What Hi-Fi? Verdict

Cambridge Audio’s cannily priced cans are a reasonable alternative to the premium players, offering decent sonic clarity and detail alongside outstanding battery life – we just wish they sounded more exciting

Pros

• +

  Strong feature set with outstanding battery life

• +

  Clean, open and reasonably detailed sound

• +

  Pleasing, sturdy build

Cons

• -

  Sound needs more dynamism and punch

• -

  Don’t have the best sense of rhythmic drive

• -

  Don’t fold away

We’ve complained before that there’s a hole in the current wireless headphones market. If you’re searching for a really good set of wireless over-ear cans, your options consist either of cheaper, no-nonsense affairs such as the Sony WH-CH720 or far more premium offerings akin to the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. It’s either sub-£100 / $150 or up in the realm of £280 / $300 or over, with very little occupying the space in between. 

There have been some attempts to plug this substantial gap, yet few have managed to land with much effect. The Sennheiser Accentum Wireless sit slap bang in the middle at around £160 / $180 / AU$300 at launch, as do the Sony ULT Wear (debuting at £180 / $200 / AU$440). Sadly, neither pair convinced us that they represented a viable middle ground, failing to get close enough sonically to costlier front-runners or to notably outperform cheaper alternatives. 

Hence we’re hoping that Cambridge Audio’s inaugural over-ear headphones will have the credentials to give money-savvy buyers a third way between cheap as chips choices and more premium gourmet offerings.

Price

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

As hinted at above, price is where the P100 could carve out an attractive niche. There aren’t many rivals sitting at their £229 / $279 / AU$479 mark when at full price, meaning that the new Melomania P100 significantly undercut the official £380 / $399 / AU$550 benchmark set by the Sony WH-1000XM5. That said, discounts often bring the Sony XM5 down to around £279 / $289 / AU$500 on a good day, closing the gap and eating into the P100s’ advantage somewhat.