Q: What would happen if you took Focal's Clear MG and Bathys headphones and smashed them together?
A: You'd get a very expensive mess.
But if engineers at Focal merged the two very carefully, you get the new Bathys MG wireless headphones. These are Focal's first closed-back headphones to use the pure Mg diaphragm in the driver. Any high-school chemistry teacher can tell you that the Mg stands for magnesium and it's what makes Bathys MG a truly next-level pair of wireless headphones. Focal's Al/Mg drivers have long been a mainstay for the brand's line of high-end headphones, but the launch of Clear MG was the world's introduction to Focal's new and even better, pure Mg driver diaphragm. It has all the rigidity of Al/Mg and even more sensitivity. The Mg driver gives Focal's lineup a tier between the already excellent Al/Mg driver design and Focal's
unearthly Beryllium driver found in its ultra-high end headphones, Utopia and Stellia.
During my time testing these headphones I found that the difference in sound between Bathys and Bathys MG was mostly subtle using the advanced Bluetooth codecs, aptX Adaptive and aptX HD, codecs that we Android users get to enjoy. But it's in DAC Mode where Bathys MG really struts its stuff! Opening new dimensions of sonic space and detail, I was thoroughly impressed by the sound quality in DAC Mode, a clear step forward from the original Bathys. The step-up is less apparent using Bluetooth. Compatibility with the aptX Lossless codec was perhaps a missed opportunity for Focal to demonstrate what Bathys MG can really do with no wires. But I understand why Focal didn't go through a restructuring of its Bluetooth compatibility to include it. Very few of us get to enjoy the aptX Lossless codec, we look forward to Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sound becoming more widespread. But I hold out no hope that Apple Inc will ever adopts it. Apple will create its own lossless wireless protocol before it uses one from a third party.
As good as Bathys MG sounds, the price is steep. Today you can buy what may be the finest wireless headphones on the market for $1499. But unless you plan on using Bathys MG in DAC Mode from time-to-time, you'll never get to hear the true value from its cost. Check out the full review here:
