Bathys MG is a Bluetooth® headphones with active noise cancellation that pushes the boundaries of wireless sound excellence. 'MG' refers to its exclusive Focal Magnesium drivers. Their promise? Pure, ultra-precise high-fidelity sound. With refined design, comfort, and optimized electronics at its core, this portable headphone delivers unparalleled listening experiences wherever you go.

Magnificent Sound

Review by www.audioreviews.org

Salutations

Recently I had the pleasure to meet with some of the Focal Sales and Marketing team at Axpona and get a first look of the Bathys MG shorty after product launch. They had their whole lineup of headphones in the same large booth giving an awesome demo of the high-end  mutli-channel music and movie experience.

Unfortunately it was hard to form a full opinion in such a setting, so Wendy offered to loan out the Bathys MG full magnesium drivers a few weeks after the show. The drivers are the same as what is used in the Clear MG while offering the bluetooth/DAC feature. There must be some other differences between the Clear MG, and the Bathys MG. Regardless, the Bathys MG are the more portable option with the cordless option.

One of the show attendees asked me the $600 question…was it worth it to upgrade from the regular Bathys to the Bathys MG? I am always hesitant to say yes or no, because value and worth are different for everyone. Just because something is higher priced does not automatically make it better. There is a clear difference between the Bathys and Bathys MG. Given the current tariff situation from our “stable genius” ( his words ), pricing was originally listed at $1299 right now sold at $ 1,499.

Sound

There is clearly more resolution and realism. I can pick up more spacing around instruments as there is more attention paid to the lower midrange. It has the cliche you are there sensation. Everything sounds more precise, small nuances, string plucks have micro dynamics that stand out. PRAT is in full force here, big band will get your toes tapping. Acoustic guitars, violins, and other stringed instrument lovers will embrace the Bathys MG. Cymbals linger and shimmer, triangles have wonderful decay. Trumpets have that bite as needed.

Bass is well controlled and forceful, but also digs deep for Focal, with lots of meat on the bone. There appears to be some extra upper midbass lower midrange the original Bathys holds back on. This makes the Bathys feel a little lighter on their toes like driving a small two-seater sports car, where the Bathys MG feels like a sheer exotic supercar delivering richer note weight.

In the past I typically did not associate Focal with standout bass, but their tuning is more mainstream and nearly identical to the Bathys. It is precise when it needs to be, but with plenty of grunt. It could improve on the snap, but in general the control is in the details. Rapid succession double beats do not mush together when playing Symphony X – King of Terrors, I did notice one peculiarity. 

I wear glasses, so getting a 100% earcup seal is difficult if near impossible on most over-ears. I sometimes have to take my glasses off, put on the headphones, and then position my glasses onto the earcups instead of my ears. With the Focal Bathys MG, a loss of seal equates to occasionally hearing what sounds like a blown driver. I suspected a seal issue and the noise is not present with my glasses off. Songs Like Natalie Merchant’s Carnival and Andy Timmons – That was Then, This is Now seemed easy to hear this unwanted artifact. The more you know moment: Make sure you have a good seal, I do not recall I have ever tried a pair that is this highly dependent on the ear seal.

The Focal Bathys sound stage is wide with staging mostly between your ears, there is excellent front to back placement depth. Overall the stage is pulled in close with it stuck between your ears, but does not sound flat dimensionally. For example the Dali IO8 sounds like they pushed the stage further away.

Speaking of the Dali IO8 since they are in the same price class, I find them on the sharper side of treble with a richer “fun” bass with ANC turned on. With the ANC turned off, it is much like the Sony WH-1000XM3 with a major change in bass output sounding midrange centric. The ANC of the Focal Bathys MG lets more sound leakage through, so I think it still has sound quality at the forefront at the expense of ANC.

$600 UPGRADE PROPOSITION

We are now talking about $1499 USD headphones vs $849 USD , and dare I say if someone is even considering $1299 headphones, they will probably buy them. I hardly know anyone willing to pluck down $ 849 for headphones, so the pool of $1499 buyers probably would not even blink at spending that extra $ 650. To them it is merely wanting to buy the best in the lineup.

The Focal Bathys MG are clearly at the top of the pack, these are standout stars and the regular Bathys were already some of the best wireless ANC headphones available. This is similar to my experience with the Hadneys. They have the capability to ruin your listening experience in the lower tier priced competition. Similarly like watching Ultra high-def and trying to go back to standard high definition. I would normally use the standard vs high def analogy, but that would do some injustice to the first generation Bathys.

There are some minor changes to the Bathys MG in regards to comfort as the headband and ear-pads utilize a more comfortable foam. The clamping force is lessened ( although it could be the demo show pair ), but still tight enough to stay firmly in place. The ear-pad foam has more give, but the leather still has the same premium touch. My recommendation is to position them, then give a small push on the cups to create the required seal.

For those that did not read the Bathys review, there are no changes in the App. You still get the Mimi hearing test and compensation. They still require to be turned on to use the USB DAC or the analog input because everything has to run through the DSP, so if you run out of the 30 hour battery life, then the show is over. I am not going to rehash the impressive Mimi hearing test, so for more info on that check out the Bathys review.

Other features I will just touch on again, quick charge of 15min will give you 5 hours of listening time. You get full button controls, volume plus track advance and previous, voice assistant and ANC mode toggle. Still absent is a ANC off mode. There is a 5 band EQ and more importantly their Mimi hearing correction app that can be applied in varying intensity across all connection modes. Lastly the 3.5mm cable appears to be the same as what was included with the Hadenys. It is a very durable and strong well build non-flashy cable.

As to what has changed besides the pads and headband, the Bathys MG membrane is 100% magnesium, vs the 95% aluminum, 5% magnesium Bathys driver. It is the same as what is in the Clear MG priced at $1599, so this is appears like an amazing value when you look at it from that end of the Focal lineup. The bluetooth also gets an upgrade from 5.1 to 5.2 ( which is supposed to improve audio streaming capabilities due to signal quality and improve Low-Energy power improvements, although not the latest iteration of 5.4 ). Lastly, they improved on the microphones for noise cancellation lessening the chance of unwanted hiss. For the waste and package conscientious, the Bathys MG come in an environmentally friendly bamboo pulp FSC®-certified material compling with the most stringent environmental standards.

Final Take

The Focal Bathys MG are excellent sounding wireless headphones, it raises the bar for wireless. The non-MG Bathys have a studio quality presentation holding back a bit of the realism, and the Focal Bathys MG have that live and in person presentation. While they still cannot deliver Sony levels of ANC, if your first priority is sound quality and second priority ANC you will not be disappointed. Just as their other models, the Bathys MG is absent of creaking and weird noises, while still combining plastic, metal and soft genuine leather it is the extra details making them feel well put together that ensures a premium experience.

Nitpicking, I would like to see the bass a smidge tighter and snappy, but I appreciate their ability to provide the proper amount of haptic and rumble when required as a trade-off. Some announcements about what ANC mode you are in would be nice. In the speaker world, I equate the Bathys to $2000-6000 speakers while the Bathys MG fit in the $10-15K+ category. Like the Hadenys, I hate to see them go back to Focal, just wonderful.