Long term readers will go, again? Isn’t this guy ever happy? Yes but there are reasons to change.
Why did I change? I blame myself. One of the excellent headphones I liked was the relatively cheap Seinhesier Accentum. I loved the fit of the ear cup but the problem was that it would cause inner ear pressure when I would use it for hours.
So I bought the Sonos Ace which I loved but ultimately they failed me as well. The problem is because I wear glasses the ear cup didn’t fit well with them and the sound leaked due to the gap. They were clearly superior to the Accentum but they still sounded worse due to the gap.
Now I had shared that I live close to an Interstate and being sensitive to noise I needed something that would isolate sound better. I did a ton of research and decided that I would pay for the Focal Bathys. I knew about them before but when I looked at them they were $900 and the mixed reviews didn’t inspire me to take that chance.
However after using the Accentum’s again that I had given my friend, I realized how much of the sound insulation provided by the excellent over the hear cups provided. So for a HSP who wears glasses, the Focal Bathys is perfect.
I bought them from a local NYC store for about $570 for an open box and it looked brand new. I could tell they hadn’t even tried them on because the plastic packaging was still intact in the box. They easily setup in Windows 11 and sound better than the Sonos Ace. Also if you have bigger ears like I do they fit better because they have more space for the ears.
Is there a downside? They are slightly heavier but that is a non issue for me. They are very comfortable for me and I would wear them if they were much heavier.
I wish I had bought them sooner. I tolerated the improper fit of the Sonos Ace for too long because they sounded so good. Now I have everything that an HSP needs to be happy. Today is a joyous day for me.