My fave affordable headphones have hit their lowest price ever – and even their next-gen successors can’t top this value

I've always been a big fan of the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 – in fact, I use them every day. One of the big things that drew me to them was their superb value – and right now they're an even bigger bargain, as they've dropped to their lowest price ever. You can grab them from Amazon UK for just £149 (was £199).

The Melomania P100 are also on sale in the US, and while the discount isn't quite as good it's still at lowest price we've even seen: you can currently buy the Melomania P100 from Amazon US for $239 (was $279).

This also means these cans are now significantly cheaper than many of the best wireless headphones – including their successors, the Melomania P100 SE, which have a substantial list price of $299 / £249. And given that they update only a few minor issues of their more affordable brethren, this discount really does represent enormous value.

Today's best Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 deals

I'm more familiar with the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 than almost any other set of headphones on the market. That's because I've not just experienced them during our rigorous testing process – I've actually been using them as my go-to headphones on a daily basis for most of the year so far. And given I listen to about eight hours of music a day, that's a whole lotta hands-on experience.

There are many reasons they're one of my favorite pairs of cans. As you can see from our Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review, they've got astounding battery life, lasting up to an absurd 100 hours. They've also got unwaveringly faithful sound – while you won't get the thumping, super-warm sub of some rivals, they are incredibly precise for a pair of mid-market headphones, exhibiting the kind of even-handed sound profile Cambridge Audio is known for.

Yes, they have fewer bells and whistles than some of the best noise cancelling headphones. Noise cancelling merely hushes sound, rather than truly banishing it like with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra II. And there's no fancy features like Spatial Audio here. But on the flip side, they're such a dependable pair of everyday cans that I always make sure I have them on me and, for $239 / £149, it's pretty easy to justify picking up a pair for the sake of having 'phones to hand you know you can rely on.

Not only that but I actively think this offers you a better bargain than their upgraded version, the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE. This next-gen upgrade mostly builds on the substantial strengths of the original, while its tweaks – for example, offering a mode to boost bass at lower volumes – sometimes contradict what made the originals so special. And with this huge $40 / £50 discount, I'm genuinely questioning whether the SE is the better deal here.

If you're hungry for more bargain headphones, make sure you check out our guide to the best cheap headphones. More of an earbuds person? Then take a look at our best earbuds roundup instead.