Focal Bathys MG review: exquisite sound at an elevated price

I reviewed the Focal Bathys towards the end of 2022 – and as well as being very impressive headphones, I also (rather foolishly, in hindsight) believed them to be quite expensive.

The Bathys MG are here to try and prove the point – but is a swanky new driver design and interesting finish enough to make these wireless noise-cancelling headphones worth their giddy asking price?

Price & Availability

The Focal Bathys MG have been on sale since April 2025, and in the United Kingdom they sell for £999 a pair. In America they go for $1299. While in Australia you’re looking at AU$2299.

Of course, it’s possible to pay even more than this for some similarly specified headphones – Bang & Olufsen, I’m looking at you in particular. So, while expensive, there's a clear market here.

Features & What's New

What makes these Bathys the ‘MG’ model is the new magnesium driver that Focal has developed. It’s a 40mm dynamic design with an ‘M’-shaped dome, and the company is pleased to tell you it’s built right there in its workshops in France. A claimed frequency response of 10Hz - 22kHz is most certainly not to be sniffed at, and measurable distortion of effectively ‘zero’ isn’t too shabby either.

Connecting the Bathys MG to a source of music in order to let these swanky new drivers do their thing can be done in a few different ways. For wireless connectivity, the Focal use Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX Adaptive codec compatibility.

That's a bit of disappointment when you consider that far more affordable designs we now have utilising 5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless on the menu. Don’t even mention LC3 or Auracast, either – the Bathys MG don’t feature either of them. They have multipoint connectivity, though, so I guess that’s something...

Mind you, the ability to function as a 24bit/192kHz USB DAC claws back more than a little credibility. The USB-C slot on the right earcup is for charging the battery, of course – but it also lets you connect to a digital source. Just let the headphones know that’s what’s happening using a little slider on the same earcup and big, hi-res stuff can be streamed in full.

And should you find yourself in a position where neither wireless nor digital connections are an option, there’s a 3.5mm socket on the right earcup for making a hard connection. Focal supplies 1.2m lengths of each necessary cable in the rigid carry case that the Bathys MG travel in.

No matter how you connect them, though, the battery must have some charge if the headphones are going to function. No power? No sound! But when you consider how long the Bathys MG will run for from a single charge – 30 hours wirelessly, 35 hours when connected via 3.5mm analogue, and a whopping 42 hours when working as a USB DAC – it really shouldn’t be an issue. And the ability to run for another 5 hours after a 15-minute charge helps no end in this respect, too.

Performance

You’ve already seen the star-rating at the top of this review, and it’s almost certainly led you to believe that not everything is as it should be where the performance of the Focal Bathys MG is concerned.

And that’s true – but it’s important to keep the context of these headphones uppermost in your mind. As, when you’re charging four figures for a pair of wireless headphones, it seems reasonable to expect them to be flawless. But while the Bathys MG can’t be described this way, the flaws in their performance are hardly the end of the world.

Besides, they’re comfortably outweighed by the positives. The Bathys MG are a remarkable positive and direct listen, able to create and control an extremely spacious soundstage and unify every element of a recording on it. Frequency response from the top end to the bottom is smooth and coherent, and integration is impressive too.

Detail levels are, without exception, stunningly high. At the bottom of the frequency range the Focal absolutely pile on the information regarding texture and timbre, offering a stack of variation to bass sounds where less accomplished designs just thump. Control of the low-end is confident – there’s absolute certainty to the way the Bathys MG attack the lowest frequencies, and rhythmic expression is assured as a result.

The midrange is just as accomplished, and deft in the way it reveals the minutiae of a singer’s technique and/or character. The tonal balance, as with the frequency information beneath, is natural and neutral, and the headphones give every impression of getting out of the way of midrange information rather than imposing themselves on it.

Dynamic headroom is considerable, so when big shifts in volume or intensity occur, the Focal are able to cope without any audible effort. They’re equally adept when it comes to the dynamic variations in harmonics, and are so attentive to even the most transient events that you never feel you’re not getting the full picture.

Only the top of the frequency range deserves anything less than unqualified praise. There’s just as much detail to treble sounds as there is to the rest of the frequency range, the same level of insight and substance – but there’s also a latent edginess, a sense that the Focal might bare their teeth at even the mildest provocation.

The admirable clarity of the overall presentation is right on the cusp of hardness at the top end, and an unsympathetic source player (or an unsympathetic recording) could easily result in rather too much of a good thing.

The active noise-cancellation (ANC) here falls into the ‘good’ category, rather than the ‘great’. The Bathys MG don’t alter their sonic character in the slightest when you switch between ‘soft’ and ‘silent’, and there’s no sensation of disruption to the noise-floor or any kind of counter-signal º but they subdue, rather than eliminate, external sounds.

If you’re hoping to entirely eradicate the sound of the outside world, then the advice, as usual, is to buy a pair of Bose. If, however, you’re happy with a significant reduction in ambient distractions, these Focal cans have you covered.

Design & Usability

The design of over-ear headphones can’t be tampered with too radically, of course – but Focal has done undeniably good work in making this closed-back over-ear design look and feel like a premium item.

The industrial design is closely based on that of the original Bathys, and it’s still an individualistic and attractive look. The liberal use of aluminium keeps weight down to just 350g, and it feels good too.

The use of memory foam in the earcups (where it’s covered in pleather) and the inside of the headband (where it’s covered in skin-friendly microfibre material) helps the comfort quotient, and some nicely judged clamping force does the same.

There’s enough articulation in the yokes to let the headphones fold flat, and the hidden headband adjustment mechanism operates smoothly. The ‘chestnut’ finish that’s exclusive to this model is more subtle and varied than it looks in the pictures, too.

There are four mics in each earcup, and as well as taking care of telephony and active noise-cancellation, they also look after voice-assistant interaction (should your source player have one). A single button press will control your voice assistant.

There are physical controls, too, mostly on the right earcup – here’s where the basics of playback (play/pause, volume up/down. Skip forwards/backwards) can be taken care of, along with Bluetooth pairing, and there’s a switch for power on/off/USB DAC too.

On the left earcup, meanwhile, there’s just one control – it cycles through your ANC options.

You can also select your ANC preference (choose between ‘silent’, ‘soft’ and ‘transparency’) in the control app that’s free for iOS and Android.

In truth there’s not much else going on in this app, but what there is proves useful – there’s a five-band EQ for saving custom levels alongside some presets, and a ‘Mimi’ test helps the headphones tune themselves to your specific hearing profile.

The app also lets you adjust the level of illumination behind that stylised brand logo on the outside of each earcup (or turn it off altogether if you’re the more modest type).

Focal Bathys MG review: Verdict

So it turns out that good looks, excellent build and finish, splendid sound quality and some interesting technology can carry a pair of wireless over-ear noise-cancelling headphones a long way – and the Focal Bathys MG are pretty close to being a complete solution.

This asking price demands excellence across the board, though – and where treble response and, to a slightly lesser extent, active noise-cancellation are concerned, ‘excellence’ remains fractionally out of reach.

Also consider

If any company is going to make the Focal Bathys MG look a bit low-rent or a bit of a bargain, it’s Bang & Olufsen. The Beosound H100 are great wireless over-ear headphones, no two ways about it – but at £1299 / $1549 they really ought to be. If it’s unabashed indulgence you’re after, and if you want to own the Business Class lounge, this is the way to go.