s Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) reportedly uses a combination of Feed-Back and Feed-Forward technologies, utilizing both external microphones (for monitoring outside ambient noise) and internal microphones (for determining conditions inside the ear canal). This hybrid approach “effectively blocks out exterior noise that would otherwise upset the immersive listening experience,” according to Cambridge Audio. Again, Cambridge turned to Qualcomm for its Adaptive ANC tech, which reportedly optimizes the noise-cancelling performance, “regardless of how precisely the earbuds are fitted in the ears.” Noise cancellation, a transparency mode, and a seven-band EQ can be controlled from within the Melomania Connect control app. There are also six EQ presets from which to choose if you’d rather not tweak the sonics manually.

The Melomania M100 appears to be a well-thought-out design, right down to its use of sustainable materials. According to Cambridge Audio, the drive to create more sustainable products builds on the company’s record as Founding Donor of the eco-music charity EarthPercent, which was co-founded by Brian Eno. Cambridge says that the M100 is its first product to use recycled Neodymium for the driver magnets, and 50% of the plastic used in the earbuds is recycled as well. The packaging is entirely plastic-free. Thanks in part to its high build-quality and tight tolerances, the M100 features an IPX4 rating for splash-proofing. 

More information: Cambridge Audio

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.