Intro
Contents
With the Bathys, French company Focal has created headphones for a young and stylish target group. Over-ear, wireless, active noise cancelling. We have been wearing the Bathys for a few weeks and are happy to share our experiences.
Apple introduced the Airpod Max in 2020 and B&O offers a wide choice of Bluetooth headphones with the HX, H95 and H100 that stand out for their sleek design and hefty asking price. The introductory price of €550 for the Airpod Max was a bold statement even for the brand at the time. The H100 from B&O will lighten your wallet by €1,500. In this perspective, Focal has chosen a clever price point; somewhere in between.
Types and sizes
| Headphones | In-ear | On-ear | Over-ear | Other |
| Type | Closed | Open | ||
| Driver | Dynamic | Planar or electrostatic | Bone conducting (actually also dynamic) | |
| Control | Cable | Wireless | ||
| Noise Cancelling | Passive | Active / noise cancelling |
We at Alpha-Audio have decided to categorise headphones as stated above. We’re adding another category: fashion item or functional. To explain this, we invite you to visit the Focal Bathys website. In the presentation and the visual material, a lot of attention is paid to the lifestyle of the target group that wears the Bathys. A bit like clothing, watches or jewellery. Also fits well with the French brand; strolling through Paris with beautiful music in your head and a Bathys on your head, c’est formidable
Focal’s head-fi
Focal’s head-fi
We at Alpha-Audio have listened to various headphones in recent years:
The Elegia and Elear are no longer in the collection, but the Utopia and Stellia still are. Focal has divided its headphones into three sections: high-fidelity, wireless and professional. In the first category are the aforementioned Utopia and Stellia, plus the Clear MG, the Celestee, the Hadenys and the Azurys. In the wireless category is the Bathys, which was tested here, and in the Professional line are the Lensys Professional, the Clear MG Professional and the Listen Professional.
The Bathys are closed-back over-ear headphones. The driver in the familiar M-shape is made of an aluminium/magnesium alloy in the standard 40 mm size. They weigh 350 grams and are available in black and off-white. The ear cushions are made of leather. They feel comfortable and luxurious. The Bathys have three connection options. Most users will choose Bluetooth; connection is also possible with a USB-C connection and a 3.5 mm mini jack. The Bathys has automatic noise cancelling that can be activated with the app or by a button on the left ear cup. A quick search on the internet (the Bathys has been on the market since 2022) taught us that the Quatro Cirrus Logic CS43198QFN DAC chip is the workhorse inside the Focal cans that also takes care of amplification.
Focal supplies two cables: a 3.5 mm mini jack and a USB-C. Switching between Bluetooth, analogue audio and USB-C (DAC) is done with a slider on the right ear cup. Next to it is the volume control.