Name: Focal Bathys
Brand: Focal

For whom?

We find this question somewhat difficult to answer. We assume that most owners of the Focal Bathys will listen to music via Bluetooth. In this case, they make only limited use of the Bathys’ capabilities. Use the USB-C cable and connect the smartphone; the difference is clearly audible.

We do have a serious comment regarding this. The Bathys can only be used when it is switched on, even when we want to listen via the analogue input. We then only have the choice between two noise cancelling modes and a ‘pass-through’ mode in which the 8 microphones are on so that the environment can be heard. And a lot of noise. We first thought there was something wrong with the Bathys until we discovered that it is not possible to turn off the noise cancelling (which works fine, by the way). We would appreciate it if this option would be available in the next software update.

By today’s standards, the app is not very responsive. The manual EQ settings were not very accurate to tune and we had trouble to set the Bathys to a neutral equalisation. The app contains an option to create a personalised audio setting/EQ using a hearing test. This kept crashing on our end, so we were unable to test it. It could of course be due to our device and operating system (Oppo/Android), but that is not very likely.

Conclusion

Yes, we have been kind of grumpy at first when we noticed that the Bathys' noise cancelling cannot be switched off. Being audio purists by nature we frown at anything that extends the signal path. Yet, after listening to these design cans for a while, we find the Bathys to be pleasant headphones that reproduce the music in a nice, spacious way and with lots of bass. They are also a real eye-catcher, as evidenced by the admiring comments from visitors. The Bathys simply stand out among the form-follows-function headphones in our collection. And the sound is just fine. Is it neutral? No. Is that bad? No, because this sonic signature suits this model. A tip for the owners: use your Bathys with a USB-C cable, if necessary buy a nice matching shiny USB cable for the looks. Vous ne le regretterai pas!