After presenting Bluetooth headphones in 2020, realme launches new headphones, the realme Buds Air 2. True Wireless Bluetooth headphones with active noise reduction are marketed at an unbeatable price for this type of product.
Cambridge Audio, a brand of audio equipment from the city of…? No, from London. These are True Wireless Bluetooth headphones offering excellent battery life and quality sound.
General
| Realme Buds Air 2 | Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus | |
| Brand | Realme | Cambridge |
| Type | In-Ear | In-Ear |
| Colors | Black, White | Black, White |
| Battery life | 25 Hours | 45 Hours |
| Weight | 42.7 g | 46.2 g |
| Connectivity | Wireless, Bluetooth | Wireless, Bluetooth |
Design
| Type | In-Ear | In-Ear |
| Wireless | Yes | Yes |
| Noise Cancelling | Yes | Yes |
| Drivers | 10 mm | 5.8 mm |
| Dimensions earphone | 60 x 57 x 24 mm | 59 x 50 x 22 mm |
| Foldable Design | No | No |
Realme Buds Air 2- The box is quite large, in a rounded oval shape. For once, facing a box of AirPods, it’s big enough and thick. In addition, the shiny plastic used will facilitate scratches as they are placed in the pocket of the case.
This box does not take advantage of wireless charging but offers a USB-C port to recharge the Realme Buds Air 2. There is an activity LED indicating the battery level of the headphones, on the front face, above the brand’s logo. On the right of the box, there is a button allowing you to quickly check the battery level or connect the headphones to a new smartphone.
Everything is well adjusted concerning the case; the finishes are good despite fairly inexpensive plastic. But isn’t it better to do that and put all the quality possible in the headphones? Certainly.
When we take the Realme Buds Air 2 out of their charging case, we notice one thing, they are pretty. This mixture of very dark gray-blue for the upper and black for the tips is quite pleasant and aesthetic. The Buds Air 2 are in-ear headphones, however. If you don’t like these types of headphones, stick around and don’t run away just yet!
Several other sizes of ear tips are supplied with them, allowing them to be adapted to the size and shape of your ears. We are not on the variety of Melomania 1+, of course, but the three sizes provided are sufficient to adapt to all ears.
Each earphone has two microphones, as these models feature active noise reduction. The finishes are good here as well; the earphone rods, a little shiny, it is overall very good at this level there.
The Melomania 1+ does not have a rod that goes down to optimize the audio capture of the microphone. They are therefore tiny and join the classic Melomania 1 on this point. In terms of aesthetics, they are the same. We received a white version, but they are also available in black, which gives you a choice.
They adopt an original and minimalist shape, which makes them even more discreet in your ears than some competitors. However, this is not to the detriment of their autonomy, which is advertised as excellent by the manufacturer.
The case looks like what can be found in the competition, AirPods side in particular. However, we note that it is more elegant and worked than an AirPods case. It has 5 LEDs indicating the charge level of the box in increments of 20%. It is also important to note that the latter now charges in USB-C, unlike the micro-USB of the previous version! Good news that it allows you to store your good old micro-USB cable in the closet.
The USB-C to USB-A cable is provided in the pack, allowing you to recharge the case and the headphones. However, you can use your smartphone cable if it charges in USB-C. But that’s not all, as Cambridge Audio wants its headphones to fit your ears in all cases. For this, the manufacturer provides tips of various sizes and colors so that the headphones are best in your ears, a matter of comfort.
A total of 5 pairs of additional white tips and 4 pairs of blacktips are provided and the pair of white tips on the headphones. As this is the white version, a rather sober off-white, the black tips are limited because they are certainly less used, being of a different color from the headphones.
Features
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Music Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Charge | Yes | Yes |
| Speakers | Yes | Yes |
| Frequency Response | – | 20Hz – 20kHz |
| Impedance | 32 Ohms | 32 Ohms |
With optimal comfort, the realme Buds Air 2 does not forget the passive noise reduction. They are indeed in-ear headphones, so this is their main functionality and even their vocation. Reducing ambient noise just by blocking the ear canal as much as possible also has other benefits. It makes the music quieter, which will damage your ears less in the long run.
The sound quality of the Buds Air 2 is therefore better. We must keep in mind the lovely price of these headphones. The bass is present, deep, and pleasant; the treble and mids are also present but perfectly balanced.
The only complaint we can make with these TWS headphones is that the sound tends to degrade slightly at high volume. Nothing major here, however, but some users may find it annoying. At the same time, with such headphones, At half power, the sound is perfect.
When it comes to audio quality, Cambridge Audio boasts 50 years of experience in every ear. By this mention, we can therefore assume that the headphones have good audio quality, and we can already tell you, indeed, the quality is good. However, let’s go into this in a bit more detail.
The balance between bass and mids is real; we also appreciate the treble present to bring clarity to the sound but in a complete fairway. For the greatest music lovers and sound enthusiasts among you, these are perfect headphones that rely on a fairly specific sound. This sound can be likened to a Jazz spirit while remaining quite light to adapt to everyone.
The headphones have SBC, AAC, and aptX codecs. As a result, they offer compatibility with music using this codec, making it possible to improve its sound quality. As a reminder, AAC is used by Apple Music in particular and aptX by the majority of Android smartphones equipped with Qualcomm processors. Finally, regarding sound insulation, it is not bad. However, these are not headphones with active ANC noise reduction. Therefore, we must be satisfied with the passive reduction provided by the in-ear, which is correct when we choose the right tips.
Battery
| Battery Type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Capacity | 460 mAh | 500 mAh |
| Battery Life | Up to 25 hours | Up to 45 hours |
| Charging Time | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Charging Port | USB-C | USB-C |
| Qi Wireless Charging | No | No |
The realme Buds Air 2 promises up to 25 hours of battery life. However, this is subject to not having activated the ANC mode, of course. In the end, the charging does not drop that much finally, and we end up with about 22 hours of battery life, which is correct.
What is also good is that with 10 minutes of charging, you gain 2 hours of battery life for listening to music. It is practical; it all depends on what we do.
The Buds Air 2 box does not have wireless charging. However, it has a USB-C port so that it can charge with any other charger on your smartphone or tablet; I’m sure you have a USB-C cable at home.
This time, the Melomania 1+ are loaded via USB-C, unlike the previous version. What can also please us is that they offer up to 45 hours of battery life with 9 hours of music listening per headphone charge, plus 36 hours in the box! Each earphone has a 90 mAh battery, and the case has a 700 mAh battery.
The Melomania 1+ can indeed display a little more than 45 hours of total battery life! Please note, however, that this data is for musical listening and not for a call. If you call with it, the battery life goes down, not insolently either, but you won’t even have 40 hours since the microphones have to work.
Connectivity
| Bluetooth | Yes 5.2 v | Yes 5.0 v |
| Multi-Device Connection | No | No |
| Connection | Wireless | Wireless |
| Range | 10 m | 10 m |
Conclusion!
Realme Buds Air 2 are around 5 times cheaper than AirPods Pro. However, they are there for anyone who wants good Bluetooth headphones with active noise canceling and quite decent battery life. In addition, iPhone users will only be delighted by the presence of the realme Link application, as well as its optimization.
The Melomania 1+ are perfect headphones. The sound quality and the application allowing you to modify the graphic equalizer to adapt the sound to your liking. Many tips are provided, which provides optimal comfort by choosing the perfect tips for your ears.
Finally, Melomania 1+ shines with their excellent battery life with their 45 hours in total, which ranks them among the best TWS Bluetooth headphones in terms of battery life!
