FOCAL Made a Bluetooth Headphone!

[@JaysonBucy]

I bought them soon after launch and I haven't been disappointed. But my use case is optimal for this headset. I work from home so my need for ANC revolves around teenagers and a dog. The bluetooth range lets me walk around the whole house without loss of connection. I really enjoy it and haven't regretted the purchase once.

[@classiccj2569]

Hey, it's been 2 years, do you still have or use them? I'm now wondering about these headphones, but I am a total bass head and love to hear and feel the rumble in your head. Do these have bass that does that, or is able to do that if you EQ the bass up in the app?

[@JaysonBucy]

@@classiccj2569 I have them but they ended up having build quality issues making them unusable.

[@bosox-pk9jp]

I bought these headphones and I agree with the majority of your points in the video. You are 100% correct with the ANC and transparency modes. Its functional but I've heard much better in other headphones. I will say, however, there was a missed opportunity to compare the wired DAC mode of the Bathys with the Celestee. To me, this is where this headphone sticks out. I have borrowed the Radiance from a friend of mine before for extended listening and with the DAC mode enabled, I feel the Bathys matches it. This to me is where it sticks out and becomes that $800 headphone. It has functional wireless features with arguably the best sound in the class for ANC but also has the capability of being a very good sounding headphone when wired with the DAC mode.

[@Bronwyn031]

^THIS^

[@doyoulikecrystalgel]

I've heard the same. I'm waiting for the USB-C adapter so I can start using DAC mode on my Bathys (I have a 14 pro max, so it's still lightning - USB C). Really exciting considering the fact that I'm ALREADY incredibly happy with them via wireless use.

[@eshkiya-us]

I happen to have Bathys, Ananda BT, AirPod Max, and Drop Panda wireless headphones. I did many sound comparison between them and when Bathys is used with proper Aptx Adaptive dongle (i.e. Creative BT-W4) or in DAC mode they outperform every other one on sound quality based on my experience. Additionally, having an acceptable noise canceling is a huge plus making Bathys a good all rounder. I usually find my self reaching out for Bathys more than others, however if I want to listen to a song that can use a good sound stage representation and timber I usually prefer Ananda BT over Bathys as they are open back.

[@SpykerSpeed]

Thanks for your insight on this!

[@michaelwf3893]

I just picked up a pair and I have to say the sound is incredible. It’s like listening to music all over again for the first time.

[@orborbea9844]

That's what Focal does to you 🎉

[@acdbrn2000]

First Focal headphones I bought and I am liking the tuning they have. The bass doesn’t have as much force behind it as I usually like, but to be fair I haven’t had really any headphones (though I almost exclusively have open back headphones) that come close to matching my IEMs in this so not a big deal. The bass is very nicely controlled and fast enough to keep up with my metal and electronic tracks which is impressive. The highs don’t trigger my sensitivity which is great and the detail is very nice. Vocals sound very nice, again not the best I have heard but still very pleasant. As far as the operation of it goes. The BT range and sources it works with is fine if nothing special. The ANC works fine for the volumes I listen at. I am so glad there is not a half-assed “on head” detection. I would rather have no auto pause then bad auto pause. Comfort is fine on my head with some extra steps in the adjustment left and the clamping force is better then my Sennheisers so getting used to it was rather quick. The app is annoying for no good reason, but after looking at it… it seems that I will only really ever need it to do some firmware updates so no big loss. I also generally do not EQ , but I source and headphone/IEM hop so much that EQ is just more annoying then a benefit to me anyways. Basically I have mostly kept my Bluetooth headphones in the practical range since I haven’t heard a sound signature I liked in the “premium” space and this is a pleasant change to something closer to what I enjoy. In Bluetooth mode these are very close to my shouer Ej07m IEMs connected to a BTR5 in terms of enjoyment. In wired especially in DAC mode the Bathys is just a monster and a very enjoyable experience.

[@krisp3128]

I heard them last week at a hifi show and they were sounding fantastic for a bt headphones. Way better than any competitor. Apparently fit plays a huge role on how they sound, hence the very mixed reviews. Can’t believe you left out their party trick though: dac mode. Connect a usb cable and experience them in lossless hi res… that really made me reach for my credit card…

[@OneDicz]

But if it’s wired, then there’s no point to buy this bt headphones, no? I can just grab my Focal Clear or Celestee if it’s wired

[@FMKmusica]

@@OneDicz i dont think so. Using the Celeste you need a Dac/amp also, that makes not so portable setup. Bathys let you use one basic usbc to usbc cable to connect to your phone or pc/mac with 24bit/192kHz audio, also with microphone capabilities, something that other headphones dont have that. All other headphones let to use microphone only with bluetooth connection. Here with the bathys you can use microphone with bluetooth and DAC mode :D

[@krisp3128]

@@OneDicz I understand, that's true. But I don't have a Clear or a Celestee, so with the Bathys, I will get decent wireless quality, and performance on par with one of analog wired models, with the added benefit of amp/dac/anc while charging at the same time (I think - will have to check that one out still...). So basically, I'm getting one headphone to replace my Sony XM4 and Audioquest NightOwl...

[@bosox-pk9jp]

@@OneDicz But it can do both and that's the point. If you want to go wired, it sounds incredible with its built in DAC. But if you want to go wireless, you still can. If you only have the Celestee then you now have to own 2 pairs of headphones if you want BT functionality.

[@BarnabyBarry]

Do you need Tidal to experience loseless or will Spotify work with the DAC?

[@krancan25]

No DAC mode comparison, no mic check...? Being late to the party isn't as bad as being short on the delivery imo...

[@fernandom5070]

Could not agree more ... Low quality review IMO .

[@jeho369]

Fr he brushed through the review you can tell he didn't like them but it's crazy how he'll call the hifiman ananda bt the best bt headphone. I don't understand why he didn't compare it to that as well

[@Houdinis-Selection-at-insta]

Hey Josh, you did not say a word to the fantastic DAC Mode, which is a sound changer. I tried it with USB cable and IPad and that was just awesome. I did not buy it because you can‘ t change the battery, the high price for 2 much plastic and because it does not stop playing if I take it off. Cheers Tom

[@AtentieCadMere]

I spent a few hours on side by side listening, and these to me sound the same as Meze 99 classics that I own. I have the AirPods Max, and the difference is quite substantial. Some love them, others love sony xm5, I can't understand them, but for bluetooth for me these focal baths are great. Great review, thanks for sharing.

[@villegas24]

Finally someone that is not afraid to talk negative about these headphones. All others are trying to justify their purchase by saying this is the best thing ever.

[@kopicha]

From someone who says the max sounded good? Ok good try there. While I do not straight up call the max a piece of trash. But for it’s asking price? It is no where near the price performance ratio. Whatever “features” the max has are also quite irrelevant to majority of the people considering they are mutually exclusive to Apple eco system which is one of the worst thing ever. I did a short preview on the bathys and initial impression was already good from the audio stand point. I will get my hands on them in a couple of days to be able to spend more time with it. But as of current I am pretty sure this review is way off even for just having a short moment with the product.

[@TeamHahah]

If you can find a store near you with these and others, i would recommend heading there and taking a listen

[@KillaHafiz89]

He didn't go over the performance of the dac mode on this headphone which actually puts it in line of $800 wired headphones such as the celestee!

[@robjackson606]

@@kopichaagreed. I tried the Max on 3 separate occasions. I wanted to love them. Wide soundstage? I found the sound no better than my AirPods Pro 2, which are great for the price. The Max has muddy lows and artificial highs, thin and flat soundstage in my opinion. They are beautiful but I was disappointed by the sound

[@mariorock76]

I bought the Bathys last week. I don't know if it has to do with the update but the speaking microphones are really excellent! The people I talk to hear me better than when I speak directly into the phone. As for the transparent mode...It's better than my Sony XM3. As for noise reduction, it's true that it is less intense than the competition like Bose, Sony, and Apple, but when the sound of the music is at 50% or more, you don't hear anything coming from outside and that's the most important for me. I did my tests with music playing at 50%. My girlfriend left the blender next to me to make a soup and I don't hear anything. Focal wanted to create a noise reduction system that does not affect sound quality, and I believe this balance is perfect. The most important for a product like that is the sound quality. I don't find the construction of the product cheap apart from the control buttons. You have to crack the product a few weeks before you get its full potential in sound quality. In bluetooth, the sound is realy good but in dac mode with a good source like on the Qobuz application, the sound is really excellent! In short, I love them! It far exceeds my Sony XM3 for sound quality.

[@LeJohnz]

Did you cover the differences in sound quality for Bathys' USB DAC mode & Bluetooth mode? Also, I am curious about microphone performance for being able to take calls/meetings

[@dextercool]

See the review on Darko's channel

[@everettedl]

USB mode is my primary use case and how I think headphones like this perform best. You get ANC and top notch sound with wireless being an option. Yet it seems to be overlooked by most reviewers as a primary feature. I'd be interested in seeing more comparisons done with usb mode too.

[@munsukwon8393]

DAC mode sounds a lot better. I think it has a good internal DAC. I have used this on DAC mode mostly. I know that it defeats the purpose of Bluetooth, but DAC mode is also convenient because I don't have to carry DAC separately.

[@stevenlamontagne526]

Hey Josh great video! I was hoping you would cover the sound quality in DAC mode, is it a significant improvement?

[@falcodarkzz]

Yeah I had similar issues with these and the midrange. Vocals sometimes sounded harsh or even distant. The PX8 have a much fuller, smoother midrange that does vocals oh so well

[@nineteen76]

Being able to use the Bathys in DAC mode is what sold it for me. Agree with the harshness in the high end but after a month of play and some EQ adjustment I find the high to be much smoother.

[@mariozet3139]

My number one in terms of sound are the Mark Levinson No 5909, but they have a few small flaws that make them not perfect. So I was looking for other high-end Bluetooth headphones and just came across the Focal Bathys. I've had them for two weeks and noticed a few distinctive features: 1. It is necessary to warm them up. Straight from the factory they sound flat, with a close stage and withdrawn highs. After 100 hours of burning in, it's a completely different sound, balanced, with deep bass and very detailed highs. There is a little V to it, but rather flat. 2. The worst sound is on the factory 3.5 mm jack/jack cable. A bit too much bass in pop/rock music and not enough in baroque. The stereophony is correct, but I cannot call it outstanding. If someone wants to use this connection more, they should buy a custom cable of better quality. Note: Even in an analog connection, the headphones must be turned on. 3. Probably the best sound is on the USB cable. The DAC 24/192 is very good and I recommend this method for listening to music at home. The highs light up, the bass is heavier, and the stereo becomes truly three-dimensional. Listen to binaural recordings like this 😀 4. In Bluetooth connection, the sound is a little warmer than via USB cable, but it maintains a high level. Very good stereophony and detailed highs plus a strong bass base. They are very musical and will perform well in most genres of music. 5. They only have Bluetooth 5.1 aptX Adapive, and there should already be LDAC in the Premium headphones (LDAC is in the ML 5909). 6. They are quite heavy, weighing 350 g, but they are very comfortable and after a few minutes you do not feel them on your head. 7. They have very good dynamics, they are louder than the ML 5909. Conclusion: Focal headphones are cheaper than the Mark Levinson 5909, and they don't sound much worse. If someone cannot afford to buy an ML, the Focal Bathys will be a good compromise.

[@pavelperina7629]

Does microphone work in DAC mode for conference calls? I'm looking for headphones which are for multiple purposes: music, calls, even calls while playing video games maybe. My current ones are not good at it, they switch into headset mode and they sound awful, they completely cut off all frequencies outside voice range and suppress all noises that are not a speech. I would expect them to turn into soundcard when connected via USB, but that's not the case. I'm not interested so much in BT as in ANC for office and I have my current headphones wired via USB 99% of the time.

[@mariozet3139]

@@pavelperina7629 I checked today and you can talk. I connected the headphones with a USB cable to the Samsung A52S 5G smartphone. The quality wasn't great, but the interlocutor understood everything.

[@MrJ.31]

Hey Mario I just got the 5909 last week and you're right they do sound fantastic, probably the clearest sounding BT headphones I've tried but I've noticed a couple of things that I'm not sure are going on with my pair or if it's just how they are. One thing is when I'm on a call after about 10 minutes the headset sometimes drops the connection or turns itself off, also my voice while on a call always sounds muffled like I'm on ANC. It also sometimes drops the connection when listening to music for a while and on-head detection is very spotty. When it's working flawless it's beautiful but when it's not it's a little annoying. Just curious if you happened to notice any of these things too

[@JustLearning]

Thank you for review Joshua. I am a bit confused because I have seen others on KZbin review the Bathys and they had positive things to say about the same things you said were not up to par. Don't know who to believe. I just want a pair of Bluetooth headphones that sound good and make my music that I purchased for year in iTunes' sound good. I do have KZbin Music and Amazon Music but mostly listen to my music collection gathered all these years from CD's and iTunes. ANC is not important to me. To me, ANC means raising the volume until you cannot hear the outside environment. Thanks again for you review. I think I will go to Audio 46 store in Manhattan and see if they will allow me to try a pair of Bathys to listen to and to compare with others. All the best to you.

[@Jellias11]

I have not had any issue with delay or hissing with the focals. I do prefer the sound over my apple max but the battery life is a massive improvement over the apple. I really enjoy being able to hardwire with the usb s for higher resolution. I haven’t used my apple max since getting the focals.

[@glennbucc7107]

I believe when Josh stated he had this issue with the whine sound and Bluetooth delay. But I have not heard any other reviewer mention these issues

[@espressoshot21]

I personally thought that the Bathys looks very expensive & more lux than other BT headphones you mentioned. Judging by your style, you're very much of a minimalist so perhaps a flashy blingy cans like the Bathys may look cheap to you. To each their own! Looks are looks. The most important factor is the sound quality

[@johnepic2422]

Hey Josh, it not clear to me if you just reviewed Bathys' sound via bluetooth or built-in DAC mode. You haven't mentioned any differences. I also wonder if this built-in DAC is good enough or maybe they could benefit from a better external one. I guess I was expecting a little bit more from this review, but thanks anyway. I value YOUR opinion. A comparison between Bathys & Bowers & Wilkins PX8 would be great. I do hope you plan to review B&W as well. thanks I haven't tried any of these, but I really like the idea that I can listen music wirelessly and whenever possible boost them when wired. Comfort is no brainer. Also having an option to have a longer phone-call on these at home is great. ANC is just icing on the cake.

[@neogenesus]

I bought both 1 day apart and returned the PX8. The PX8 sounds a bit muddy compared to the Bathys.

[@moviemogul83]

You didn’t mention DAC mode. It gives you 24/192 direct in the unit.

[@OneDicz]

I have good wired hifi headphones at home, so i go with the apple airpod pro max for the features and fun bassy headphones when I’m outside. Heck I don’t need clear detail sounding headphones while I’m walking or doing tasks. Hifi headphones are meant to be used solely for enjoying the music

[@vivekthangamani]

This is the reason for me to subscribe this channel.. Never afraid to give his personal opinion, Based on his experience. 😊👌

[@stevel4329]

Have not had the audio problem with song starting with the delay that you mention on my set. Just an FYI. Agree these headphones are very comfortable. Agree these are the best sounding wireless cans I have tried. Have tried all the main stream ones and enjoy these the most. I hate the sound of the airpods Max. It seemed very fake to me if that makes sense! But I am not after the bells and whistles, more to the sound quality and the DAC and 3.5mm option on the Bathys.

[@neilsnyder7915]

I own both air pods max and the Bathys. There is no comparison on sound quality. The Bathys is significantly better. If you are sensitive to the quality of the music and enjoy listening to music the Bathys is clearly a superior product. If noise cancellation and other ancillary features are more important than music quality go for the airpods max.

[@paullacan]

How much worst is the ANC though?

[@neilsnyder7915]

@@paullacan It works well enough for me. However if you are constantly on a plane go for the airpods max as it is slightly better. For office and around town the Bathys is more than acceptable.

[@waynejrice]

Given the updated software and app, Josh should do an update.

[@stephenwest673]

Ive not seen one review that put the Max above the Bathys..i have the Max and trialled the Bathys and they are way better sounding especially in dac mode but even in BT mode they are so much better imo 😀😊

[@cjeffcoatjr]

Thank you for focusing more on the software features and the sound when using this headphone as a Bluetooth headphone rather than primarily wired - The other comments kind of confuse me. The software experience and Bluetooth performance is paramount to a good ANC Bluetooth headphone, and Focal is competing with here with Apple, Bose, and Sony, all of which have fantastic software. An ANC Bluetooth headphone should first and foremost ace being just that, and if it doesn't, then it doesn't really matter how good it sounds wired. If wired performance is your primary concern with Bluetooth instead being a "nice to have", then just buy a wired headphone alongside something like a Qudelix 5k.

[@RayCabrera1]

Its also significantly better in bluetooth mode also.

[@fernandom5070]

Wired performance is important .... Why ? Because it replace you DAC + Amplifier . So yeah , not testing DAC mode Vs wireless is a big fault from this review

[@RandySpeer]

This is such a crazy review based on literally every other reviewer/article/thread post I've seen about these lol. This is like a 180 of what everyone else says.

[@zanychelly]

Focused on the sound quality. Worth buying it considering I own a XM5?

[@Henry14arsenal2007]

Funny you say Sony looks more premium when its 500$ cheaper and all plastic. And of course sound like complete shit compared to these. Saying this as an XM4 owner.

[@86Sheephead]

Would love to see a comparison with the PX8.

[@IndecisiveConclusion]

I just bought these, but they haven't arrived yet. Your review concerns me a bit because I have felt you and I have similar preferences to sound signatures. But looks to me have never really mattered when it comes to audio equipment. Lol. Also they are Bluetooth headphones, so no one is expecting them to be equal to the focal Celeste or clear lol. I really hope that the sound signature is great for my use and I predict a software update fairly soon. You can be sure focal will see your review and take note.

[@MXF5700]

What about compared to the Drop Pandas? A firmware update has been out for a while now that finally allows you to adjust the EQ in SoundID and they sound better to me since I can tune them for my profile. I'm curious if you would consider revisiting the Pandas now. Thanks for the content.

[@dmarcus1260]

I almost bought the Bathys until I watched John Darko's review of them. Darko stated the Mark Levinson 5909s have better sound quality than the Bathys. I'm hoping the 5909s will be on sale on Black Friday.

[@LordVictorHalgaard]

They really do look a bit sort of 2004-ish silver plastic from your local electronics store... Meanwhile the Celestee is one of the best looking headphones ever IMO. The treble on those is just murderous.

[@benbowland]

I tried the Bathys, Celestee, and Clear MG in an audio store and I really didn’t like the Celestee. Felt confined and boring. The Bathys sounded more engaging and was wireless and $200 cheaper which is a clear win. Clear MG had great treble and clarity-didn’t get any of that in the Celestee.

[@TheFbiFilesRepeat]

I like bass, which one from focal is the best?

[@TeamHahah]

I would love if you could do a comparison between the Bang & Olufsen H95, B&W PX8 and Focal Bathys, as they are all in the high-end premium Bluetooth range! Maybe even toss in the Airpods Max, as I've seen H95 creep down to that Airpods Max price now, since they are becoming 2 years old.

[@greatestsportslegends]

I had the Bathys. Liked them. Then I heard the T+A Solitaire T headphones. I managed to find a year old pair for less than a pair of new Bathys. And WOW. What a substantial leap forward in sound quality. Have you heard the Solitaire T headphones? Or the Dali IO-12s? I'd love your thoughts. I've bought a few things based on your reviews and how they align seamlessly with what I experience. Thank you.

[@MrUX-cb4wn]

Loved your suggestion of “On the Run”!!! Do you have a playlist that would sound great on the Focal Bathys?

[@mimiruu]

couldnt disagree more on the look, looks sooo much better than the sony/bowser and the aipod max just looks horrible, but thank god we all are diffrent :D

[@djdante]

Thanks so much for this! Plesae review the PX8, and compare to the Bathys :)

[@LukasBlau]

You once said that the DT1990s have a great capability of changing the soundstage from intimate to wide depending on the track - is that still true compared to other headphones on your favorite list ?

[@chungang7037]

The DT1990 pros are fine if you never want to own another headphone. I sold mine because they were so bright they made all my other gear sound muddy and muffled and listening for more than 40 min is painful as they cause fatigue. But if you have hearing damage or in your 70s they might be good.

[@LukasBlau]

@@chungang7037 I received them a few days back and burned them in , they sound incredible , love the highs it’s Cristal clear and I have no problems with fatigue.. I’m 23 .. everything sounds so nice pushed to the sides and sepersted

[@waiik76]

I have a b&o h9i and now focal bathys. The sound & music is far better than apple sound. Headphone most important part is.... the sound.

[@MufasaRizz]

Finally someone not giving an infomercial review. My go to reviewer.

[@rotaks1]

I am not a big headphone fan. I bought these on amazon. I cannot stop using them. There is something about the sound quality that is addictive to me. I think the DAC mode makes it a tad better (might be placebo effect). They are not going back.

[@60beats44]

Thank you for this informative review. Would you recommend these headphones over the BOSE QC45's?

[@OledBurnInKing]

Josh, have you tried the usb dac mode on the focal bathys? you never mentioned anything about it in this video about how it sounds

[@lordphilbert3838]

I was looking forward to your take on this one!

[@fridg3339]

adiohead

[@BlueberryRoyalbellFerrari2002]

which is the best between Ananda BT, Focal Bathys, and Audeze Maxwell?

[@ightimmaheadout290]

u hear about some of these cans being defected and having a loud damaging noise ?

[@K_Vang23]

Thanks for being honest, I was torn between the Focal and AirPod Max.

[@gdemirjian]

I just researched and auditioned a bunch looking for the best for me with ANC. I didn't even want to listen to the Bathys. No option to switch off ANC/DSP is lipstick on a pig (MQA will not fully pass through when wired unless passive mode. No go for me as I like to switch to my Gryphon when at hotel), and no ear sensor pause function. Two holes for wired when the best have the USB-C wired for triple duty (charge/DAC/3.5 to USB-C). Lint brush felt under headband, and holes for crap to build up in on cups with a portable headphone is just stupid. You nailed it looking like a toy especially with the lights on the sides. I love their speakers and some of their headphones, but someone should be fired for this design. IMO, the B&W Px8 is the sexiest wireless noise cancelling available. Great sound and features too. The Px7 S2 might be the best overall value right now for sound and features. My fav for sound and features is the Mark Levinson 5909. That is the one I'm keeping. Love your videos!

[@MacsForever1]

You should provide an updated video after they released V7. It fixed a lot of your niggles.

[@jorgeluisfernandez2560]

En que color se ve mejor? Negro o arena? Lo recomiendas para usar con smartphone o un dap?

[@EgilWar]

Sometimes I think reviewers are reviewing different headphones, though the name is the same, as the reviews are quite different.

[@fernandom5070]

Info that may be interesting to you .... It support Audio codecs SBC, AAC, aptX™ and Adaptive, aptX™ .

[@arthurchan5544]

@joshua did you happen to burn in the Bathys before testing them out, and for how long?

[@btstrg1]

I'm interested in these headphones and I saw your review. you mentioned it needed software updates my understanding is they have done software updates. have you re-reviewed this I'm curious what your thoughts are before I buy

[@davidjtorresii7921]

Hey Josh thanks for the vid, any thoughts on the DAC mode?

[@compromisedssh]

How is this review even real? This headphone can play music through Bluetooth, a 3.5mm headphone cord, and a USB-C cable. Did he honestly just evaluate the Bluetooth sound? Josh, man, I'm a fan. I swear. What I'm about to say is not coming from a hater. It's coming from someone who genuinely enjoys your content. You need to redo this review or at least post a Bathys Part II video or something. All you did was scratch the surface here.

[@MufasaRizz]

Be careful if you get someone to respond to your comment as Joshua on this channel pretending to be Joshua and telling you hes giving away a price and then sending you to Telegram for further processing. Its a scam. Just happened to me only now the his comment is gone. I told him to respond back to me via Joshua Valour's email in which he couldn't do. Its a scam.

[@BabuRaj-pr8gt]

Hi Josh. What do you think about the DAC mode feature in this headphones which is something that is quite rare among the Bluetooth headphones. And how do they stand against the Celeste headphones. Thank you.

[@VicharB]

I think if it was less bulkier and with a pricing of around 450-500 bucks, I would have picked them over Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless.

[@revelationsoundstudio]

Thank you for your helpful and insightful review. You always do a great job with these reviews Your conclusion you said, its made with nice materials and it does sound very very good. That is my main focus. Its 5 band EQ is more flexible than what B&W offers with their software. The biggest discussion with Bluetooth headphones is how the Bathys compares to the Bowers and Wilkens PX8. Based on reviews, it appears the PX8 built quality is better than the Focal. This includes the hard buttons it has vs the cheap light buttons of the Bathys. The PX8 however have a more compressed sound and are not as airy and spatial as the Focals. I believe many will be looking forward to your review on them as well. This is Focals first attempt at Bluetooth, and though they did a lot of things right, I think their next Bluetooth headphones will be more of what more serious headphone users will be happy with. For many Bluetooth headphones is helpful because you want to multi task when listening to music. Not only do you want to listen to music, but you want to take a walk, commute, any time of traveling, and that is when noise cancelling headphones come in handy. So your not focusing on the music as much many times with Bluetooth headphones. If I want to listen to music and relax at home, I will listen to music with my Beyerdynamic 1990's or Focal Clear MG's. (It all depends on the way the recording sounds on which sounds better). Though noise cancellation is important, its also important to be aware of your surroundings as a safety issue as well in 2022. So you don't want to complelty shut out the world when your walking around.

[@Mike12mt]

All the points you made make it sound like a first gen product in performance. So with its price and performance needing a upgrade, ill wait for v2 before purchasing. Its great that it sounds good and feels very comfortable, but for that asking price, you need all areas for a Bluetooth headset to perform without fault. Also i own a few focal speakers. I bought all of their speakers for my home theater

[@emiliostieca]

Literally all of the video and text reviews i have seen rate the Focal Bathys as the best premium wireless headset. Were you paid by a competitor to be extra criticial to these headphones or what is going on here? You are also missing crucial elements for a good, thorough review of this product.

[@erickruse4679]

The Max is an interesting comparison to me. That headphone doesn't really have a chamber/cup design, rather it relies largely on DSP. I get mixed results out of Max, where sometimes when I put it on my head it gives me a very nasal sound, sometimes not. I generally don't want to have my headphone be a timbre dice roll, but apparently that never happens for you. Regarding looks and build quality, I think they walk right up to the line on looking gimmicky, maybe they cross over a little, but I love the cup design anyway. The only build issue I have with them is actually the headband. It's smaller than average by just a little, less room for adjustment, and that material on the underside is all wrinkly. I think the headband is a lost opportunity, but not a deal breaker. Biggest gripe for me is the codec being APTX Adaptive as the best-case scenario. Pretty sure that's not yet a very common codec. It isn't in any of my flagship phones made in the last 3 years... Not S21, not Surface Duo, and obviously not 12 pro max. It's gotta have LDAC to compete in that space, IMO. The difference for me between plugging them in USBC vs APTX Classic is very big on more complex pieces.

[@Josecunyat]

I had been accepting the sound of my QC35 for wireless listening... but I had been looking for a more neutral & detailed substitute. I did not found it yet. All I have tried was not good enough (I was exited about the Dali hype, but when I did try them the sound level was really low). In the last two years some new contenders got to the market and make me think if I should listen some of them. I am thinking about the Bathys and about the Master&Dynamic MW65. To give you some context I listen my music on a Topping DX7 Pro and I am user of Focal Elegia (no eq but needs some), Dan Clark AEON 2 Noir (I eq down a weird bump un the bass, but I like the details). Do you think with the Bathys I would get as detailed sound as in the Noir, but with a more neutral sound? What about soundstage? Thanks in advance!!

[@gafontanelli]

Hi josh, your review are fantastic. Could be very nice whether you can give your opinion about the Edifier Stax Spirit S3. It lacks in feature but have planar magnetic driver and is a lot cheaper than the bathys. Could be interesting to know if it can match the bathys for sound quality.

[@fofopho]

A lot of your critiques are pretty well justified, but these still smack the competition in sound quality. First Bluetooth over-ears I can actually use regularly. So much fun - even if I look like a douche wearing them.

[@stevel4329]

Question Josh, If you recommend the Celestee for wired over the Bathys would you recommend the Radiance over the Celestee or skip these and get the Stellia. Everyone says the Stellia are one of the best headphones period!

[@attomicrooster7823]

Stellea are absolutely amazing mate. They are so good in fact that I now want a utopia

[@stevel4329]

@@attomicrooster7823 Just ordered mine and I hope I have the same experience as you and many others that are speechless tying to explain these.

[@carlolico29]

I would be very curious what you think about the ML 5909, you should review them if you can

[@CuteMegaPanda]

What really bothers me about these BT audiophile pedigree headphones is that they are expensive as they can get and the battery is not replaceable. This means that after 2-3 years you are stuck with wired-only and compared to wired headphones in the same price range they'll probably sound not that great.

[@38201270298]

This! ⏫

[@bogartzarsadias-dz8fh]

IPHONE & Bathys. Trying to spread this or maybe this was already covered “volume wise”. Iphone has that headphone safety volume you can adjust. It’s there to protect your hearing but you can turn it up at your own preference/risk.

[@welcomeghosts_uk]

I’d take these over the PX8’s all day long but ended up returning both and keeping the APM’s. Using audio accommodation on the APM they sounded cleaner to me and the cost of the these isn’t justified.

[@maslovsergey]

Well, I guess you can actually apply EQ to AirPods Max in iOS by using Headphone Accommodations, at least it works for other AirPods models

[@angel_falls_creative]

If I were to get the Arya- would I need a DAC if I have the Presonus ioSTATION 24c audiointerface? Could I just get the amp? What would be best paired with the audiointerface? Thanks for this help- I have been searching all around!

[@jakepsychdr7165]

Been waiting for this one! 🙌🏽

[@timothyphillips1632]

Don’t believe this reviewer. These headphones sound great. I also own Dan Clark Aeon 2. These blow the Dan Clark’s away.

[@Patrickmathieu0482]

Why talk about celestee sound quality?? You made a video on bathys!!!!! However it’s an excellent video sir. You explain things with ease and it’s easy for us to understand!

[@OledBurnInKing]

what setting do you use for the eq settings on the headphones from the focal app and is there a way to make the bass completely flat or make the bass light? the setting I have for my sony wf-1000xm4 from the sony app is set to custom and I have the eq set to flat with -10 clear bass while I have noise canceling off, adaptive sound control turned off, ambient sound control off, 360 audio off, dolby atmos off with ldac enabled since it sounds better than aac. I just adjust the volume on my android phones until I don't hear noises from outside since I took the rubber ear tips from my fiio fa1 iems and I put them on my sony wf-1000xm4 to replace the comply tips since they offer a better seal and the comply tips don't stay very well since I constantly have to adjust the earbuds to make sure that the earbuds don't fall out. The speak to chat enabled makes the sound like when going to the freeway in the tunnel with background noise. These settings make the earbuds sound better. I'm still looking for a pair of wired headphones with every frequency response to be completely flat from 20 hz to 20 khz, basically every frequency response on the frequency chart to be completely flat. When I mean by completey flat, it's like getting a ruler and drawing a completely straight line on a piece of paper that shows the frequency response chart in a completely straight line and I'm looking for the same thing in a pair of speakers as well. The settings that I turned off on my sony bluetooth earbuds from the sony app make them sound better while having them on ruins the sound quality.

[@neby_nebs]

i like the design. the airpods max look more like a off brand headphone you get at the checkout off a Ross/TJ Max

[@robg8963]

Do they have the same bass slam as the Clears?

[@liujohannes7778]

Got mine today. Feel exactly the same way they look cheap!

[@davidmason8212]

When you are going to review the new Ananda SE ?

[@brunis_m]

Does it make sense to spend the extra money on the Bathys (versus the XM5 or QC45) if all I'm going to do is stream music out of my phone? Getting started into this and I don't really have any equipment. Need something that works for Zoom calls but also gives me excellent sound for listening to music.

[@MrJ.31]

It all depends on what you want. Streaming music straight from the phone sounds excellent when listening to ultra luxury BT headphones like the Bathys or ML 5909 and they do outperform mid-rangers like the Airpods Max or Sony XM5 (post eq), albeit not by much. When you start comparing $600+ BT headphones to one's in the $400-500 range you're really just gonna find a 10-15% difference in improvement. It doesn't sound like much at all but for audiophiles that little bit of extra quality is worth spending a few hundred bucks more. The only downside to the luxury headphones is that call quality typically isn't quite as good. There's only so many components that can fit in a set of headphones so most companies looking to make the best sounding set have to make a compromise elsewhere, usually in the phonecall department. Now in good conditions there isn't a very big difference in call quality between something like the Bathys vs XM5 and if you're indoors on Zoom or in a car both you and the other caller will have no problem at all and the calls are very clear. On the other hand if you're walking around on a busy street or in a semi-loud area the Bathys struggles quite a bit and the XM5 blows it out of the water. Sorry for the long winded response but I hope it helps. I will say that for me the best balance between excellent sound quality and clear calls was found with the ML 5909 and B&O H95. Excellent sounding with the 5909 being just a little more clear in the vocals and the H95 having a little more bass. The Bathys' sound was like a happy medium between the two while having a slightly wider soundstage. I will say though if you don't care about that extra 10-15% difference and would rather save some money I would recommend the XM5. Those are my daily drivers and after alot of comparing to other headsets once they're eq'd the sound is really really good, calls are excellent and they're very reliable, especially if you're an Android user. If you use an Iphone they're still excellent but the Airpod Max may be a slightly better match.

[@johnmatheny4696]

Hey Joshua, I had a question about Xbox series x, and topping dx3 plus. Since it doesn't have a mic output, couldn't I just buy one of the converter cords on drop with headphone, and mic splitter?

[@parhamshirvanioun]

I'm so excited for this video 😍

[@obstoaga8121]

USB DAC mode? Whats the sound in the mid-range there ?

[@saeedsaeedy9671]

Does your top part on headphone stand attached reverse?

[@666thsense]

ive been mostly wondering how these hold up against the thx pandas because i love those. especially how understated and brandless they are.

[@eshkiya-us]

I have both, and on sound quality Bathys is hands down better. Even with personalized EQ on Drop Panda with SoundID app, Bathys was better. One area that Drop Panda gets ahead is when 3.5 mm jack is used with proper DAC. I tested both with FiiO M17, and Drop Panda has more consistent experience between wireless and wired.

[@666thsense]

@@eshkiya-us much appreciated!

[@DarrellFranklin]

@Mert you mave have just removed $800 from my account

[@NAARON]

Hi, can you tell something about the Bowers PX7 S2? Have you ever tested it?

[@diegorivera985]

I don’t think you have enough reviews with it’s competitors because these aren’t on the radar of people who got Sony’s or the Airpod Max’s. This goes up against B&W PX8 B&O H95 and Mark Levinsons

[@parhamshirvanioun]

I've been waiting for this video 😍🤩

[@teachonlywhatiseasy]

AAC on macbook pro and iphone. did you test it with aptx HD on androids and SBC in windows. Also the DAC mode when sitting at the desk?

[@fernandom5070]

SBC is a non go in windows for high end wireless headphones .... I use a dedicated bluetooth adapter on my PC to be able to use aptx HD .

[@teachonlywhatiseasy]

@@fernandom5070 i prefer ldac but i guess aptx hd is also fine for most streaming usecases. I don't know how tidal compresses audio on a macbook so i can't comment on josh's review process unless he explains it. Other famed reviewers gave it thumbs up on bluetooth audio, dac mode and noise cancelling so i might wait until next year to get these. The only people i know who use airpod max have never spent even 50 dollars on decent IEM's before so i reckon focal's audience is not exactly those people anyways although they are looking at the NC market in general.

[@fernandom5070]

@@teachonlywhatiseasy Hi , I have not had the opportunity to test ldac as is a Sony proprietary codec ( Bathys do not support it unfortunately ) . All I can say is that I can appreciate a big different using SBC or plain Aptx to using Aptx HD . In any case , the real breakthrough for wireless headphones will be to be able to use Aptx lossless . I can not wait for the new codec to be implemented . Thx for your reply by the way .

[@teachonlywhatiseasy]

@@fernandom5070 omitting ldac is alright as people keep complaining it renegotiates to a lower bitrate when you move around which isn't great for bluetooth but almost all my devices from fioo and hiby do ldac 96khz 24 bit. aptx HD is backwards compatible with aptx lossless so i guess the dac + implementation makes all the difference in my experience. even compressing down to AAC is justifiable. no wonder apple never bothered paying for ldac.

[@x-man9482]

Best headphones i ever owned in my life♥️

[@planewreck4214]

Mr valour. How do they sound vs elegia?

[@hanniballecter4454]

Kinda seems like this, Porsche is for racing, Mercedes for luxury, Bmw is inbetween. Bathys is the bmw of bluetooth anc headphones.

[@Letechno]

Can you review the Mark Levinsen 5909 the competitor of the Bathys ? The 5909 can works wired active/passive ??? Thank you