Focal - Bathys Headphones

Focal’s wireless noise-cancelling headphone, with a real USB-DAC mode at 24-bit / 192kHz and drivers made in its own French workshops.

Bathys arrived in 2022 as Focal’s first wireless noise-cancelling headphone and remains the entry point into the company’s Bluetooth range. It sits below the Bathys MG rather than having been replaced by it; Focal sells both.

The driver is a 40mm aluminium/magnesium ‘M’-shaped dome made in Focal’s workshops in France, the same inverted-dome geometry the company uses across its wired headphones. What separates it from most travel headphones is the USB-DAC mode: connect over USB-C and the Bluetooth chain is bypassed entirely, up to 24-bit / 192kHz. Over the air it runs Bluetooth 5.1 with SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX Adaptive.

Noise cancelling runs in three modes. Silent gives maximum attenuation for an aircraft cabin; Soft reduces the lowest frequencies while leaving you aware of the room, which suits an office; Transparent passes ambient sound so you can hold a conversation without taking the headphones off. Eight microphones handle the cancelling, two of them dedicated to calls under Focal’s Clear Voice Capture. The Focal & Naim app adds a five-band equaliser with saveable presets, the Mimi hearing test, control of the earcup light, firmware updates and voice assistant selection.

One thing worth knowing before you buy: both the 3.5mm jack and the USB input are actively amplified, so the headphones will not play at all with a flat battery. That is also why the wired figures are higher than the wireless one — 35 hours on the jack and 42 in USB-DAC mode, against 30 hours over Bluetooth with cancelling running, because the radio is switched off rather than because the headphone has gone passive.

Features

• Closed-back Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancelling
• 40mm (1-5/8″) Aluminium/Magnesium ‘M’-shaped dome drivers, made in France
• USB-DAC mode over USB-C at up to 24-bit / 192kHz, bypassing Bluetooth entirely
• Bluetooth 5.1 with multipoint — SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX Adaptive
• Three ANC modes: Silent, Soft and Transparent
• Eight microphones, two dedicated to calls via Clear Voice Capture
• 30 hours Bluetooth with ANC, 35 hours on the jack, 42 hours in USB-DAC mode
• Fast charge — five hours of listening from fifteen minutes on the charger
• Focal & Naim app: five-band EQ, Mimi hearing test, ANC modes, logo light control
• Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, plus Google Fast Pair
• Rigid carrying case, jack cable and USB-C cable supplied

Specifications

• Type: Closed-back circumaural Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancelling
• Driver: 40mm (1-5/8″) Aluminium/Magnesium ‘M’-shaped dome, made in France
• Frequency Response: 15Hz – 22kHz (±3dB)
• THD: Less than 0.2% @ 1kHz
• Bluetooth: Version 5.1, multipoint — two devices connected at once, eight held in memory
• Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive. LDAC is not supported
• Bluetooth Range: Greater than 15 m
• USB-DAC Mode: Up to 24-bit / 192kHz over USB-C. Supports 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 and 192kHz; 176.4kHz is not supported
• Wired Input: 1/8″ (3.5mm) jack. Actively amplified — battery power is required, the headphones will not play passively
• Microphones: Eight, two dedicated to calls (Clear Voice Capture)
• Noise Cancelling: Three modes — Silent, Soft and Transparent
• Battery: 1060 mAh lithium-ion
• Battery Life: 30 hours Bluetooth with ANC; 35 hours via jack; 42 hours in USB-DAC mode
• Fast Charge: Five hours of listening from fifteen minutes of charging
• Charging: USB-C, approximately 1.5 hours for a full charge. 5V / 2A recommended; charger not supplied
• App: Focal & Naim, iOS and Android — five-band EQ, Mimi hearing test, ANC mode, logo light, firmware updates
• Voice Assistants: Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Google Fast Pair supported
• Weight: 350 g (0.77 lbs)
• Finishes: Deep Black, Dune
• In the Box: Headphones, rigid carrying case (240 x 210 x 70 mm), 1.2m 3.5mm jack cable, 1.2m USB-C cable, documentation
• Origin: Drivers designed and made in France. Focal publishes no country of final assembly
• Note: Focal publishes no impedance or sensitivity figure for this model, and no ANC attenuation depth in dB