Focal Bathys MG Wireless Headphones - Official Discussion Thread

[taronlissimore]

Focal has a new offering in their wireless lineup called the Focal Bathys MG

From Focal

Introducing the new Focal Bathys MG, a successor in Focal’s Focal Bathys line-up.

Pre-Order in North America

EXTRAORDINARY SOUND, EVERYWHERE​

Bathys MG is fitted with magnesium speaker drivers with “M”-shaped domes, manufactured in France by Focal. They deliver high-fidelity sound that is rich, natural and ultra-precise, with powerful bass and crystal-clear treble. Focal engineers have also incorporated new microphones with optimised active noise cancelling, for better soundproofing of voices and perfect control over the environment through the elimination of unwanted background noise. USB-DAC mode delivers high-resolution sound at up to 24 bits/192kHz.

REMARKABLE DESIGN AND COMFORT​

Bathys MG is part of Focal’s range of high-end headphones with a highly refined aesthetic. Inspired by the Clear MG – the benchmark hi-fi headphones for the home – its elegant Chestnut finish is enhanced by a backlit logo that adds a distinctive, modern signature. The use of premium materials such as aluminium and magnesium in the yoke delivers a combination of lightness and robustness. The genuine leather headband and ergonomic foam earpads guarantee unrivalled comfort for an extended, compromise-free listening experience.

ADVANCED FEATURES​

The ultimate portable headphones, Bathys MG delivers 30 hours of battery life in wireless mode, 35 hours in jack mode and 42 hours in USB-DAC mode. Its fast-charge function offers an extra 5 hours of listening time in just 15 minutes. It also features Bluetooth® 5.2 technology and effortless pairing: Bathys MG embodies efficiency in every respect. The Focal & Naim application makes it easy to control. Users can adjust the sound to their liking (EQ) with predefined or personalised parameters, tailor it to suit the listening environment and implement the noise-cancelling option via Silent, Soft or Transparent modes. Lastly, the application offers a hearing test that adjusts sound rendering to the individual user.

Focal Bathys MG Review - Raising the bar

[Resolve]

Here are the Focal Bathys MG measurements done on the B&K 5128.

Note, I’m focusing specifically on the B&K 5128 for ANC headphone testing due to its improved accuracy with respect to high acoustic impedance devices, which closed back headphones, IEMs and ANC headphones tend to be.

Default Mode:

Calibrated

Raw

Dynamic Mode:

Calibrated

Raw

The default sound signature has a warm, rich kind of presentation, with a forward character around 300hz.

Dynamic mode gives a very good result for an ANC headphone, similar to the Focal Azurys in many ways. Note that this is with ANC on, but this is also an always active headphone, and one of their core features with this platform has been to ensure the sound is the same across modes.

One area they can improve is to do with positional variation above 1khz. These headphones (and the original Bathys) are highly sensitive to positional changes, from the nature of their mechanical design. While the cup positional flexibility allows it to fit on more heads, this also has some downsides - both in terms of difficulty in predicting the subjective performance above 1khz and also in terms of getting perfect channel matching in-situ.

So for example, the above measurements show some channel variation around 1.5khz. In practice, this could be better, but it could also be worse, depending on how the headphone is worn.

Bathys MG vs OG

Default Mode

Dynamic Mode

The MG is much more linear and even throughout the entirety of the response, indicating a notable improvement over the original Bathys. This is both in default and dynamic mode.

What’s interesting here is that in order to address the occasional bloom around 1.3-15khz on the original Bathys that some people got (depending on positioning), the Bathys MG pulls back that whole section a bit, meaning there shouldn’t be any glare to the sound in that band for those same people.

Pad swapping:

Placeholder

ANC performance:

AVG attenuation - Bathys vs Bathys MG

This is the averaged results from sweeps at 0 degrees and 90 degrees for both headphones.

The ANC performance on the MG is better than the original, and better in the bass and treble than most ANC headphones. However other class leaders like the Bose QC Ultra still beat its ANC performance in the lower midrange, where fundamentals for most tones fall. It’s a good result, but still not the best.

Notes:

• Pads are very different from the original Bathys, far softer and more compliant
• Comfort is good, though I wish the top headband were a bit wider.
• Usability is straightforward, easy to connect. Multipoint makes it work with multiple devices. I did notice a quirk when paired with my BT-W5, it doesn’t automatically switch back to my phone. But other devices may not have any issues.
• ANC quality in practice is very good, but when walking around it can be a bit inconsistent if the headphone moves around a bit on the head.
• No issues with not having enough volume increments, though that could be down to my phone (Oneplus 13). Your mileage may vary here depending on the device.
• Sound quality is a notable step up from the original Bathys, both for its default sound signature and its dynamic mode. The mids and upper mids are a lot more smooth sounding.
• Dynamic mode in particular does a remarkably good job of achieving a Harmanlike sound signature. It cleans up the forward lower mid character, making it one of the better measuring ANC headphones available.

General thoughts

The Bathys MG has a hefty price tag, and it feels kind of inappropriate given it looks/feels similar to the original Bathys. But comparing the two… it’s immediately obvious the new Bathys MG is just better sounding across the board. Most interesting to me is how well this does with the Dynamic mode, which makes it kind of like a better Focal Azurys with ANC. I think a lot of people will like that.

So I wish it were less expensive, both so that more people could attain it, but also because the story about the Bathys MG really should be more about the notable improvements Focal have made here than the disproportionate price bump.

I’ll say this… if you have lots of money, and you care about sound quality, the Bathys MG is worth strong consideration.

[headphones1]

I have the old Bathys. With noise reduction off, I hear a very soft hiss, like distant running water. I hear this when listening to the TV by bluetooth and, when I turn the TV off, I still hear it. I think the hiss results from poor engineering of the Bathys. Does the new MG also hiss when noise reduction is off?

[Spearthrower_Owl]

The Focal Bathys ANC cannot be truly shut off, just muted.

I’ve never heard a pair of ANC headphones that didn’t have this sound. Maybe the old Bose that were wired headphones and whose ANC could truly be shut off. But I haven’t heard those in years and don’t remember. I think it’s endemic to the feature set, not an engineering defect.

[Resolve]

If you’re talking about background hiss… like noise floor from the headphones, that’s not something I found with the original Bathys or the Bathys MG. Like this isn’t something modern ANC headphones should ever have a problem with. With that said, sometimes people identify spurious sounds occurring when ANC is on with ANC headphones, as a function of the attenuated sounds in certain environments. But without actually getting hands on that unit it’s really hard to know.

[Zilax002]

“If we’re going to spend a lot of money on headphones, we’re likely to do so on passive headphones, where the promise of great sound quality is more regularly delivered, and then choose a less expensive ANC headphone as an accessory for when we need it.”

This is exactly it, in my opinion.

It’s not just the price but what you get for it. As convenient as ANC headphones are, and as much as I’d love to own a truly great one, it’s hard to justify the purchase when the same money spent on a passive headphone can get you a lot more.

It’ll be a different equation for people who value convenience more or travel more, etc. But to someone for whom ANC is more of a bonus, it makes more sense to get a sub $500 ANC headphone that’s “good enough.”

Here’s a question:

Is either tuning mode preferable to you over the HD 550, @Resolve?

If not, it’s really hard to justify this price point for anyone with some amount of price consciousness.

And even if the MG is preferable that’s still a massive price gap to contend with.

So for people who can use passive headphones comfortably for most of their listening it’s a hard sell.

Also, the lack of PEQ is a massive downside.

It’s actually easier to get PEQ with passive headphones given the increasing number of dongles and DAPs supporting it.

You’re out of options outside the manufacturer’s own app on iPhone, and while you have stuff like Wavelet on Android, you’re stuck messing around with peak filters and compensating for the lack of shelf filters easily available on the Q5K or many Hiby DAPs.

Whereas easy access to PEQ should be one of the gimmes available to wireless headphones! But instead it may be easier for many of us to get PEQ for passive headphones! Madness!

[Resolve]

I actually think in theory, active wireless headphones, ANC or otherwise, have more potential than passive closed back headphones. It’s just that in practice, we don’t tend to see this potential realized.

There’s no inherent limitation to it being wireless, if anything it’s actually the opposite, given what can be done with DSP. Moreover, leakage compensation is a huge win over passive closed back headphones, and it’s also easier to be more precise with how the bass is handled than even open back headphones.

I kind of see the problem as a matter of the demand not quite being there for great sound quality to be the primary focus of these types of headphones. Like… maybe it could be there, but seemingly brands aren’t focusing on this for one reason or another.

With that said, the Bathys MG is one of the few that does deliver. I can actually see people preferring it over the HD 550. Not everyone, mind you. Certainly not the timbreheads out there. But I think of it like this. You have three different ways of achieving ‘good sound’ in a product.

1. Preference neutral: Something that achieves the appropriate bass to treble delta that most people prefer, but with “known good” colorations, stuff we know people like. Think Harman target or similar tunings since there are multiple versions of this.
2. Anatomical neutral: Maintaining whatever bass to treble delta is preferred but specifically targeting the absence of colorations, and adhering close to an anatomical baseline in the appropriate condition for headphones (DF condition). Think headphones like the HD 550, HD 600 and so on.
3. Editorialization: Tasteful coloration that’s meant to create an enjoyable effect for people. These will inherently be less versatile, but with the right type of content they give you the kind of “wow” moment that the coloration effect imparts. Think headphones like the HD 800S, Utopia, Cosmo - headphones with a unique character to their voicing that’s meant to do something special to the music.

The Bathys MG can do two of these things, specifically the first and third interpretations of ‘good sound’. So it really depends on what the person is looking for. If it’s that extremely natural timbre-focused midrange presentation, not so much. But if it’s that hyper detailed and dynamic kind of sound, absolutely.