I like to listen to music but I hate standard headphones, added to phones. In most cases, they are of poor quality, so I usually replaced them with others. Recently I have had the opportunity to try wireless Parrot Zik headphones.
Parrot company is known mainly for the production of car hands-free sets but it also has audio headphones in offer. Zik is a model described by the manufacturer as "the world's most advanced Bluetooth headset". Indeed, the information on the packaging seems to confirm this thesis: in the ear-muffs there is a mass of modern technologies. The man responsible for the visual side is Philippe Starck, a well-known designer who often had a hand in projects related to audio-video equipment. The technological part was the domain of Henri Seydoux - the chairperson of the Parrot company, called in the branch "the French Steve Jobs". The effects of such two personalities should be stunning. Are they?
 |
 |
 |
|
| Parrot Zik photo: Adam Łukowski/GSMchoice.com |
|||
Parrot Zik headphones are equipped with Bluetooth A2DP connection with AVRCP, touch control panel, built-in battery and advanced noise suppression system that uses four microphones! The fifth microphone supports voice calls. Headphones also have a sensor that detects whether the user has them on his head. Otherwise - after removing the headphones, the sensor is responsible for switching off the power supply and stop music playback. When you put on the headphones again, it "wakes them up" and brings back the playback. Clever... The sensor also collects the vibrations of our bones during the conversation, and the electronics puts them together with the voice processed through a microphone, thereby improving the quality of the phone call. Zik also have the NFC module, which greatly facilitates the pairing with a mobile phone, of course, provided that it has the same module.
 |
 |
 |
|
| Parrot Zik photo: Adam Łukowski/GSMchoice.com |
|||
Philippe Starck did a good job: he designed headphones with quite classic but very elegant and a slight cut. He decorated them with delicate insertions made of orange plastic - however, they are so discreet that they don’t interfere with the whole elegance, acting only as a kind of a "signature" of the designer. Zik are comfortable, they have soft ear pads, covering the ear (half-closed design), the headband is also made of soft eco leather material with the logo embossed. The main design components are made of metal castings – thanks to that the equipment is very reliable but not very lightweight too. Personally – I guess I prefer heavier but also durable headphones. Despite huge weight. Ziks are very comfortable to wear, adjustable headband with painted "scale" allows to fit them perfectly.
 |
 |
 |
|
| Parrot Zik photo: Adam Łukowski/GSMchoice.com |
|||
How do Parrot Zik headphones sound? As a wireless model, they play excellent! Noise filtering system works in a way that is "transparent", and it doesn’t limit the playback in a noticeable way. Usually, such systems cause a limit to the highest registers - here there is no such thing, although the filtering itself remains effective. If someone finds the filtered sound too little natural, you can disconnect the system. Then the sound seems a bit deeper but still the lovers of the deepest bass can feel underappreciated. When the headphones battery stops working (and unfortunately it happens fairly quickly, after about 5 hours), you can hook up the attached cable and use ZIKs as classic passive headphones. Then they play even better - sopranos get a bit more refinement , and bass is a bit less noticeable. I do not recommend listening "with cable" with the noise reduction system switched on. Then – I don’t know why – the headphones begin to excessively display medium ranges, they start to sound like cheap flip flops from the supermarket. Therefore - either we carry a power supply with microUSB plug and we save the battery after having listened to 4-5 albums, or immediately remove the lithium-ion battery package and use the cable!
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Parrot Audio Suite application photo: Adam Łukowski/GSMchoice.com |
|||
The operation of the headphones is easy. The volume control and player control is provided by the touch pad on one of the earmuffs. To change the volume we move a finger up or down, and to change the track - forward or back. A single tap with a finger pauses and brings back the playback. It’s getting worse when we want to disconnect the noise suppression but we still want to use Bluetooth. This cannot be done with a buttom on the headphones because there is no such thing! More advanced control is provided by a free application, which we need to download on the phone. It will let us not only to control the noise reducer but will also provide us with the possibility of seven range sound adjustment, it'll show the battery level and add - if want – the virtualization of the spatial sound in a concert hall. The depth of this simulated sound can be adjusted - if anyone likes them. Personally - I don’t recommend this option, regardless of the headset equipment. The downside of the application is that it only occurs on Android and iOS - so users of mobiles with on other platforms are not able to control the mute system or check battery level.
 |
 |
 |
|
| Parrot Zik photo: Adam Łukowski/GSMchoice.com |
|||
In fact, I should recommend these headphones. They look great, play well, they are comfortable and well made. The battery is not the best one, but on the other hand – they also work without it. The noise reduction system is polished, like the application that accompanies the headphones. So why I’m not able to recommend them without any hesitation? Only because the price is 300 euro. However, if you are ready to spend such amount, there you go - Parrot Zik are worth choosing
Technical specifications:
Source: GSMchoice.com
