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Video: Testing Focal's High-End $800 Bathys Over-Ear Headphones

ISignedUpToAskThis said:
I own a set of Bathys currently, and have previously had APMs.

My main thoughts...

- APMs have better build quality
- APMs have noticeably better ANC and transparency mode
- Bathys sound MARGINALLY better overall, I'd say 10-15% better than APMs
- APMs have slightly stronger bass
- Bathys much better mids and highs
- Similar soundstage
- APMs have better mic for phone calls
- Bathys much better battery life
- Bathys have an actual on/off switch
- Bathys much better connectivity with 3.5mm Jack, USB-C with DAC mode for higher bitrate listening (although I rarely use this)
- APMs a bit more comfortable, I find my ears get hotter with the Bathys
- I found the Bathys had a more stable Bluetooth connection to my Apple devices than the APMs, weirdly


Overall, Bathys are a bit better but if you're buying new they aren't worth $300 more. I actually think I prefer the APMs.
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Thank you for the comparison.
 
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dogface1956 said:
Source for these blind listening tests. Since the drivers, electronics, materials and shape of the headphones all affect the sound quality I think that is a major over generalization. If you where talking about cables I agree with you, but any device especially speakers and headphones is not going to sound the same, even if you compare $400 models they are going to sound different.
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I listen to classical music only, is Bathys good for that?
 
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I own the Focal Bathys, and I've owned B&W and Sony noise-canceling headphones (my wife has Bose, but I dislike the sound quality of those). The Bathys are excellent. Not as good as the wired Focal headphones that I use at home, but perfectly fine for flights and such.
 
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ChrisA said:
Do you know what audio professionals use? These are the people who record and mix sound for a living. They make the stuff we listen to. None of then use $500 headphones. Those are for gullible consumers with too much cash.

The #1 industry standard headphone for recording in the TV and motion picture industry is this:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MDR7506--sony-mdr-7506-closed-back-professional-headphones

You also see these used for mixing, as they are best used in a quiet environment. They are not good for musicians or vocalists because they can bleed sound into a nearby microphone. So they are more specialized than the above, making them perhaps the #2 most used over the last 50 or so years
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/K240mk2--akg-k240-mkii-semi-open-pro-studio-headphones

If you buy either of the above, you will hear what the studio engineer heard. There are others that some people use but no one goes for these expensive consumer headphones as most of these alter the sound and are not accurate. Consumers like exaggerated bass and sometime also exaggerated highs.

If you are at home in a quiet environment the K240 Mk I, are only $80 and are nearly the best in the world although they leak sound and people around you might hear it. The reason for the low price is that open back headphones are "easy" to make correctly. The engineering is greatly simplified by not having to deal with compressing the air inside the cans.
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So? Why do I care about headphones for quiet environments if I am reading this review? Noise-canceling headphones are designed to cancel ambient noise. They work really well on flights. That is a primary use case.
 
dasmb said:
So I'm a big head-fi guy. I've owned high end options from Audeze, Audio-Technica, Hifiman, Grado, B&W, B&O, Oppo & SONY. I prefer closed back phones for listening privately.

Principally, I am interested in audio quality mixed with excellent build quality and comfort. So it may be interesting to know that when the Airpods Max hit the scene, I sold all of my other headphones (except for one pair of electrostatics). Reason was simple: they sounded as good as or better than everything else except the Audeze, they had a very low noise floor meaning I could listen to details at a safer volume (and while moving) and heavy as they were, they were much less cumbersome than the Audeze or most of the other high end wired headphones, which tend to have ludicrous cables and require finicky dongles.

Finally, the connectivity was awfully good. It's not quite magic (and in the early days of the firmware it could be downright bad, with the headphones dropping signal or needing to be reset many times per day), but light years better than every pure bluetooth options I tried.

Over time, the fact that my only option is compressed music has been a bit of a downer, and I do miss the fuller dynamic range and higher resolution of the Audeze. I am very much the intended market for a high end ANC headphone -- but I don't know if I'll be able to buy anything that doesn't have at least as good ANC as the Airpods Max and that included the transparency mode, which on the Max is almost magic compared to the competition. Hearing that the Focal do transparency well is a big plus.

I'm not sure if I will audition these or not. I like the idea of a decent onboard DAC and good transparency, but you can see in this review how bad the performance of the app is, which has me concerned for the experience of switching from wireless to wired modes. These are also rather inexpensive for a Focal headphone, which has me worried that they may have outsourced the build or cheaper out on the drivers.
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I knew you were serious when you said you audition them…
 
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Ion-X said:
I always have to ask with these products whether the perceived acoustic difference boils down to expectations set by the price point. In a blind listening test, listeners generally cannot distinguish between $400 respected brand wired headphones and $8000 luxury brand wired headphones.
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No it is not "expectations set by the price point".
Anyone who can't tell the difference should not buy such products to begin with.

Focal has been around for over 40 years solely focused on high-fidelity sonics for recording studios and high end audio. Their products are priceless both for professionals and for those who "can" hear the "difference".

Personally I wouldn't buy this product Bathys, AirPods Max nor any "high end audio product" that delivers via BT as BT is the "weak link".

Nonetheless, Focal is a solid and a well regarded company in the field of acoustics.
 
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Matthew.H said:
Until wireless headphones at these prices get the option of easily replaceable batteries there not worth the price.
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I agree. I’d also add a way to secure them. Someone could steal these and have no issues reconnecting to new devices. For devices at this price point, I want an Apple secure way to prevent/discourage someone was stealing.
 
You guys really know your stuff. I've learned more in this thread than searching Google.
How is the Sony WH-1000XM4 when compared to others?
 
dasmb said:
So I'm a big head-fi guy. I've owned high end options from Audeze, Audio-Technica, Hifiman, Grado, B&W, B&O, Oppo & SONY. I prefer closed back phones for listening privately.
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Great post. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
 
ritmomundo said:
For front-page worthy product "comparisons" like this, where they're loosely related to Apple products, MacRumors should really specify within the article or the review video if it was sponsored or not because I want to know if I'm getting unbiased information.
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IMO sponsored has nothing to do with it, you either trust MR reviews or you don't.
 
Focal is one of the most prominent makers of studio monitors worldwide. I don't know about their consumer products but they are seen pretty often in the pro environment.
 
I would want to compare these to the Mark Levinson No. 5909 wireless Bluetooth headphones that retails for $999 USD.
 
dasmb said:
So I'm a big head-fi guy. I've owned high end options from Audeze, Audio-Technica, Hifiman, Grado, B&W, B&O, Oppo & SONY. I prefer closed back phones for listening privately.

Principally, I am interested in audio quality mixed with excellent build quality and comfort. So it may be interesting to know that when the Airpods Max hit the scene, I sold all of my other headphones (except for one pair of electrostatics). Reason was simple: they sounded as good as or better than everything else except the Audeze, they had a very low noise floor meaning I could listen to details at a safer volume (and while moving) and heavy as they were, they were much less cumbersome than the Audeze or most of the other high end wired headphones, which tend to have ludicrous cables and require finicky dongles.

Finally, the connectivity was awfully good. It's not quite magic (and in the early days of the firmware it could be downright bad, with the headphones dropping signal or needing to be reset many times per day), but light years better than every pure bluetooth options I tried.

Over time, the fact that my only option is compressed music has been a bit of a downer, and I do miss the fuller dynamic range and higher resolution of the Audeze. I am very much the intended market for a high end ANC headphone -- but I don't know if I'll be able to buy anything that doesn't have at least as good ANC as the Airpods Max and that included the transparency mode, which on the Max is almost magic compared to the competition. Hearing that the Focal do transparency well is a big plus.

I'm not sure if I will audition these or not. I like the idea of a decent onboard DAC and good transparency, but you can see in this review how bad the performance of the app is, which has me concerned for the experience of switching from wireless to wired modes. These are also rather inexpensive for a Focal headphone, which has me worried that they may have outsourced the build or cheaper out on the drivers.
Click to expand...
Well I have only 3 over-ear phones: Airpods Max, wired oppo PM-2 and wired Bowers & Wilkins.

And for testing I have used "Early Morning Rain" Ian & Sylvias version.....just for you Canadian readers and in remembrance of Gordon Lightfoot:)

The best sound by a long way are the oppos. The most convenient...Airpod Max.

​

 
Worked my way though various headphones from Sony, Bose, Grado, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Oppo, custom fitted Ultimate Ears, AirPods Max, etc. Most were wired. Finally stopped the search with Focal Stellia (wired) which is listed on a few top 10 "price is not limited" lists. As you move up the $ chain the improvements are incremental, not linear, so it generally isn't cost effective at some point, maybe around $500 or so, to pay that much more. In spite of that I am amazed with these closed back, wired headphones, I hear new things in tracks that I have listened to 100's of times, such as a very faint "one, two, three" far in the back of the room as another instrument section is getting ready to fire up.

Highly recommend Focal.
 
drumcat said:
Too bad?

What exactly were you looking for? It's a brilliant codec.
Click to expand...

The Focal Bathys supports:
- SBC
- AAC
- aptX
- aptX adaptive

So if you have an iPhone, you are paying $800 for a headphone which you cannot even use to it's full capabilities thanks to greedy Apple.
 
I don't get what this has to do with Apple or Macrumors? They're just a pair of headphones...Are all headphones going to suddenly start showing up on here?
 
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