Late October I ordered “open box” Focal Bathys advertised as “like new”. I was severely disappointed when they arrived and appeared to have been someone’s daily driver for 364 days then returned within the 365 day return window.
I reached out to customer support and they said they were sending me out a “new” pair. I assumed this meant they were sending another set of open box headphones and was okay with that, it’s what I ordered.
Fast forward to today, the second pair arrive. They sent me a brand new set of focal Bathys still in the original shrink wrapped box. Was totally not expecting that and I’m beyond stoked about it. Paid $550 for open box head phones and ended up with a brand new pair at the end of the day. 10/10 customer service.
I imagine the xm4 or xm5 will be on sale for Black Friday. If you want to spend a little more for a completely new experience the Focal Bathys are on sale currently. MSRP is normally $800 but you can find them on Amazon or headphones dot com for about $620.
I got a pair a few weeks ago after almost purchasing apple AirPods Max and I am so glad I got the Bathys. The ANC is great, it is prob the worst out of the 3 but it’s still very good. Sound quality knocks the other 2 out of the park, and it’s not even close. They’re super comfortable and feel high quality. They are wireless but you can use them wired through USBC or 3.5mm headphone jack, they have a built in DAC, they can play lossless, and the battery is phenomenal. I use mine a few hours a day and I’ve only charged them once since I got them 3 weeks ago (currently have 50% battery remaining). The app is super neat because you can run a legit hearing test which then configures your EQ to help you hear some frequencies better if you have hearing loss in those regions.