Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE Review | 93 Data compared

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100SE is a wireless over-ear headphone that serves as a feature-rich successor to the original P100, earning an impressive 91% overall rating from STEREO GUIDE. Retaining the sleek design, premium aluminum ear cups, and highly sustainable build of its predecessor—complete with cheap replaceable ear pads and a user-replaceable battery—the Special Edition introduces a redesigned, wider, and softer headband. It provides a more comfortable, secure fit with lower clamping pressure. Internally, it keeps the high-end Class-A/B amplifier circuit and 40mm drivers, while adding a dark blue colour option, Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Adaptive/HD and AAC codecs, and a new "DynamEQ" dynamic loudness feature.

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE over-ear headphones deliver a premium audio experience featuring an exceptionally well-balanced, vibrant sound profile with crisp highs, clear mids, and a warm, controlled bass. A major highlight of this model is its class-leading battery life, providing up to 100 hours of playback on a single USB-C charge (or 60 hours with Active Noise Cancellation enabled). Built with sustainability in mind, the headphones stand out by allowing users to easily swap out both the ear pads and the battery themselves using common tools. Additional praised features include integrated wear detection that resumes playback automatically, a customizable transparency mode via the Melomania Connect companion app, and a robust travel hardcase included in the box. Despite its top-tier acoustic performance, the review highlights a notable comfort issue regarding the headset's firm clamping force. This tight fit can create uncomfortable pressure behind and above the ears during extended listening sessions, particularly for users who wear glasses. On the technical side, while the adaptive hybrid ANC does a very good job at blocking out predictable, low-frequency sounds like traffic...

The T3 review evaluates the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE as a refined, mid-range over-ear headphone priced at 279 Euro, positioning it slightly above its predecessor, the original P100, which launched at 239 Euro. The reviewer highlights that the SE version is a minor iteration rather than a ground-up redesign, sharing identical 40mm drivers and a highly similar design aesthetic. Key enhancements include a slightly softer headband cushion, a striking new blue color option, and the integration of a "DynamEQ" software feature that automatically adjusts bass and treble depending on volume level and surroundings. Structurally, the headphones remain robust and offer eco-friendly serviceability through easily replaceable earpads. The review outlines several distinct pros and cons regarding the performance of the Melomania P100 SE. On the positive side (pros), it delivers excellent audio clarity with a subtly more energetic soundstage. Its extraordinary battery life is a class-leading highlight, reaching up to 60 hours with active noise cancellation (ANC) enabled and a massive 100 hours with ANC turned off. Additionally, it ships with a high-quality, magnetic-latched hard case. Conversely, the cons focus...

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100SE is a premium closed-back over-ear Bluetooth headphone that retails for €279 and focuses heavily on sustainability by offering user-replaceable ear pads and a user-replaceable battery. Powered by a traditional Class A/B amplifier and 40mm composite drivers, it boasts an impressive 100-hour battery life (60 hours with ANC enabled), Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint connectivity, and support for high-end audio codecs like aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive. It opts for tactile mechanical buttons instead of touch controls and includes a premium, textiled-covered hard case with dedicated cable storage alongside high-quality fabric-braided cables. The primary pros highlighted in the review include its class-leading sound separation, high-resolution treble extension, a well-organized companion app with a functional 7-band EQ, robust build quality, and its unique, eco-friendly repairable design. However, the headphones suffer from a few notable cons. Out of the box, the P100SE features a consumer-targeted "V-shaped" sound profile with an overpowering, bloated bass response that muddy the lower frequencies until tamed manually via the app's equalizer. Additionally, while the hybrid Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) performs well against continuous background...

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE is an outstanding over-ear wireless headphone that fixes the comfort flaws of its predecessor while retaining top-tier audio quality. Costing around €280, the headphone excels with its audiophile-grade, vibrant, and warm sound signature, which can be further enhanced using the app's "DynamEQ" feature. Its standout features include a premium, high-quality material build that surpasses competitors like Sony or Bose in its price bracket, physical button controls instead of finicky touch panels, and a jaw-dropping 100-hour battery life with an interchangeable battery. Most importantly, the redesigned headband successfully eliminates the painful pressure on the head that ruined the previous version, making it comfortable for extended listening sessions. Despite these massive improvements, the headphone does come with a few notable drawbacks. The active noise cancellation (ANC), while slightly improved, still produces a faint but audible background hiss when activated. Additionally, at roughly 330 grams, the unit remains heavier than competitors like the Sony WH-1000XM6 or Sennheiser Momentum 4, resulting in a wide-looking headband when worn. It is also bulky, cannot be folded down for travel, and...

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE is a highly recommended over-ear wireless headphone priced at €279, serving as a finely tuned update to the standard P100 model. Tested by HIFI. DE, the Special Edition brings noticeable hardware upgrades, including a newly redesigned, softer headband to replace the rigid design of the original, resulting in a more comfortable and secure fit. It maintains a modern feature set by supporting high-quality codecs like aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless via Bluetooth 5.3, alongside a record-breaking battery life that lasts up to 60 hours with ANC enabled and an astonishing 100 hours with ANC turned off. Sonically, the review highlights a very detailed, airy, and dynamic sound signature that punches well above its weight class, though it leans slightly heavier on the bass than its neutral predecessor. A major positive is the introduction of "DynamEQ" in the companion app, which automatically optimizes low and high frequencies so that the audio remains full and engaging even at low volumes. The physical button layout on the earcups provides reliable, tactile control, removing the need for finicky...

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE is a premium Bluetooth over-ear headphone that stands out for its exceptional battery life, offering up to 100 hours of playback without ANC and 60 hours with it active. The updated design features a more flexible headband and softer padding for improved long-term comfort compared to its predecessor. A key highlight is its implementation of a Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.3 receiver supporting the high-end aptX Lossless codec for CD-quality streaming. Sonically, the headphones feature 40mm sandwich-membrane drivers running on Class-AB amplification. The sound signature delivers a remarkably deep, punchy sub-bass that mimics a dedicated subwoofer alongside a highly detailed, crisp high-frequency presentation that ensures clear speech intelligibility and great instrument separation. On the downside, the review notes a few functional and tonal limitations. The active noise cancellation provides highly effective isolation on public transit but introduces a slightly more noticeable background hiss compared to rivals when music is paused. Its overall physical profile is deeper and less compact than competing travel headphones, making it stand out more while wearing it on the go. Additionally, the...

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE is an updated over-ear Bluetooth 5.3 headphone that builds upon its predecessor with structural and acoustic adjustments, delivering an impressive price-to-performance ratio in the €200 to €300 tier. It features dynamic 40mm compound drivers powered by Class-A/B amplification, housing simple physical control buttons on the earcups alongside a multi-point connection feature. A standout structural achievement is its sustainable design, which offers user-replaceable ear pads and a highly praise-worthy user-replaceable battery. In terms of performance pros, the headphones excel with high-resolution audio codec support (including aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive) and a remarkably massive battery life rating of 60 to 100 hours depending on Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) usage. Its ANC is effective enough to noticeably isolate low-frequency and static travel drone without causing a "diving bell" pressure sensation, even if it falls slightly short of class leaders Apple and Sony. Sound delivery is highly dynamic and punchy, rendering a reliable stereo panorama for pop and heavy rock genres with excellent power-handling limits.