After twice being a button-click away from buying these last year but deciding against, I am considering again (after an infusion of cash 
).
Would love to know how the ANC does on flights. Iām used to Bose ANC doing very well on airplanes. Believe Iāve heard the Bathys is āokā but not quite as good in this scenario (maybe 80-85% as good as a benchmark). Thanks in advance.
I donāt have anything to compare, because I had not found a convincing combination of ANC and good quality lossless play before. I just returned home (California) from Europe, used my Bathys in DAC mode, USB-C from my Pixel 8 Pro running USB Audio Player PRO, local lossless music library. I could listen to complex music with delicate passages without cranking up the volume, good experience. For just quiet without music, I could set the headphones to āsilentā (maximum ANC) mode and switch them to DAC input, they served as a good sound block.
It amazes me when I run across a review of ANC earbuds that claims they are great on airplanes. No, they arenāt. They just donāt block as much ambient sound as over-the-ear ANC headphones. I donāt have the Bathys, but the Bose QC45 and an older set of Sony WH-1000XM2 are both much better than Airpods Pro 2 at blocking ambient noise in every situation.
Having used the AirPods Pro 2 on a flight last year, I will say I was surprised at how well they did, but youāre right that over-ear ANC have an inherent advantage.
Received my (Dune) Bathys yesterday (open box from Headphones.com). After some initial disappointment, I think theyāre breaking in nicely and Iāve had some impressive moments.
One thing ā¦ I thought I could hook them up with the provided USB-C cable to my iPad Air (4th gen), which has a USB-C connection and use DAC mode. But, with Amazon Music, Iām only getting 24/48, so I seem to be doing something wrong. Adapter needed? Or maybe this iPad doesnāt support it?
I did connect to my Windows desktop and DAC mode works fine. Need to spend more time with it that way.
5th gen iPad Air, Roon works lossless to Bathys in DAC mode, just checked with 96/24 tracks.
This OTG adapter enables DAC mode from my iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is nice. I would prefer to use my iPad (Air, gen 4), however. It has a USB-C connection; as mentioned before, connecting directly to the iPad in DAC mode doesnāt give me full resolution on Amazon Music.
Long shot ā¦ but wondering if anyone can comment on this OTG ā¦ only $9, so if thereās no feedback, maybe I just take a flyer on them. Worse case, I have some extra USB-C adapters in the drawer.
Maybe a silly question but do I need a mid end DAP with these ? I never listen to these outside as I have my Sony WF5s for gym etc and a Shanling M1S for LDAC duties with them if I sunbath. Inside I can use these wired to my iPhone 14 for lossless - I have just bought an IBasso DX180 but is there any advantage of that over my iPhone wired to the Bathys ? I presume there will be difference over BT between the iBasso and the Shanling but would there be much difference between my wired iPhone and the DX ?
Sorry I meant āno differenceā over BT !
When you feed analog from a DAP to Bathys, it goes through an internal ADC and then through the internal DAC. I canāt see how that would improve over lossless digital iPhone>Bathys. In my experience, phone>Bathys sounds better than DAP>Bathys (DAP is A&ultima SP1000M, not a slouch as a DAP).
Thanks for the info - I think I will get rid of it as its just overkill / duplication for me.
Iām considering getting a Focal Bathys for travel and commute due to its ANC and over-ear design. I have Focal Clear. So Iām curious what differences I should expect in terms of sound quality and tonal signaures between these two? How far ābehindā is Bathys from a wired open back headphone like Clear?
This, IMO, is more a question about use cases than sound quality. I have both the Clear and the Bathys, and given that both are at hand, I will always choose the Clear for sit-down listening. But if I am traveling and I care about ANC and wireless, then the Bathys is perfectly acceptable both during the commute and in the office afterwards - Iām not exactly doing critical listening, but rather listening for enjoyment in a dynamic environment. I.e., the Bathys supports more use cases than the Clear (or similar). That said, if you are in the Apple eco-system, the AirPods Max are pretty good too. And, in my case, those are what I travel with. I tend to use the Bathys in my home office for music and entertainment when I donāt want to be tethered (I think that the DAC capability is cool, but if I am going to be wired, why not listen with the Clears?). YMMV and all other relevant disclaimers apply.
USB C sounds better than wireless, a dap is pointless it will not matter
The clear is better in nearly every way, but the most notable changes will be the mids are way more forward, vocals are right in your face, the bass goes a deeper and has more impact, itās faster and doesnāt get incoherent in busy music passages.
On the negative end, the clear is heavier, the pads stain easily, the vocals can be too forward sounding like a radio voice, and it sounds metallic at times. Neither sound natural but the Clear sounds more natural outside of voices.
Iād say the clear is a more fun and engaging tuning, but it really is a love/hate thing. For a lot of people itās their absolute favourite and others absolutely hate it, I had to EQ 1.5khz down and I love it now. The bathys is also great and especially so with Dolby, itās the only headphone I like Dolby with.
I tend to purchase only Anker products through amazon. Not all converters and adaptors work, all made overseas. They have similar ones around the same price point due to competition.
Writing here to discuss some of my grievances with the functionality of the Focal Bathys. Discussions of its tuning, best ways to EQ it, etc., are good and all, but I think that the Bathys fall short on a number of simple quality of life aspects that leave me frustrated, especially given how good they sound. These are meant to be portable, to travel with you, and I hope that in its future iterations, Focal can further improve on these.
That being said, I donāt want to see Focal to adopt the iterative, yearly release of incremental improvements that we see with Apple and Samsung. Bathys 2, etcā¦ Iām sure Iām not the first to voice these concerns, and I wonder if they could be addressed with a simple firmware update (whether they would is a different question). Iām currently testing a pair of Dali IO-12 to see if they are a worthy replacement, and while they address the passive use and ANC issue, their ergonomics and comfort arenāt perfect. For the time being, Iām keeping the Bathys and just dealing with these slight annoyances.
Thereās no direct analog path to the drivers that would support passive use, so itās not a question of firmware. Analog input is first A2Ded and then goes into the internal digital path: DAC>amp>drivers.