Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch wireless earbuds boast unbelievable battery life
The AirPods rivals are due to launch next year
Cambridge Audio has announced its latest wireless earbuds, and they could be perfect for audiophiles seeking high-fidelity sound on the move.
The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch build on the success of the Melomania 1 – which are high up in our list of the best true wireless earbuds – giving them "intuitive touch controls, stunning sound performance, and world-class battery life".
- Read our Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 review
- The best true wireless earbuds of 2020
- The best headphones you can buy today
That "world-class battery life" comes in at a whopping 50 hours, with nine hours contained within the buds themselves and a further 41 hours provided by the charging case.
That's not quite as long as the Lypertek Tevi's 70 hours, but the Melomania Touch are still far longer lasting than most wireless earbuds on the market today.
Improved audio
The original Melomania 1 offered brilliant sound quality for the price, but the Melomania Touch should sound even better, thanks to an innovative High Performance Audio Mode that uses hi-fi grade amplification technology – the same method of amplification found in the company’s award-winning CX range of Hi-Fi amplifiers.
According to Cambridge Audio, this means you can enjoy "an even greater soundstage, lower noise and a higher dynamic range than ever before with Melomania Touch".
Inside the buds are 7mm drivers that have been "enhanced with graphene", a material favored for its rigidity and strength, which the company says results in "deeper controlled bass, realistic voices and clearer highs".
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Bluetooth 5 connectivity means these buds should hold a stable connection with your devices, while AAC and aptX codec support means they shouldn't have any issue with streaming high-quality audio over a wireless connection.
There's also a new app; the Melomania app lets you adjust EQ settings, locate missing earbuds using your phone's location data, check on your battery life, and download firmware upgrades.
As the name might suggest, the Melomania Touch have been furnished with new touch controls, which means you can tap on the earbuds to play and pause music, skip tracks, change volume, take hands-free calls, switch on Transparency Mode and summon Siri or Google Assistant.
Weighing just 6 grams, these wireless earbuds are pretty lightweight, and you should be able to find a snug fit thanks to the inclusion of silicone ear tips and ear fins in various sizes.
The Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch also come with an IPX4 water-resistance rating, which means they should withstand a little sweat or rain if you use them for working out.
Another feature that's handy for working out is a new Transparency mode; it works by feeding in outside ambient noises so you can be aware of your surroundings while still enjoying music at the same time.
If you want to make calls with the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch, the inclusion of two microphones and Qualcomm's Clear Voice Capture noise-cancelling technology means your voice should sound crisp and clear.
Now, if you were hoping to get your hands on the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch in time for the holidays, you'll be disappointed; the company says they'll be available to buy from January 1, 2021, and they'll cost you $149.95 / £129.95 (about AU$200).
In the meantime, you can still buy the original Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 – and now that there's a new model coming onto the scene, they could be discounted:
- The best wireless earbuds of 2020
Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.