Skipped rent, bought these landlord threw me out but these headphones kept my ears warm in this winter. Best decision I ever made, had I not bought these my ears would have been so cold.
As concepts like the Harman targets get introduced more in these videos, taking the time to specify over-ear vs in-ear targets will eventually pay off. Y'all will eventually review a TWS IEM and viewers may be confused by the Harman target seeming to change.
@@NickVetter The Harman target frequency chart they show in the video is specifically for over-ear headphones. The Harman in-ear headphone target is a different curve. If the abbreviations threw you off, TWS is true wireless (to differentiate from the older cord-around the back of the neck style wireless headphones) and IEM is in ear monitor or a fancy way of referring to in-ear headphones. Airpods Pros are TWS IEMs for example.
also would be nice if they tried to make a tier list with value ratings like Crinacle does, as well as specify what genres of music the IEMs would excel in to make it easier for consumers. For TWS I'd love to have detailed comparisons between its audio quality vs an in-line mic or default phone mic, as well as the audio quality while listening to music while on a call (because Bluetooth could be more efficient in the future and provide HD audio + voice maybe...) which will remind consumers why wired IEMs will always have a place if you value audio call quality for ppl like me
Its pathetic how common focal headbands break. It even happens on their 1000$+ products, I do not understand why they dont just copy the design from basically any other major headphone company.
Yeah meanwhile Grado uses what feels like the cheapest $3 headband but at least its spring steel the whole way across. Its inexcusable to have a headband that breaks when one that doesn't can be cheap as dirt
all the driver issues, headbands breaking, and bad customer service turns me off from focal stuff. which sucks cause I hear they sound good. but tbh they're easy to ignore when zmf exists with lifetime driver warranties
This is one of the reasons that keep me away from buying Hifiman and Focal headphones. While they sound great, QC and build quality just scares me away. With Focals you have shit headbands and hifiman you have shit drivers
I work in a HiFi shop, I use these on the regular (mainly to block out coworkers) when customers aren't using them. I can vouch that these are fantastic headphones if you want something that is bang in the middle of high-end hifi and casual comfort for everyday use. As someone who knows how good headphones can sound (having heard rigs that cost almost $25,000), these are a good bang for your buck if you're looking to invest some extra dough on your next cans.
Oh thats great to hear that you have the experience! Could you tell me how do they compare to the Sennheiser HD650? I´m daily driving those for years and thought about getting something new. I´m also kinda interested in the campfire audio cans, which name I forgot. I heard the Audeze Stuff and wasn´t really blown away since I have 3000$ Custom IEMs which sound so much better at a similar price, but somehow I really like the HD650 even if they are much cheaper. I tweak the frequencies according to Amirs meassurements which makes up for the lack of base while keeping the amazing mids intact. Edit: I daily drive the HD650 at home when I´m on my computer and use my CIEMs when I´m out. I only got the CIEMs because pre Covid I had a job where I traveled to the Tech Centers of the world frequently and mainly lived in hotels in China and I wanted something to enjoy on my way to work and on 12 hour flights. I would not buy that expensive CIEMs anymore nowadays and definitely no more super expensive mobile like my Alo Audio Continental Dual Mono. But I´d buy the Chord Mojo all over again, I just whished they made the step and integrated the Poly functions in the Mojo 2, even if it would´ve pissed of the Poly buyers. It´s just to clunky with the Poly, thats why I´m not buying the Poly and have no reason to buy the Mojo 2. would be amazing if you have some tips for me what I should get, also I´d like to get a new DAC and AMP (or combined unit) for my desktop setup. I´m open to valve and solid state systems. Edit 2: Oh I saw those are wireless, I do not want this, I want a good Dac and a good amp for my desktop.
@@rolux4853 Hey man, that's a lot to unpack haha. It's difficult to give a perfect answer, but I'd check out iFi Audio's offerings, think they sound really good (especially if you upgrade the PSU:s) in terms of DAC/Amps. I've got a few favourites right now, if you like the more neutral open type of sound, more refined than the HD650's if my memory serves me right, I'd check out HiFiMAN's planarmagnetic offerings, they sound pretty amazing. The Focal Clear MG:s are really amazing though, I'm not a huge fan of the Elegia, but that's maybe because I compare them against eachother in my mind. One of the bundles I've sold quite a few of, just by customer's coming to the same conclusion, is an iFi Audio xDSD Gryphon with a pair of Clear MG's and a nice balanced cable (pentacon 4,4mm). But as you're gonna use it by your desktop I'd check out something without a battery from iFi Audio, they're not really meant to be used in that manner.
"revisiting the Etymotics" As someone that knew them from earplugs... I'd also be interested in LTT reviewing "concert" level earplugs and seeing which ones have the most even and natural noise reduction for overly noisy concert.
What it is great about them, that they actually sound great wireless. I'm in love with them, and I don't have to mess around with equaliser. Their Dynamic settings works with pretty much everything
Been using the. Bathys since the beginning of November. I personally love them. The only thing that bothers me is that the LED keeps turning on. I think my work computer uses the led as a notification light. UPDATE: Focal seems to have fixed the light coming on issue.
Realy appreciate the more scientific approach you are having recently for headpones and in ears. Espacialy giving references to something more commonly available like in this case the air pods pro. Usualy someone in your vacinity has them, so i can abstract from that point quite fine. And Adam did a very nice job in this Video.
Be interested to hear these, I know their car audio speakers are supposed to be just stellar. This video makes me miss my old headphone setup, spent something like $1,500, included some HE-500 headphones. Honestly, I think a high end headphone/headphone setup is something everyone should at least experience once in their life. You'll never be able to really appreciate/comprehend how good headphones can sound until you hear some of those high fi setups.
True to me, never really appreciate sound quality before i try one of the good headphones in the audio shop just for curiosity. It changes everything.. even if you are not going to buy one, if the shop offers free listening/demo, try it...
Agreed. My gf never really gave a shit about sound quality from headphones. Then i introduced her to my Bathys, and she became a believer. I topped it off with her having a listening session on my computer with entire Arya set up, and she started tearing up from how amazing the sound quality. EVERYONE should experience HiFi at least ONCE, regardless of whether they give a shit about it or not.
CORRECTION: Aptx Adaptive is not backwards compatible on all devices. The device needs a very specific set of Qualcom chips to be enabled and is the newest of the 4 major BT formats. So they are correct by calling it out explicitly on the label because the headphone device also needs to be engineered to send that improved format.
It’s hard to give Focal a second look after how they treated their customers with the Elex and Clear driver clipping issues. No to mention a headband design that breaks from normal use. It’s sad because their design language is a breath of fresh air and they have such a storied history in the speaker market.
Those headphones were cheaply built. Higher end Focals (Incl. Bathys) have better headbands. Same design, but stronger material. You've never seen a Stellia, Utopia or Radiance snap before
After trying the Apple AirPods Max, the Sony xm5 and the B & W px7 s2, I did not get the wow factor from any of these options. I tried Bathys on in the shop with no intention of buying them because they were out of my budget. As soon as I did, any idea of a budget went out of the window. These sound so good it sends a tingle down your spine. No matter which genre you like, it sounds perfect without needing EQ. and the DAC mode just gives it more depth. Sure the ANC is not class leading and don’t even think about trying to make phone calls with this. But they are extremely comfortable and the best sounding Bluetooth headphones on the market. I’m so happy I found them with a £150 discount from Premium Sound (London, UK) at only £550!
I work in hifi and have the full focal range of headphones in store, i was very impressed with these straight out the box. The Utopia are just stunning too if you get the chance to try.
LTT labs need to educate more people who go in front of the camera on how to read these graphs, or at least, make them look at bunch of other graphs so they know what something looks like in comparison to other FR graphs. This is not a neutral pair of cans by any stretch, compare it to FAR cheaper set like AKG K371 or Shure SRH440, the Focal Bathys isn't really something you can call neutral with dark treble and that wonky midrange. But hey, at least I'm happy that LTT has FINALLY show some effort into moving to objective audio reviews instead of the good ol' "it's good bro, trust me" approach. Appreciate the effort my man. it was somehow flawed, but it's a good first step.
Exactly. It's an expensive, beautiful piece of art, that doesn't have to mean it is garish or tacky. The minimalist aesthetic has really been done to death and I'm enjoying things like the amazing futuristic Devialet and Kef speakers, and of course, all the Focal designs. The Stellia and Clear Mg with the leather and brown colors are spectacular.
I had the Focal Clear MG for a while and it's a superb headphone. Can wholeheartedly recommend them for someone looking to the next step up in audio quality from the typical Sennheiser HD 6** models that are thankfully so popular now.
You're wrong regarding aptx adaptive. It is more than just backwards compatible. Its most important feature being sampling frequency. This is the future, and should not be disregarded.
I use my Sony XM4 in the woodworking shop and on building sites a lot. Because the Focals are so expensive I wouldn't use them in such dusty environments... high price is an inconvenience.
12:04 ok so soundstage is NOT the same as imaging. soundstage is more overall distance and 'closeness'; it can almost be summarised in how wide and airy the sound feels. imaging is direction and separation of the instruments; can you point to the individual trumpet, or just section as a whole? of course this is mostly reliant on the recording, though.
Did you know about focal listen ? They are wireless at 100€ in Europe, with wireless and wired options for years their first product targeting cheap headphones was the spirit which was wired only
Focal Clear are what many somewhat reasonable audiophiles consider the endgame at 1500 bucks, because they are THAT good, and it's hard to justify even spending that much. Their TOTL, Focal Utopia, are like 4500, and probably one of the best headphones I've ever listened to. I'd say 800 bucks is a bullet most audiophiles are willing to bite when it's a brand like them
@@disadadi8958 correct, and many audiophiles also have wireless headphones for convenience, not critical listening. Also the bathys is excellent in dac mode.
I sold focal home and car audio for 10 years, the side of the box lists all the areas their products range. Home audio, mobile audio, and professional/studio audio
Maybe you can make a video about the Harman Target Curve. The explanations I found on RUclips and Google have been kind of underwhelming. If I'm not mistaken then at least for analog instruments or voices the goal is to reproduce the sound that was made in the studio or wherever the recording was made as accurately as possible. In layman's terms: It should sound like you are really there. Now maybe microphones have some bias, but as long as it doesn't cancel out the Harman Target Curve you will get a distorted result. This is of course complicated by the fact that music is typically tuned by people wearing headphones that presumably emulate the HTC, but the question remain why is this the benchmark curve? I know that video formats use logarithmic encoding for brightness so that you get more details in low light, where humans are able to distinguish smaller differences. Is something similar going on here?
Since there is no standard recording setup, there is no way to perfectly reproduce sound. Music is also typically not mixed on headphones, but rather on speakers. Headphones are sometimes used to check for specific things, but the vast majority of work is done on speaker setups. The Harman target roughly maps to the ideal frequency response for speakers after the head-related transfer function. While the ideal speaker response is flat from 20-20k Hz, the head shape transforms those frequencies so you don't get a flat line at the ear drum. The Harman target emulates this effect and consequently approximates the sound of ideal speakers. The main reason why the Harman target should be used as a reference is that it is the only publicly available reference curve which has scientific validation. As mentioned in the video the vast majority of people will prefer the Harman target to other frequency responses. This was validated with different studies that also looked at different factors like age, sex, nationality, listening experience, etc which turned out to have no significant effect.
It would be nice if the frequency response curves included some other more common headphones so more ppl in the audience can have a sense for how much better it sounds than something we’re familiar with. Otherwise it just looks like a squiggly line - context is important.
Frequency response is just one aspect of good sound, without context people might think "those cheaper headphones are closer to the Harman target than those expensive ones, must mean the expensive ones are a rip off", but it's not that simple
Frequency response is also basically meaningless with respect to sound *quality*. If you learn to read the graph, it will describe how it will sound to you tonally (no need for a reference point), but that's literally it. Also, what do you mean "more common" headphones??? Do you have any clue how many different headphones are out there? You could have graphs for HD 6XX, Sony XM5s, Razer Krakens, M50Xs, Sundara, Porta-Pros and QC35s, and STILL only cover about 5% of the audience, at the cost of pacing and clarity for literally everybody else.
My wife has some Focal Listen Wireless headphones, and she had numerous problems with them. Lots of disconnection issues, and many battery issues (battery died not long after purchase, and the battery indicator jumping up and down. The warranty people called, and they said that even after completely replacing all the electronic components, the issue came back while testing - to me, that sounds like a product design/firmware issue, not hardware. They replaced the entire pair, and so far they work.). The jack connector of the provided 3.5mm jack cable broke while plugged into a phone, it was a nightmare to get the broken part out. Got a replacement, and the replacement broke too in the same way. I've never seen a jack connector fail like that. The connector was hollow on the inside, and very thin. After those bad experiences, I can't recommend another Focal product.
Here is my problem, for that price I expect headphones to be for life, but the mere fact they have a battery inside means that in a few years they will die.
They say they will replace the battery for a fee not sure what the fee is yet. Apparently it's easy to take apart and the battery is a generic one and connected via a connector not soldered.
Can you please add ANC testing with something extremely loud, such as a vacuum. Sony WH-1000XM4 and B&O 3rd gen both have extremely good ANC that is completely unusable in loud environment because there is no control of the ANC and the resulting pressure wave is far too much for comfort.
why tf is everyone comparing fidelity focused headphones to airpods in every comment thread? yall lost the plot edit nvm these are wireless short circuit lost the plot, not yall nvm again these are wired?
@@ETHANR26 Because they are direct competitors the the Airpods Max. And even if they aren't: There are enough wired headphones that can't compete with good Bluetooth ones. My Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro for example. Comfortable as ... , but boy do they not sound good against wireless headphones costing 2-8 times as much...
to those who seek the highest in fidelity everything besides the quality of the sound is an added extra, there's also a precedence of modification (pad, cable and overall head assembly rolling and other such things). wait till you normalize triple digit speaker prices as nothing too outlandish happy hunting :)
Only problem is the stupid handling of audio on Android. In dev settings set the sample ate and bits per sample to match your audio (44.1/16 usually) and listen to your headphones coming to life (especially sony ones)
Sample rate does absolutely nothing to sound quality unless you are listening to high bit rate audio like flacs.Even with lossless audio bluetooth compression will affect the bitrate. Also Sony wireless headphones are bottom of the barrel when compared to wired audiophile headphones.
@@Sand_1995 while you're generally correct, there are cases where it does have an effect. I think going below 30khz will affect it, but going down to extremes like 1khz will obviously affect it. I don't think you can even choose sample rates below 44.1khz on Android, so this isn't an issue for us.
@@Sand_1995 Sample rate does a lot to sound quality, especially when it needlessly is resampled into another rate. It also wastes a lot of bandwith when using high end bluetooth codecs when set to the wrong setting like the android OS does by default. Sony LDAC is the top of the line when looking at bluetooth codecs, it is very close to CD quality.
There is an issue with these which I discovered after purchase - for some reason these are reversed when presented in the case - the controls are on the left instead of the right and the L appears on the right and the R appears on the left. To use these as designed and based on the manual you have to rotate the whole headphone 90 degrees before putting the on.
I really like Adam as a host, he slowly snuck into content and been taking more frontstage lately, I really enjoyed the video on the Levus Zero Gravity and this one really confirms what I felt :)
It Should be noted that all wireless ANC headphones are active and have internal dacs. These likely just market it because most perspective buyers understand the nuance of analog vs digital audio and DSP. vs your more mainstream consumer who aren't as familiar with these nuances.
The argument from focal for the DAC toggle is: when they are connected via cable in DAC mode they can DSP better because they don't have to save energy. And yes they sound better connected via USB c and worse via 3.5mm (not sure why they included the headphone jack. But for emergencys...)
@@SivaKanthSharma Depends on the headphones. Some just bypass the DAC and everything, which can make them sound terrible when using the 3,5 mm jack (if the manufacturer uses the DAC to work on the sound signature).
@@mscheese000 it's wild how SO many dudes in this community believe that "burn-in" is a thing lmao. I've had my Arya v2's for over 2 years now, and I've heard absolutely NO difference from unboxing day to now save for the Peace APO EQ I use to adjust dynamics. Mind you, before I got them, people had sworn up and down that I'd notice a difference after 200-300 hours of listening lmao.
I was considering these.... I want a headphone that can do everything. And have premium quality. Plug into my PC at my desk. Work on my phone. I'm leaning more towards the B&W PX8's Need to go to a shop and demo them both....... wonder if that's possible in the UK these days.
this really isn't a good representation of Focal's audiophile line of headphones. I would recommend just getting Focal Clears. At least wait for their second generation of their ANC wireless headphones, never become an early adopter.
I got these, coming from a Sony WH1000XM4. They’re amazing, I love them. I bought a Furutech ADL IHP35 upgrade cable to improve the 3.5mm output, other than that they’re wonderful. Bluetooth is great, despite the missing LDAC. They sound proportionally better considering their price. I think it’s worth it.
if the battery dead , is it replaceable and how much to change it? I 've heard if the battery dead , this headphone can't make sound even use the 3.5 mm jack.
Woah, I litteraly bought these headphones like a couple hours ago and this is one of the first videos I'm watching with it! The headphones are soo great, but the cables that come with it are a bit disappointing and the fact that you can't turn off ANC is annoying Also what I noticed, when using ANC, if you rub against something (like a couch) there's a really, really annoying high whistle tone
The earcups look very deep, that's a major flaw on the Sony XM5's and also a small issue on the Sennheiser Momentum 4's that I have. I asked Sennheiser if they would consider also making replacement earpads that are deeper than the standard, but got a flat "no"... Would be great to try these, but they are kiiiind of out of my price range.
You say the cord isn’t “premium” but I can say the “premium” stuff that came with my Stellia was microphonic as hell and every cheapy cheap cable would be better.
I’m not a music guy. I will never buy a headset. My Apple Airpods 2 and Spotify on my iPhone are plenty music for my requirements. Yet This guy clearly knows what he’s talking about and I find myself watching the whole video with interest. You got a great addition to the team here Linus!
Missing out, fam. I'd suggest look into a combo DAC/Amp (I use iFi Zen Dac V2) + decent headphones (I use Sennheiser HD6XX). I didn't believe how much I was missing out until I upgraded my audio setup.
Not everyone gets the impression of what is missing on most wireless stuff. But for those who can the batys is not a bad idea and can even be used on windows with a bta30 pro(LDAC)
The hinges and the loop joining the earcups to the headphone, are made from magnesium… which is why they feel light and somewhat like plastic… the only plastics I know of on these, is the outer cup shell of each ear cup… the rest is magnesium… not plastic… I’ve already owned them for 1.5 years, daily use, no problems with parts or headband snapping or cracking, or even creaking… they must have solved past issues here.
I find it disturbing how no one in the comments has talked about how these guys have almost the same logo as Stadia....hope it's not a sign of future things to come for them
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Skipped rent, bought these landlord threw me out but these headphones kept my ears warm in this winter. Best decision I ever made, had I not bought these my ears would have been so cold.
Sorry that your mom kicked you out.
@@jesseruhland2983 jessepinkman2983*
As concepts like the Harman targets get introduced more in these videos, taking the time to specify over-ear vs in-ear targets will eventually pay off. Y'all will eventually review a TWS IEM and viewers may be confused by the Harman target seeming to change.
That's a really fair observation
What
@@NickVetter The Harman target frequency chart they show in the video is specifically for over-ear headphones. The Harman in-ear headphone target is a different curve. If the abbreviations threw you off, TWS is true wireless (to differentiate from the older cord-around the back of the neck style wireless headphones) and IEM is in ear monitor or a fancy way of referring to in-ear headphones. Airpods Pros are TWS IEMs for example.
also would be nice if they tried to make a tier list with value ratings like Crinacle does, as well as specify what genres of music the IEMs would excel in to make it easier for consumers.
For TWS I'd love to have detailed comparisons between its audio quality vs an in-line mic or default phone mic, as well as the audio quality while listening to music while on a call (because Bluetooth could be more efficient in the future and provide HD audio + voice maybe...) which will remind consumers why wired IEMs will always have a place if you value audio call quality for ppl like me
@@shawndiaz7528just call them tws earbuds stop the fancy shit
Focal doesn't use metal in the top part of the headband. The plastic used in that part frequently cracks for a lot of Focal users.
Its pathetic how common focal headbands break. It even happens on their 1000$+ products, I do not understand why they dont just copy the design from basically any other major headphone company.
Yeah meanwhile Grado uses what feels like the cheapest $3 headband but at least its spring steel the whole way across. Its inexcusable to have a headband that breaks when one that doesn't can be cheap as dirt
all the driver issues, headbands breaking, and bad customer service turns me off from focal stuff. which sucks cause I hear they sound good. but tbh they're easy to ignore when zmf exists with lifetime driver warranties
on headphones released after 2020 (célestee, New utopia ans clear mg) they have deliberately softened the band to prevent it from breaking
This is one of the reasons that keep me away from buying Hifiman and Focal headphones. While they sound great, QC and build quality just scares me away. With Focals you have shit headbands and hifiman you have shit drivers
As a french guy, i did not expect that intro. I enjoyed it.
me too !
Me three
Probably has some French Canadian blood. His last name is Lafrenière isn't it? But his accent is really Anglo
Exact same for me :)
As a non-french guy, I did not expect that intro. I enjoyed it
I work in a HiFi shop, I use these on the regular (mainly to block out coworkers) when customers aren't using them.
I can vouch that these are fantastic headphones if you want something that is bang in the middle of high-end hifi and casual comfort for everyday use.
As someone who knows how good headphones can sound (having heard rigs that cost almost $25,000), these are a good bang for your buck if you're looking to invest some extra dough on your next cans.
You could say they feel good
ruclips.net/video/HyHNuVaZJ-k/видео.html
Gorillaz profile picture - your story checks out :D
Oh thats great to hear that you have the experience!
Could you tell me how do they compare to the Sennheiser HD650?
I´m daily driving those for years and thought about getting something new.
I´m also kinda interested in the campfire audio cans, which name I forgot.
I heard the Audeze Stuff and wasn´t really blown away since I have 3000$ Custom IEMs which sound so much better at a similar price, but somehow I really like the HD650 even if they are much cheaper.
I tweak the frequencies according to Amirs meassurements which makes up for the lack of base while keeping the amazing mids intact.
Edit: I daily drive the HD650 at home when I´m on my computer and use my CIEMs when I´m out.
I only got the CIEMs because pre Covid I had a job where I traveled to the Tech Centers of the world frequently and mainly lived in hotels in China and I wanted something to enjoy on my way to work and on 12 hour flights.
I would not buy that expensive CIEMs anymore nowadays and definitely no more super expensive mobile like my Alo Audio Continental Dual Mono. But I´d buy the Chord Mojo all over again, I just whished they made the step and integrated the Poly functions in the Mojo 2, even if it would´ve pissed of the Poly buyers.
It´s just to clunky with the Poly, thats why I´m not buying the Poly and have no reason to buy the Mojo 2.
would be amazing if you have some tips for me what I should get, also I´d like to get a new DAC and AMP (or combined unit) for my desktop setup. I´m open to valve and solid state systems.
Edit 2: Oh I saw those are wireless, I do not want this, I want a good Dac and a good amp for my desktop.
I'm kinda tempted to buy these for work/ travel.
I have some Clear's. how do they compare?
@@rolux4853 Hey man, that's a lot to unpack haha. It's difficult to give a perfect answer, but I'd check out iFi Audio's offerings, think they sound really good (especially if you upgrade the PSU:s) in terms of DAC/Amps. I've got a few favourites right now, if you like the more neutral open type of sound, more refined than the HD650's if my memory serves me right, I'd check out HiFiMAN's planarmagnetic offerings, they sound pretty amazing. The Focal Clear MG:s are really amazing though, I'm not a huge fan of the Elegia, but that's maybe because I compare them against eachother in my mind.
One of the bundles I've sold quite a few of, just by customer's coming to the same conclusion, is an iFi Audio xDSD Gryphon with a pair of Clear MG's and a nice balanced cable (pentacon 4,4mm). But as you're gonna use it by your desktop I'd check out something without a battery from iFi Audio, they're not really meant to be used in that manner.
Would love to see LTT Labs revisiting the Etymotics and other headphones with significant passive noise canceling out of the box
"revisiting the Etymotics" As someone that knew them from earplugs... I'd also be interested in LTT reviewing "concert" level earplugs and seeing which ones have the most even and natural noise reduction for overly noisy concert.
sorry i make respect but i no like this idea. better four show how microfone making in factory in rajasthan my dear
What it is great about them, that they actually sound great wireless. I'm in love with them, and I don't have to mess around with equaliser. Their Dynamic settings works with pretty much everything
Been using the. Bathys since the beginning of November. I personally love them. The only thing that bothers me is that the LED keeps turning on. I think my work computer uses the led as a notification light. UPDATE: Focal seems to have fixed the light coming on issue.
Do your ears heat up after minutes of using it?
@@spo1buco the headphones are warm, yes. But I don't mind (in this time of the year)
Do you walk with these? I find that any vibration, even my heel hittin the floor, vibrates within the earcups and distorts the sound.
@@tilmanrotationalinvariant2257 I walk a lot with them and haven't experienced anything like that. Maybe a faulty unit?
Is the Bathys loud enough at 100% even for people that like listening at high volumes?
This is like kinda a review, I like seeing more in depth stuff like this on short circuit, more interesting than just the usual unboxings
Realy appreciate the more scientific approach you are having recently for headpones and in ears. Espacialy giving references to something more commonly available like in this case the air pods pro. Usualy someone in your vacinity has them, so i can abstract from that point quite fine.
And Adam did a very nice job in this Video.
Be interested to hear these, I know their car audio speakers are supposed to be just stellar.
This video makes me miss my old headphone setup, spent something like $1,500, included some HE-500 headphones. Honestly, I think a high end headphone/headphone setup is something everyone should at least experience once in their life. You'll never be able to really appreciate/comprehend how good headphones can sound until you hear some of those high fi setups.
True to me, never really appreciate sound quality before i try one of the good headphones in the audio shop just for curiosity.
It changes everything.. even if you are not going to buy one, if the shop offers free listening/demo, try it...
Agreed. My gf never really gave a shit about sound quality from headphones. Then i introduced her to my Bathys, and she became a believer. I topped it off with her having a listening session on my computer with entire Arya set up, and she started tearing up from how amazing the sound quality. EVERYONE should experience HiFi at least ONCE, regardless of whether they give a shit about it or not.
CORRECTION: Aptx Adaptive is not backwards compatible on all devices. The device needs a very specific set of Qualcom chips to be enabled and is the newest of the 4 major BT formats. So they are correct by calling it out explicitly on the label because the headphone device also needs to be engineered to send that improved format.
It’s hard to give Focal a second look after how they treated their customers with the Elex and Clear driver clipping issues. No to mention a headband design that breaks from normal use. It’s sad because their design language is a breath of fresh air and they have such a storied history in the speaker market.
Tbf that one is mostly on drop but yeah I heard their customer service for their nondrop headphones aren't great either
That’s the main reason I never dared to touch their products. I stick to brands with well established build quality like audeze and beyerdynamic
@@MrWizardjr9 They're French. What do you expect.
Those headphones were cheaply built. Higher end Focals (Incl. Bathys) have better headbands. Same design, but stronger material. You've never seen a Stellia, Utopia or Radiance snap before
(source: my Elegia feels rattly and cheap, compared to my Utopia and Stellia)
That Fibonacci-like pattern gave me the urge to buy them just to listen to tool all of a sudden
After trying the Apple AirPods Max, the Sony xm5 and the B & W px7 s2, I did not get the wow factor from any of these options. I tried Bathys on in the shop with no intention of buying them because they were out of my budget. As soon as I did, any idea of a budget went out of the window. These sound so good it sends a tingle down your spine. No matter which genre you like, it sounds perfect without needing EQ. and the DAC mode just gives it more depth. Sure the ANC is not class leading and don’t even think about trying to make phone calls with this. But they are extremely comfortable and the best sounding Bluetooth headphones on the market. I’m so happy I found them with a £150 discount from Premium Sound (London, UK) at only £550!
I work in hifi and have the full focal range of headphones in store, i was very impressed with these straight out the box. The Utopia are just stunning too if you get the chance to try.
People seeing anything resembling any kind of spiral: "Ah, yes! Fibonacci."
LTT labs need to educate more people who go in front of the camera on how to read these graphs, or at least, make them look at bunch of other graphs so they know what something looks like in comparison to other FR graphs. This is not a neutral pair of cans by any stretch, compare it to FAR cheaper set like AKG K371 or Shure SRH440, the Focal Bathys isn't really something you can call neutral with dark treble and that wonky midrange.
But hey, at least I'm happy that LTT has FINALLY show some effort into moving to objective audio reviews instead of the good ol' "it's good bro, trust me" approach. Appreciate the effort my man. it was somehow flawed, but it's a good first step.
Actually like the design, not some bland minimalist silicon valley design like so many other headphones.
Exactly. It's an expensive, beautiful piece of art, that doesn't have to mean it is garish or tacky. The minimalist aesthetic has really been done to death and I'm enjoying things like the amazing futuristic Devialet and Kef speakers, and of course, all the Focal designs. The Stellia and Clear Mg with the leather and brown colors are spectacular.
I see a lot of folks saying they hate this look...if it cost 800, I want them to look like the cost 800 so I like the standout look.
I had the Focal Clear MG for a while and it's a superb headphone. Can wholeheartedly recommend them for someone looking to the next step up in audio quality from the typical Sennheiser HD 6** models that are thankfully so popular now.
You're wrong regarding aptx adaptive. It is more than just backwards compatible. Its most important feature being sampling frequency. This is the future, and should not be disregarded.
Wearing focal headphones in public is kinda a strange experience cause everyone be looking like "what the heck you wearing"
What? They're entirely normal looking.
Thank you Trevor for presenting a well reviewed product
Yokes are magnesium, but I don't blame you for thinking they're plastic,
I think my magnesium surface devices kinda feel like plastic too.
I use my Sony XM4 in the woodworking shop and on building sites a lot. Because the Focals are so expensive I wouldn't use them in such dusty environments... high price is an inconvenience.
12:04 ok so soundstage is NOT the same as imaging. soundstage is more overall distance and 'closeness'; it can almost be summarised in how wide and airy the sound feels. imaging is direction and separation of the instruments; can you point to the individual trumpet, or just section as a whole? of course this is mostly reliant on the recording, though.
Did you know about focal listen ? They are wireless at 100€ in Europe, with wireless and wired options for years
their first product targeting cheap headphones was the spirit which was wired only
Yeah, but does anyone even consider them?
If you use Android, use the wavelet app for EQ. Much better than the EQ from most any headphone app
Bookmark
Or poweramp eq/poweramp (paid options), these let you create any eq with every parameters posible.
Focal Clear are what many somewhat reasonable audiophiles consider the endgame at 1500 bucks, because they are THAT good, and it's hard to justify even spending that much. Their TOTL, Focal Utopia, are like 4500, and probably one of the best headphones I've ever listened to. I'd say 800 bucks is a bullet most audiophiles are willing to bite when it's a brand like them
The elex is not all that far off the clear tbh for less than half the cost.
Most audiophiles ain't gonna spend a dime on a pair of Bluetooth headphones
@@disadadi8958 that’s completely false
@@ernestryles Not really, many audiophiles use a phone or a dap as a source and wireless IEMs for travel purposes.
@@disadadi8958 correct, and many audiophiles also have wireless headphones for convenience, not critical listening. Also the bathys is excellent in dac mode.
I thought you already had the head simulator. Was the one Linus showing on loan?
Yup
I sold focal home and car audio for 10 years, the side of the box lists all the areas their products range. Home audio, mobile audio, and professional/studio audio
Maybe you can make a video about the Harman Target Curve. The explanations I found on RUclips and Google have been kind of underwhelming.
If I'm not mistaken then at least for analog instruments or voices the goal is to reproduce the sound that was made in the studio or wherever the recording was made as accurately as possible. In layman's terms: It should sound like you are really there.
Now maybe microphones have some bias, but as long as it doesn't cancel out the Harman Target Curve you will get a distorted result.
This is of course complicated by the fact that music is typically tuned by people wearing headphones that presumably emulate the HTC, but the question remain why is this the benchmark curve? I know that video formats use logarithmic encoding for brightness so that you get more details in low light, where humans are able to distinguish smaller differences. Is something similar going on here?
Since there is no standard recording setup, there is no way to perfectly reproduce sound. Music is also typically not mixed on headphones, but rather on speakers. Headphones are sometimes used to check for specific things, but the vast majority of work is done on speaker setups.
The Harman target roughly maps to the ideal frequency response for speakers after the head-related transfer function. While the ideal speaker response is flat from 20-20k Hz, the head shape transforms those frequencies so you don't get a flat line at the ear drum. The Harman target emulates this effect and consequently approximates the sound of ideal speakers.
The main reason why the Harman target should be used as a reference is that it is the only publicly available reference curve which has scientific validation. As mentioned in the video the vast majority of people will prefer the Harman target to other frequency responses. This was validated with different studies that also looked at different factors like age, sex, nationality, listening experience, etc which turned out to have no significant effect.
- Why Americans and Canadians pronounce acronyms letter by letter?
- DAC!
-What?
-DAAAAAAAC!!
Like your conclusion in the end, specially when the sound came through my XM5.
It would be nice if the frequency response curves included some other more common headphones so more ppl in the audience can have a sense for how much better it sounds than something we’re familiar with. Otherwise it just looks like a squiggly line - context is important.
Frequency response is just one aspect of good sound, without context people might think "those cheaper headphones are closer to the Harman target than those expensive ones, must mean the expensive ones are a rip off", but it's not that simple
Frequency response is also basically meaningless with respect to sound *quality*. If you learn to read the graph, it will describe how it will sound to you tonally (no need for a reference point), but that's literally it.
Also, what do you mean "more common" headphones??? Do you have any clue how many different headphones are out there? You could have graphs for HD 6XX, Sony XM5s, Razer Krakens, M50Xs, Sundara, Porta-Pros and QC35s, and STILL only cover about 5% of the audience, at the cost of pacing and clarity for literally everybody else.
As a focal owner I hope there support and replacement parts gets better
Their
No mention on the USB wired ANC. I believe it's a great feature for long periods of use and Hi-Fi.
My wife has some Focal Listen Wireless headphones, and she had numerous problems with them. Lots of disconnection issues, and many battery issues (battery died not long after purchase, and the battery indicator jumping up and down. The warranty people called, and they said that even after completely replacing all the electronic components, the issue came back while testing - to me, that sounds like a product design/firmware issue, not hardware. They replaced the entire pair, and so far they work.). The jack connector of the provided 3.5mm jack cable broke while plugged into a phone, it was a nightmare to get the broken part out. Got a replacement, and the replacement broke too in the same way. I've never seen a jack connector fail like that. The connector was hollow on the inside, and very thin. After those bad experiences, I can't recommend another Focal product.
Here is my problem, for that price I expect headphones to be for life, but the mere fact they have a battery inside means that in a few years they will die.
They say they will replace the battery for a fee not sure what the fee is yet. Apparently it's easy to take apart and the battery is a generic one and connected via a connector not soldered.
Can you please add ANC testing with something extremely loud, such as a vacuum. Sony WH-1000XM4 and B&O 3rd gen both have extremely good ANC that is completely unusable in loud environment because there is no control of the ANC and the resulting pressure wave is far too much for comfort.
Bathys anc is not the best they focus more into the sound if to compare it to airpods max the anc is so much better on the airpods
why tf is everyone comparing fidelity focused headphones to airpods in every comment thread? yall lost the plot
edit nvm these are wireless
short circuit lost the plot, not yall
nvm again these are wired?
@@ETHANR26 both u can use it on dac mode for better sounds
Bookmark
@@ETHANR26 Because they are direct competitors the the Airpods Max. And even if they aren't: There are enough wired headphones that can't compete with good Bluetooth ones. My Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro for example. Comfortable as ... , but boy do they not sound good against wireless headphones costing 2-8 times as much...
I hope they don't have issues with drivers dying as is common with some of their products 😵
And I thought the AirPods Max were pricey. I’m glad the quality is there, but it’s definitely too expensive for my blood.
A set of Airpods Max and a quality USB dac are going to cost about the same. Focal sound is going to be far better.
to those who seek the highest in fidelity everything besides the quality of the sound is an added extra, there's also a precedence of modification (pad, cable and overall head assembly rolling and other such things).
wait till you normalize triple digit speaker prices as nothing too outlandish
happy hunting :)
audio technica on top
An audio-focused video without Dan?
Only problem is the stupid handling of audio on Android. In dev settings set the sample ate and bits per sample to match your audio (44.1/16 usually) and listen to your headphones coming to life (especially sony ones)
Sample rate does absolutely nothing to sound quality unless you are listening to high bit rate audio like flacs.Even with lossless audio bluetooth compression will affect the bitrate. Also Sony wireless headphones are bottom of the barrel when compared to wired audiophile headphones.
Just switch to USB aduio player pro they have custom aduio drivers to get around the the sample rate resampling that android does
@@Sand_1995 while you're generally correct, there are cases where it does have an effect. I think going below 30khz will affect it, but going down to extremes like 1khz will obviously affect it. I don't think you can even choose sample rates below 44.1khz on Android, so this isn't an issue for us.
12-bit music? I don't know if I've ever listened to anything that was mastered below 16-bit.
@@Sand_1995 Sample rate does a lot to sound quality, especially when it needlessly is resampled into another rate. It also wastes a lot of bandwith when using high end bluetooth codecs when set to the wrong setting like the android OS does by default. Sony LDAC is the top of the line when looking at bluetooth codecs, it is very close to CD quality.
A twinkle in Linus's eye; let me tell you about our sponsor
$800 bt headphones and no LDAC is a nonstarter. Such a bummer.
The static noise is why I got rid of my PXC550 and got the XM5s instead. I would never spend more money to have that static noise back.
If you use the 3.5mm cable it does not utilize the internal DAC, as the signal coming into the headphones would already be analog.
I have to think they specifically engineered their selection of writing team to have an in-house uber nerd about every subject
If I remotely needed a headphone like this right now (Sony XM3's still going strong) I'd pick these up for sure. Focal make some beautiful cans.
There is an issue with these which I discovered after purchase - for some reason these are reversed when presented in the case - the controls are on the left instead of the right and the L appears on the right and the R appears on the left. To use these as designed and based on the manual you have to rotate the whole headphone 90 degrees before putting the on.
I really like Adam as a host, he slowly snuck into content and been taking more frontstage lately, I really enjoyed the video on the Levus Zero Gravity and this one really confirms what I felt :)
He is clearly not named Dan so he's obviously inferior.
Not being able to disable ANC entirely is a dealbreaker for headphones like these
Good review. Very detailed and reasonable analysis.
It Should be noted that all wireless ANC headphones are active and have internal dacs. These likely just market it because most perspective buyers understand the nuance of analog vs digital audio and DSP. vs your more mainstream consumer who aren't as familiar with these nuances.
The argument from focal for the DAC toggle is: when they are connected via cable in DAC mode they can DSP better because they don't have to save energy. And yes they sound better connected via USB c and worse via 3.5mm (not sure why they included the headphone jack. But for emergencys...)
@@scruffy3121 I’m actually curious about how can a dac get involved in a 3.5mm jack signal. Isn’t that analogue?
@@SivaKanthSharma the convert to digital and back. That's why the 3.5mm sounds worse
It's about having digital access to the DAC via USB. The Dali IO-4 and IO-6 have the same feature.
@@SivaKanthSharma Depends on the headphones. Some just bypass the DAC and everything, which can make them sound terrible when using the 3,5 mm jack (if the manufacturer uses the DAC to work on the sound signature).
Focal Clear are to die for. It recreates a high end audio speaker showroom. However, Focal’s new offerings are not up to the same standard.
Clear has really weird timbre though, on some songs I find it annoying to listen to as a result.
@@mscheese000 did you let it burn in?
@@jacobleigh-px2cj Burn-in isn't a thing.
I love my OG Clears
@@mscheese000 it's wild how SO many dudes in this community believe that "burn-in" is a thing lmao. I've had my Arya v2's for over 2 years now, and I've heard absolutely NO difference from unboxing day to now save for the Peace APO EQ I use to adjust dynamics. Mind you, before I got them, people had sworn up and down that I'd notice a difference after 200-300 hours of listening lmao.
People who think Harman tuned headphones lack bass, are most definitely bassheads.
I am pretty sure you are NOT using the DAC with the 3.5 jack, you need usb c
All Bluetooth headphones have a DAC included. How is that a feature?
Adam, what a great review, so thorough and articulate, well done! Looking forward to more. Hope the lab gets their simulator soon.
I go everywhere with 900$ stuff on my head. It's called glasses
Just buy your eyewear online.
@@DragonKingGaav i have tried. Quality and comfort isn't close from the best I found online for cheaper, compared to what I have atm
The camera frame on the video, on the right side, is driving me nuts
Not even LDAC for $800 nah.
Wireless headphones are basically disposable you're gonna get 2-3 years of daily use max on the battery.
Did they jack the Stadia logo?
I was considering these.... I want a headphone that can do everything. And have premium quality. Plug into my PC at my desk. Work on my phone.
I'm leaning more towards the B&W PX8's
Need to go to a shop and demo them both....... wonder if that's possible in the UK these days.
If you haven't bought already try the Beoplay H95s, they have better sound than the B&W (not quite as good as the Focals), but better ANC than both.
I've wanted to purchase a set of Focal headphones for a few years now. Now that they have a wireless headset I may actually purchase a pair.
this really isn't a good representation of Focal's audiophile line of headphones. I would recommend just getting Focal Clears. At least wait for their second generation of their ANC wireless headphones, never become an early adopter.
Tried looking up these supposed Bathysphere deaths and couldnt find anything.
Oh now we are reviewing REAL audiofiles gear. Nice!
this guy is smart!! more audio stuff from him!!
I got these, coming from a Sony WH1000XM4. They’re amazing, I love them. I bought a Furutech ADL IHP35 upgrade cable to improve the 3.5mm output, other than that they’re wonderful. Bluetooth is great, despite the missing LDAC. They sound proportionally better considering their price. I think it’s worth it.
Really well done review! Thanks!
You shouldve compared them to the H95 or PX8 as well.
It's not a huge deal but I'd love for a glasses wearer's opinion on fit and comfort for these over-ear reviews even if it's just as an aside.
I live in hot areas. Is the warmth from the headphones a problem?
You mean, "the headphones that I wish that I could afford. But, I'll take these one's."
if the battery dead , is it replaceable and how much to change it? I 've heard if the battery dead , this headphone can't make sound even use the 3.5 mm jack.
Woah, I litteraly bought these headphones like a couple hours ago and this is one of the first videos I'm watching with it!
The headphones are soo great, but the cables that come with it are a bit disappointing and the fact that you can't turn off ANC is annoying
Also what I noticed, when using ANC, if you rub against something (like a couch) there's a really, really annoying high whistle tone
Nice, had them since beginning of November. Love them, but cannot listen to all my tracks on them. Sometimes they are to revealing.
It also won't run passive it must be powered on at all times.
Would be interesting to see how these compare to the Mark Levinson No 5909. Suspect they would be a step above quality wise.
"Most people have hearing loss from ... just ... existing". Sartre would be proud of that drive-by remark.
The earcups look very deep, that's a major flaw on the Sony XM5's and also a small issue on the Sennheiser Momentum 4's that I have. I asked Sennheiser if they would consider also making replacement earpads that are deeper than the standard, but got a flat "no"...
Would be great to try these, but they are kiiiind of out of my price range.
When I saw 800 bucks and i converted to my money, i thought: hmm I can get a used car for that price, imma skip this
You say the cord isn’t “premium” but I can say the “premium” stuff that came with my Stellia was microphonic as hell and every cheapy cheap cable would be better.
They’re not plastic. They’re a mix of alliminium and magnesium, which would feel a bit like plastic, but is way sturdier and just as mlight
I’m not a music guy. I will never buy a headset. My Apple Airpods 2 and Spotify on my iPhone are plenty music for my requirements. Yet This guy clearly knows what he’s talking about and I find myself watching the whole video with interest. You got a great addition to the team here Linus!
Missing out, fam. I'd suggest look into a combo DAC/Amp (I use iFi Zen Dac V2) + decent headphones (I use Sennheiser HD6XX). I didn't believe how much I was missing out until I upgraded my audio setup.
Not everyone gets the impression of what is missing on most wireless stuff. But for those who can the batys is not a bad idea and can even be used on windows with a bta30 pro(LDAC)
This seems really similar to the bose QC45. Biggest difference that i noticed was that the bose can't use the USB-C as audio input.
Tres Bien, well done. Great review. Would you spend your own money?
Inspired by the heaviest, deepest most brutal part of the ocean?
BTW, what watch are you wearing?
Being a French design they will periodically remind of their superiorité by saying "#$%& off I'm Frrrrench"
The hinges and the loop joining the earcups to the headphone, are made from magnesium… which is why they feel light and somewhat like plastic… the only plastics I know of on these, is the outer cup shell of each ear cup… the rest is magnesium… not plastic… I’ve already owned them for 1.5 years, daily use, no problems with parts or headband snapping or cracking, or even creaking… they must have solved past issues here.
Considering how much their car audio stuff costs sometimes I was expecting a way higher price point
Let alone their speakers. They sell six figures speakers...
All those deaf immortals out there... deaf for existing too long.
Did anyone see that logo, not know exactly who it was, and think "Why is Stadia making headphones now?"
Great video. Love how detailed this dude is. Gg
I find it disturbing how no one in the comments has talked about how these guys have almost the same logo as Stadia....hope it's not a sign of future things to come for them
They've been designing speakers since 1979. I'm pretty sure they'll stick around.
I love my Focal speakers, so yeah, these interest me. Have the B&W PX8 and the Dali IO-4 for now though and am rather happy with either.
Bare Bones should never be a term used when describing something that costs this much
I listened to this on Focal Radiance
Is it possible to use the iFi Signature with Focal Bathys?
Which came first, the stadia logo or the focal logo? haha