Focal Bathys Review: Audiophile-level Sound in ANC Cans?

Highs 

I found the top end satisfyingly tame, giving a warmer edge to most recordings.

What impresses me is that the gentler treble is never at the expense of its detail retrieval. The Focal Bathys deliver the finest detail resolution of any of the ANC headphones we have heard.   

The gentler treble also keeps your ears from fatigue on longer sessions.

Midrange

The midrange is very prominent. The combination of the dynamic punch and forward mids makes climaxes in music especially exciting. Vocals are brought forward and instruments articulate independently in the mix.

Bass

The bass on the Bathys is punchy with fast transient response. In recordings where the bass is melodic, like for example, in The Strokes’ track Trying Your Luck, this punchy clarity is exciting and satisfying.  

You can see in the frequency response diagram that the bass is lifted slightly, like other commercial ANC headphones. But, on the Focal Bathys, it’s done right. Here you get clarity and slam where competitors like the Sony XM5 give you overpowering bloat.

Dynamics

What the Focal Bathys deliver better than any other ANC headphones is dynamic punch. This dynamism expresses the emotional quality of music – no small achievement for a pair of headphones! As energy swells in a song, that energy is transmitted to your ears through this dynamic punch.

Some headphones have super fast transient response, some have fantastic detail in the highs or mids, but if you can’t feel the weight of the drum stick or guitar pick, there’s a lot that your ears are missing.

On the softer dynamics, especially on acoustic instruments, you can feel how soft it is. And as it gets louder, the clarity on the Bathys headphones remains, without any distortion or blending of the instruments.  

Soundstage

The soundstage is generous for closed-back ANC headphones. This is helped by the extra distance between the driver and the pinnae of the ear.  

You’re not getting the kind of expansive space you might hear on open-back cans like the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro, but they match that of most closed-back wired headphones.

The experience of the Bathys’ soundstage feels a bit like listening to quality speakers in a large vocal booth.  

Noise Cancelling

The active noise cancellation on the Focal Bathys is the one area where competitors like the AirPods Max or the Sony WH-1000XM5 win. That said, the Focal Bathys still do a good job eliminating unwanted rumble – just not as good as the competition.  

Using eight dedicated microphones, the Focal Bathys can attenuate most of the low-end city rumble and most of the high frequencies as well. In the midrange (around 1 kHz), especially outside voices talking come through.

Meanwhile, the Sony XM5 (see our review Sony XM4 vs XM5) and especially the Apple Airpods Max, excel in this midrange cancellation. (See here for more on AirPods noise canceling performance)

That said, I quite liked having the option for a softer ANC experience. ANC headphones with ANC switched off, typically sound strange. Most ANC cans are built assuming you will use the cancellation, and the hardware is built with this in mind.  

But the Bathys offer a middle road with the ‘soft’ mode – in other words, ANC that won’t suck your brains out. For those seeking a more subtle noise reduction, the ‘soft’ mode caters to their needs, providing a gentler level of active noise cancellation, making it ideal for users who find traditional noise-canceling too intense. 

And like many other models, there is a ‘transparency’ mode that allows ambient sounds to pass through.

Build / Design

The Bathys have the same premium look and feel that you might expect from Focal headphones. The ergonomic design sports magnesium yokes (the y-shaped bit that holds the earcups), a real leather headband, and the signature Focal aluminum grilles.  

The Focal logo is backlit, which makes you look like Lando Calrissian’s assistant in Empire Strikes Back. If you don’t like that look, this light can be switched off with the Focal & Naim app.

The drivers, modeled after the Focal Celestee drivers, are 40mm aluminum/magnesium m-dome drivers. These drivers boast a performance with less than 0.2% harmonic distortion (@ 1 kHz). In our tests, we could confirm this down to 0.5%, which is still pretty great.

The only weakness in the design for me is the black plastic around the earcups. Of course, plastic is used with travel in mind, keeping weight to a minimum.  

The lighter weight is appreciated and necessary but in an ideal world, I’d like the same premium feel here like the rest of the headphones.  

The cans come with a rather elegant carry case including USB-C and standard mini-jack cables, both 1.2 meters long. The cable quality is not consistent with the quality standards of Focal and 1.2 meters is an annoyingly short length.

Comfort

One of the best aspects of these cans is how comfortable they are. 

The design employs even weight distribution. Weighing in at 350 grams, I don’t feel the top headband much at all when they are on. 

The earpads, composed of pleather for a tighter seal, are plush and cushy and sit comfortably further away from the pinnae than other ANC cans.

The clamp force, out of the box is a little tight for my big head, but that is something that would ease with more use.

Overall, the Focal Bathys are like comfy slippers on your head, built for long sessions.

Controls

The ‘DAC mode’ on the Bathys allows audiophiles to bypass the compromises of Bluetooth compression and listen directly with a USB-C cable.

To offer this mode of maximum fidelity, the headphones are equipped with a built-in DAC to deliver 24-bit/192 kHz resolution.

Pairing/Connecting

The right earcup has a power button that switches between on, off, and DAC modes. And three buttons for volume up, volume down, and play pause hands-free controls. 

I prefer this on/off switch to the press-and-hold on/off button employed by models like the Sony WH-1000XM5. It’s more intuitive and I don’t have to guess things like: ‘Is this thing on?’, ‘Am I holding too long?’, ‘Is it connecting now?’, etc.

Notably, the Bathys headphones lack an automatic play/pause feature when removed or worn, allowing for uninterrupted control over playback. But I found that I could still remember to switch them off.  

Focal & Naim App

I’m a big fan of the Focal & Naim App. I always prefer the simple variety when it comes to included apps with headphones – and this app fits that description.

Controls for EQ and noise cancellation in the app are basic and easy to use. There is no required login or registration; just download and go.

Battery Life

The battery life of the Focal Bathys headphones matches that of most of the competition. With a full charge, they last 30 hours with a Bluetooth connection and ANC turned on. 

Additionally, for those times when you need a quick boost, a mere 15-minute charge offers an impressive 5 hours of listening time, making them exceptionally convenient for users on the go.

Battery Life Comparison Chart: ANC Headphones

Other Features

The Focal Bathys headphones boast the usual array of extra features to enhance the user experience.

They use Bluetooth 5.1 technology and support SBC, AAC, Apt-X, and Apt-X Adaptive codecs.

Also keeping up with the competition, the Bathys are compatible with popular voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, enabling effortless voice commands and convenient hands-free functionality.

Calls

The call functions with the Focal Bathys were straightforward to use.  

The audio quality of calls on the Bathys in normal, indoor conditions was very good compared to other ANC headphones.  

In windy conditions, however, you can barely understand calls from the Bathys. You can hear the tests below.