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Forget the AirPods Pro 2, these are the best audiophile earbuds under $200
I like AirPods. They might not be my favorite earbuds on the planet, but I still like them. I have, however, set myself a mission — if I can find earbuds that provide an AirPods Pro 2-like experience at a lower price, I’ll highlight them over the alternatives.
I’ve recently been testing the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100, and I think I’ve just found the ultimate AirPods Pro 2 alternative.
The best bit? They’re $100 less than Apple’s premium pair of best noise canceling earbuds, despite getting close in feature set, beating them out in battery life, and stomping their sound. It helps that Matt Berry of What We Do In The Shadows fame has voiced the alerts.
Here are the key areas where the new Melomania A100 beat out the AirPods Pro 2 — and the one area they struggle with.
A comfortable fit
You’d have thought that after decades of development, we’d have nailed down excellent fits for in-ear buds. Yet, somehow, companies still struggle — however, the Melomania are a comfortable fit for hours on end. They share a shape with the AirPods Pro 2 in some ways, although their stems are slightly longer.
You’ll want to try the different earbud tips in the box, because those that come pre-attached are a little on the small side. But once they’re dialed in, you get that ‘barely there’ feel which makes the AirPods Pro 2 so eminently wearable.
I’ve been able to wear the Melomania over the course of a full day as a result, only taking them out for lunch. They don’t press in any of the key discomfort points of my ears and, unlike some options, they don’t have some mad-cap shape that only fits a certain type of ear.
AirPods Pro 2 comfort for $100 less? Not bad, Melomania A100, not bad at all.
Surprisingly solid ANC
Cambridge Audio is a hi-fi company, so I’d expect good sound and a well-judged frequency curve — but I’ll get to that later. What I wasn’t expecting was ANC that got very, very close to the AirPods Pro 2, managing to block out some of the most annoying noises in my office, even without music playing.
I say ‘even without music playing’, because ANC headphones have to use some of the inaudible frequencies in your music to cancel out the sounds of the world around you. As you might imagine, getting some music playing drowns out everything the inaudible white noise misses. My fan disappears, for example, and the noise of engines and tires is a distant memory.
The AirPods Pro 2, with their $100 price premium, do a slightly better job of music-less noise canceling, but the Melomania get so close you’d be hard pressed to complain.
A simple, stylish look
The Melomania A100 don’t rock the boat, but that’s almost the point. They’ve opted for a similar look to the AirPods Pro 2 this time around, with the familiar stems and teardrop earbud section. They’re not an unhandsome pair of buds, albeit one that might blend in more easily amongst the crop of similar-looking earbud options.
But that’s not a bad thing. No one is going to see you and think, “there’s an AirPods case in that person’s pocket, time to make a quick buck.” The black and beigey-gray colorways don’t do much to stand out either, and while to some that may be a drawback, I think there’s something to be said about a device that puts its internals over the way it looks.
The case is nice and small, and it’s slim enough to fit in most jeans pockets fairly easily. Cambridge Audio’s new logo adorns the top, and the front is dominated by the battery and pairing status lights. It’s much better than some of the alternatives, like the Sony Linkbuds Fit, which feature a much larger, fatter cases.
HiFi sound that goes in your ears
The A100 continue the audio legacy, while improving the rest of the feature set to match.
I’d be disappointed with Cambridge Audio if it made something that didn’t sound good, given the brand’s excellent track record and sonic heritage. After all, previous buds might not have wowed across the board for features, but they’ve always set themselves apart with some of the best sound around. The A100 continue the audio legacy, while improving the rest of the feature set to match.
Cambridge Audio has brought the full might of its house sound to bear with the A100. That means a slightly warmer, more welcoming sound, which retains very solid detail levels. As with the over-ear Melomania P100, the A100 in-ears outperform their price point with some of the best sound you’ll get before you reach at least $300.
They sound better than the AirPods Pro 2, with more purpose to their sound. The technical guitars and exacting cymbal line of Obscura’s Silver Linings show just what kind of detail the A100 can extract from tracks, while still letting the fretless bass dance in the background. The kick-drum is loaded with impact, and instrument separation enables you to pick everything apart.
As a result, they’re a more holistic and interesting listen than the relatively flat and un-noteworthy sound of the AirPods Pro 2.
It’s the little things that count
The A100 are packed full of little details that show Cambridge Audio has thought about how you’re going to use the buds, as well as why you’re going to keep using them. The Melomania app is easy to use, and gives you a whole load of features you won’t find in the AirPods Pro 2.
For example, sound is more customizable than the Apple buds, with a strong 7-band EQ. That really lets you dial things in to your musical tastes, and it’s something that Apple won’t let you do beyond its own pre-judged sound profiles.
There’s more in there as well: Mono mode enables a stereo mix to play out of one earbud for those moments you can only have a bud socketed in one ear. Customizable controls, and a mode called “DynamEQ” which keeps trebles and the bass at consistent levels despite low volume. There’s even a Gaming mode, Sleep mode, and even a simpler version of Find My so that you can find your buds when they’re nearby.
My favorite thing? The ‘Southwark’ alert voice. That’s Matt Berry, who you might recognize from the Fallout TV show, or Vampire comedy What We Do In The Shadows. That’s attention to detail, and lends a whole lot more personality to the buds. Now, if only he’d lend his talents to an entire voice assistant…
What will you miss?
For $100 less than the AirPods, you can’t expect to get everything that Apple offers. With the A100 you won’t get Spatial Audio, or the magic AirPods pairing. You won’t get the new hearing aid features either, although the AirPods Pro 2 are about the only thing out there that offers that currently.
But again, you’re paying $149 for a sonic experience that beats out the AirPods Pro 2, and battery life that takes them to school (43 hours in the case, as opposed to Apple’s 24). I know what I’ll be recommending to people if they ask me what earbuds they should be buying from now on, that’s for sure.
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