To say this review of the Focal Bathys took a while would be an understatement. I will mention again that I bought this unit personally, so there is some vested interest in wanting to feel better with my purchase. Keep this potential bias in mind as I try to explain why I have mixed thoughts overall and why I am still keeping the set. Focal is a high-end brand in the audiophile space that most of our readers may not even have heard of, yet I think the French company makes some of the best headphones in the world after having gone through the entire lineup recently. Cementing this belief was the company's flagship currently in my possession that I thought was lacking a few things compared to my favorite planar sets before I paired it with a good tube amp and suddenly everything changed for the better. While that's a story for another time, what I've come to realize is that the Focal experience and house sound is a generally agreeable affair which can be tweaked to go from good to excellent. This mindset is valid more so for the Bathys in that the tonality can be customized, the technicalities are already at a high enough level, and now we also have the technological aspects to tinker with.

I'd call the Bathys as a $650 set of audiophile headphones with $50-100 of tech added on top, so by that regard the $799 price tag does feel a bit much. It ends up occupying a category very few others belong in, given your typical Bluetooth set of headphones goes more on the technological side rather than focusing on the pure sound experience. Indeed, if you look at reviews of mainstream wireless headphones then barely anyone talks about the sound except to say "bass good, detailed." Focal does not have that luxury. It's first foray into the Bluetooth headphones space was mostly forgotten, and it's a brand that comes with high expectations on the sound, the Bathys does meet them in this regard. I also appreciate the USB DAC mode that further distinguishes the Bathys from pretty much anything else on the market owing to the use of a dedicated audiophile-grade DAC to make the most of the excellent drivers rather than simply relying on the Bluetooth SoC as everyone else does. This does mean that you have two levels of experiences with the Bathys based on how you use it, and doing so also reminds you how lacking Focal is on some basic user experience features at this point. There are some annoying things such as not being able to turn off the LEDs on the ear cups when wired, or having large volume steps that can be tough to adjust properly which can be potentially fixed via firmware updates. But there are also aspects such as the bulky and flashy aesthetics in addition to mediocre Bluetooth codec support on this premium device which are harder to work around.

It was ultimately the audio experience that made me decide to keep these after all. I was already in the market for a good wireless set of headphones and had budgeted enough should there be one which was also comfortable over longer periods of time. Focal got this spot on thanks to the use of larger earcups—which do make the set bulky, but it's a worthwhile compromise in my opinion—and soft pads/headband. Add in a build quality that makes even the B&O H95 look cheap and this is a set that should last the test of time. The audio experience is also easily the best I've ever had from a wireless set to where it directly competes with wired-only headphones in the same price range or even higher in some cases. Having app-based EQ that is retained on the device further sweetens the deal. I also appreciate the relatively longer warranty in most regions and I also like that Focal plans to offer a battery replacement service so you will not have a dead set of headphones after a few years. But I urge Focal to bring out replacement ear pads for sale, reconsider its current plans for charging up to $200 for the battery replacement service, and step up with some firmware updates to truly justify the Bathys's place and price point.