Focal's high-end wireless headphones promise improved comfort, better ANC and greater musical precision

The name of its original Bathys headphones derives from a deep-sea submersible, but Focal will be hoping that its upgraded spin on the five-star cans will raise their performance to new heights.

The new Focal Bathys Mg are billed as the latest evolution of the company's premium line of wireless headphones, featuring a more refined, user-friendly experience that will appeal to audiophiles who want stellar performance in a comfortable, Bluetooth-ready package.

So what makes the high-end Bathys Mg distinct from the five-star Focal Bathys cans? The Bathys Mg employ a pure magnesium driver membrane as opposed to the aluminium/magnesium mix of the originals, a lighter option that teases greater precision and increased separation between your music's many layers.

The digital microphones are new, too, with Focal aiming for improved noise cancelling this time around. The Focal Mg offer three noise cancelling modes – Silent, Soft and Transparent – the same as found in the original Bathys over-ears.

The Bathys Mg come equipped with a 1.2m jack and a 1.2m USB-C cable, meaning you can choose between wired and wireless listening, and if you choose to hook up using the provided USB-C port, the cans' USB-DAC mode offers 24-bit/192kHz hi-res support.

The battery life is the same as the standard Bathys when listening wirelessly, clocking in at a healthy 30 hours, but you'll get 35 hours when listening via the 1.2m jack and 42 hours when enjoying your headphones through a USB-C connection. A useful fast-charging facility, meanwhile, grants five hours of playtime from a 15-minute boost.

Focal promises greater comfort than before thanks to new premium materials, including new foam adorning the headphones' headband and ear cushions. We never found the 2022 Bathys to be tough to wear, praising their "thick and soft" ear pads and substantially cushioned headband, so recreating those characteristics with a few user-oriented refinements to the recipe is ok in our book.

In fact, there was very little about the five-star Bathys that we didn't like when we tested them a few years back, leading us to have high hopes for this upgraded iteration.

The Focal Bathys MG will be available from April, priced at £999 / $1299 / AU$2300, an increase on the standard model's £699 / $799 / AU$1199 asking price. The new cans come in a Chestnut finish, the same colourway as sported by the brand's high-end wired Focal Clear Mg over-ears.

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