I was able to test the Bathys at a local hifi store (Eglantier Hifi, Belgium) and compare with multiple other headphones. On Bluetooth (Android, AptX) and 3.5mm (Sony WM1Z). After thorough listening, I purchased them. Below some in-store and home impressions and comparisons. Warning: long. Tldr: Bathys are my new best headphones! Get them.
Focal Bathys: looks good, feels good. Swivel mechanism is damped, materials are classy. You see and feel the price. The cables are very basic. Sound (both Bluetooth and 3.5mm) - very good first impression. Clean, detailed without any sibilance, fun bass with sub bass rumble without it being muddy, overbearing or bleeding into the midrange. Mids provide some soundstage and texture in vocals, the first Bluetooth headphone I’ve ever heard capable of doing without sounding “digitally EQ’d”. I haven‘d had previous experience with Focal, but I really like their tuning. On 3.5mm I need to push the volume to 75 on my WM1Z (normal headphones: 40-50). Noise canceling is effective for low frequency and background noises, but voices go straight through. Transparency is like wearing no headphones at all - there is a slight audible hiss in this mode, also on the “soft” mode. No hiss in the “silent” mode. Daft Punk, Doja Cat, Fleetwood Mac, Camila Cabello, Michelle, Coldplay, K/DA…all sounded great. I really like the light-up logo and the DAC mode, on which the sound quality improves slightly but noticeably to me. It works great on my computer and iPad Pro (gaming!!) and also my Sony NW ZX507 (which has usb c as opposed to the wm port of my WM1Z). Comfort is great, even with prescription glasses.
Somy XM4: my daily driver, so nice I bought it twice (beige and white limited edition). I’m a big Sony fan, got the first MDR-1000X all the way to the XM4. I didn’t like the XM5. Overall, I like the Sony house tuning on their headphones and DAPs. The Bluetooth and noise canceling features are more advanced. LDAC is a plus, but honestly I think there is some placebo effect working: if I disregarded what codec was active: AAC, AptX and LDAC all sounded the same. LDAC may be slightly better? But I don’t know if that’s tuning or actually a real effect of the data rate.
Compared to the Bathys, they sound very digital. Boomy and muddy bass and boosted treble, artificial mids. The Bathys ruin the XM4s for me, they are still comfortable and pretty though. I’ll likely still bring these for travel, as they are very common and probably less attention-grabbing. Noise canceling is still better.
B&W PX8: I think these look even prettier than the Bathys, slightly more comfortable but the pads are sweatier for me. Sounded like an upgraded Sony XM4 to me. I miss the Bathys’ sparkle and mid range. There is mid to low treble detail (vocals, cymbals) that’s simply missing in the PX8, to my ears.
Focal Celestee: beautiful set. Sounds almost exactly like the Bathys. Logical because of the similar drivers. Considering the price and added functionally, I think the Bathys is a better deal.
Hifiman Ananda: amazingly comfortable, open. Sounded amazing. The BT version is expensive. But really liked the sound. It is very big though.
Sennheiser HD595: my first audiophile headphones. Oldies but goodies. These actually sound very similar to the Focal headphones, including the Bathys. This is probably a big reason why I like the Bathys: it’s a sound tuning I’m used to and like. Comfort is still next level with those old school velour pads.
Sennheiser Momentum 1: another classic. I almost forgot how small the ear cups are. Somehow these sound more…digital than the Focal Bathys? I think it’s because of the narrow soundstage and slight v-shape tuning. But I still love them.
Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless: recently scored it on a steep discount. Got it in white, it’s very pretty. Folds in, very handy, but the case is comically bad. It clamps a bit too hard, painful with glasses, but otherwise stylish and comfortable. Sound has an even more pronounced V shape, but on the “high end” eq (which calms down the bloaty bass) it sounds good. Noticeable hiss. Wonky controls and connectivity, I’ll probably return these.
Massdrop TH-X00: so far, my best headphones. I really hate the tangly long braided cable, but the sound is amazing. Compared to the Bathys, there is a bit more detail in mids and treble. This makes them also a bit more fatiguing to me. I‘ve always thought the soundstage on these is a bit weird.
Focal Clear MG: this is clearly in a higher category, a cut above. It looks and feels like a luxury watch. It’s open, and the sound is amazing. Transparent, punchy. It’s a whole new experience. I was tempted to get this, but the price, open nature (and therefore travel incompatibility) and lack of noise canceling made me decide against it. The Clear MG will be a future goal for me.
All in all, after testing everything and considering all other over ear headphones I have (Sennheiser HD595, Momentum 1 and 3, the Massdrop TH X00, all the Sony XMs,..) - the Focal Bathys are a unique product from Focal that combine a lot of features in a great product at, all things considering, a very competitive price. It’s basically a noise canceling, wireless Bluetooth Celestee that is cheaper than the latter. Overall, they are the best over ear headphones I have. I’m extremely happy with mine!
