I posted these reflections a couple weeks ago on another forum. Perhaps they might also be useful to someone on this forum!
Definitely worth auditioning if you can.
I’ve had the Bathys for a week now. Prior to purchasing them, I had concerns that the noise cancelling might be disappointing, especially compared to the XM4. After going back and forth about whether I preferred them to the B&W PX8, I finally caved and bought the Bathys the day before a work trip to Palm Springs. In that time, I’ve gotten to try them while walking the loud streets of midtown NYC, on the subway, in a taxi, on the bus, and on a plane. While far from class-leading, the ANC is more than adequate. The only setting in which I really noticed any external noise was while flying, but the amount of external noise I could hear didn’t detract from my enjoyment of my music at all. I still found myself deeply immersed in and engrossed by my music, just as engaged as I’d be if I were sitting at my desk (except for the occasional times I’d doze off because my flights were so early
).
To be fair, part of my satisfaction with the level of noise cancelling on the Bathys is that I’ve just been conditioned to hearing some external noise while using open-backed headphones. And, to be clear, the amount of external noise you can hear while listening to the Bathys on an airplane
isn’t remotely close to that of an open-backed headphone. I’m not suggesting that. All I’m saying is that I’ve gotten used to listening to music without the sense of a dome of silence that the XM4 is able to create, if that makes sense.
I’ve previously commented on the sound, but here are some additional thoughts. I’ve listened to the headphones maybe 50 hours at this point, and the signature punch and slam you expect from a pair of Focal headphones is definitely present. I was talking to another headfi forum member about this, but there’s something special about the tactile feeling of the sound produced by Focal drivers, even at totally reasonable volumes. I have a list of 100 test tracks, and I try to listen to portions of as many of these as possible when I get to demo a pair of headphones. Some notable examples:
“Shed Your Head” by Blake Mills–A great track for evaluating how headphones handle reverb. I love this track on the Bathys. Lots of slam from the drums, but nothing boomy. The sub-bass is polite on the Bathys. Although everything sounds very clean and clear, I could do with a slight bit more sub-bass. But that lack of sub-bass emphasis didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the song. I’m not sure what instrument it is, but there’s some kind of shaker that plays throughout the song. On my desktop setup (Atrium and WA-5 LE/DAC varies), each instrument, including the shaker, is super detailed and well-defined. I had not heard this instrument on my Airpods Pro. On the PX8, I found that instrument buried in the mix and the details hard to pick out. While the Bathys isn’t as detailed as the Atrium, it’s maybe 70% of the way there, which isn’t bad at all for a bluetooth headphone. That kind of performance on the go is excellent in my opinion.
“Aquemini” by OutKast–The rare rap track that’s awesome for testing soundstage. With the caveat that I’ve not listened to this track on the Susvara or the HD800s or the Arya, but the way the soundstage on this track is rendered on the Atrium is deliriously entertaining. The Bathys can’t capture the magic of the Atrium on that score, but they cost a fraction of the cost of what you need to spend in order to listen to the Atrium. The separation and detail is quite good on the Bathys. The imaging is just less specific.
“In the Second Before” by Mary Halvorson–A raucous bit of avant garde jazz that I think can make even excellent headphones sound congested. (Skip to 3:20 to the end for an example of what I’m talking about.) Again, I think the Bathys’ separation is quite good. The punch and slam of the Focal drivers makes this a fun and engaging listen as well. In the swirl of crunchy guitars, screeching trumpet, and frantic pounding on the kick drum, there are a smattering of crashing cymbals. If the Bathys come up a bit short anywhere on this tracks, it’s in treble extension. The cymbals don’t sound bad, but they aren’t as well extended as they are on my desktop setup. But again, that’s not a fair comparison–almost $11k setup vs. $800 bluetooth headphones. If they were the same, then the Buy/Sale category would be flooded with all my other gear!
“Footprints” by Miles Davis–less raucous jazz, but every bit as lively. Now the Bathys’ reproduction of the cymbals in this track is much more on point. Very detailed, well-extended. The Halvorson track was admittedly an especially dense track, and the more open arrangement by Miles Davis’ second quintet really allows the Bathys to shine. I dig this.
“anthems” by Charli XCX–Yes, some audiophiles like Charli XCX and her brand of power pop–thank you, very much. But seriously, I like to test headphones with this track because there’s so much energy that on a very resolving headphone this track can be super fatiguing. I’ve listened to “anthems” several times on the Bathys, and I’ve found the track to be amply dynamic and never fatiguing, even after hours of listening to other tracks.
“Sidelines” by Niia & Jazmine Sullivan–I listen to a lot of female vocalists, and this song features two female vocalists I especially like. I’ve chosen this song–where the focus is on female vocals and strings–as a test track because it helps reveal a listener’s preferred sound signature in the midrange. The song sounds great on the Bathys, but I do miss a touch of warmth. The timbre of the strings and Niia and Jazmine’s voices sound natural to me. But I want the lush and natural mids of the Atrium. That said, I’ve never heard a portable headphone that presented this song with a sound profile that so closely approximated my preferences. I have my quibbles, but I’m beyond happy with this.
“Nyakinyua Rise” by Jlin–This sort of track might be an acquired taste, so I feel compelled to begin not with the headphones this time, but with a brief review of the music. The variety of percussive sounds Jlin produces epitomizes what I love most about electronic music. At every turn the music ushers the listener to the cusp of something grand. At times, it steers the listener to the edge of the jungle. Other times, it heaves the listener into the center of a Roman gladiatorial arena. Still other times, it lugs the listener into some random New Jersey Club. If these feats weren’t accomplished with such aplomb, they might give the listener a severe case of whiplash. Instead, the listener comes away feeling full of life. I feel full of life, especially when listening to this song on the Bathys. The separation is excellent. Again, the imaging isn’t the same as the Atrium, but I actually think it matters less for the way this track is mastered. The Bathys really excels here.
“Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind & Fire–Oh yeah, the Bathys knocks this out of the park too. That tactile quality I mentioned above is readily discernible on this track. In a prior post, I described the PX8 as more “fun” sounding. That’s not quite right. What I meant was that the PX8 sounded meatier and more full. I still think that’s true, but Bathys captures the full energy of this track. The Bathys really excels here too.
“Serenade for Winds. K. 361. 3rd Movement” (Mozart) performed by Sir Neville Marriner and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields–I think the Bathys’ tuning is excellent for classical music. In terms of technicalities, I just have two quibbles. First, everything just sounds much bigger on the Atrium, especially wind instruments. Second, the separation is excellent, but it’s much better than the imaging. These really are quibbles, but taken together they both make for a comparatively less exciting listen. Key word here is “comparatively.” I still really enjoyed this track on the Bathys. And while I didn’t get to listen to it on the PX8, given the increased pressure in the ear cups due to the stronger ANC in that set, I suspect that I’d like this track less on the PX8.
“La cumbia me está llamando” by Nubya Garcia–Nubya Garcia is an excellent saxophonists, and I love this take on cumbia. Once again, the punchiness of the Bathys steals the show here. Timbre sounds natural as well. This is a track where once you hear the details, it’s hard to listen on Airpods or whatever because it’s a track that places so much emphasis on the texture of the human voice floating within this soundscape that’s peppered with a plethora of percussive instruments. I love this on the Atrium. I love it on the Bathys. Never has this song sounded so good away from my desk. Another “A” for the Bathys.
One more!
“Can’t Let Go” by Lucinda Williams–some have complained about that the Focal drivers sometimes have metallic sounding timbre. Maybe because the Bathys is less resolving than the Clear and the Utopia, I don’t sense that at all here. The timbre feels quite natural to me on this track. And again for such a busy song, the Bathys’ separation really shines. The imaging is quite good as well. The stage isn’t huge, but it’s also not as in your head as it is on the Celestee, for instance. In terms of frequency response, which I’ve mostly neglected to talk about above, I’ve not attempted to EQ these at all because I’m satisfied with the stock tuning so far. While the tuning is more V-shaped than, say, the Clear, I actually think the tuning is quite well-balanced. Again, as I said above, I actually think the sub bass is quite polite in places, but I didn’t find myself wanting more bass overall. I did, on some tracks, find myself wanting more emphasis in the midrange. All that said, just as it feels unfair to compare these to the Atrium, it also feels unfair to compare them to the Airpod Pro Max or XM4 or QC45 because the gap in quality is astounding. Listening to the XM4s (which I’ve EQ’d in the app to tame the bass quite a bit) is a challenging listen after the Bathys. To use a word I used in one of my earlier posts in this thread, the Bathys just sounds more “correct.”
The Bathys are also gorgeous and eye-catching. In a sea of bluetooth ANC headphones by huge manufacturers, the Bathys stands out. And occasionally someone would ask me which headphones I was wearing.
I’m not a professional headphone reviewer (that much is clear!), but if there’s one compliment I can pay to the Bathys that I hope might leave an impression on those looking to make a purchase, it’s this–before owning the Bathys, I would use my Airpods Pro or my Sony XM4s during my commute, and when I’d get settled in the office or at home, I’d promptly take them off and start listening to my ZMFs on my desktop setup. But now, every day when I get home, I have no immediate desire to switch headphones. I enjoy listening to
everything on these headphones. In addition to being beautiful and sounding great, they are super comfortable and convenient. I started getting deeper into this hobby in February 2021. Had I purchased the Bathys as my first set of headphones to upgrade from my beloved Audeze EL-8 Open, I may very well not have purchased any of my ZMFs or any amps or DACs. Would I be missing out on top-tier sound? Yes, absolutely. (Everything is so subjective in this hobby, some may still say I’m missing out on top-tier sound!) Would I have saved a lot of money? Debatable, because surely I’d have found some other hobby to spend the money on. But for anyone looking to get into the world of hifi audio but disinclined to drop the kind of dough that many of us on this thread have spent on gear, the Focal Bathys would be my first recommendation.
