Bathys High-Fidelity Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones - Dune

For a pair of Bluetooth closed-backs, these are absolutely impressive. I'd describe them as warm but still audiophile friendly, bass is great and accurate which, while not as surgical as say that of BA drivers, is still quite controlled, textured, and has good oomph. Resolution is spectacular, it's certainly better than I expected. Highs are not harsh, rather decently sparkly and give life to the music, while the bass and mids give it body. Tuning is pretty relaxed and the soundstage is respectable given they're closed-backs, and oddly enough, depending on how their placed on the head (moved forward or back), the soundstage changes considerably (likely because of the angle of the drivers). They sound better on DAC mode (thought not by a crazy amount), and the provided USB-C cable has a really good "grip" in the ports, which I like. I found the best genres to listen to on them are those with full-bodied songs with some slow atmospheric bass and female vocals, e.g. Nordic folk, viking, darkwave, and such sound absolutely amazing on them. But very fast and very complex songs like certain subgenres of metal don't blow me away on them, I think speed isn't their strong suit, though normal pop kind of speed is totally fine on them. ANC is okay, I don't really have much experience with ANC but I've tried much better headphones for that, so of note is that there's a light ANC mode and a transparent mode, though there isn't an off mode. I imagine the engineers realized it's difficult to tune drivers in a way that sounds as best as it could both with and without ANC, so they tuned it with ANC assumed on and didn't provide an off option. App is good enough, though the customized sound made them sound less pleasant to me so I didn't enable it. App also has an EQ and logo light control (bright, dim, off), but I like their Focal tonality out of the box. They're pretty comfortable, not too heavy, with a good battery life. I also really like the case, it's quite portable, more than you'd expect knowing how thick the pads are (which I also really like). Build appears pretty solid and the headphones are very comfy, I wore them the majority of the time in the past few days. Nothing majorly bad to say about them really. If you're looking for the best of both worlds, the closed-back audiophile one (resolution, control, tonality, soundstage, etc) and the convenience one (Bluetooth, ANC, lightweight, etc) then you'll get a perfect balance with the Bathys. They won't blow your mind if you're coming from anything high-end, especially couple kilobuck+ IEMs, but they will definitely scratch that itch of just wanting something convenient without being bombarded by faults you can't unhear. There are some design flaws in terms of convenience/utility, but as I said, it's a balance. E.g. No passive mode, no LDAC or aptx HD, jack implementation isn't great, volume increments are pretty large, etc. But I stand by my main message: Bluetooth + audiophile grade? There's hardly a better pair, not without going much more expensive.

Quick background - I've been looking for higher-end bluetooth headphones for a long time. I've been through Drop Pandas, Sony XM4, Sony XM5, Bose QC 35, Sony XM4 earbuds, Apple AirPods Pro 1 and 2, AirPods Max, Focal Elegia with dongle DAC, and a few more along the way. I've been happy with many, but they never seem to last. I think there are 2 ways to look at the Bathys - top down (coming from high-end cans like Radiance and Celestee) or bottom up (consumer bluetooth headphones like Sony XM5, AirPods Max, etc). From the top, they aren't necessarily up to the wired standard (but they're not supposed to be). They're not far off, but wired cans with a nice DAC (an additional expense) WILL sound better. There are just realities with bluetooth headphones and they will always be hamstrung compared to their wired counterparts. They do have the advantage of ANC, wireless, and those cool flashy lights on the side, tho. From the bottom up, I think they make a great case for their price. Yes, I can buy both the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro 2 for the price of these Bathys, but the sound quality is better than both combined. It's just that simple. Great sounding audio, comfortable, and DAC mode to get them into the ballpark of the wired cans. At the $800 asking price, they start making sense. Focal state that they need around 50-100hrs of burn-in to sound their best. Wether you're a burn-in believer or not, I DO believe they're gotten better over the past 3 days of almost non-stop listening. I can't wait to see where we are in another couple of days. Also, there has been a definite improvement in comfort, as well. I really enjoyed the Drop Pandas (after using the Sound ID app to customize the EQ) but, like so many others, the battery charge issues took them out of the running. Recently, I picked up a pair of AirPods Max. They sound very good (maybe a little mids-recessed) but I have issues with the comfort. To get a good seal, I have to push them forward on my head and that pushes them up against my ears. I can't wear them for more than an hour or so. I keep falling back to my AirPods Pro 2. The Bathys definitely take it up a notch. They don't have the Apple amenities (spacial audio, fast switching between devices, killer ANC and pass-through), but they make up for all of that with their sound quality and EQ. In short, they sound spectacular, can handle some EQ customization, and are very comfortable. Instead of trying to review these (as many others have already hit all the major points), I'll answer a could quick questions that I couldn't find answers to and then leave a recommendation - 1. Can you plug them into an iPhone using the DAC mode? Yes - you can connect them with a lightning to USB adapter (I used a cheap $10) and they'll play just fine - BUT - you loose your EQ and the app. So, you get a very clean yet uninspired neutral(ish) sound. If you're using an app with an EQ (like Spotify), then you're golden. If not (Apple Music), then I feel like it's a poor trade. I love how the bluetooth sounds (even with AAC) and the EQ is the icing on the cake. I'll stick with wireless or the Creative BT-W4 AptX dongle (see below). 2. If using an iPhone, you can assign the assistant button to Siri or Bixby. I've only seen this feature connected to Alexa or Google. 3. Soundstage is good, certainly on par with my Elegia connected to the Hidizs DAC. As a matter of fact, these are what I wanted the Elegia to be - wireless, far-better than the rest sound quality and EQ to customize. My Elegia and DAC are up for sale. 4. Yes, there is more plastic on board than you might want for $800, but let's be plain - the durability of the headphones are not in question. They are well made, case closed. I don't slight Focal at all for cutting a few corners (and weight) with a few plastic parts and cheap cables. These headphones are consumable - they are bluetooth and battery powered so I give them about 2 years before replacement. They're just NOT going to last long enough for the build to become a problem. In 2 years, they'll give them to my wife and I'll invest in the next pair. 5. When I connected mine to the phone for the first time, I was immediately greeted with a firmware update. I think this is a great sign. There are functions that I'd like to see implemented or changed and this gives me a small bit of hope that these will improve greatly a little down the road. A 10-band eq for more granular control is the top of my list. 6. Are they worth $800? No, not really. I'd have felt a lot better at the $600 price point. BUT, consider inflation, rising costs, the R&D that went in, and the leap in sound quality over other offerings. Given all these, I'll give them the $200 and call it good (which I would have easily spent on a decent DAC for a wired headphone). 7 - What if I want higher encoding rates with Aptx? - Get the Creative BT-W4. This small dongle will connect with AptX Adaptive and sounds basically the same as wired while keeping your eq preferences and access to the app. You can use the Apple to USB adapter for a phone or the USB C (it comes with a USB A adapter in the box) for a laptop. The highs are clearer and bass is stronger yet tighter. For general listening, I'll use the regular bluetooth and for my quiet "listening time," I'll plug in the dongle. It's just as good as wired with the amenities. Well worth the $50. Compared to AirPods Max - If you already have the AirPod Pro 2, then I'd take these any day. I enjoyed the sound quality of the Max, but you get 90% of those headphones for $250 with better battery life and far more portability in the Pro 2. If you don't already have them, I think this should probably be most people's first stop in portable audio. Compared to Sony XM5 - I love the XM5 for its bass and basic EQ. But, these have a ton more soundstage, separation, better frequency response, and the DAC mode. It's in a different class. If those things matter, you're going to spend the money. If they don't, you'll love the XM5. Recommendations (TL;DR) - Buy the AirPods Pro 2 first. You can't beat the ANC, transparency, quality, and portability. You get all the benefits of the Apple ecosystem for $250. THEN, add the Bathys if you still yearn for the natural and smooth sound that puts a Focal headphone in a completely different class. If you're still stuck on the $800, start with he AirPods Max. They're excellent. If you're stuck on the $800 and an android user, get the Sony XM5 (but start with the XM4 earbuds for the portability). They're durable, sound good, and very comfortable. No point in paying the Apple tax if you're not going to use all the features. Lastly, on the topic of AAC - I think this is the real bottleneck of the system. I listen to a lot of classical and AAC absolutely chokes in heavy orchestration and complexity. The BT-W4 connected with AptX Adaptive solves this problem in spades. Verdi's Dies Irae (Requiem) or Mars from The Planets both have very loud passages with massive layers and they come across clear and authoritative with the BT-W4. It's a stunning sound to hear when sitting in the Chick-fil-A having breakfast! Strongly recommended as your first accessory.

These sound excellent. For wireless headphones it's remarkable how good they sound. With the companion app you can personalize the sound after taking a rudimentary hearing test. It makes up for any hearing deficiencies you might have, then there is an EQ on top of that. This sounds hokey but it really does work well. Together I get a full range of frequencies with great bass. The headphones are comfortable to wear for longer uses. They are heavy, but the way they are designed you don't feel the weight in any pointed way (not in headband or on ears for example). I have a big head and at first worried they would feel too tight but once I found the right adjustment point I was fine. They also look great. There is a little LED moment on the Focal logo on outside the ear cups. It's kind of cool, but living in an urban space I opted to keep them turned off to not draw attention. They feel really good too, the materials are sturdy and satisfying to the touch. The bluetooth connection is quick and reliable, and all the tones that signify the various things with the headphone are very cool and actually somewhat high fidelity themselves. Cons: The ANC is not as strong as say the Sony but it still sufficient to allow me to work in a crowded cafe with minimal distraction. I'm personally trying to balance my need for noise cancelling over audio quality. Like seriously folks, these sound really good. Also the buttons on the headphones themselves are a little clunky. They feel sturdy but I'm still figuring out what things are what by touch. I think this will improve with time/use.

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perfect sound

These are rated BEST for bluetooth sound and with good reason. I've had others from Sennheiser, B&W, Bose and the sound quality from Focal, is noticeable levels better. The mids are rich, bass is strong. The best part is the app comes with an audio compensation feature, to tune to your hearing. You can also use the EQ. The other unknown feature is that in wired mode, it has a built in DAC. This improves the sound another level better than bluetooth. If you value sound quality over ANC or all the other bells and whistles of the other wireless headset brands, then these are for you.

Ich hatte ihn unter einem anderen Namen gekauft, aber auch über den Focal Store hier. Kontakt mit Händler, Amazon und Hersteller war perfekt um zu klären bzgl. Produktname usw. Ich hatte vorher nur Mackie-MC 250 & 350 und paar JBL Live 770. Der Sprung allein schon vom Preis war extrem, aber ehrlich gesagt, war es das nach einem Jahr wert. Vor genau einem Jahr +- 1-2 Tage hab ich sie bestellt, nutze sie im Schnitt Täglich mit mind 3h für verschiedenes. Ob nur zum Streams schauen, Filme oder eben Musik in jedem Genre. War genau der Over Ear Kopfhörer den ich gebraucht habe. Sound knackig, die App ist minimalistisch aber viel mehr braucht man eigentlich auch nicht. DAC über Kabel macht auch was, wenn auch Kabellänge natürlich für manche knapp werden würde ( resultierte bei mir in Kauf von Zusatzkabel). Zwischendurch mal die Webseite und Ersatzteile geschaut, stolze Preise wenn man die Originalteile möchte. Qualität ist vorhanden, es knarzt nichts, Spannung / Anpressdruck weiterhin wie Tag 1, Pflege der Polster auch ohne Probleme. PC, Smartphone, auch TV bei mir klappt es. Ich hatte mit einem BT Stick ( No Name) nie wirkliche Probleme, gab aber manchmal Störungen wenn mehrere BT Geräte in der Nähe waren. Hatte ich selbst mit nem anderen Stick gelöst, nun stört nix mehr. Wenn ich mir was wünschen könnte, ein größerer Akku. 30h sind schon ausreichend, aber es kam leider schon vor das Akku dann doch schon leer war, wo man sich vllt noch 3-4h extra gewünscht hätte. Aber Schnellladen ging auch ohne Probleme. Alles in allem, bin ich Happy mit der Wahl. Aber muss auch sagen, ohne die verlängerte Rückgabe ( 90 Tage) hätte ich es wohl nicht riskiert, die verlängerte Testphase hatte mich aber echt schnell überzeugt, und konnte die Kopfhörer gut testen bevor ich total überzeugt war.

Die Bathys finde ich wirklich richtig richtig gut. Ich habe auch die Clear MG und die Bathys kommen da mit aptX und Lossles schon recht nah ran. Den DAC -Modus nutze ich am PC und der klingt noch ein bisschen besser. Einzig das ANC könnte etwas besser sein. Reicht aber für zuhause, wenn man seine Ruhe vor Nachbarn haben möchte. Exzellent verarbeitet, Gewicht stört mich nicht, ich mag das Design. Die App ist ok, ich nutze den Equilizer.