I just tested these $1,099 headphones with magnesium drivers — and they could be your next pair of premium ANC cans

I’ve had the privilege of testing out loads of different headphone models. However, one of my favorite pairs for critical listening was the top-notch premium cans from French manufacturer Focal — the Bathys.

Now, the Bathys have gone to the gym, and gained Focal’s MG moniker. (That means ‘magnesium’ — light, tough, and quality.) There’s a new style of driver inside for better sound, as well as a slimmed-down carrying case for easier portability.

I’ve given the MG a thorough road test to see what Focal’s latest are all about — and I’ve come away impressed with the latest version of a personal favorite of mine. Let’s go deep into why these might be your next pair of premium ANC headphones, and whether they rank among the best wireless headphones.

Focal Bathys MG review: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A solid update to some of the best-sounding wireless headphones
• Who is it for? Audiophiles looking for their next wireless fix
• What does it cost? $1,099 / £999
• What we like: Even better sound than the first version, and the sound customization features
• What we don’t like: Battery life remains the same, and the ANC hasn’t seen much attention

Focal Bathys MG review: Price and Availability

When they launch first in April, the Focal Bathys MG are going to cost slightly more than the previous model. In my native UK you’re looking at a £999 pair of headphones, and in the US, you’re going to be paying even more — $1,099, to be precise.

That’s a fair sum more than the old Bathys, and while they do present an upgrade over the previous version, they’re not worth upgrading to if you’ve got a pair of the still-excellent old model. If, however, you’re looking for a pair of premium wireless cans, then the MG version here are worth picking up for the extra.

That price makes them more than twice as expensive as the AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM5, and even more than other premium cans like the Noble Fokus Apollo and the Dali IO-8.

The Bathys MG are going to become available in April in the UK, and then May in the US. You'll be able to buy a pair from Amazon and a range of other retailers.

Focal Bathys MG review: Build and Design

• Epic build quality
• Sumptuous materials
• Excellent case update

The packaging that the Bathy’s MG come in has been updated. Rather than the traditional, magnetically closing box we’ve come to expect with premium headphones like the Bathys, the MG come in a cardboard clamshell made out of recycled materials. It’s a lovely detail, and despite being less packaging, it still feels special.

Inside, you’ll find the very brown carrying case. I love the carrying case that came packed with the old Bathys, and this one just steps it up a notch. It feels just as protective as the old model, and packs in the same cable storage and confidence-inspiring headphones slot, while slimming things down to fit in more bags and backpacks.

The zipper is heavy-duty and feels like it will last a lifetime. With the headphones nestled safely inside, it makes your over $1,000 package feel safe and secure. Despite the headphones not folding fully away like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, the case isn’t all that big — apparently, Focal are magicians.

On first inspection, the headphones inside look an awful lot like a bronze version of the Bathys that we’ve seen before. The biggest difference is ‘Bathys MG’ written on the metal surrounds of the glowing logo, and that new bronze color.

Is it any bad thing that they look like the old model? Not at all, those were a very stylish pair of headphones, with some great design touches to conjure images of Focal’s wired audiophile range — the concentric circle design on the earcups, the leather-wrapped headband.

The glowing logo returns so that everyone asks you what kind of headphones you’re wearing, and the metal headband sliders are as satisfying as they ever were. It’s an attractive pair of headphones that’s not too big. Unlike the AirPods Max, they’re not incredibly heavy, although they’re not quite as discreetly small as the Dali IO-8.

Build quality is, as you might expect for the price, top-notch. They’re not as metallic feeling as the AirPods Max, but they’ve got metal in their construction in some key areas. There’s now magnesium in the build as well for some extra cool points and a lighter weight.

They don’t rattle when shaken, and everything feels screwed together well — just what you’d want for the financial outlay you’ll pay for a pair.

Focal Bathys MG review: Features

• Solid app
• AptX Adaptive
• Good sound personalization

The feature set of the Bathys MG is made for the audiophile, and can easily be defined by what they lack. There’s no spatial audio, and the ANC modes stop just before Sony’s mad GPS-enabled sound blocking. Beyond those two omissions, however, there are some great features on board the Bathys MG.

The first is the built-in wired DAC mode. That lets you plug the headphones into your laptop, phone, or other digital listening source, and listen to hi-res tracks with a top-notch DAC. It extends the battery life while increasing the sound quality as well, which is cool — although it does rely on the USB-C port.

DAC mode is excellent. I plugged my Bathys MG into my MacBook, initiated DAC mode, and played some super hi-res tracks from Qobuz and my personal collection. There was slightly more detail, a little more space, and the dynamic range was increased over wireless mode.

Classical music saw the best increase in quality. My favorite recording of Bach’s Brandenburg No.5 found more room to show the size of the orchestra, and the differences between quieter sections and louder sections were more pronounced, thanks to the increased dynamic range. A great way to listen.

The other wired mode is much simpler and very old school. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the right earcup, which you can plug into your iPod, compatible smartphone, or other slightly older devices. That will extend the battery as well, and improve sound quality — although not to the same degree as the USB-C DAC mode.

So those are your audiophile features — and they work very well. On top of those, you’ve got the usual spate of wireless headphone features. Bluetooth 5.2 might not be the most up-to-date version, but it serves up multi-point connection and AptX modes well.

The app is solid too, and I had little trouble getting the headphones set up exactly how I want them. The sound personalization is a great extra as well, and the Mimi sound profile works better here than other devices I’ve tried it with.

Listen to the white noise, hold the button when you hear beeps for four minutes. Voila! Audio personalized to your hearing profile.

I found that it worked well enough — it made adjustments based on the different hearing ability of my left and right ear, and changed the sound to fit. They already sounded excellent, but they sound even better after the sound adjustment.

Focal Bathys MG review: ANC

• It’s good
• But not exemplary

Look, if you’re after the best ANC around, then you shouldn’t really be looking at any of these premium headphones. The best ANC is found on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, and there’s yet to be anything to dethrone them from their lofty golden seat.

Sadly, ANC hasn’t seen any kind of improvement over the last pair, as far as I can tell. That doesn’t mean that it’s bad — it blocks out the noise of a train, or a bus, or a busy office environment — but you’ll still find noises creeping in on occasion.

I took them on a quick bus ride and a walk around the local mall, and found that they managed to block out all of the worst noises. The baby crying at the back of the bus was nearly completely silenced. The sound of the bus engine evaporated into nothing.

As with most premium wireless headphones, the Bathys focus on the sound quality — and given that stronger ANC modes tend to have an effect on the sound of your music, I can understand why.

There are three modes here — though, funnily enough, one of them is not ‘off’. There’s ‘silent’, which is your standard ANC mode, ‘soft’, which is akin to ‘off’, but still on (for some reason), and then ‘transparency’. The latter works well — turning it on, I could hear everything the cashier had to say about the latest season of the Simpsons when I just wanted to buy some bananas.

Focal Bathys MG review: Call quality

• It’s good
• Little background noise

Giving a quick call to a family member while walking the local suburban streets showed that the Bathys MG had no problem dealing with a little background noise. My call partner was able to hear everything I was saying, with little disruption to my voice. They came through clearly to me as well.

Is it as good as a pair of headphones or a microphone connected over a wire? No, but it’s perfectly fine when compared to the competition.

Focal Bathys MG review: Sound Quality

• Excellent bass extension
• Lovely detail and resolution
• Spacious presentation

“Controlled, tight, and smooth” is perhaps the best way to think about the sound quality of the Focal Bathys MG. They are an upgrade over the Bathys, that’s for sure — and those already sounded heavenly.

The MG part of the name comes from Focal’s MG line of wired audiophile headphones. It stands for Magnesium, and it both applies to those new magnesium build elements, but also some big upgrades to the sound profile.

This sterling sound quality comes courtesy of a new 40mm driver with an M-shaped cone (made in France, so make sure you’ve got a croissant to hand). The result is a tighter bass reproduction, brighter highs, and a more spacious soundstage.

Whatever wizardry Focal has put into the Bathys MG has created a pair of headphones that sound excellent. They’re less ‘in your face’ than the Dali IO-8; more controlled than the all-out thump of the Noble Fokus Apollo; and more mature than the Bang & Olufsen and Bowers & Wilkins alternatives.

That’s not to say they sound better, but they sound different. The bass is wonderfully smooth and precisely delivered, and there’s plenty of it. It’s warm and enveloping for a more relaxing listen — it doesn’t bludgeon you into low-end power, but delivers plenty to enjoy.

The highs are detailed and have excellent clarity. The cymbals in Casiopea’s Life Game are well-balanced and clear, while the funky plucked guitar line is well-defined. There’s plenty of dance and ‘get up and go’, without being too distracting or too bright and fatiguing.

The mids are well-rounded and give plenty of body to proceedings. The distorted guitars of Whitechapel’s Prisoner 666 are fat and perfectly formed, with all the devilish fury you could wish for. Vocals sound great, be they sung, growled, or rapped, with some spot-on clarity in their reproduction.

Add it all together, and the Bathys MG are a more laid-back listen than some of the more forward sounding alternatives, but you retain a great deal of dynamism thanks to the MG drivers inside. They’re more spacious than the $450-500 equivalent, that’s for sure — it’s when you listen to them properly that you can really tell where the extra money has gone.

Focal Bathys MG review: Battery Life

• 30 hours ANC on
• 45 hours DAC listening
• 35 hours 3.5mm

So there are a couple of different battery parameters to consider when looking at the Bathys MG. Remember that with the ANC modes, there is none that is ever truly off — so your battery life remains unchanged throughout.

Expect the 30 hours figure to match up pretty well with your used experience. I’ve managed to use them for 16 hours without a charge, and from there, I’ve found I’ve got about 47% remaining — 30 hours is definitely on the cards. That’s at around mid-volume with the ANC mode set to ‘silent’.

With the DAC mode, you’re looking at an increase to the battery life of around 15 hours — that’s a decent gain, and could well be worth using them while wired into USB-C for both the sound and battery gains.

Plugging them in via a 3.5mm gives you a battery life increase of 5 hours. You can’t use the headphones when turned off either, which is slightly irritating.

For charging, you can expect to get around 5 hours of listening from a quick 15-minute charge. That’s a nice bonus for when you run out of battery during a long journey on the train or the bus.

In terms of where that leaves them compared to the competition, you're looking at a thoroughly middle-of-the-road battery. It's around the same as the WF-1000XM5 and the Dali IO-8, more than the AirPods Max, but less than the Noble Fokus Apollo.

Focal Bathys MG review: Verdict

The Bathys more than make a great case for their lofty cost, of course, thanks to their excellent sound quality, and audiophile features. That built-in DAC mode is worth its weight in gold for hi-res audio fans, and the 3.5mm connector is a stunning rarity these days.

But that doesn’t change the fact that these are a very expensive headphone. If you want something that sounds fine but brings the juice for noise canceling at a lower price, you’re well-served by Sony and Bose.

The fight gets trickier for the Bathys MG as you move up the price scale, but there are still some key reasons you might want these instead of their increasingly premium competition.

If you own the old Bathys, however, then you’re better off sticking with your current pair and waiting for Focal’s next big release. The Bathys MG, in a vacuum, are a 4.5-star pair of headphones, but they don’t present quite enough of an upgrade over the previous pair if you’ve already got Focal’s first foray into wireless — and that price has to account for something.

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