[nicolas7]

I come back to the headphones game after many years and I'd like to buy a new closed back headphone. I'm wondering if Focal's Bathys can remplace a classic headphone with a Mojo 2? I don't care about wireless, and just a little about noise reduction... I'm just looking for the best sound.
I love the sound of my HD25 for example (I would love to find an improved version). I like it sharp, nervous, detailed, textured, 3D sound, ... I'm not necessarily looking for the biggest soundstage, I like intimate, immersive sound. I was also thinking about Celestee from Focal, which apparently share some points I'm looking for, but not sure at all. I appreciated a lot Beyerdynamic's T5P (1st version), years ago so I'm open to different sound signature too...

My second question: which closed back headphones do you think match the best with Chord's Mojo 2 (any kind of sound signature), what's your experience?

 

[Brandfuchs]

I'm thinking the same thing as you do! I'm in search of a pair of over-ear headphones for office use, and especially, a closed-back models (after all, the sound leakage from open-back headphones is the thing that should definitely be avoided). From what I can tell, both the Radiance and Celestee from Focal are good choices, they can be easily driven by the Mojo 2. But I think there's a concern for you if you're swapping from the HD25 to the Focals', Focal's tuning directions are quite different from the Senheis, they don't inclined towards classical music imo, if you prefer the classical performance of the HD25, you may not necessarily enjoy the classical performance on Focals as much.

 

[yrstruly]

In terms of sound quality, the Bathys are not going to match what you can get from a Radiance or Celestee-level of closed back when powered from Mojo 2. Let's just say for argument's sake you get roughly 70% of the sound quality - some people are fine with that trade off given the added convenience/portability with the Bathys being wireless. Plus, if you're listening whilst outdoors and commuting you might not notice some of that sound quality gap as much as it's not a close listening environment. Your best bet as ever is to try and demo each option if you can.

FWIW, the Celestee tuning isn't that far off the HD25 one - both fairly neutral with strong mid bass, with the HD25 (the OG version anyway) being more peaky in treble.

And Mojo 2 sounds fantastic with tonnes of closed backs - wouldn't sweat much about compatibility in that regard. Plus it has 4 band EQ if you need. And it'll have enough power to drive truly portable closed backs.

 

[Dragonmilenario]

All the BT ANC headphones have a lot of sound issues, even the best ones like the Bathys, Solitaire T, Dali IO-12, or Mark Levinson. There are a lot of compromises, and if you don’t need wireless, it’s nonsensical to opt for this kind of headphones. Instead, get a good wired closed-back, connect them to the Mojo 2 and enjoy that’s my recommendation.

 

[nicolas7]

I just discovered the Solitaire T and I thinks it's very interesting on the paper , it looks like a finished product (unlike some wireless...) with an hi end sound (excellent DAC + amp, excellent ANC when needed, comfortable, ...) I like the idea of the Mojo but I'm a bit afraid of the bulk (3 objects to take care at the same time: phone, Mojo, headphone). I would mainly listen to the Solitaire T wired in USB-C. I also like the fact that it can be used in passive mode too (unlike Bathys). I mean, a Mojo 2 + headphones is as expensive. Did someone had the chance to listen to it? Is it on par (or better) with a T5P / Celeste / Radiance, etc... with a Mojo 2?