Focal - Bathys

Stealth black Focal Bathys OG is what I have. They are amazing. Great sound quality in Bluetooth mode—and full lossless sound when I’m able to wire up and use the onboard DAC mode. I previously owned: Bose QC Ultras and AirPods Max. The Bose and AirPods have better ANC and way better transparency modes. No denying that. But the Bathys are more than enough on the noise cancellation front. I just used them for a 6 hour flight. All crying babies and engine noise was mitigated enough for me to enjoy my music.

All things considered it's my Focal Bathys. Wireless is just so useful and they sound so damn good that if I had to choose just one it would be them.

I adore my OG Bathys. Understand that the MG's might sound better, even significantly better. But can I justify spending more than 2x the price? No, not really. Once the ear pads softened up a bit and fit my head correctly, I'm just in love with how beautiful they sound. I paid about $450 USD after using Amazon gift points and I don't think it's possible to get anything even close to the same quality at that price. I had B&W Px7 S2e before the Bathys and the Bathys just completely mog them in basically every respect. As far as ANC, that's not surprising. It's the same deal with the B&W's. They are smaller companies that focus exclusively on high-end audio and as a result they prioritize sound quality over ANC and battery life. I personally prefer the better audio quality than the ANC ( I originally started off with Momentum 4s and the ANC & battery life was far superior, but they don't sound anywhere close to as good as the B&W or Focals from an audio quality standpoint and the build quality is so much worse). If I suddenly won the lottery I suppose I would consider upgrading to the MGs but I don't have any interest in investing that much money at the moment. I've only heard the MGs briefly, and the extent to which breaking in the ear pads improved the sound on my pair means that I certainly didn't hear the MGs at their best but ultimately it's a lot of money. Too much money for my budget.

Just bcz they can do both wireless and wired I would take my Focal Bathys over HD-600s.

FWIW, the Bathys has a EQ setting in their app that basically puts it at the Harman curve instead of the Focal house tuning. But the Dysons seem to be a good value now that the prices are dropping.

I have the Bathys, love the sound. Probably best bluetooth headphones I've heard, even without LDAC. But yeah, the ANC is mediocre compared to my old Sony's and they also bleed sound quite a lot, which can be a problem if you want to use them in a plane for example.

I have three of these and will give my opinions. Best for music is clearly the Focal Bathys with the onboard DAC. This rivals my DCA Noire and LCD-3 headphones for separation and clarity. Not as detailed as the LCD-3 but still clearly the best sound profile of the three. The ANC is the worst of the 3 especially for low dB noises. Microphone also worst of the 3. Comfort is ok but not phenomenal. Most comfortable with the best ANC for me is the Bose QC Ultra with the Sony right behind. Bose and Sony both need EQ and I don't see much of a difference between them for that. Sony has more bells and whistles with the APP with a better environment for adaptive sound control if that is of interest to you. And out of the box Sony sound better but for me still needs a lot of EQ to even out the low and high frequencies. Also I'm not a huge fan of the lack of deep cups for the WH1000X6 but that is just my preference for comfort. But agree just test all three by going to big box store or ordering and returning them. I also agree that the #2 for sound is the Sennheiser Momentum 4 which is the best deal of the four.

Ordered. My Bathys will be on ebay soon. 

As a pretty invested audiophile  going on 5ish years now with many wired headphones and IEMs, I have to say that I hold these in high regard above most other wireless headphones out today. They have a very modern Bauhaus-inspired design with a great quality build, and of course a very deep, rich cinematic-type sound that is detailed but a lot of fun to listen to. I’m going to start with sound as that is the most important to me; I personally own both the Sony WH-1000XM5 and XM4, and these absolutely \*demolish\* them. The AirPods Maxes have some of the most detailed and cleanest sub-bass extension I’ve heard in a headphone period. Even when comparing to other high-regarded wireless headphones like the Focal Bathys, I would still pick the Maxes simply for their slimmer, more discrete profile, and a cleaner more impressive low-end kick, not to mention the better noise-cancelling and transparency functionality. The Maxes do have some mid-range and vocal scoop present, but it doesn’t feel \*dirty\* or masked like the Sonys. And, if you have an iOS device simply enabling the “balanced tone” + slight accessibility setting brings back those higher notes in a more natural and pleasing way. (Though for me personally, it does introduce some shimmer to the treble, so I like the more meatier vocal presentation in its default configuration)  Where the Maxes gave me grumbles at first was with its comfort and USB-C lossless functionality. These gave me wicked ear and head pains for the first couple of days, but seemingly overtime that completely went away. I can now wear these all day with no issues, but I would still say that this is where most other headphones excel at better. I found that the trick to have the best fit is to make sure the lower part of the ear cup doesn’t touch the upper part of your jaw. The USB-C functionality used to be bugged when it was first introduced, but with a recent firmware update it now works flawlessly on windows. However, it is still picky about certain DAPs. So to sum up, these headphones are excellent! It may be hard to justify these in terms of price, especially when things like the AirPods Pro 2s exist, but I don’t think anything will give you the same type of movie theatre-like low end. These are incredible for watching Atmos content in, and do an excellent job at providing a nice coloured sound response that doesn’t feel like it’s trying to suffocate you with muddy bass or shrill highs.  *If I were to consider this headphone as an all-in-one package (sound, ANC, comfort, smart features), I would put these at #1 above pretty much everything else on the market. Others may excel in certain areas, but no headphone will do all of it, as well as the maxes in my opinion.* Now some quick comparisons:  **Sony WH1000-XM6**: I can actually see these being a very good alternative to the maxes if you need something lighter, and more space friendly. The XM6s have much more natural sounding tuning than its predecessors, but It still sounds “compressed” and dull compared to the maxes. The maxes seem to sound “bigger”, with easier to separate details and better overall perceived technicalities. **B&W PX7 S3**: If you took my maxes away and forced me to use a different headphone, this would be it. It is B&Ws best tuning and headphone yet, it’s super slim, sleek, rich design, and good feeling materials in hand. The sound is much more exaggerated but it does so in a way where you don’t lose detail, it sounds as or more wider than the maxes at times with its much more brighter highs. The bass is a tad boomy, but it feels textured and fun. Some quality of life features also surprised me, like when you move one cup off the side from your ear, the music will automatically pause.  **Bose QC Ultra**: The QC ultras are more comfortable and lighter than the maxes, but don’t do much to inspire me sound wise. Very bland, and sometimes too bass heavy with thin vocals. It feels more like a “tool” for travel rather than a headphone to enjoy.  **Momentum 4**: I did not like the momentum 4s at all. Super boosted sub-bass that masks the rest of the frequency response, and what sounds like a scoop in the upper mids. Design and ANC also leave a lot to be desired. **Focal Bathys and MG**: Right off the gate the MGs just did not do it for me, sounded very tubby and echoey, heavy, big, mediocre ANC, and what felt like an overall worse product than the cheaper Bathys. I would still choose the APM over the bathys for being cheaper, and better a noise cancellation while still providing that really deep and rich bass response. 

Accurate. Bathys were very uncomfortable for me, had to get rid of them immediately

Then I’d recommend the Focal Bathys if you have a larger head and don’t find the 630 comfortable. They are extremely comfortable.

No I mean the stock pads on the bathys are extremely comfortable. No need to replace them.

honestly, its still extremely bad. somehow all reddit people know to name only the worst headphones on the planet. momentum 4 ... ts... all the marketing stuff pushed onto people. while the real studio geeks only talk HD599/Dt770/Hd600. basically the xm6 only wins from childs headphones. factually the sennheiser HD599 (can be had new for 100 dollars some places), is far overboard better than the xm6. and the HD600 is worlds ahead. and believe it or not. when you upgrade frequently, you eventually pass over the price of some of the bestheadphones around. such as the focal bathys (if you truly have to be wireless), but you wont ever overcome a HD600, or a focal elear. and if you are really rich, the yamaha yh5000se is the best. the xm6 is highly overrated and not even better than the sennheiser HD280. if a headphone hsa a generation number, your quaranteed to be fucked by the company. those are the worst options to choose from. Get a focal bathys now, and youll earn it back, skipping generations, or if you really love your music: i dont even recognise my music for music if it aint on a HD600 or better. on the xm6, music is just noise to me.

honestly, its still extremely bad. somehow all reddit people know to name only the worst headphones on the planet. momentum 4 ... ts... all the marketing stuff pushed onto people. while the real studio geeks only talk HD599/Dt770/Hd600. basically the xm6 only wins from childs headphones. factually the sennheiser HD599 (can be had new for 100 dollars some places), is far overboard better than the xm6. and the HD600 is worlds ahead. and believe it or not. when you upgrade frequently, you eventually pass over the price of some of the bestheadphones around. such as the focal bathys (if you truly have to be wireless), but you wont ever overcome a HD600, or a focal elear. and if you are really rich, the yamaha yh5000se is the best. the xm6 is highly overrated and not even better than the sennheiser HD280. if a headphone hsa a generation number, your quaranteed to be fucked by the company. those are the worst options to choose from. Get a focal bathys now, and youll earn it back, skipping generations, or if you really love your music: i dont even recognise my music for music if it aint on a HD600 or better. on the xm6, music is just noise to me.