Focal - Bathys MG

I have the OG Bathys and the B&W Px8. I like both a lot especially when using EQ. I've not used the others. And the Bathys are quite quiet for me in terms of sound leakage but I don't wear glasses. I think my dad's headphones on par or a bit better than the Bathys but not $1000 better.

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.

Are they $700-800 better than the Focal Bathys. I don't think so. But it really depends on what you will pay for a more neutral headphone that is slightly more comfortable and stylish. To me that isn't worth the cost but that is just me.

I have the original model and have listened to the MG at a few CanJams. The new ones are definitely better, but not $500 better. This level of diminishing returns is fairly common in audio though (unfortunately). The one thing I haven't had a chance to try on the MG is the app side of things to see what might've changed there. You should be able to find comparisons online though.

I don't really think about it personally. I tend to hear anything very loud, even through active noise cancelling with ANC. Obviously you're right, sound is something our brain uses to detect important information but a lot of safety features are designed to function without it. For instance, because plenty of people in society are deaf or hard of hearing, all important transport information has to be communicated via vision and audio. You can navigate a complex transit system without hearing, and in some cases, without sight because of how they've built. In the UK, cyclists generally aren't supposed to be on the pavement. It would be extremely rare for me to see a cyclist on the pavement near where I live. Not entirely unheard of, but it also depends on the area. If anything, my biggest concern outdoors is that my headphones themselves could be stolen. I wear Focal Bathy's MG and wearing £900 on your head, it feels like you're an easy mark. Fortunately, the general public don't know the value of them. Honestly, I think sometimes that they look so flashy/fancy that they end up having the inverse effect and looking cheap, like some unusual offbrand headphone from Aliexpress, whereas people with something like the Airpods Pro Max are much more likely to have someone target them.

This. Love the Bathys and they're good at canceling low, consistent noises but they're definitely not as good at ANC as some of the other options in the market (but still my favorite, because they're the only ones that sound GOOD, not just fine).

The only thing I'd put in the same general category for sound quality is the Focal Bathys, and it's like ... $700 new? I've tried most of the Sonys, Samsungs, Bose, Beats, etc. and been deeply unimpressed by pretty much all of them. The one I did like a lot is the Bose 700, but it's been discontinued. So if you can find a refurbed or new old stock Bose 700? Or a used Bathys?

Depends on your price point. With some light tweaking in the app, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 are my favorite under $300. If you don’t need ANC, the Audeze Maxwell are a great pair of cans, and if money isn’t an object the Focal Bathys are my favorite wireless headphones, period.

I spent thousands of dollars on the top wireless headphones. The best is the Solitaire T. They're in a league of their own, besting the Bathys MG, Dali IO-12, Bang & Olufsen H100, Mark Levinson 5909, Apollo Fokus, and mainstream ones from Bose, Sony, and Apple.

I had the bathys a while ago and Id say these sound better. The bathys had a metallic sound with a bit of sibilance so I upgraded to the MG. Right now A/B’ing the 630 and MG is interesting… huge price difference between them.

Yeah, both are great but they’re quite different. The HDB 630 have that classic Sennheiser sound… really smooth, open and easy to listen to. Nothing’s overdone, they just sound balanced and natural. The Bathys MG are warmer and have a bit more spark to them. They sound more “holographic” and lively, with a bit more texture and energy. The Senns are more relaxed and reference-like, whereas the MGs are more musical and engaging. Both are extremely comfortable to me too, but the Senns are good for walking about whereas the bathys are better for travel as the case is much smaller.

Just done a test with 4 sets and even I’m surprised. Momentum 4 and 630 at 100% anc, anti wind off. Bathys MG on Silent (not soft) XM6 anc on full I stood in my lads room listening to his TV. Momentum 4: 6/10. Had the least good ANC, but still decent. Bathys MG: 7/10. Better than the OG Bathys. XM6: 9/10. Could just about hear the TV was on but nothing was legible. 630…. Almost identical to the XM6. 9/10 The ANC is supposed to be the same as the M4, so I’m guessing the softer more compliant ear pads on the 630 are doing some magic here, but I’m very impressed with that very quick non scientific (but real world) test. For the record I just did the AirPods Pro 3… 8/10. I don’t get the hype. ANC is worse than on the 2.

Bathys MG. I'd say the HDB 630 but I'd miss the MGs more if they were gone.

I love the Bathys MG.

The Focal Bathys/ Bathys MG are pretty close to passive closed-backs in terms of sound, but consumer headphones do NC significantly better for significantly less money.

Never owned the original but I've demoed them briefly, sonically I'd say the MG is pretty iterative - an improvement for sure but not worth an upgrade by itself. Where it differentiates itself is the ANC, it's quite a lot better than the OG. If you value ANC a lot I'd consider an upgrade, otherwise I'd probably hold on to the OGs.

Depends on if the most important item is the ANC or the sound of the headphones. Apple, Bose and Sony make the best ANC out there, but the musicality of the headphones kind of suck. I just went through every pair of ANC cans I could find looking for the best sound, as long as they had “good enough” ANC. Hands down the T&A Solitaire T wins. Much better than the Bathys Mg and literally every other sub $2k pair of over-ear ANC cans I could get my hands on.

How I hear the Px8 S2 compared to Px7 S3, Px8 S2 has a more colored and warmer sound signature tuning with its elevated mid bass, while maintaining clarity and details, and wider soundstage than OG Px8. Depending on the genre of music you listen to, the elevated lower mids can muddy instrument separation and details on complex tracks. This is great headphone for electronica, hip-hop, soul R&B, certain types of jazz, classic rock, etc—it's a relaxing listen and less for critical listening. I've been revisiting my Focal Bathys MG—they're great but quite an expensive set of wireless cans. He's how I hear the Bathys MG in it's Default sound profile: It's warm, rich sounding—sometimes thick, more balanced overall, smooth throughout the mid range, highly detailed w/o significant glare though there is a sharpness to the "S"—it's right on edge but balances out with the rest of tuning, elevated bass, bass to lower mids transition is forward also like Px8 S2—**these are a very intimate sounding headphone.** There's also minor sound variance, which Focal has compensated, with Bathys MG positioning on your head / over ears but less so than OG Bathys. With the Dynamic sound profile active, Bathys MG sound more Harman-like which is quite nice. It's like an all-in-one, B&W Px8 S2 + Senn HDB-630. Cons are it's kinda silly expensive, an intimate sounding headphone, mixed CS care (buy it from a reputable seller, eg. Crutchfield, Bloom Audio, Headphones, etc). Plus are they're gorgeous, big plush pads and opening for big ears, "conventionally" designed with extensive use of aluminum and magnesium yoke, excellent built-in DAC, Mimi Hearing test lets you adapt and configure the headphones’ sound to your hearing, ANC is similar to Px7 S3/Px8 S2 and good passive noise cancellation. TLDR; Px8 S2 would keep you in B&W family while offering maybe a different sound signature, though it might be too similar to your Px7 S3 depending on how you hear them. I would recommend the Bathys MG if they were priced at $1200, before tariffs, or if you're able to good discount or sale. Personally if I was going to recommend anything over $1K, it would be a desktop setup but your loose the convenience of wireless. The other is Sennheiser's new HDB-630 wireless headphones which has Harman adjacent sound signature similar to Bathys MG without the forward lower mids. Bass is impactful and the treble is nicely smooth without being sibilant or glaring. It's $500 and includes the BTD-700 aptX dongle ($59) which puts in competition with other $450 headphones. I'm quite enamoured with it since it's the most different of the 3 (Px8 S2 and Bathys MG) with parametric EQ. Build quality is average with high quality PC-ABS plastics, but it's solidly built. Only challenge is finding one in stock. Hope this helps!

How I hear the Px8 S2 in comparison to my Px8, it's also colored with warm and relaxing sound signature, elevated and linear bass, mids still have that hint of fullness but improved details and separation, soundstage sounds more open and expansive, and smooth treble extension.