[jayanta2009]

Dear Friends,

I recently acquired the Focal Bathys (the new dune color) headphones and was eager to experience their acclaimed audio quality firsthand. Upon unboxing and connecting them to my iPhone via Bluetooth, I encountered an unexpected issue: the sound was only emitted from the left speaker, leaving the right side silent. Even after updating the firmware through the Naim Focal app, the problem persisted.

Hoping to resolve the issue, I connected the headphones to my Mac in DAC mode using a USB-C cable, only to find the right speaker still unresponsive. Following the support team's advice, I adjusted the MIDI settings on my Mac, which resulted in a faint sound from the left speaker but none from the right.

Ultimately, Sam from the support team provided a return label for me to send back the defective unit. Despite my efforts, including a factory reset, the issue remained unresolved.

I'm reaching out to see if any of you have experienced similar issues with this model and if you've found a solution. It's disheartening, especially given the high expectations set by glowing reviews from trusted sources like @Resolve.

On a positive note, the customer service at headphones.com was commendable; they've arranged to send a replacement unit immediately. Nonetheless, the initial excitement of exploring my new gadget was dampened by this experience. I'm curious to hear if anyone else has faced this and how it was handled.

Thank you all for your insights and advice.

 

[HannaLevy]

I had a similar problem with my Focal Bathys headphones. For me, the sound was also reproduced only from the left speaker, and the right one was silent. I tried to solve the problem by updating the firmware and settings on the computer, but to no avail. In the end, I also had to contact support and they also offered a replacement.

 

[jayanta2009]

Thank you so much for replying to my thread. Good to know that I’m not the only one received a dead unit. I wonder about the quality control from Focal. My replacement unit is coming tomorrow, hope this will be good

 

[scottq2000]

Dear Friends,

I recently acquired the Focal Bathys (the new dune color) headphones and was eager to experience their acclaimed audio quality firsthand. Upon unboxing and connecting them to my iPhone via Bluetooth, I encountered an unexpected issue: the sound was only emitted from the left speaker, leaving the right side silent. Even after updating the firmware through the Naim Focal app, the problem persisted.

Hoping to resolve the issue, I connected the headphones to my Mac in DAC mode using a USB-C cable, only to find the right speaker still unresponsive. Following the support team's advice, I adjusted the MIDI settings on my Mac, which resulted in a faint sound from the left speaker but none from the right.

Ultimately, Sam from the support team provided a return label for me to send back the defective unit. Despite my efforts, including a factory reset, the issue remained unresolved.

I'm reaching out to see if any of you have experienced similar issues with this model and if you've found a solution. It's disheartening, especially given the high expectations set by glowing reviews from trusted sources like @Resolve.

On a positive note, the customer service at headphones.com was commendable; they've arranged to send a replacement unit immediately. Nonetheless, the initial excitement of exploring my new gadget was dampened by this experience. I'm curious to hear if anyone else has faced this and how it was handled.

Thank you all for your insights and advice.

Hi, I bought the Focal Bathys in June 2023, while I was in Yodobashi Camera in Osaka, Japan. They were working great up until March, 2024. I dont use them often, and hadn't used them for maybe a month. Suddenly on turning on there was no sound out of the left speaker. I tried everything thing just like you did. Including resetting, firmware upgrade etc. I am frustrated as they were good headphones. I live in Dubai and when I contacted Focal, they said to contact the Seller. Contacted the seller in Japan via email (wrote to them in English and Japanese) and never heard back from them. Contacted the Japanese distributor who told me I need to take them into the Seller. Not great as I wont be in Japan for probably another Year and maybe no warranty by then. I feel I just wasted a whole bunch of money as only got probably 40 hours use out of them. Now on top of all that I can't find my receipt of purchase, not that it seems it will be of use anyway. I am prepared to pay for them to be fixed/serviced but can't even find where to take them or post them to for a repair. So frustrating to be honest....I really did enjoy the sound, much better than the AirPods Max, and especially open up when at the computer using the USBC connection. I think maybe there is a build issue, or a serious firmware issue that is causing one of the speakers to fail in your case and in my case. If you have any suggestions about how to get them repaired, I would be very grateful. Thanks for reading

 

[buidoimiennui]

Hi, I bought the Focal Bathys in June 2023, while I was in Yodobashi Camera in Osaka, Japan. They were working great up until March, 2024. I dont use them often, and hadn't used them for maybe a month. Suddenly on turning on there was no sound out of the left speaker. I tried everything thing just like you did. Including resetting, firmware upgrade etc. I am frustrated as they were good headphones. I live in Dubai and when I contacted Focal, they said to contact the Seller. Contacted the seller in Japan via email (wrote to them in English and Japanese) and never heard back from them. Contacted the Japanese distributor who told me I need to take them into the Seller. Not great as I wont be in Japan for probably another Year and maybe no warranty by then. I feel I just wasted a whole bunch of money as only got probably 40 hours use out of them. Now on top of all that I can't find my receipt of purchase, not that it seems it will be of use anyway. I am prepared to pay for them to be fixed/serviced but can't even find where to take them or post them to for a repair. So frustrating to be honest....I really did enjoy the sound, much better than the AirPods Max, and especially open up when at the computer using the USBC connection. I think maybe there is a build issue, or a serious firmware issue that is causing one of the speakers to fail in your case and in my case. If you have any suggestions about how to get them repaired, I would be very grateful. Thanks for reading

First, you need to dissembly the parts. Please access the driver. Check if the driver is still alive by applying a small current of 1-2volts connected to the driver for about 1 second. If the driver makes a small noise, it means it is alive. But if they don't make a sound, it means it's dead. If it still makes sound, the problem is probably with the circuit board. At this point, the most optimal solution would be to remove the control chip and throw it away. Connect the wires from the driver straight to the 3.5 port.