Focal Bathys Hi-Fi Bluetooth & ANC Headphones: Early Impressions
Sep 12, 2023 at 6:45 AM Post #1,306 of 1,840
I would definitely take the Sony's over the Bathys for gym use due to the weight and ANC as well as caring much less about breaking them. My problem is that I find it hard switching between them as the Sonys sound so poor in comparison. The difference is massive in my view.
I just wouldnt
AudioQuest Carbon USB-C Cable Review

Hi there all of you guys who - like me - won’t stop thinking that there could be more to squeeze out of the Bathys. I reached out to AudioQuest and they did send me an example of their 0.75 meter Carbon USB-C to USB-C cable in exchange for an honest review (using the cable with my Bathys and my MacBook Pro as well as my Samsung Galaxy s10e).

For starters I’d like to tell you which EQ I am using:

+1.5db/62Hz
+2db/250Hz
+5.5db/1kHz
+6db/4kHz
+5.5db/16kHz

Does anyone know the logic of USB-C cables altering sound from a technical standpoint?
I don't know much about it but I do know you can send visual signals by USB-C. If there were inferior USB-C cables then surely you could hook up two TVs, one with the lesser cable will look different because presumably it is altering the digital signal somehow (how I'm not sure). Has anyone done this? Seems like a surefire way to end the debate as you can take a photograph and show either the cable does something or nothing at all.
 
Sep 12, 2023 at 8:34 AM Post #1,307 of 1,840
Does anyone know the logic of USB-C cables altering sound from a technical standpoint?
I don't know much about it but I do know you can send visual signals by USB-C. If there were inferior USB-C cables then surely you could hook up two TVs, one with the lesser cable will look different because presumably it is altering the digital signal somehow (how I'm not sure). Has anyone done this? Seems like a surefire way to end the debate as you can take a photograph and show either the cable does something or nothing at all.
Asfaik there shouldn‘t be a difference. It’s paradox and I am aware of that my assumptions are slippery. But I hear a difference …
 
Sep 12, 2023 at 2:01 PM Post #1,308 of 1,840
I just wouldnt


Does anyone know the logic of USB-C cables altering sound from a technical standpoint?
I don't know much about it but I do know you can send visual signals by USB-C. If there were inferior USB-C cables then surely you could hook up two TVs, one with the lesser cable will look different because presumably it is altering the digital signal somehow (how I'm not sure). Has anyone done this? Seems like a surefire way to end the debate as you can take a photograph and show either the cable does something or nothing at all.
Signal integrity is rise-time and clean edges. When hi-fi news measured USB cables they found that some no-name cables are borderline spec on rise time, while the good usb cables had a rise time that was more than twice as good as spec. Reputable brands like belkin are also well within spec, even though they are not as good on risetime as say an Audioquest forrest. Rise time is basically signal integrity and bad signal integrity can cause the receiver to work harder.

Noise over the cable is the other main factor, some picked up from arial and some transmitted from the source. This noise can have a severe impact on the receiving end, especially if the receiving end is not galvanically isolated as USB has ground connector.

Hi-fi news generally measure large amounts of jitter from noisy sources on DACs with moderate or bad isolation. The level of jitter is massively reduced when using clean sources. The better the isolation on the receiving end, the less impact the source and cable will have. Optimal isolation would be to have the transceiver fully electrically isolated and shielded from the rest of the DAC. In those cases the source and cable's impact is significantly reduced.

Another issue is if the receiving end is using power from the transmitter as there is always a bit of voltage drop over longer USB cables, especially if there is significant power draw. Good quality cables generally have low drop, but quite few no-name cables lose a few decimals on 2m runs.
 
Sep 12, 2023 at 3:09 PM Post #1,310 of 1,840
I’m not sure

the mind is a funny thing especially with sound. Our brains can convince us of things that we want to be true.
Sound I've found is far more malleable to emotions and thoughts than vision. Probably because vision is so vital for survival, accuracy is important, whereas you can still have variability in sound and very clearly understand the difference between a hyena yelp and a human voice. It makes sense, at least to me, that humans are more subject to biases and psychological affects with sound. Note I'm note saying this chap is wrong about the cable. I haven't tried it, nor do I know much about signal propagation in cables or indeed how signal are encoded in an electric signal, so I can't comment.
 
Sep 12, 2023 at 3:48 PM Post #1,312 of 1,840
Headphone differences are easy to distinguish. Going from a solid state to tube amp easy also. Pads can make a tremendous difference. Cables and amps within the same class are much harder to determine with a definitive answer. But the dialog here can be fun.
 
Sep 12, 2023 at 11:57 PM Post #1,313 of 1,840
Does anyone know the logic of USB-C cables altering sound from a technical standpoint?
As mentioned earlier, there shouldn't be any significant differences. There may be some build quality differences which is more about durability. For USB cables, it's about the data throughput, ie how much data can it move. That has the potential to have a difference, but audio, in general, is not a heavy data information, especially compared to something like video

The quirky part of the Bathys is that they have to be on to use the 3.5mm port. I don't think you can circumvent the DAC using the 3.5mm. I like they include the 3.5mm because it makes they more robust. It would have been nice to have the option to use 3.5mm without powering the headphones. Maybe the next version
 
Sep 13, 2023 at 4:41 AM Post #1,314 of 1,840
Sep 13, 2023 at 10:28 AM Post #1,315 of 1,840
Just used the Bathys on a 3 hour flight. ANC was good. No issues when the aircraft had applied full thrust during Takeoff (the Bose struggles with this in the past). But this was on a A320 Neo and the 737 NG are older and louder. Will report an update if I do get the same issues on a louder aircraft.

Clarity was very good through 3.5mm input. I know it goes a step above when using in DAC mode.
 
Sep 13, 2023 at 11:35 PM Post #1,316 of 1,840
Can't find any information on the new update. I guess it works fine, time will show👻
I saw this on two other sites but neither had a link to the original source:

Version 1.54 (August 2023):

Improved audio quality
Added an improved transparent listening mode
Fixed a bug that could cause instability when using the Sidetone feature

Since updating I've noticed that my unit plays louder when used with my TV. That isn't really covered by any of the above bullet points but but it's much appreciated. Has anyone noticed a change in volume (or anything else)?
 
Sep 13, 2023 at 11:46 PM Post #1,317 of 1,840
I saw this on two other sites but neither had a link to the original source:

Version 1.54 (August 2023):

Improved audio quality
Added an improved transparent listening mode
Fixed a bug that could cause instability when using the Sidetone feature

Since updating I've noticed that my unit plays louder when used with my TV. That isn't really covered by any of the above bullet points but but it's much appreciated. Has anyone noticed a change in volume (or anything else)?
I haven't noticed a gain in volume from any of my devices, but I definitely think I heard an improvement in the transparency mode.

Anyway, according to the Headphones.com thread about the new Bathys Dune colorway, another firmware update is coming soon:

Screenshot 2023-09-13 at 11.42.37 PM.png
 
Sep 14, 2023 at 11:45 PM Post #1,320 of 1,840
I picked up a 1.5m carbon C-C cable used for a good price for this purpose. Good length and as pliable as a usb cable can be.


AudioQuest Carbon USB-C Cable Review

Hi there all of you guys who - like me - won’t stop thinking that there could be more to squeeze out of the Bathys. I reached out to AudioQuest and they did send me an example of their 0.75 meter Carbon USB-C to USB-C cable in exchange for an honest review (using the cable with my Bathys and my MacBook Pro as well as my Samsung Galaxy s10e).

For starters I’d like to tell you which EQ I am using:

+1.5db/62Hz
+2db/250Hz
+5.5db/1kHz
+6db/4kHz
+5.5db/16kHz

I do use another one when using the Bathys wireless though … https://www.head-fi.org/threads/foc...arly-impressions.965153/page-63#post-17495082

I always heard differences between USB-C to lightning cables (I hat two different ones back then for my iPhone), and they did sound shockingly different! That’s why I thought maybe I could hear a difference between different USB-C to USB-C cables, too. In addition there are differences to be heard when switching from a mobile phone to the MacBook Pro. There shouldn’t be a difference. It´s all 1s and 0s, right? Well, I don’t believe that any more ...

Anyways, let’s start with my findings when listening to the AudioQuest Carbon in comparison to the original Focal USB-C cable:

Overall I would say that I hear some kind of consolidation. The music seems to be a bit more present, tangible. It doesn’t have a different presentation (like the Wireworld I will speak of later on). BUT as the background appears to be blacker when listening to the Carbon, the music might be more palpable. It certainly isn’t a night-and-day-difference though.

Beginning with the bass I’m inclined to say the Carbon has a tiny bit more oomph than the original cable. I, for one, like its bass presentation very much and wouldn’t want to change anything.

The highs are, compared to the Focal cable, a bit softer. I have to admit: That’s something that surprised me a bit. Not that the Caron sounds worse in this department, it´s just a bit more cautious. This also means: One could drive the Bathys a bit louder than previously, which in consequence favours the bass/mids … which isn’t a bad thing per se if one prefers headphones that don’t have too much energy in the upper frequency range. On the other hand: If one prefers a more „airy“ sound, you might want to stick to the original cable.

But what about the mids? Well, here lies the true charm of the Carbon, at least for me. Because this cable favours voices above all! Which again, might not be what you are searching for when listening to a lot of classical music and instrumental albums where you might want a bigger stage and air. BUT if you are one that favours voices, then you might want to check out this cable. It presents them very beautifully!

Since I did review the Wireworld Starlight 8 a few months back - you can find my findings here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/foc...er-ear-headphone.965131/page-84#post-17653679
- Of course I’d also like to compare those two upgrade cables:

Alright, the Wireworld has a bigger stage. It sounds grander. But it comes with a cost. Where the information of the left and right signals pan very „left“ and very „right“, there also seems to be some kind of lack in between. At least when compared to the Carbon.

The Carbon has more information in the center stage, and it „renders“ (if one could use that word in a USB cable review) the information very true to the source. The WireWorld cable sounds a tiny bit, just really a tiny bit more woolly, just because the stage is that big in comparison to the stage of the Carbon. And to be honest, I am not sure which sound I really prefer. Of course orchestral music benefits from having „space“. But when listening to a jazz singer I might want to hear the voices as clear as possible. I guess it comes down to your taste. Both cables are similarly priced. Pick your poison :wink:

The downsides?

1. One word: Price. (About 200 Euros). Of course this is a lot.
2. It doesn’t sound THAT much different when comparing it to the original Focal cable. It "just" makes it a bit more "better" sounding. (The WireWorld cable did indeed sound different)
3. The length is either 0.75 meters or 1.5 meters. I chose the first, shorter length because I want to put my smartphone into my left front pocket. It is the perfect length for this carrying version. 1.5 meters would have been to long, even if I would put my mobile phone into my back pocket. Also please don’t forget number 1 (price!)
4. Compared to the Starlight 8 cable from Wireworld it doesn’t „flash“ any importance. It is, well, black. It is slightly thicker than the original cable, which is a very good thing in my opinion. Also it bends very nicely, is pliable (although not as pliable as the original cable) and also doesn’t have so much microphonics than the WireWorld. But if you are looking for an upgrade cable that also has a bling bling factor, this isn’t it. But I think that most of you guys don’t want/need that anyways because the Bathys itself has enough „importance“ in its looks itself.

BTW: This is the link to the official AudioQuest/Carbon website:
https://www.audioquest.com/cables/digital-cables/usb-c-to-usb-c/carbon

To be true: The Batys sound fantastic with the bluetooth connection. Of course there is a jump to be heard when connecting it with a USB-C cable to the mobile phone (it sounds better to me when connected to an android phone compared to the iPhone with the Camera Kit). And there is another small jump when connecting the Bathys to the Laptop/MacBook Pro. And there is another (this time even smaller) jump when connecting the Bathys with an upgrade USB-C cable to the chosen source, at least to me, where the diminishing return kicks in. BUT the biggest jump (in overall sound quality and transparency and balanced tuning) you will get when applying my suggested EQ (for USB connection) at the beginning of this review. Have fun listening to the Bathys! :)

And here, at last, some pics:

1_A1274EBA-B412-4126-A3D3-758280027E50-12173-00004F85FFEA5719.JPG2_2E7541DD-0621-410F-96C7-B48C54832D9B-12173-00004F85FC2AD4EA.JPG3_03A39046-986B-47E8-BC62-B01EC2D0F029-12173-00004F86036BD541.JPG4_6F615CED-1FE9-49FF-B131-F9B9604F3C46-12173-00004F85F7EA18C7.JPG5_278D9323-E7CB-4690-98E3-36B12042660B-12173-00004F85F44557FD.JPG
 

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