Focal deviated from its familiar frame's design in 2022 with the launch of Bathys, its first wireless ANC headphone. Bathys presented a new smaller, slim fitting chassis with swivel earcups for more portable storage and a lower than expected price. In Bathys, Focal was adapting to a new generation of consumer demand without sacrificing its high-end pedigree. It seemed only natural that Focal would develop new passive headphones using its new chassis design that might appeal to a more casual headphone consumer. 

Focal Hadenys & Azurys Headphones, Sweet Spot Found! 

Focal revolutionized its lineup with two new passive headphones in 2024 with the closed-back Azurys and the open-back Hadenys. Employing the Bathys chassis, the new line of passive headphones represented departure from the familiar French tank frame, bringing a slim fit, enhanced portability and lower than expected cost. The French speaker company may have hit a sweet spot in price, performance and portable comfort that brings Focal's sound to a broader headphone audience. In this review we’ll take a closer look at the Azurys closed-back headphones. 

Like its open-back brethren, Azurys is packing Focal’s 40-mm Aluminum/Magnesium M-shaped dome dynamic driver found in many of Focal’s most popular high-end designs. The Al/Mg driver may have been turned for different models and different sound profiles but one constant remains, this driver is renowned for sensitive resolution and a dynamic range that can punch and slam with the best of ‘em. 

Azurys, Focal’s passive closed-back headphone brings the technological DNA of its larger, high-end forebears to a smaller, more accessible headphone with its own unique esthetics and sound. Azurys isn’t just a compact Celestee for budget conscious fans of smaller, lighter headphones. I personally love Focal's larger French tank headphones and personally bought the Radiance that has grown into my favorite closed-back. But I have to give Focal credit for modernizing its lineup, the new chassis hits a sweet spot with accessible options that bring more mainstream consumer appeal. 

For a limited time you can now get both Azurys and Hadenys for $100-off through June 30, 2026. Click the Buy link for details.

Azurys & Radiance - The size difference looks bigger than it feels on the head. Focal's new compact designs are perfect for those less committed to larger headphones.

Focal Azurys Esthetics & Comfort 

One way to describe Azurys might be; visually distinctive. Focal says the pale blue finish is inspired by azurite stone. While surely a beautiful stone, the shade of blue beneath the honeycomb pattern of the outer earcup wouldn’t have been my first color choice. But to be honest, it grew on me over the time I had Focal’s loaner unit in for review. Thank you, Focal!  

As an efficient closed-back, Azurys is made for taking your music virtually anywhere. The more I used it walking around the city and catching glimpses of it on my head in a window, I began seeing a certain charm in Azurys’ metallic blue esthetic. The metallic look of the magnesium honeycomb grill pattern of the outer-earcup looks and feels solid, delicately balanced with the blue that contrasts with the dark Focal flame logo, lending a presentation of depth. I started seeing Azurys as looking more like a well engineered instrument than something your grandmother might wear to accessorize. 

The smaller Bathys-style frame makes Azurys a practical choice, especially for a closed-back that you’ll want to take with you on trips, whether out of country or just to the coffee shop. Like Bathys, the earcups swivel so you can lay Azurys flat in its compact case. Compared to Focal’s traditional headphone design, these require much less commitment to fit its case into a travel bag.

Overall comfort is excellent. The headphone is light at roughly 306-grams with a soft breathable fabric covering memory foam pads and enough clamp force to maintain a solid seal without turning long listening sessions into jaw workout. The fabric is more breathable than most imitation leather earcups I’ve worn. The smaller overall footprint does come at a cost in space inside each earcup where every square millimeter counts. With an inner-earcup opening height of 5.8-centimeters (2.2-inches) Azurys is only about 4-mm (0.15-inches) smaller than Focal’s premium closed-back Celestee, which is roughly equal to all of Focal’s larger traditional designs depending on the ear pads. Despite my larger than average head, both Azurys and my older Radiance fit comfortably around my ears.    

Focal Azurys Technology & Accessories 

The Azurys uses Focal’s 40-mm Al/Mg M-shaped dome driver that runs highly efficient with an easygoing 26-ohm impedance and Max SPL of 100-dB -. These are easy-to-drive headphones for most portable USB dongle DAC/Amps and low-powered desktop equipment. You could probably hear Azurys when powered from just about any 3.5-mm analog output, including a phone, but hearing isn't the same as listening. For best results you’ll want the headroom offered by a dedicated amp to hear Azurys at its best.

Focal's legendary Al/Mg driver, the heart of some of the best headphones ever made.

One of my favorite features in Focal’s traditional closed-back headphone designs is the excellent dampening technology used inside the earcups. While it’s not quite Active Noise Cancelling, Focal's line of full-sized closed-back headphones consistently provide among the best passive acoustic isolation I’ve experienced. The good news for Azurys is that Focal says it employed all the same acoustic engineering concepts and materials from its most premium closed-backs for internal damping and resonance management adapted to the smaller chassis and Azurys tuning. 

The included headphone cable uses a 3.5-mm TRRS connector that allows voice alongside left & right channels for the cable’s inline microphone. The inline mic makes it tempting to plug Azurys into a phone and take calls with your headphones, if you can find a phone with a 3.5-mm output these days. But as easy as Azurys is to drive with low power, I still wouldn’t recommend connecting it directly to a phone's analog output. I'm not crazy about the thin, rubbery cable included with Azurys, it's prone to tangling and the inline microphone seems mismatched for a hi-fi headphone. Many Azurys owners will likely seek out an aftermarket cable, which brings me to another criticism, Azurys cabling layout. Azurys' audio cable only connects to the left earcup, the new chassis design abandons Focal's traditional Y-cable's 3.5-mm connectors going to each earcup. This means Azurys can't be powered with other Focal headphone cables. This is an inconvenience for longtime Focal headphone fans who have already purchased aftermarket cables for their favorite Focals. Buying a cable upgrade is a tradition for Focal headphone fans, unfortunately that slick 1.44 Pentacon cable you may have bought for your old Clear (or the one I got for Radiance) won't work with either Azurys or its open-back counterpart Hadenys. One big positive is the included carrying case, its zipper and stiff walls are well-constructed and so much more portable than Focal's traditional carrying cases for its larger headphones. Unlike the traditional French tank case, Azurys fits easily into a carry-on bag without feeling like you're bringing an archaeological artifact aboard a plane. The earcup rotation and flat packing of Focal's new chassis save considerable space while leaving room for a cable.

Azurys & Radiance cases side-by-side comparison.

Focal Azurys Sound Quality 

Testing Azurys was exclusively performed with 24/96 hi-res FLAC collection streamed into a highly linear combo; SMSL SU-9 DAC connected to a THX AAA 789 headphone amplifier. Expect subjective comparisons to Focal Radiance, my everyday go-to closed back headphones.  

The first impression that jumped out at me was Azurys tightly controlled bass response. It effortlessly reaches down into a punchy sub-bass without smearing or presenting an overly dark sound. Azurys frequency response is rated from 15-Hz to 22-kHz at a +/- of 3dB. I can’t say that I know what 15-Hz sounds like exactly, due to the limits of human hearing, but after hearing my go-to bass test track, Angel by Massive Attack, I feel like maybe I have. 

Massive Attack, Mezzanine

Angel: The 90s trip-hop band from England is always an excellent bass test. Azurys faithfully presents the song’s opening synth drone that immediately brings sub-bass frequencies down below 30-Hz alongside a crisp bassline. It’s a challenge for any speaker or headphones to present this track’s bass tones at volume while keeping each audibly distinct. The tendency for lesser headphones is turning everything below 100Hz into a muddy monotone. I imagine Massive Attack fans driving around in the 90s and hearing this song for the first time on a budget car stereo and literally missing half the song due to poor bass response. But Azurys delivers a stellar performance. Alongside all that sub-bass activity are mid-bass kick drums while treble and mid-range are treated to crashing cymbals and snarling guitar that Azurys handles with surprising aptitude. Azurys delivers a smooth representation of Horace Andy’s vocals as he hits his uppermost register although the vocals sound somewhat veiled or pushed to the background. Overall Azurys gives this challenging track an incredible performance and a veritable bass-response clinic.  

Rush, Moving Pictures 

YYZ: This song sounds like a freestyle jam session that lets the trio strut its deep well of instrumental talent. Azurys presents the electric jam in a tight sphere around my head with only a limited soundstage, acceptable for any closed-back headphone. Again, something akin to perfect bass reproduction emerges in Lee’s bass-line as Neil Peart’s dual 24-inch kick drums punch with clarity and suitable imaging. Azurys brings presence to the rapid-fire bass drums with tight control that doesn’t muddy Lifeson’s Stratocaster as his fingertips seem to be racing to a finished line. Azurys’ bass response is truly a pleasure to behold when hearing masters of their craft perform from a high-quality recording. Perhaps it’s the tuning or the acoustic dampening of the earcups, but it lets the bass drum hit hard with a snap that never seems to overwhelm or muddy other frequencies. 

I switched over to Radiance to hear XYZ fresh off hearing it on Azurys. Overall, Clarity and presence of bass is about equal, both headphones bring weight to the kick drums and bass guitar. Azurys brings just a little more rapid-fire response to the drum-kit, faster decay-time as one beat clears for Peart's next strike of the kick drum or cymbal. Radiance on the other hand brings a little more presence to the guitar and an overall velvety smoothness beyond comparison.    

Limelight:  As the familiar riff propels the song forward, Azurys provides imaging that lets me zero-in on each instrument in the trio. Azurys imaging inside its relatively narrow soundstage is more than capable enough to localize instruments, even through the track's creative studio mix that alternates placement of different parts of Peart’s drum kit everywhere across the back of the soundstage. Peart doesn’t only test bass with his dual kick drums, he’s got treble covered with his unique approach to cymbals. During pre-chorus and Lifeson’s guitar solo, you’ll hear Peart tapping the bell of his ride cymbals creating a rapidly repeating rat-tat-tat that decays instantly before the next tap. Azurys keeps the pace fast and responsive with crystal clarity in the treble through Peart’s on-again off-again gallop on the ride cymbals. Azurys demonstrated it’s capable of rapid responsiveness across both ends of the frequency spectrum. 

I found Azurys more on the “fun listen” side of the spectrum as opposed to delivering flat studio monitor accuracy, depending on your taste and hearing your mileage may vary. Azurys achieves suitable openness and imaging for a closed-back design while sparing us any overly-aggressive treble tuning. I found its overall presentation to be controlled and natural with Focal’s gentle warmth that doesn’t come off as metallic-sounding. 

Azurys upper-mids and treble avoids the brittle edges that plague some closed-backs and I didn’t find it fatiguing over long listening sessions. In comparison to Radiance, perhaps the one noticeable drawback is its slightly more cloistered or veiled upper mid-range vocals that lack the lush ambience of Focal’s elder closed-back. But what Azurys lacks in mid-range vocals it makes up for in punchier more agile low frequencies than Radiance. These headphones avoid the boxed-up pressure chamber effect that you might expect when Focal’s 40-mm Al/Mg driver is stuffed into a smaller ear-cup. Part of what makes Azurys a fun listen is that I imagine Focal engineers must have tuned Azurys to play up the strengths of its large driver inside a smaller closed chamber to take tight bass response and control to new heights. Mission definitely accomplished! 

Azurys is a fun listen out the box or playing with EQ & effects for on-the-go listening with your favorite portable DAC/Amp.

Conclusion

Azurys was a smart product design decision for Focal and I hope to see Focal do more with this new form factor without abandoning its classic French tank designs. Instead of building a stripped-down budget closed-back headphone, the company seemed to take what worked in Bathys, translated it into a lighter, simpler passive design that carries the familiar Focal pedigree. For anyone interested in a Focal but leery of the brand's traditional high-end line's size and leery of dropping over $1K on Celestee or much, much more on Stellia, Azurys has you covered. It's a true Focal hi-fi headphone for anyone who's a bit of a bass-head, and honestly, who isn't? But beyond the bass, Azurys provides a lively overall frequency response that threads the needle, neither fatiguing and harsh, flat or boring. The closed-back headphone is designed to take and listen to anywhere while keeping your music to yourself without radiating sound to bystanders.

Azurys may not replace the company’s high-end closed-backs, but it doesn’t need to. Azurys succeeds because it's a modern, portable entry into the Focal lineup.  

The Prestige components certainly have a family resemblance to their larger and more expensive counterparts, but there are elements to the design that look fresh and distinct. The anodized aluminum casework, rounded corners, and knurled volume knob make the Prestige X430 Integrated Amplifier look not unlike a full-grown version of the adorable Rotel DX-5 amplifier, which I just reviewed. But the Prestige amp’s glass front panel and large, high-resolution color display take the DX-5’s industrial design up a few notches on the refinement scale. Under the hood, the Prestige Series reportedly builds on established Michi technologies, including power supply design, circuit isolation, and low-noise architecture.

Michi Prestige X430 Integrated Amp

The Michi Prestige X430 Integrated Amplifier is a Class AB design delivering 210 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 340 watts per channel into 4 ohms. The X430 has a high-current output stage, supported by a beefy power supply utilizing an oversized custom toroidal transformer manufactured in-house by Rotel. Considering how surprisingly powerful the little 25-watt Rotel DX-5 proved to be, I would expect this new amp to have more than enough current and headroom to drive even very demanding loudspeakers, like the Arendal 1528 Monitor or the Perlisten S4b. The amp’s design reportedly features an exceptionally low-noise architecture with multi-stage voltage regulation that reduces noise and ripple throughout the circuit. Rotel says that optimized power and signal paths further minimize distortion and help to maintain the amp’s rock-solid stability, dynamic authority, and overall clarity, no matter the loudspeaker load. The benefit, according to Rotel, is a lower noise floor and a “transparent silent background” that allows the musical signal’s most delicate details to be revealed.

The Prestige X430 offers good connectivity, including balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analog line inputs, plus a built-in moving-magnet phono stage. The dual subwoofer outputs will certainly come in handy for many users, though the amp does not offer bass management. The amp includes a DAC section based on an ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M chip. The coaxial and optical S/PDIF inputs can accept standard PCM up to 24-bit/192kHz, but the USB input supports up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256 via DoP. The Bluetooth input supports AAC and aptX HD, but not aptX Lossless. Even the best Bluetooth implementation will not yield the highest possible streaming quality, however. For best results, use an external streamer connected to one of the amp’s digital or analog inputs. The Prestige X430’s DAC section can also be used for TV audio, thanks to the presence of an HDMI ARC input. The more expensive Reference Series integrated amps lack this useful feature (though I am willing to bet that the next iteration of those amps will offer it). I very munch enjoyed testing the HDMI ARC function on the Rotel DX-5.

The Prestige X430’s large color display offers selectable VU meter and spectrum analyzer views, but the real appeal for me is the ability to read the selected source and volume level from the listening position. At 17 inches wide, 6 inches high, and 16.5 inches deep, the 37-pound Prestige X430 is a bit smaller and substantially lighter than the 64-pound Michi X3 Series 2 integrated amp, which sells for 50% more. Still, the Prestige’s precision-machined chassis appears to be of very high quality. And for some customers, an amp that is smaller, lighter, and more compact will have its own appeal.

Michi Prestige Q430 CD Player

Designed to be a visual match for the X430 amp, the Michi Prestige Q430 CD Player is as simple a device as you’re likely to find in high-end audio. It’s just a straight-forward CD player. It doesn’t do streaming, and doesn’t even have digital inputs for using its internal DAC with other digital sources. It doesn’t play SACDs. But if you value high-quality redbook CD playback — and plenty of audiophiles with big CD collections clearly do — you will appreciate its multi-stage regulated power supply, which reportedly to minimizes electrical noise, and its high-quality tray-loading mechanism designed to reduce vibration during playback. Inside you’ll find a fully differential DAC built around the 8-channel ES9028PRO chip. This should be a noticeable step up in audio quality compared to the X430 amplifier’s built-in DAC. In the Q430 CD Player, each channel of the stereo output uses four of the eight channels available in the ES9028PRO chip, thus reducing noise and improving signal performance, according to Rotel. Given the attention poured into the quality of the CD player’s analog output, most users will probably rely on either the Q430’s RCA or balanced XLR outputs. But if you have a high-end DAC that you prefer, the Q430’s only other connectivity option is a single coaxial digital output.

Although the more expensive Michi Q5 offers a wider variety of digital inputs and outputs, it’s worth pointing out that both the Q5 and the Q430 use the same DAC chip. Of course, we can’t assume that the players sound identical, as they do not have identical power supplies or analog output stages. But if you don’t need the Q5’s connectivity options, the Q430 may be all the CD player you need. Like the Q5, the Q430 features a color display capable of showing album artwork. Also like the Q5, the Q430 does not play SACDs. You already know whether you have an SACD collection, so this omission may be of no concern to you. But the Q430’s lack of digital inputs might give you pause. Many high-end CD players, including the Michi Q5, allow the user to connect external digital sources, such as the popular streaming devices from companies like WiiM, Cambridge Audio, Eversolo, and HiFi Rose. If you’re investing in a CD player with a high-quality built-in DAC, it only makes sense that you’d want to maximize value by putting that DAC to work in other playback scenarios. It remains to be seen whether this limitation will have an effect on this new Michi player’s sales numbers.

I expect the X430 amp to be a runaway hit, but even as interest in CD playback is enjoying something of a renaissance, there is less of a market for a standalone CD player than for an integrated amp. In any case, both components appear to offer superb build and materials quality, and I have no doubt that they will perform at a very high level. Both units come with an aluminum remote control that looks far nicer than the plasticky remotes offered by some other brands at similar price points, and even higher. I will be curious to see whether these new remotes are as finicky as the remote supplied with the DX-5, which only worked when pointed directly at the amplifier.

We didn’t have the same budget, but the engineering team looked at it, challenged themselves at every component level and said how do we really tune this to be a 2026 initiative and not a refreshed 2019 product in just a different chassis. So there was a bit of work involved, but we think you get the same Michi cleanliness and the same Michi feel.

— Daren Orth, CTO of Rotel, speaking to What Hi-Fi?

More information: Rotel Michi