Cambridge Audio's New ANC Headphones! : Melomania P100

[@JorisKeijser]

I got them a couple of days ago. After doing some EQing (upward slope towards the treble) they sound pretty damn good to me. Sounds nice and detailed, with an incredibly powerful and controlled bass. Some downsides I found are: -Huge difference in bass volume between noise cancelling off and on (way more when off, which is my preferred setting for quiet environments like at home). -Increasing the bass in the EQ (made a profile to mitigate the loss of bass with NC), will cause HEAVY clipping/distortion on bass heavy songs, no matter the volume (it becomes baked into the signal), so that entire feature is entirely useless. -When NC is on, low volumes will cause audible artifacts/noise around dialog (and probably other things?). When watching videos of people speaking on below 20% volume, the voice gets a sort of harsh static enveloping every word. Very weird and distracting. NC off doesn't have this. -Stupid design choice for skipping tracks. It's done by double pressing the volume up or down buttons, so when you try to adjust volume a LITTLE too quickly, it will reset or skip your song, just when you might be trying to quickly increase volume for a good part of a song for example. This should IMO have been a long press action, as the long press is actually used on other buttons as well. You really have to be very slow with clicking the volume buttons. (Just found out long pressing will keep changing volume, but slowly, and doesn't feel as good as clicking at your own pace IMO) -A little tight on the head, though not a very big deal. -Black matte color gets greasy stains easily, and can only be really wiped off with a cloth. -Noise cancelling button is placed where I logically grab them to put them on or off, so accidental presses occur often when starting a session or a taking a short break, after which you need to slowly cycle through the 3 modes back to where you wanted it to be. -Some issues with windows bluetooth. Connects fine but with a weird name (Bluetooth LE device xxxxxxxxxx

[@cjhards]

Done a better job than the reviewer, Lol. Many thanks for your detailed deep dive 🤜🤛

[@AndrewYouTubehandle]

Great comments, very helpful thanks.

[@JorisKeijser]

​@@AndrewKZbinhandle Thanks dude. My opinion has changed somewhat on some of those points, mainly the little annoyances in general use and concerns about the headband have lessened a bit after a while. They're still problems but you learn to keep them in mind and use it in a way so they're less likely to interfere. The main problems I have now are -The bass getting messed up when using noise cancelling. -The bass EQ causing distortion (Doesn't happen with USB connection, and somehow doesn't happen on my old Galaxy S8 with BT, but does happen on my S24 Ultra and my PC. Thought it might be te BT codec but I tried every codec on my S24 Ultra and all of them have the distortion). Another thing I noticed is that the specs say the ANC has wind noise reduction, but when using them on my bike the noise is very present. My old 2017 Sony completely eliminated that. But I don't use ANC anyways, cause of the bass issue, and ANC off is more than enough for outside use honestly (I'm not in a big city though). The following comments are a conversation I had with people on another video, in case you're interested in more details: ​ *@kamil950 said:* "Do you have a comparison with some other ANC headphones for example in terms of ANC artifacts, comfort, headband etc.?" *I replied to @kamil950:* ​"Hey, sorry for the late reply. I did in fact order a Bose QuietComfort Ultra to compare against, and sound wise and ease of use wise (general operation like turning it on and pairing etc) the P100's were superior. The bose felt a little better comfort wise during longer sessions (after 1-2 hours). The P100's can unfortunately give me a bit of a headache from the pressure around the ears after a while, but that could be a subjective thing. I have not had much experience using the ANC with the P100's as I never turn it on due to the detrimental effects it has on audio (and haven't really used them in environments where it's needed yet), namely the noise artifacs it created around voices (at least when only a voice is playing like YT videos or podcasts), but mostly how on the current software version it messes with the bass. It reduces the volume of bass but also completely changes the texture of it. When playing a clean sine wave of bass, using a frequency generator, it goes from a smooth and full sounding bass to a wierdly textured and thin sound, so the ANC Off version of the bass is what it should sound like. I really hope this will get fixed along the way. If they do I will probably enable ANC by default cause as far as I've tested it is otherwise pretty good. The walking pops and stuff people talked about has supposedly gotten fixed with the latest software update. I returned the Bose and kept the Cambridge in the end, due to superior sound (more spatious, clean, accurate, controlled and powerful sound)." *@Comintern said:* "Thanks, I also bought the P100's last week and I'm finding the same issue with the ANC audio artifacts on human voices. It's deeply frustrating as I often wear ANC headphones to help sleep at night with audiobooks playing. I've just now tried emailing the CEO who puts his email on the box requesting feedback so I'll update if there's any response. I've still got 40+ days left on the return policy so I may end up having to return the headphones if there's no sign of a firmware fix for this problem. Such a shame as they are such a great sounding pair of headphones otherwise and I love that you can replace the pads & batteries easily compared to every other ANC headphone out there. kamii950, I've owned Sony's XM3's & 4's for years & tested Bose QC45's for several weeks previously and there's never been any problems with ANC artifacts in the way the P100's currently have. The P100's did recently have a firmware update at the end of August that massively improved the ANC when walking about so I'm hopeful there might be future firmware updates to fix this current issue." *I replied to @Comintern:* "Hey! Good (or not lol) to see someone else confirm the issue I noticed with the voice artifacts when using ANC. Kinda sucks that it has this, and makes me wonder how the hell they did not notice this during development. Please let me know if you get a response to the email you sent them! Very curious if they will actively work with the feedback they get. The replacable earpads and battery is honestly not that much of a unique feature, as with the Bose QC Ultra for example this can be done (battery) in the same way, just unofficially. With these you get sent a kit containing a screwdriver and battery, to take it apart and connect a new battery to the internals. It's not necessarily a very consumer friendly way of replacing it, and replacing it in the Bose would be the same process. No matter though, it's really nice that it's at least offered as an option officially. I would also like to ask if you have the same problems with bass I described when using ANC, where the amount/volume gets heavily reduced, and changes its sound/texture as well (I noticed this when using a sine wave frequency generator, so try that to confirm). I really hope this can be fixed with a software update, so if they respond to your email I'd love for you to adress this issue to them as well. Something else I've been really bummed about, is how the EQ distorts the bass on bass heavy songs when adjusted for more bass. A song that really shows this very well is Demons by Doja Cat. Anything more than a very slight increase in the lowest 2 EQ bands will make the bass completely distorted and garbled. Weirdly, this is the case when using my S24 Ultra and my PC, but when using my old Galaxy S8, it somehow does not distort, even though the EQ is not done by the phone, but by the headphones themselves, so that's really weird. When using USB this also does not happen, even when maxing the bass sliders (same as using BT on my S8). Somewhere in the chain something goes wrong, even though it is apparently capable of doing it without any distortion. Hope you can kinda respond to all these questions and points I made! I'd love to have some external input and maybe try to get these issues ironed out together as it would make this thing near perfect!"

[@EpithetMusicTV]

Fantastic review. Thanks for detailing quirks I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere 🙏🏿

[@LokiDWolf]

Pros: I got them. And I must tell ya, they pick up everything regarding whatever you're listening too. I'm not exaggerating when I type this but, I heard things in a song that I've listened to since it's debut back in the 90's. The album is Seal by Seal. And the song is Violet. I know that song backwards and forwards. I listened with these and after years I heard water sounds and some more talking in the background I NEVER heard before. I was blown away. The sound is just some of the best ever!!! Cons: Now, the only 2 thing I don't like - the ANC isn't the best. But, ,for my lifestyle and living with my gf who needs the tele loud somewhat they're great. But, not like her Sony's. And not like some Bose I bought from Amazon for testing (Bose is the best with ANC imo). But, this model is good enough. I though HATE the head rest. Specifically the part that rests on your head. Why Cambridge thought a hard material is a good idea is beyond me. This is the first pair of headphones where I have to adjust the band backwards or forward a little is so annoying. I wish that the band was soft. It just isn't. Overall: I can deal with those cons because I can't stress how better the sound is. And yes better than the Sony's and Bose's headphones. And having the option to try all 3, Cambridge is the best. True studio sounding headphones without breaking the bank. Sony sound was "weak". Whereas the Bose was overall muddy. Cambridge givers incredible clarity just the right amount of bass and just gives the listening and incredible experience. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

[@jeremythornton2464]

Thanks again just bought the M100’s and now thinking the P100 will be a my next purchase later in the year. Real appreciate this review

[@madcrabber1113]

The replaceable battery is what has me interested. Wonder how long the batteries will be available and how much are they? Where are the batteries sold? How do you replace them?

[@pablowaxa]

How does the sound compared to Sennheiser Momentum 4? Thx! Good review!

[@samfiink]

Up

[@wilrivera2668]

... also thank you for reviewing different brands and priced headphones. Many other channels do the same few.

[@Benedictcares]

Great video. Looks like the B&W Px7 / 8 series.

[@jeffhale1189]

Thanks for sharing. Blessings on your day.

[@DJ279V]

These look as clean as I can imagine the sound quality will be!

[@GadZookz]

Thanks Gamesky. In terms of sound quality, how do you like these to the Spirit S5?

[@Icecold_Art]

Aaron from loudandwireless have them both with audio samples, they are very siniliar in character, audiophile tuning. So to be honest it’s rather which set of features and looks you preffer imho.

[@2ThumbPlayer]

Skullcandy released their new Dime Evo. I would love it if you could check if theyre worth their 50 dollar price tag❤

[@Gadgetibles]

This looks impressive for the price .

[@danieldavila8638]

Is it me or these headphones kind of look like the Bowers? Very nice and great review 👍

[@shashwatchandradahal3000]

Can you do a comparison of the p100 with bowers and Wilkins p7 s2e ? Love your vids and content.

[@neoniccortessjrsmith9223]

I am curious why u didn't review soundcore Q45

[@robertmangum1218]

He only reviews products that appeal to him, for whatever reason, and not subscribers

[@cdysthe]

What about the microphones? Call quality is important to me

[@giovanniantonio933]

Hello Sir this is a very good review, straight forward and clear Just a quick question, when it is wired can we turn on the Bluetooth and still use the ANC feature? Thank you for your answer 👍

[@steve-ey4ol]

Am I right? I’m thinking vegan leather is plastic or am I wrong?

[@tom_from_myspace]

You’re right

[@paultomaszewski1964]

Nice review as always. Just wondering if you are going to maybe do a review on the Thinksound ov202w Wireless Over-Ear Headphones. They are in pre-order right now for 149.00. Looking at the specs, my issue is it only has SBC and AAC codecs while using Bluetooth 5.0. But 80hrs with ANC and 104hrs without and dual drivers. A 40mm and 10mm in each cup.

[@iperelivskiy]

How does the sound compared to Px 8? Thanks for vid.

[@AL-lp8io]

Technics eah-800 vs melomania p100? Only for sound quality?

[@AndrewYouTubehandle]

Nice review, nice headsets.

[@joshualewis2367]

Nice vid also jlab and skullcandy has updated there affordable earbuds with the jlab air pop plus and the skullcandy dime evo both have multipoint app support google fast pair ambient mode Just to let you know

[@d_ultimte_rodnyrgc1054]

Hello, I love it. Cambridge audio is the best for me. Thank you.

[@maxchronicler]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Fredo.heavyy]

These or Sonos Ace?

[@iamarnesh68]

Cambridge p100 a lot better choice with better clarity and overall sound signature!

[@OldDolio312]

cambridge over sonos any day. But I dont like the design :(

[@arkangelarkangel1302]

My last Earbuds were the Cambridge Audio they just released, great buy, I'll try these as well... having said all that, I'm still using my THX PANDAS, zero wear & tear, and I've still haven't found anything remotely close to them😊

[@M.KEY_HEMIN]

G❤

[@pavan5502]

Cambridge Headphones: - Headphones Exterior looks more like B&W Px7 and Heavys - Earcups are exact copy of Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones - Carry case, Exterior looks exactly like Soundcore and One More Headphones - Carry case interior is exact copy of Sony -WH1000XM5 Headphones case🤫

[@ricoviii1]

First 🥇🥇🥇