A Hi-Fi Brand Just Solved Wireless Headphones’ Big Weakness

Cambridge Audio’s first-ever headphones, the Melomania P100, promise an insane 100-hour battery life.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 headphones

Published July 5, 2024

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You’re probably familiar with Cambridge Audio. The British audio company is well-known today for its gorgeous, high-end hi-fi components, such as integrated amplifiers, all-in-one music systems, and even turntables.

In recent years, it has jumped more into consumer audio, too, with its line of Melomania wireless earbuds. As of today, with the introduction of the all-new Melomania P100, it has officially entered the market of noise-canceling wireless headphones.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100

$279 at Cambridge Audio

The Melomania P100 are wireless over-ear noise-canceling headphones that are built very much to compete with the flagship cans from Sony, Apple and Bose. While the Melomania P100’s noise-canceling abilities probably can’t match those competitors, it does have a few things going for.

First, the price. The Melomania P100 cost $279, making them significantly more affordable than the Sony WH-1000XM5 ($350), Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones ($429) and Apple’s AirPods Max ($549). The fact this hi-fi brand is making reasonably affordable noise-canceling wireless headphones is actually pretty surprising.

Second, the sound quality. The Melomania P100 have 40mm drivers, Class A/B amplification and promise deliver high-resolution audio over Bluetooth; they support SBC and AAC for iPhones, as well as aptX Adaptive (up to 24-bit/96kHz) for Androids. The headphones also support lossless audio over a wired connection, too; they ship with USB-C to 3.5mm and USB-C to USB-C cables.

And third, which is truly the killer feature, is its battery life. The Melomania P100 promise an absolutely insane 100 hours of playtime. Granted, this is with ANC turned off, but Cambridge Audio claims that even with ANC turned on they’ll get around 60 hours of juice. And that’s still nuts. For context, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have a 24-hour battery life with ANC turned on.

The headphones also come with a couple of other neat, modern features. They work with a companion app that, in addition to other settings, has a 7-band equalizer so you can fine-tune the sound. Their vegan leather earpads are replaceable, meaning if they wear down over time, you can buy new ones.

And, maybe more interesting, the battery inside the headphones is “user replaceable” as well; Cambridge Audio will sell battery replacement kits that you can purchase (if the battery issues arise after the warranty expires).

Price and Availability

The Melomania P100 will come in two different finishes: black or white. The headphones are available for preorder now on the company’s website. They’ll start shipping sometime this month.