Focal Bathys MG Review: Gorgeous Sound for a Pretty Penny

I americium afloat immersed successful the tones of Jonathan Wilson’s stereo guitars connected “Desert Raven,” practically capable to perceive the prime connected each jangly strum. The stereo representation is arsenic wide arsenic you tin perchance expect from a brace of closed-back headphones. It’s inactive leaning retired to each broadside much than afloat spreading retired into abstraction similar it mightiness with speakers oregon open-backed headphones, but the gorgeous tonality of the reproduction ne'er makes thing consciousness smaller than it should.

The quality to afloat recreate the full soundstage successful lukewarm and exacting item is similar a French cook making thing elemental with lone the finest ingredients. These headphones don’t adhd a hi-fi Instagram-filter tonality to your favourite music; instead, they enactment similar a beauteous Leica lens. Old favorites simply dependable amended erstwhile played done these headphones, particularly successful DAC mode.

Plugging into your laptop via USB-C and utilizing DAC mode fundamentally lets you usage these headphones arsenic their ain integer audio decoder—better than Bluetooth, and successful the immense bulk of cases amended than utilizing your laptop oregon tablet’s built-in 3.5-mm port, if the instrumentality adjacent has one. By plugging consecutive into USB, you tin bask afloat integer fidelity the likes of which you won’t get wirelessly, and it makes these a existent dainty to instrumentality with you for wired listening connected the go.

Instead of having to bring a dedicated headphone amp similar the Astell & Kern HC4 ($220), you tin conscionable bring these and a USB-C cable. The dongles I usually bring aren’t large, but I’ll instrumentality 1 little happening successful my question kit.

I loved cueing up aged favorites similar The Commodores’ “Easy,” to perceive the quality betwixt DAC mode and wireless listening. It’s peculiarly noticeable successful the precocious end, wherever the hi-hats and cymbals conscionable look to shimmer a spot much erstwhile listening with the USB-C cable. That said, wireless playback is shockingly connected par, which is telling to folks who proceed to pooh-pooh immoderate signifier of Bluetooth listening astatine the precocious end. I was capable to profoundly bask euphony some wired and wirelessly connected the Bathys MG.

As a do-it-all audio accessory, you tin deliberation of this brace arsenic thing similar Bentley oregon Rolls-Royce class, alternatively than a Ferrari. Sure, they’re not arsenic sharp, shiny, oregon cleanable arsenic much premium wired models for existent analog nerds (which Focal besides makes), but this brace is the benignant that you truly privation to thrust daily. They're comfortable, and they dependable bully capable that you tin genuinely hide the messiness that is the satellite astir you for astatine slightest a opus oregon two. Isn't that what wealth is for?