One question, as a Bathys owner. In DAC mode, and wired, to get a 24/192 feed, do I need to use the Apple Camera Kit adapter, or would a USB-C-to-Lightning cable do the trick? Currently using the adapter but wondering if/why I need it.
I tried an Apple USB-C to Lightning cable and that didnāt work. The iPhone wouldnāt switch to the Lightning port. I donāt know if any other brands might work.
With the camera adapter and an USB-A to -C cable it worked fine.
So far I did not notice any background noise in ANC mode. But there is a noise when switching to transparent mode.
Interesting, thanks. Works great for me with the camera adapter but Iām always looking to eliminate the dongles.
1 Like
You would need some sort of OTG connection. The regular USB C to Lightning cables do not work as data transfer only goes from the headphones to the phone, not in reverse. If you can find a cable with a built in OTG on the lightning end then you wouldnāt need an adapter.
5 Likes
Just got a pair. For a large head these are pretty tight. Bose QC35 has a click to spare for me and Clear is just right fully extended, to give some context.
The volume jumps someone mentioned are real - gone are the small jumps up/down from my Bose. This is a real bummer for me, since it goes from a bit too quiet from pretty loud in one click. This shouldnāt be too hard to do right nowadays, since even lowly JBL boomboxes can do it.
For some positives, the pads feel very nice and the pair does look the part. SQ is on point, even though I canāt really give any reliable analysis after 1-2 hours. The mid-bass might be a bit too elevated, but weāll see. The treble/mids are cleaner than the Bose for sure. Iām not sure Iām keeping these.
4 Likes
The Volume issue is what is stpooing me from ordering a pair of these.
Surely this is a basic thing for a costly HP to get rightā¦such a shame . I am favouring the PX8 because of this
2 Likes
You do need an OTG usb-c to lightning cable if you want to forego the CCK adapter. I did find one on Amazon that worked. I posted a link to it earlier in this discussion.
2 Likes
Iāve been holding off on giving my thoughts on the Bathys because Iāve been waiting for the B&W PX8 to come in to compare, and folks have been comparing them to one another.
I now have that one in and no, itās not on the same level as the Bathys for sound quality - along just about all dimensions of sound quality I can think of, but in particular the tuning on the PX8 sounds very weird to me. Boomy and muddy bass with a strong low to mid treble resonance causing some percussion compression.
I think the stiffer competition for the Bathys in terms of sound quality comes from the Sennheiser Momentum 4.
10 Likes
Wow, and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 is half the price.
Well, Iām not saying they sound better necessarily. Just that this is a better comparison for sound quality than the PX8. To put it bluntlyā¦ both the Bathys and Momentum 4 sound good. I can not say that about the PX8 unfortunately. I was kind of shocked actually. But hey, some folks like it.
Just for reference, hereās the measurement result of the PX8.
I got two fairly consistent results depending on the positioning.
Compare that to the Bathys measurements:
The one thing with the Bathys is that it seems to change a lot depending on the pad compression. So the next thing Iāll have to do on this one is try to find out how significantly it varies. Some results were better and some were worse, but since the 43AG isnāt the side of an actual human head itās tough to know exactly what the result is for real people. Time for a 5128 I guess haha.
6 Likes
My first impressions of the Bathys here after a few hours of listening and using them on the go:
Bathys is really, really nice.
Itās like a slightly more neutral counterpart to the Radiance, while still maintaining the qualities of the Radiance such as itās soundstage and for the most part, imaging and detailā¦ Sound wise, it is just right mixture of excitement, musicality, while not being too sharp or shouty with different genres of music that the Airpods Max can be. This is coming from someone who has enjoyed the Max and can appreciate it for what it is.
Also, Iām really impressed by the noise cancelling and transparency modes. For a companyās first foray into TWS full-sized headphones, it does more than enough just right. As an added bonus, the mic quality is incredible (whereas with the airpods max people say Iām always muffled and under water). No issues with fit and comfort so far here. Minor hotspot on the way goes away after 30 minutes to an hour. Clamp force is chefs kiss with my ginormous head, which is usually an issue on other Focal headphones for me.
Itās only my first day, but Iām really struggling to find faults with it. It does well with any genre of music and has gotten me excited to listen to things all over again. With the added bonusā¦of being on the go wherever I want, with no wires. Itās been a while since Iāve tried Focal since I sold my Clear and Celestee, but now I think itās time to get something wired from them again to provide more some more context on comparison.
Nicely done Focal & Naim. Nicely done. Hereās to more high end properly entering the world of full sized TWS and pushing the development of this technology forward with competition!
12 Likes
So, the lack of headband adjustment sealed the deal with my big head, I returned my pair. It had a cool tuning for the most part, kind of warm, which I like. Sub bass was somewhat subdued (heh) compared to the mid-bass, but I think I couldāve lived with that.
Basically these would have had to be pretty comfortable for my head to stay. Especially coming from QC35, they wouldāve needed to be even somewhat comparable. Bose still seems like the comfort king and newcomers like Focal really need to take notes. But, that headband adjustment just doesnāt go far enough. Iād say this is an odd oversight, since Clears fit me just fine. Bathys almost feel like an overall miniaturized version of their larger counterparts, sadly including the headband.
I briefly tried B&W Px7 on my head at the store too and they were very comfy. Momentum 3 and 4 extended easily enough, while not feeling quite as nice. Maybe theyāll fix this in Bathys v2.0? Weāll see. Comfort is a huge issue and for most folk even more important that sound quality.
1 Like
Agreed. Ideally we want the best sounding headphone to our ears, but if itās unusable due to comfort issues, itās all moot and so whatās the point!?
4 Likes
I have been living with mine for little more than a week, and the comfort is not bad despite the smaller earcups compared to other Focals (and though heavier than the Bose/Sonys, the added clamp on the earcups makes them less likely to shift around when you lean forward or backward, I can wear them for hours at a time); the sound is excellent especially for a set of Bluetooth headphones. As an owner of Elex, Clear, and Radiance, just in the Focal line, it sounds very similar to the Radiance, Iād say 90% the way there but with slightly less āoomphā in the bass, and does not have the somewhat sparkle in the high frequencies (a welcomed difference for the most part, as I had to turn my Radianceās sibilant region down with EQ; but based on other peopleās reviews it could just be my pair as I rarely have such a major auditory discrepancy with others regarding my other headphones)
However I have found a few issues with the Bathys, and all of them seem that they can easily be fixed through a firmware update:
-
"ā¦I set mine to āLED Offā normally but after being left alone for an extended period of time with no music playing, the headphones go to standby mode (with standby enabled in settings) but once I begin playing on my phone, the light comes on again after it wakes up from sleep. The problems is that unlike a temporary connection indicator light, the light stays on and must be manually turned off in-app again. (This repeatedly happened across different host devices running both iOS and Android)
-
They also need more granular controls for volume, like others have mentioned, especially in the lower volume levels where there is one specific step that turns it from barely audible to one that quadruples the perceived volume.
-
While the passthrough sounds quite natural, there is also a slight static noise in passthrough mode (not very noticeable unless you are somewhere completely silent.)
-
My last suggestion is to make the mode-switching prompts sound quieter (if not shorter as well), as it plays a loud tone that is audibly quite low-res whenever I turn it on/off, switch ANC modes, pass through etc which is quite uncomfortable when used late night and also cheapens the otherwise excellent experience."
8 Likes
Does anyone know if the earpads can be swapped with clear earpads? These earpads run HOT for me.
Certainly not directly, as the Bathys is slightly smaller than the rest of the focal line-up, and also the pads do not have the āclick-onā system.
1 Like
Thank you! Iām enjoying the hp very much, just canāt wear it for an extended time.
Figured Iād add my first impressions to the pot here.
I received the Bathys yesterday and I donāt think itās for me.
The bluetooth modes work well to a point but sound congested during busy passages. This is alleviated by the DAC modeās presence, which works extremely well, but if Iām using a wire then I donāt see much value in having a bluetooth headphone in the first place.
The ANC and transparency modes work but I wouldnāt call them stellar, and the comfort isnāt quite as good as the QC45 or even the Elegia. I have to have the headband fully extended to fit them on my head.
Though, one thing I think they nailed is the controls. Using push buttons and switches for everything was such a good idea, and everything just seems to work for the most part.
Sound-wise; I find the Bathys soundstage to be pleasantly spacious but I think that hurts the dynamics. Theyāre not nearly as punchy as Iād like them to be for a closed back.
I can see how these would be a great versatile headphone for someone who just wants one thing to do it all, but it just seems like a jack of all trades and a master of none.
5 Likes