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I’m going to straight up say that in terms of sound, the Melomania A100 punches way above its price category. And it’s not because of specs alone. Yes it supports Hi-Res codecs like LDAC and aptX Lossless, but what really is special about the A100 is its custom 10mm drivers in each earbud, and Class A/B amplification, which means it’s got lower distortion than most other earbuds that use the typical Class D.

These are also very loud, about 20% louder than most earbuds, even the older Melomania M100. So instead of the usual 50-60% volume, I’m listening to them at 40% in quiet situations, which means they’re almost as loud as the B&W Pi8.

More about its sound quality later on, because there are other aspects of the A100 worth diving into such as its mic pickup, active noise canceling and transparency, benchmarked against some of the best sounding earbuds as well as the older M100.

Microphone Quality

ts microphone pickup is fine in quiet or moderately noisy situations, and in very noisy conditions, it is an improvement over the M100 because the noise gating is not as aggressive. But it’s still aggressive enough that it filters out some parts of my voice, like the ‘S’ sounds. Would have been much better if the filtering is a bit more gentle so at least I can still be heard clearly. For the A100, I’ll give it a Rank B in my mic quality rankings. Better than the A100, Pi8 and FoKus Rex 5, not as great at the SOUNDPEATS H3.

👉 Have a listen to the mic quality samples

It’s also worth highlighting that the A100 and the M100 don't have voice passthrough during phone calls, so for some people, speaking on the phone might feel unnatural.

Active Noise Cancelling

About its active noise canceling, by default, it's in Adaptive mode which means it’s switching based on what it thinks is the best ANC for the current noise level. I didn’t like it because even when it’s the same noise around me, it’s switching to a weaker level.

But if Adaptive mode is turned off, its noise canceling is much better. It’s an effective all rounder, doing a decent job dealing with the rumble of vehicles and public transport, human chatter, and everyday noises at home like the air conditioning. It also seems to be quieter than its older sibling the M100. But like most stem type earbuds, it’s very important to get a snug fit. If it’s even a little loose, its ANC won’t be as effective.

👉 Listen to the ANC quality samples

Transparency Mode

The A100’s transparency mode is clearer than the M100, but it still isn’t the best. There’s still that feeling of occlusion so not all of the background sounds are being amplified, especially in the upper mids and highs. My own voice still sounds quite muffled when I’m speaking, so verbal exchanges feel quite unnatural. But for general awareness, these will do an adequate job.

Sound Quality

The Melomania A100’s musicality even rivals the Pi8 and SOUNDPEATS H3. Yes, some people may not like its tuning. Those who prefer a more mid-focused presentation will find it a little too bassy - it’s definitely a bit more bassy than the M100. But to me, it’s a nice balance. Its bass is tight and well controlled, it’s textured, and it doesn’t bleed over into the mids at all. It’s got great attack and crispness, and upper mids are bright but don't cross over into sibilant territory, so vocals sound groovy and smooth.

Another reason I like the A100 is its great dynamic range and resolving power, so it can even reveal subtle details in the soundscape that are harder to notice on most earbuds.

I would describe its soundstaging as more open and laid back, but it also has gradience to it, so its musical presentation sounds layered and deep. This is where I think the A100 is a huge improvement over the M100, which has a more shallow presentation.

👉 Have a listen to the sound quality samples

Conclusion

Whether it’s in noise canceling mode, transparency, or simply normal, you can expect the A100 to maintain the same sonic character. And with DynamEQ, it maintains its bass mids and highs even at low volume levels. It already sounds great to me on default EQ, however, If you do prefer it to sound a certain way, you can tune it further with a 7-band graphic EQ and some EQ presets.

I do like to tinker with EQ, but in this case, the A100 already sounds great out of the box so there is no need to. As for other settings, it’s got a gaming mode which is what I use when playing games like Battlefield 6, but I will also use it for watching videos because without it, there is a tiny bit of lag, around 100ms. Very brief but noticeable.

Tap gesture controls are responsive, but it doesn't have swipe controls, so you’ll need to wear both earbuds to have access to all the controls like volume, music playback and ambient sound.

However, it’s far from perfect. Its battery life is just average at best. Up to 21 hours with ANC and with each charge, I got around 5-6 hours of use playing at 40% volume. It’s okay, but I wouldn’t consider it to be great battery life. I’ve also noticed that when nothing is playing, I can hear a very faint mosquito buzzing noise in both earbuds, but only when nothing is playing is it noticeable.

Also, when playing music on my iPhone, there’s a short buffer time when changing songs, so the actual playback begins one or 2 seconds into the song. Some teething issues here which I hope can be fixed in a future firmware update.

But if sound quality is your priority and you’re looking for something that costs a bit less than premium, the A100 is definitely worth a listen.

Check latest prices:

Melomania A100 - https://amzn.to/4pbBP0K
SOUNDPEATS H3 - https://amzn.to/3JcFufg
Noble FoKus Rex5 - https://amzn.to/45c9zEi
Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 - https://amzn.to/3U8n9lT