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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Focal Bathys Wireless vs Apple AirPods Max
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Focal Bathys Wireless
Apple AirPods Max
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Mar 28, 2025 07:28 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Feb 10, 2025 03:32 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- Bathys (Black/Gray)
- Bathys (Dune)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Blue)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Green)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Midnight)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Orange)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Pink)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Purple)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Silver)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Sky Blue)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Space Gray)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Starlight)
Our Verdict
Focal Bathys Wireless
Apple AirPods Max
The Apple AirPods Max and the Focal Bathys Wireless are both premium headphones. The Apple headphones prioritize users within the same ecosystem, as they have an H1 chip and iOS-exclusive app support. The Apple also have better noise isolation, although it's adaptive, whereas the Focal use ANC presets. The Apple have a darker treble response without extensive EQ. Besides supporting Bluetooth, the Apple headphones use a Lightning connection or USB-C (depending on the model variant), and you'll need to purchase an adapter to listen to analog audio. You can easily adjust the EQ and sound settings for the Focal in the companion app. They also have more connectivity options like aptX Adaptive, USB-C, and analog connections without needing separate adapters. In addition, for a more comfortable fit and a better mic, the Focal are a good choice.
Check Price
Black/Gray
Bathys
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlue
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comDune
Bathys
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comGreen
AirPods Max (Lightning)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comMidnight
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comOrange
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comPink
AirPods Max (Lightning)
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Amazon.comPurple
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.comSilver
AirPods Max (Lightning)
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Amazon.comSky Blue
AirPods Max (Lightning)
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Amazon.comSpace Gray
AirPods Max (Lightning)
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BestBuy.comStarlight
AirPods Max (USB-C)
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BestBuy.comMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.9
7.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.3
4.9
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.79 lbs
0.85 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs
1.2 lbs
Controls
7.6
7.9
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
iOS
Ease Of Use
Good
Great
Feedback
Decent
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
Presets
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Multi function + Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
6.1
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6.7 °C
Portability
5.7
6.0
Portability Picture
L
7.9" (20.0 cm)
7.8" (19.8 cm)
W
7.9" (20.0 cm)
7.5" (19.1 cm)
H
2.4" (6.0 cm)
1.7" (4.3 cm)
Volume
140.90 in³ (2,308.90 cm³)
99.00 in³ (1,622.31 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
6.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Soft case
L
9.0" (22.8 cm)
7.9" (20.1 cm)
W
8.2" (20.9 cm)
8.5" (21.6 cm)
H
2.8" (7.1 cm)
1.7" (4.3 cm)
Volume
206.46 in³ (3,383.29 cm³)
114.00 in³ (1,868.12 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
6.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
500 Hz
400 Hz
Bass Amount
0.8 dB
1.5 dB
Treble Amount
-2.4 dB
-4.4 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
7.7
7.1
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.45 dB
0.6 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.8
9.6
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.0 dB
1.5 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
1.31 dB
1.72 dB
Mid Bass
0.61 dB
1.15 dB
High Bass
0.14 dB
1.49 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.8
8.7
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.27 dB
1.3 dB
Low Mid
1.02 dB
0.49 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.19 dB
0.2 dB
High Mid
1.23 dB
-1.34 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.3
4.9
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.02 dB
5.14 dB
Low Treble
-2.42 dB
-4.28 dB
Mid Treble
-2.29 dB
-4.58 dB
High Treble
-5.3 dB
-3.65 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.4
7.9
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.62 dB
1.01 dB
Dips
1.48 dB
2.31 dB
Imaging
8.2
7.7
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.16
0.12
Weighted Phase Mismatch
4.19
2.91
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.48
2.33
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.03
2.86
Passive Soundstage
4.7
4.1
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.14 dB
4.28 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.02 dB
6.81 dB
PRTF Distance
5.77 dB
5.22 dB
Openness
2.1
1.7
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.6
3.3
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
No
Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.8
7.7
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.317
0.337
WHD @ 100
0.114
0.125
Test Settings
Firmware
1.5.7
3B71
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0
Codec
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
TP-Link BE9300 BT 5.4
TP-Link BE9300 BT 5.4
EQ
Dynamic
Adaptive EQ
ANC
Silent
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
8.5
9.4
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-22.36 dB
-26.06 dB
Bass
-18.04 dB
-19.54 dB
Mid
-20.18 dB
-30.62 dB
Treble
-30.01 dB
-28.95 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
7.9
9.0
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-18.40 dB
-21.85 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-18.55 dB
-19.98 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-19.99 dB
-21.92 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
Leakage
6.9
7.1
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.93 dB
38.88 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.4
6.6
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
364.41 Hz
273 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
5.86 dB
2.77 dB
HFE
4,763.35 Hz
3,466.89 Hz
Weighted THD
0.526
3.025
Gain
18.34 dB
15.85 dB
Noise Handling
7.0
5.0
SpNR
26.83 dB
9.61 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
5.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.0
5.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.9
8.3
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
29.1 hrs
21.6 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
29.1 hrs
21.6 hrs
Charge Time
2 hrs
1.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Standby mode
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
USB-C
Lightning
App Support
7.5
6.0
App Picture
App Name
Focal & Naim
iOS Interface
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
No
ANC Control
Presets
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
6.7
9.3
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB-C
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
4.17 ft (1.27 m)
N/A
Connector
1/8" TRS
Lightning
Latency - Analog
35.5 ms
1.7 ms
Latency - USB
51.5 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
USB
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
8.1
7.9
Bluetooth Version
5.1
5.0+H1 chip
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
No
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
328.00 ft (99.97 m)
Latency - SBC
283 ms
185 ms
Latency - aptX
289 ms
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
263 ms
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
58 ms
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
No
Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black/Gray
Bathys
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlue
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comDune
Bathys
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comGreen
AirPods Max (Lightning)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comMidnight
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comOrange
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comPink
AirPods Max (Lightning)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comPurple
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.comSilver
AirPods Max (Lightning)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comSky Blue
AirPods Max (Lightning)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comSpace Gray
AirPods Max (Lightning)
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.comStarlight
AirPods Max (USB-C)
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Focal Bathys Wireless
Apple AirPods Max
Comments
Apple AirPods Max vs Focal Bathys Wireless: Main Discussion
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