Who's got a pair of Bathys?

I envy you being able to a/b test headphones. I’ve just spent a solid week reading/watching every headphone review (including all yours) and my head is about to explode. You really need to test drive them to know which one you’re gonna like.👍

Bought a pair of Bathys about 2 months ago. Got them on sale at a Focal authorized dealer so I went ahead and took the plunge. They are amazing and love every minute I use them, whether I'm listening in Bluetooth or DAC mode.

I got the Bathys straight after your 1st video..absolutely wonderful headphones in both bluetooth mode and especially in dac mode..money very, very well spent Mark…cheers 😀👍

I own the Bathy's and love every moment of listening to music with them. Night and Day listening when compared to my XM4, and PX7's.

Just bought a pair of Bathys, did an a/b test in store with Px8 and Air Pod Max. It was such a clear defeat, Focals just had something special, PX8s sounded muddy in comparison. However when I got them home and did the sound test for my ears….. Even better again, such clarity

Hi Mark, WH-1000XM5 owner here. Couldn't help but mention that before purchasing the XM5 I went through countless 'higher-end' or 'ultra-premium' brands in search of the best sound from ANC cans, but found that for the money, they had some 'quirks' that were complete dealbreakers and that I could not live with for such huge monetary sacrifice. For example, I found that with the Bowers & Wilkins PX8's ANC switched ON, listening to a track such as Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction, my 'headphone killer' track (as you call yours), the drivers seemed to rattle audibly like a speaker with high distortion. Not an issue with ANC off for some reason, but in my opinion, there's no use in using an ANC headphone when the ANC destroys the sound. With the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95, the headphone volume seemed to be generally extremely low. I understand that the H95 aim to please with clarity and precision, in which they do excel, but 100% volume on the H95 is equal to about 60% to 70% on any other headphone I've tried, which is frustrating when you want to get lost in your favourite tunes. As for the Bathys, I found that for some reason they had a completely different sound signature depending on which part of my ears they sat on, which isn't ideal when you just want to throw on some headphones and listen. Great when you finally find the same setup as the previous listening session, though. When I got my XM5s, I was very very impressed. They're light, comfortable, easy to use, have great ANC, have a fantastic app and EQ, have no deal-breaking quirks (as of yet) and can reach loud volumes at high sound quality with no distortion - not to mention they're half the price of the headphones I had previously tried. I knew immediately they were the ones I wanted to keep. I would recommend the XM5 to anyone who is struggling to make that purchase choice. I've now been using my XM5s since March with no issues. Had you noticed any of these things during testing any of these headphones? Cheers for always making informative reviews Mark!

I own XM3, and tested PX8, H95, Momentum 4 and Bathys. In terms of confort mom4 > xm3 > h95 > bathys > px8 but in terms of sound the bathys are just magical. I would say Bathys by miles away from everything else. I have focal audio on my car which i love, they are absolutely great. The problem i have with bathys is they are quite heavy and didn't find them that comfortable. The xm3 are really comfortable, i can stay all day with them, also momentum 4 but they sound the worst from all above. I find sony to beat everything else in terms of price per what they offer, but bathys in terms of sound are magical. I tested them only bluetooth , i wonder whay my fiio k11 will put into these if i manage to buy them as they are 3x price of xm4

I recently bought a pair of Bathys and they are worth every Penny. They sound amazing - not the best anc but everything else is excellent 👌🏻 😃👍🏻

Will you do a 6-month video of the PX8 as well? B&W also (surprisingly) released an exciting firmware recently which fixed and improved many of the issues I had with it. Also, I’m one of the few who is NOT a fan of the XM4 sound, too muddy. However I was very pleased with the XM5. Have yet to try a Focal headphone. This video made me want to.

Done loads of research and you’ve swayed me, just tried to buy myself a set of open box Bathys but hifi shop had just sold out but they gave me the same £200 discount on a new set and also 5 years warranty. Looking forward to pairing them up with my new iPhone Pro 15 and its USB C slot.

Has anyone tried the Shure Aonic 50s? I have a pair and I’m not sure how much better the sound quality is with the bathys because the Aonic sound really good and they’re 100s of dollars cheaper

Which one is better for Hip Hop/ R&B? I want to feel the thump and strong punch of the bass with great detail.

As a long-time owner and fan of the Sonys, I have to admit I was blown away by how much better and clearer even the similarly-priced Marshall Monitor 2s sounded compared to the XM4; much more detailed lows and low-mids, heavy distortion guitars sound much better and an overall wider soundstage. Now Ive yet to try the Bathys, but Id assume they would blow away the Marshalls easily, so thats most of what you should know about this comparison. The Sonys in general have a really ugly, dense and undetailed bass response, now Ive come to realize theres really not much to them except for ANC. I really cant stress enough how much more important audio quality is compared to any other feature when it comes to headphones, once you experience good sound, you can never go back. Ill definitely get the Bathys to replace my XM4s.

I would be very interested to hear if you found that the sound quality of the Focal improved with time. Focal themselves say that their headphones need to be ‘run-in’. I have found that B&W headphones improve considerably with use, this was true for the Px5, the Px7 and now for the Px7 s2. What have you found? Did I see the px8 in your video here? Long term feedback on them would also be much appreciated 👍

Hmm. Any actual usable feedback on extended listening wear? e.g. 2.5 hours on head without physical adjustment / re-positioning. 20 mins with XM4's and your ears sweat. Sony have pushed frugality too far; lightweight doesn't mean good value for money or good quality (Sony MDR-MV1 etc).

Yes I basically agree the xm4 is really valuable that's just a matter of fact. But after the B&W I just can't go back to Sony or Bose sound signature.... I immediately notice the 700 has a weird thing which disappointed me, and the Sony feels so boxy and unbalanced as hell in the basses....

Apples and oranges but how does the bathys compare to your 560s in terms of sound quality?

Forget Iphone for making a serious evaluation. Try with Ldac for Sony and Aptx for Bathys. I got the Bathys and they lack Ldac . I have other headphones with Ldac and the difference is audible.

what would you recommend between Bathys, Mark Levinson 5909 and Solitaire T+A? I'll use them ( sometimes ) with the external amp dac Signature Thank you

The xm5 is a straight up upgrade for the xm4, the cushioning are just better quality. But I do love the XM4 clamp force, they firmly sits exactly on my head without any sort of discomfort.

I got the bathys and im really debating what to dom they sound amazing but leave my ears sore after 2 hours. I really want to keep them but they numb my ear and are hot in the summer. I really want to keep them but theyre bot comfortable for me. I have 3 weeks to return. What do you think?

Hello Mark…enjoy your channel ! … I have the Beoplay H95 (Chestnut Version) which are comparable with the the Bathys and the PX8s….you’re welcome to borrow them for a review if you want…there’s no rush for them back. My main headphones are the Hifiman Arya V2, Fostex TH909 and the Senheisser HD800S. Cheers mate 👍

Hi Mark would like to order a pair of headphones from this company but they dont ship to the UK

How does Focal compare to BO H95? I have XM4 (returned the XM5) and AirPods Max, looking for an upgrade :)

Forget all those...for $300 only just buy audeze maxwell. Yes it's a gaming headset and a bit bulky and heavy...but the sound they are damn good. It's a planar and because it has battery make it super easy to drive. I owned BW Px8 and tried bathys, but i think the maxwell easily match and better.

XM4 is muddy as hell. still like them for the comfort and convenience though.

Is it possible to use EQ with USB-C in DAC mode connection ?

Nice review. Compare to Mark Levinson 5909s??

Enjoy your videos. I had the XM4s for about a week and then returned them. They were not as bright and clear as my AirPods Max and AirPods Pro 1. And my KZ VXS was best of all three. The VXS do not have noise cancelling but the answer to that is to turn the volume up until you cannot hear anything else.

I'm listening to my Sony 720N sounds fantastic. have the settings to my liking at 0, 2, 3, 2, 1

Will these be good for mixing and mastering for audio engineers/producers???

Do they Bathys have LDAC codec capability? I dont want to plug into my phone every time i want to listen to hi-res.

Is Bathys much better than Bose Ultra headphones in sound quality?

The xm4 are over prices af... How can say they are the best for the money when you can literally buy soundcore heaphones that sound better and have better battery life for literally less than half the price..

is it possible to use chaging + DAC mode(connect to laptop) + ANC?

How does it compare to the a800 technics?

You stil prefer the XM 4 to the XM5? Why?

Thank you for your reviews, Mark! Got the XM5 for the #1 call quality + really good base EQ :)

Well done. Good job ❗❗👍👍👍👍👍👍

Great video! Thanks for the great comparison to a much more well known headphone in the Sony.

As an owner of Focal loud speakers, and Clear’s, your review makes buying the Bathys’ an easy choice.

Bathys are the best headphones I’ve ever heard and I’m not saying just Bluetooth

normal headphone users dont by a Bathys :-) So yes you are going to attract audiophiles. But all explanation are good IMO.... sound is subjective beside the technical stuff. Great review. I like you camera work.

Love my bathys , upgrade from my sony xm3 and bose qc35 as my travel companion :) money well spent

I have enjoyed the Bathys, the PX8 and the H95 for about a year, and overall the Bathys are my favourite though I love them all.

Nice video

Hi Mark, I think your Patreon link in video descriptions has ellipsis at the end thus taking to a 404 page, you might want to update all videos to fix the link.

u are the hbomberguy of headphones 😊

You could try the newly released Audio Technica M50x-BT2 which is far cheaper..better treble accuracy, better mid accuracy, more soundstage at just 200 dollars Or you could get these for a “slight” more bass accuracy (which focal bathys beats audio techinca for 800 dollars ) And if you are into V Shaped sound, Go for Sennheiser Momentum 4

If you like the bathys you will LOVE the Utopia 2022 😂😂

This guy managed to squeeze two advertisements into a single video: one for Bathys, and another for Sony.

Sony have great Anc ! Sounds 🤮

Overrated, overhyped headphone. Not sure what reviews are talking about when they say this is among the best sounding BT headphones. The treble is too dull, almost hollow. The bass all the way to the lower midrange is great, but falls apart after that, at least within the context of a $800 BT headphones. Maybe reviewers are just Focal fans. Maybe confirmation bias from all the hype, I don't know really.

Bar-tease??😂

The fact your comparing the xm4’s to a much expensive and high caliber headphone says a lot

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It's amazing that Sony makes high end headphones, their speakers and phones have always been cheap sh1t. I could never buy Sony phones.