[theque]

Tried the Bathys today at the shop.
Very comfortable, Bluetooth sounds good (they were new pair, straight out of the box).
BUT, when I connected them to my S22 ultra via USB the DAC just didn't work.
The S22 indicated that It went to charging mode.
Tried to look for USB definitions, even in developer mode but nothing helped...
Anyone has an idea how to solve this?
(Of course the Bathys were in DAC mode)

I am using my Stock Samsung S22 Ultra with the Bathys via USB DAC right now. I did not have to make any changes. My phone is a S22 Ultra (unlocked, non carrier branded) from Samsung directly.

 

[Daryun1]

That so weird....and disappointing , I don't have a clue why it's not working.
I think that Without DAC the 5909's have a clear advantage over the Bathys.

 

[KjellinMusic]

My S22 Ultra/Bathys works fine with Tidal Hi res. Both DAC and BT.

 

[Womaz]

Hi guys, I don’t want to hijack this thread but my own thread asking for advice is not getting a lot of response.

Looking to replace my Sony XM2. I think I have narrowed it down to Bathys or PX8, however strongly considering the Airpods Max now too as I will use them exclusively with my IPhone and Tidal.

Is there a big step up in performance from the Airpods Max? as I can obtain second had APM quite easily.

I guess I do like a bit of extra bass when on the move. Things like call quality not important to me, so will be used almost exclusively for listening to music.

Also heard the Bathys do not go that loud?

 

[thomaskyhn]

Hi guys, I don’t want to hijack this thread but my own thread asking for advice is not getting a lot of response.

Looking to replace my Sony XM2. I think I have narrowed it down to Bathys or PX8, however strongly considering the Airpods Max now too as I will use them exclusively with my IPhone and Tidal.

Is there a big step up in performance from the Airpods Max? as I can obtain second had APM quite easily.

I guess I do like a bit of extra bass when on the move. Things like call quality not important to me, so will be used almost exclusively for listening to music.

Also heard the Bathys do not go that loud?

For me, the Bathys are definitely loud enough. I recommend that you try them before you buying. Had I tried them, I wouldn't have bought them (brief summary from the first day here + addition here).

 

[rael67]

Hi guys, I don’t want to hijack this thread but my own thread asking for advice is not getting a lot of response.

Looking to replace my Sony XM2. I think I have narrowed it down to Bathys or PX8, however strongly considering the Airpods Max now too as I will use them exclusively with my IPhone and Tidal.

Is there a big step up in performance from the Airpods Max? as I can obtain second had APM quite easily.

I guess I do like a bit of extra bass when on the move. Things like call quality not important to me, so will be used almost exclusively for listening to music.

Also heard the Bathys do not go that loud?

I will receive my Bathys next week and will then compare them with the Airpods Max.

 

[PeteMtl]

So I've had Bathys all day, and spent a good 3+ hrs listening. It's been great fun.

I decided to sit down and compare it thoroughly to the Bowers & Wilkins P9, mainly to decide if I'm going to order PX8, and also because I'm planning on doing a video review of Bathys. A user here did mention the PX8 is reminiscent of the P9 in many ways, as it's name suggests, so I thought this may be useful for people considering both to get an idea of B&W vs Focal. Comparisons are split by genre. I usually listen to a minute at least of each track on the headphones back to back, comparing particular details and overall presentation.

Vocals

Radio - Lana del rey

Vocal is much fuller and more detailed on P9, more pleasant, more forward, instrumentals take a back seat and complement the main portions. Beat has moore oomph due to the magnitude of bass.

On Bathys details pop forwards more. The instrumental parts are more defined, however it is at the expense of the vocals which feel smaller, less detailed and present.

Warrior Aurora

Again, auroras vocal is fuller and more impressive on the P9, it has a real wow effect. it’s nice and clear on Bathys, and enjoyable, but it doesn’t have that fullness.

The Bathys impresses with a sense of clarity, the P9 with sheer force and body.

I’ll be honest, for vocals alone, the P9 is in another league. It is a more impressive and powerful performance.

Electronic
Grimes - various tracks

Electronic music full of beats and exciting effects.
The Bathys, due to the way it renders instrumentals adds energy and sharpness to electronic music which is impressive. It has more ‘energy’ than the P9 which at times sounds a little weaker in comparison, lacking the sharpness and definition that makes electronic music really pop.
At points I’d say the Bathys is rendering this type of music much better. I notice aspects of songs that really drift too far into the background on P9, while on Bathys they are fully present and adding to the song as they should.

The P9 is still a great listen here, but I’d give a firm nod to Bathys.

Chemical Bros - Catch me im falling

Details sound more seperated and defined on Bathys, beautiful seperation.

some effects on the bathys sound a tad harsh but on P9 they are not as harsh, especially the horns. P9 feels more cohesive, and I preferred how it dealt with this track overall.

Lorn - Anvil

Details sound exquisite on the Bathys on this track, they have a sharp edge to them that demands attention. Everything feels nicely balanced

P9 - Some details are more filled out, but they have softer edges.

Bassier sound overall, again, feels more impressive and ‘big’ overall. Vocal sections have more body.

Could go either way here.

Classic Rock

Led Zeppelin/Greta Van Fleet


The seperation on Bathys again lends more space to each instrument, it’s much easier to perceive them separately and pick them out in the stage. This is very nicely done.

The Les Paul has a bit more body to it on the p9, but a bit more grunt on the Bathys. Both really nice presentations.

Once again vocals sound slightly distant and lacking on Bathys in comparison. This is less pronounced with rock though compared to the vocal heavy songs mentioned earlier, due to the overall band having more presence in the mix.


Classical

Bach Cello Suites

Bathys shows the power of it’s superior instrument separation here. The air it lends instruments, the space, is more compelling than what the P9 can do. Because the latter emphasises low frequency regions a tad too much it sounds a bit busy, and doesn’t give the Cello the space it needs.

Both still deliver a wonderful performance, but the Bathys I think is a more sophisticated listen here.

Debussy - Claire De Lune

Not a great performance here from Bathys. On one level the air it gives the strings gives a lovely separation and space from the piano. But the strings sound harsh at moments, noticeably so.

The P9 doesn’t achieve the same level of separation of the strings and piano. However, the notes have more body, and it never enters a harshness that the Bathys does, making it a much more agreeable listen. I think this is largely due to the superior timbre of the P9 which can make or break classical.

Overall

I think overall the P9 is a better headphone, it has more impressive moments. It delivers vocals with more body, detail and better timbre. It also reproduces natural instruments with ease, and lacks the harshness Bathys conveys at points when presenting strings.

On the flipside, the performance of Bathys for electronic music cannot be understated. The seperation and definition it brings to effects really shines, and if you’re a lover of EDM, high energy music, DJ sets, I’d say Bathys are an absolute win.

When listening to Rock, the two blur a little and give a fairly similar performance.

I think this is a very impressive performance from Bathys, given its additional capabilities over the P9 in aforementioned areas. However if the PX8 can match or come close to the P9, then Bathys is looking less like a clear buy to me, as the P9 is overall a better headphone in my opinion. Yet this is genre dependent, audio I've found is very rarely clear cut. Given the artists and genres you like it could go either way. Nonetheless this comparison has inspired me to place an order for PX8, so a proper comparison will come then...

I suspect that all the pluses and minuses you have experienced with the Bathys compared to the P9, especially the less impressive mids / voices, has to do with that 700hz-1khz dip in measurements compared to the Harman curve. If you can correct that dip with some chirurgical EQing, I’m sure you would have a more positive view on the Bathys compared to the P9. It is my assumption but I could be wrong too.

 

[polymathic]

Hi guys, I don’t want to hijack this thread but my own thread asking for advice is not getting a lot of response.

Looking to replace my Sony XM2. I think I have narrowed it down to Bathys or PX8, however strongly considering the Airpods Max now too as I will use them exclusively with my IPhone and Tidal.

Is there a big step up in performance from the Airpods Max? as I can obtain second had APM quite easily.

I guess I do like a bit of extra bass when on the move. Things like call quality not important to me, so will be used almost exclusively for listening to music.

Also heard the Bathys do not go that loud?

The Bathys are plenty loud, and the sound has more clarity and resolution than the APM. But the APM's ANC is in a different league, and they also will sound much better than the XM2. APMs have better Transparency and microphones for calls. If you can get a pair of APMs for $350 or less used (that's how much I am selling mine, seems about right), coming from XM2 you will be very happy and save a lot of money. I really liked my APMs once tuned using a third-party audiogram app.

 

[rael67]

@polymathic: How did you compare the Bathys with the APM, both in stereo mode? I‘m asking this, because I like the dolby atmos versions of many songs very much (for example Moving Pictures from Rush). They sound great with the APM. And I have some 5.1 albums from Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree, that sound also very very good with the APM (using the Infuse App). So I would like to know, how the Bathys compare against APM in Spatial Audio mode.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Tried the Bathys today at the shop.
Very comfortable, Bluetooth sounds good (they were new pair, straight out of the box).
BUT, when I connected them to my S22 ultra via USB the DAC just didn't work.
The S22 indicated that It went to charging mode.
Tried to look for USB definitions, even in developer mode but nothing helped...
Anyone has an idea how to solve this?
(Of course the Bathys were in DAC mode)

Unfortunately you need an otg usb adapter from your Samsung to bathys. As the phone don’t seem to understand that it has to output audio signal via usb…..

 

[polymathic]

@polymathic: How did you compare the Bathys with the APM, both in stereo mode? I‘m asking this, because I like the dolby atmos versions of many songs very much (for example Moving Pictures from Rush). They sound great with the APM. And I have some 5.1 albums from Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree, that sound also very very good with the APM (using the Infuse App). So I would like to know, how the Bathys compare against APM in Spatial Audio mode.

I have mixed feelings about spacial mode for music, and I keep it turned off. Only use it for movies or podcasts.

 

[Daryun1]

Unfortunately you need an otg usb adapter from your Samsung to bathys. As the phone don’t seem to understand that it has to output audio signal via usb…..

So I need a USB C to USB C OTG?
I can't seem to find anything like this online. Also looked at Amazon. They only have USC C to USB A (or to lightning)
Can you share a link to the OTG you suggested?

 

[Benny030]

Anyone tried the Bathys with Jazz music?

 

[redmonddad]

Well, I couldn't resist and bought the Focal Bathys from headphones.com (which surprised me by showing up next day rather than 2 days...and I ordered it after the supposed ordering cutoff for that day; I'm not sure if "Diversified Distributing" is Focal's or headphones.com's distribution center, but it turns out they are just 20 miles south of me).

Out of the box, the headphones did not sound very good. In particular, it was quite shallow in the mid-range. To compensate, I used EQ settings (from low to high frequency) of 0, 0, +1.5, +2.5, +3.5dB (essentially Jude's "Treble up" EQ settings from the beginning of this thread plus a bump up of the 1kHz channel). With that setting, I thought the Bathys sounded OK.

However, letting them burn in overnight really opened them up (note that Focal's online documentation, in the "Optimization" tip, recommends 40-70 hours). It's only been 8 hrs so far, but at this point I'm pretty happy with Jude's "Treble up" setting. I don't have a Celeste to compare with, but I do have the Focal Clear MG and Focal Stellia. Of those two, the Bathys leans more toward the profile of the Stellia in the level of detail and separation I hear. Please don't misunderstand...I am in no way claiming that these are essentially a wireless Stellia. The Stellia is orders of magnitude better than the Bathys, but I do put them on that continuum (which makes sense given that they are both closed headphones).

From a usability standpoint, I find these to be extremely comfortable to wear. I do not notice any discomfort or hot spots from the headband at all and the clamping force is in my comfort range. I do find that my ears get a little warm, but not anymore than any other closed back headphones. The weight is negligible and the Bathys just disappears as I enjoy the music. Control-wise, there's a lot going on, but the most essential controls (ANC button isolated on the left cup and volume/pairing on the right cup) are easily accessed. I would really appreciate a way to access the EQ setting when using Bluetooth on a laptop though (it's currently only accessible via the Focal/NAIM app on iOS and Android). I do find it difficult to connect the USB-C cable and 3.5mm cables while wearing the headphones and find it best to remove the headphones to do so.

I'm really enjoying these, but I'm not sure if these will be my go-to travel headphones. I have a pair of Sony WH-1000MX4, which are much lighter, more compact , and have better ANC. I also have the Apple Airpod Max, which also has better ANC (and better Transparancy mode) than the Bathys and extremely good ergonomics. The spatial audio on the Apple APM also makes it a better headphone for watching video. Overall, I'd describe the Bathys ANC as controlled rather than isolating; and the Transparency mode as a bit tinny or artificial compared to the Apple APM but superior to the Sony's Ambient sound mode. That said, even with the partial burn-in, I strongly prefer the sound quality of the Bathys over my other two travel options. I'm about to take a trip and plan to try the Bathys under real-world travel conditions.

Just got back from my trip and trying out the Bathys under real-world travel conditions. As I kind of expected, the ANC did not perform as well as my other two travel headphones (Sony MX4 and Apple APM) but they did well enough to make them suitable for use on an airplane. Just don’t expect cone-of-silence levels of isolation. Sound quality was the best of my three travel options and made listening to music and environmental sounds a relaxing and immersive experience. From a comfort standpoint, the Bathys was very comfortable in terms of weight, clamping force, and tactile feel on the ear. However, I give the Apple APM a bit of an edge in terms of how cool they kept my ears (I’d rank them, from cool to hot, as: Apple APM, Bathys, Sony MX4). I also miss the ergonomics of the Apple APM, with the exception that the Bathys are much more compact in my carryon bag. I think that the Bathys will be my default travel headphones, with the Sony MX4 still getting some time if I need to pack lighter (note that the way the MX5 folds, I don't think it would earn that standing). The Apple APM will still be my default for watching video/TV if I’m using an Apple device.

 

[redmonddad]

For those looking for an all-in-one USB-C to Lightning cable for use with the Focal Bathys and the on-board DAC, I just verified today that this cable from "Meenova" on Amazon works for me: https://amzn.to/3TSY8sp

That said, the Meenova OTG cable does not fold that compactly, so it might actually be more travel friendly to carry the DDHifi TC-28i and the original cables. OTOH, going without cables completely is even more travel friendly