The Focal Bathys Wireless headphone represents one of Focal’s earliest forays into the noise-canceling market.
These wireless over-ear headphones feature active noise-canceling and a built-in USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC), delivering exceptional high-quality sound that mirrors the brand’s innovative product portfolio.
In this Focal Bathys review, we looked at the headphones’ build quality, fit and comfort, sound quality, ANC, and key features like battery life and Bluetooth.
If you’re looking for a pair of high-end headphones, this review will help you decide if the Bathys are right for you.
Focal Bathys Headphone Review
Design
The Focal Bathys share a very similar design to other Focal headphones, such as the Focal Celestee. However, those with trypophobia (a fear of holes) should avoid looking too closely.
The aluminum earcups feature circular cutouts. The center of the earcups features the company logo, which illuminates in white when in DAC mode.
We received the “Black/Gray” model, while the “Dune” model, available in a lighter beige color scheme, offers the same specifications.
Build Quality
The Focal Bathys boast excellent build quality. While the plastic earcup housings make them appear more affordable than other Focal headphones, such as the Focal Clear Mg or Focal Celestee, several design elements reflect the premium build quality.
What sets it apart from other audiophile products is that the aluminum-magnesium dynamic drivers are manufactured in France, while the headphone frame is manufactured in China.
The earcups and top of the headband are lined with leather. The headband is reinforced with metal, and the soft fabric bottom provides excellent cushioning.
While other Focal headphones have had concerns about build quality, such as the headband cracking, this hasn’t been the case with ours.
Each earcup features mesh ventilation, and when connected via a DAC, the Focal center light illuminates.
Controls
The controls on the Focal Bathys are very simple, but can be a bit confusing if you haven’t read the manual.
The right earcup houses buttons for controlling volume, the virtual assistant, Bluetooth pairing, and the audio source you’re listening to.
While the buttons are often less comfortable to use than touch controls, they are much more reliable.
The buttons aren’t labeled, making it difficult to tell which button is which. For example, the multi-function button is located between the volume up and down buttons.
Additionally, the voice assistant button is located at the bottom of the right earcup, while the ambient toggle is located separately on the back of the left earcup.
Sound
When connected via Bluetooth and using the dynamic EQ preset added in firmware 1.5.7, the Focal Bathys deliver a balanced sound signature that falls somewhere between our target sound and that of Harman IEMs.
If you prefer a different sound, you can customize the headphones to your liking using the app’s graphic EQ, presets, and sound personalization features.
These headphones can also be connected via a wired connection via “DAC” mode. Many users have found this connection method to provide the best sound quality.
This graph shows that there is no difference in frequency response measurements between the connection modes.
However, there is a difference in volume, with the AC connection being louder than Bluetooth.
Prior to the firmware 1.4.2 update, switching to DAC mode on a PC would automatically set the headphone volume to 100%, resulting in extremely loud sound.
This firmware update appears to have resolved this issue, but if you continue to experience issues, please let us know in the comments.
Also, I heard a slight rattling noise from the right driver when using the analog connection. This only occurs when using this connection and playing very little audio content. However, this issue may be limited to our device.
Noise cancelation
The Focal Bathys can’t compete with Sony or Apple in terms of active noise cancellation. However, our measurements aren’t bad.
They’re just average compared to the outrageous performance of today’s headphones. In fact, they’re almost identical to the ANC performance of Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 Wireless.
So don’t scoff at the Focal Bathys for their performance alone.
Actually, noise cancellation is a challenge. Conventional headphones all have their own tricks for better noise cancellation.
But even with just 20dB of low-frequency attenuation, external noise can be reduced by about 75% of the perceived volume.
This is especially noticeable when using these headphones on a bus or airplane.
Furthermore, the Focal Bathys block out a significant amount of high-frequency noise even without ANC, so while they might not be the best results in our database, there’s still a lot to like about these headphones.
If you want to reduce ambient noise even further, you can activate ANC (Voice Recognition) mode by holding down the ANC toggle button or tapping it once to lower the ANC level.
This is the best voice recognition mode I’ve ever used, which is incredibly useful when you need to hear what your kids are doing in another room.
Battery
The Focal Bathys lasted 31 hours and 30 minutes in our standard battery test with ANC turned on, an hour and a half longer than the official battery life.
This is a decent performance, meaning you can easily get through a week’s worth of commuting or two days of waking up on a single charge.
While it’s not the best battery life I’ve ever had, it’s not bad. Considering you can listen to music wired via the USB-C cable, this is a pretty good option.
Conclusion
Our review of the Focal Bathys headphones leaves us with little to criticize, considering all their features. In our opinion, the Bathys are among the best-sounding wireless headphones available today.
While competition in the premium wireless headphone market has intensified, Focal has maintained its position at the top of the hi-fi listening on the go.
Also read: JBL Live 770NC Over-Ear Headphone Review