Focal Bathys Over Ear HiFi Bluetooth Wireless Headphones with Active Noise Cancelation (Black Stealth)

Great sounding bluetooth heaphones!
Quick background – I’ve been looking for higher-end bluetooth headphones for a long time. I’ve been through Drop Pandas, Sony XM4, Sony XM5, Bose QC 35, Sony XM4 earbuds, Apple AirPods Pro 1 and 2, AirPods Max, Focal Elegia with dongle DAC, and a few more along the way. I’ve been happy with many, but they never seem to last.I think there are 2 ways to look at the Bathys – top down (coming from high-end cans like Radiance and Celestee) or bottom up (consumer bluetooth headphones like Sony XM5, AirPods Max, etc). From the top, they aren’t necessarily up to the wired standard (but they’re not supposed to be). They’re not far off, but wired cans with a nice DAC (an additional expense) WILL sound better. There are just realities with bluetooth headphones and they will always be hamstrung compared to their wired counterparts. They do have the advantage of ANC, wireless, and those cool flashy lights on the side, tho.From the bottom up, I think they make a great case for their price. Yes, I can buy both the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro 2 for the price of these Bathys, but the sound quality is better than both combined. It’s just that simple. Great sounding audio, comfortable, and DAC mode to get them into the ballpark of the wired cans. At the $800 asking price, they start making sense.Focal state that they need around 50-100hrs of burn-in to sound their best. Wether you’re a burn-in believer or not, I DO believe they’re gotten better over the past 3 days of almost non-stop listening. I can’t wait to see where we are in another couple of days. Also, there has been a definite improvement in comfort, as well.I really enjoyed the Drop Pandas (after using the Sound ID app to customize the EQ) but, like so many others, the battery charge issues took them out of the running. Recently, I picked up a pair of AirPods Max. They sound very good (maybe a little mids-recessed) but I have issues with the comfort. To get a good seal, I have to push them forward on my head and that pushes them up against my ears. I can’t wear them for more than an hour or so. I keep falling back to my AirPods Pro 2.The Bathys definitely take it up a notch. They don’t have the Apple amenities (spacial audio, fast switching between devices, killer ANC and pass-through), but they make up for all of that with their sound quality and EQ. In short, they sound spectacular, can handle some EQ customization, and are very comfortable.Instead of trying to review these (as many others have already hit all the major points), I’ll answer a could quick questions that I couldn’t find answers to and then leave a recommendation -1. Can you plug them into an iPhone using the DAC mode? Yes – you can connect them with a lightning to USB adapter (I used a cheap $10) and they’ll play just fine – BUT – you loose your EQ and the app. So, you get a very clean yet uninspired neutral(ish) sound. If you’re using an app with an EQ (like Spotify), then you’re golden. If not (Apple Music), then I feel like it’s a poor trade. I love how the bluetooth sounds (even with AAC) and the EQ is the icing on the cake. I’ll stick with wireless or the Creative BT-W4 AptX dongle (see below).2. If using an iPhone, you can assign the assistant button to Siri or Bixby. I’ve only seen this feature connected to Alexa or Google.3. Soundstage is good, certainly on par with my Elegia connected to the Hidizs DAC. As a matter of fact, these are what I wanted the Elegia to be – wireless, far-better than the rest sound quality and EQ to customize. My Elegia and DAC are up for sale.4. Yes, there is more plastic on board than you might want for $800, but let’s be plain – the durability of the headphones are not in question. They are well made, case closed. I don’t slight Focal at all for cutting a few corners (and weight) with a few plastic parts and cheap cables. These headphones are consumable – they are bluetooth and battery powered so I give them about 2 years before replacement. They’re just NOT going to last long enough for the build to become a problem. In 2 years, they’ll give them to my wife and I’ll invest in the next pair.5. When I connected mine to the phone for the first time, I was immediately greeted with a firmware update. I think this is a great sign. There are functions that I’d like to see implemented or changed and this gives me a small bit of hope that these will improve greatly a little down the road. A 10-band eq for more granular control is the top of my list.6. Are they worth $800? No, not really. I’d have felt a lot better at the $600 price point. BUT, consider inflation, rising costs, the R&D that went in, and the leap in sound quality over other offerings. Given all these, I’ll give them the $200 and call it good (which I would have easily spent on a decent DAC for a wired headphone).7 – What if I want higher encoding rates with Aptx? – Get the Creative BT-W4. This small dongle will connect with AptX Adaptive and sounds basically the same as wired while keeping your eq preferences and access to the app. You can use the Apple to USB adapter for a phone or the USB C (it comes with a USB A adapter in the box) for a laptop. The highs are clearer and bass is stronger yet tighter. For general listening, I’ll use the regular bluetooth and for my quiet “listening time,” I’ll plug in the dongle. It’s just as good as wired with the amenities. Well worth the $50.Compared to AirPods Max – If you already have the AirPod Pro 2, then I’d take these any day. I enjoyed the sound quality of the Max, but you get 90% of those headphones for $250 with better battery life and far more portability in the Pro 2. If you don’t already have them, I think this should probably be most people’s first stop in portable audio.Compared to Sony XM5 – I love the XM5 for its bass and basic EQ. But, these have a ton more soundstage, separation, better frequency response, and the DAC mode. It’s in a different class. If those things matter, you’re going to spend the money. If they don’t, you’ll love the XM5.Recommendations (TL;DR) – Buy the AirPods Pro 2 first. You can’t beat the ANC, transparency, quality, and portability. You get all the benefits of the Apple ecosystem for $250. THEN, add the Bathys if you still yearn for the natural and smooth sound that puts a Focal headphone in a completely different class.If you’re still stuck on the $800, start with he AirPods Max. They’re excellent.If you’re stuck on the $800 and an android user, get the Sony XM5 (but start with the XM4 earbuds for the portability). They’re durable, sound good, and very comfortable. No point in paying the Apple tax if you’re not going to use all the features.Lastly, on the topic of AAC – I think this is the real bottleneck of the system. I listen to a lot of classical and AAC absolutely chokes in heavy orchestration and complexity. The BT-W4 connected with AptX Adaptive solves this problem in spades. Verdi’s Dies Irae (Requiem) or Mars from The Planets both have very loud passages with massive layers and they come across clear and authoritative with the BT-W4. It’s a stunning sound to hear when sitting in the Chick-fil-A having breakfast! Strongly recommended as your first accessory.

Amazing!
Like some other people have said, listening to these is like lifting a veil on music. Sound quality is phenomenal. Bass is good. Mids and vocals are fantastic. After running the hearing test in the app, things sounded even better. EQ settings are sufficient. Then, I tried the wired DAC mode, and wow I was blown away at the presence and clarity on some better recorded songs. I have not had discomfort with the headband like some people have had. The headphones are very comfortable. The earcups are soft and comfortable. The hardware buttons on the right cup need improvement. They could have done more to make it easier to distinguish between the buttons when relying on sense of touch. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the buttons apart. Also, these headphones reveal a lot of detail in each song. So much so that some songs don’t sound great. Thats the tradeoff with such a precise piece of technology. The Bathys are totally worth the price though. If you are on the fence as to whether or not to buy them, do it. I think you will be happy. Totally recommend!

No tengo la menor duda que son los audífonos que mejor suenan, incluso mejores que mis B&O H6 que siempre fueron mi referencia.El único contra es que si se siente su peso y largas horas te pueden llegar a cansar.Peeero no hay dudas buscas el mejor sonido para un audiófilo que también quiere cancelación de ruido estos son los mejores para ti

Non pensavo che un paio di cuffie Bluetooth potessero suonare così bene.Possiedo diverse cuffie cablate, ognuna con le proprie peculiarità, da modelli chiusi come le mie Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, a quelli aperti come il mio top di gamma Sennheiser HD-800s.Ovviamente, paragonare le Bathys alle mie cuffie cablate di fascia alta (e non) non sarebbe del tutto corretto, date le differenze di tecnologia e destinazione d’uso, poiché le cuffie cablate, specialmente quelle di fascia alta, possono beneficiare di amplificatori e DAC esterni di alta qualità, mentre le Bluetooth si affidano alla loro elettronica interna.Ma posso affermare che nel panorama Bluetooth, le Focal Bathys si sono rivelate di gran lunga superiori alle mie Sony WH-1000XM3. Anzi, non c’è paragone: le Bathys sono di un altro pianeta.Il suono è dolce e allo stesso tempo preciso. Il basso è molto presente ma mai impastato o invadente, i medi sono perfetti, esaltando voci e strumenti con naturalezza. Gli alti, seppur leggermente metallici, non disturbano l’armonia generale e contribuiscono a un’esperienza d’ascolto coinvolgente.Tengo a precisare che queste sono le mie impressioni dopo circa 3-4 ore di ascolto. È probabile che le prestazioni delle Bathys migliorino ulteriormente con un rodaggio più prolungato.Inoltre, la mia percezione delle alte frequenze potrebbe essere leggermente influenzata dalla mia età, quindi vi invito a considerare queste mie osservazioni come soggettive.Per essere una cuffia chiusa, le Bathys offrono un palcoscenico sonoro (soundstage) sorprendentemente ampio, e proprio l’ampiezza del soundstage è una delle piacevoli sorprese che queste cuffie riservano.L’altra grande sorpresa è l’app dedicata. Di per sé non offre funzionalità rivoluzionarie, ma include un’utilissima funzione che esegue un test dell’udito personalizzato.Questa funzione è fantastica per chi, come me, con l’avanzare dell’età, ha inevitabilmente perso un po’ di sensibilità uditiva.Il test adatta l’equalizzazione delle cuffie al mio specifico profilo uditivo, compensando eventuali deficit.In buona sostanza, è come tornare a sentire bene!Grazie a questa funzione, posso finalmente godere di nuovo della musica in tutta la sua pienezza, ed è un’esperienza davvero spettacolare.Le Bathys offrono anche la possibilità di un collegamento USB a PC/Mac o telefono, permettendo di sfruttare la loro capacità di riprodurre audio ad alta risoluzione fino a 24 bit/192kHz.Ho notato che anche con file audio a 16 bit / 44,1 kHz (qualità CD), la connessione cablata offre una qualità audio generalmente superiore. Tuttavia, è innegabile che il punto di forza delle Bathys sia la comodità del wireless, ed è proprio in questo ambito che eccellono.Se proprio devo trovare una nota negativa, forse sono i pad. Sebbene confortevoli, ho notato che i pad tendono a scaldare leggermente l’orecchio dopo un uso prolungato, il che potrebbe renderle meno adatte a lunghe sessioni di ascolto durante i mesi estivi.Ottima vestibilità, buona presa dell’archetto, non stringe eccessivamente, ma quel tanto per tenerle ben salde sulla testa.Per l’isolamento acustico, devo dire che le Sony XM3 vincono ma non di molto, per un uso casalingo potrei affermare che quasi si equivalgono.Ho fatto diverse prove con diversi player, Audirvana e Roon, e con diversi generi musicali, e le Bathys si sono comportate sempre bene.