Parrot Zik

The Parrot Zik seems to do everything. Wireless Bluetooth audio? Check. Active noise cancellation? Yep. Integrated NFC and touch sensitive controls that auto-pause your music when you remove the headphones? Of course. There's even a free app from Parrot that's extremely useful. However, one reason it's useful is that it's the only way to balance out the Zik's highly-sculpted frequency response. With so many bells and whistles, the Zik, designed by Philippe Starck, risks being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. It's not the best-sounding, nor best noise canceling pair out there, but at $399.95 (list), it's priced like it is. So many products would be a jumbled mess with such an array of features, however, and the Zik manages its arsenal gracefully. Above all else, it's a beautifully, thoughtfully designed headphone pair.

Design
First things first: These headphones are pretty stunning, with a luxurious combination of black leather, chrome, and a nice black matte surface. The ear pads are very plush, and for the first thirty seconds, they're the most comfortable headphones you've ever worn. Eventually, the underside of the headband, which can be precision adjusted and then locked in place, gets a little uncomfortable, putting some less-than-cushiony pressure on the scalp, regardless of adjustments. The awesome ear pads more than cancel out the headband's less-than-comfortable design, however.

Aside from a Power button on the right ear, there are no buttons, but there are plenty of invisible controls. Once you've paired your device via Bluetooth?a process that can be done swiftly via NFC on compatible devices, and fairly quickly using the standard pairing method, as well?you can control volume by swiping your finger up or down the right ear's outer panel. Swipe forward or backward, you skip a song or rewind. Tap once, and you pause or answer a call. It's all quite intuitive, and completely hidden from sight.

Then there's the sensor on the surface of the ear pads that detects when you're wearing the headphones. The aforementioned app lets you set the Zik up so the active noise cancellation switches on the moment the sensor detects they're on?a process that takes a split second. Your music also auto-pauses every time you remove the headphones, and starts up when you put them back on. Simply put, these are very impressive design functions?the kind that, at first, wow you a little bit with their simplicity and originality.

Occasionally, the sensor falters?after all, it's a filter that detects pressure from your skin, but not specifically your cheek. If you rest your headphones around your neck or place your fingers in the wrong spot while holding them, you might hear your music start up unexpectedly. It's easy to fix, however?just move the ear pads away from your skin.

I'd argue the convenient auto-pause feature is more than just a novelty, and worth this minor side-issue, though I do wish the app allowed you to shut this feature off if you so desired. You can override playback by using the controls on your source device. You can also fine tune volume settings and navigate playback on the source device, without issue, for those who don't want to use the blind controls on the right ear's surface.

The headphones also include a built-in mic for taking calls, and additional mics for the noise cancellation. A 3.5mm audio cable is also included for wired playback. A USB cable is included for charging and updates, though you can also wirelessly receive updates (via Bluetooth) to the headphones' firmware via the App.

Even the battery compartment is well-designed. The outside panel of the left ear cup pops off easily, in goes the included rechargeable battery, and a light magnetic force snaps it consistently back into place. I'd guess I could remove and replace the lid without much effort in less than two seconds on every try. Parrot rates the battery life at roughly 6 hours when you are using all the features, 18 hours when you use just the noise cancellation (it can be turned off in the app), and 24 hours of standby.

Performance
It's kind of hard to pinpoint what the Zik actually sounds like, since it's very tweakable, thanks to the customizable EQ. To be blunt, without the EQ, the Zik does not sound very good, to me at least. It is far too bass heavy, with weird spikes around the hi-mid region that have an unpleasant effect on vocals and the attack of stringed instruments and some percussion. However: There is never any distortion at top volumes, even on deep bass tracks, and you can fine-tune the EQ so much as to almost completely eliminate the harshness of the sound signature.

Furthermore, while you can use the Zik in passive mode (without being powered up), it might as well be a different pair of headphones. No power gives you a more or less bass-free, treble-heavy frequency response, while powering up makes things overly-bass-heavy. Obviously, you can only use the headphones passively when the included 3.5mm cable is connected to your sound source. (By the way, in wired mode, the Zik will mute your music, but not pause it. At least this was the case with an older MacBook?with headphones off, sound disappeared, but the song in iTunes continued to play.) Being able to use the headphones wired, and even passively, albeit with diminishing returns, is a plus. But the bottom line here is: The Zik has an identity crisis, sonically speaking.

With no EQ adjustment, and powered up, the Zik manages a dubious feat: It is simultaneously muddy (lacking definition in the low-mid range) and tinny (overly tweaked and harsh in the hi-mid range). Not exactly $400 sound. But a visit to the free app, and some tweaking (I lowered the deep bass, boosted the mid-bass frequencies, cut the high-mids, and boosted the highs?in each case, not by much) turns the Zik's capable drivers into nice-sounding headphones.

I could go through my usual descriptions of how classical, pop, rock, hip hop, and folk music sound through the Zik, but it seems pointless. Trust me: if you care about sound quality, you'll be adjusting the Zik from its default setting immediately. If adjustment were impossible, the Zik's rating would probably be a 3.0, saved from a worse rating by its excellent, groundbreaking design. But since the default setting can be so easily tweaked and tuned, and even turned into a frequency response that borders on flat (or booming, if you wish), it's pointless to rate and review this headphone pair in a vacuum. Basically, if you lack an iOS or Android device, don't bother with the Zik, because the app is the single-most important piece of the puzzle when it comes to its audio performance.

But let's not forget about noise cancellation. When you first place the Zik on your head, the world appears to go on mute. Is the noise cancellation as stark (no pun intended) as, say, the Bose QuietComfort 15's? No. but it's still quite effective, and while there is some noticeable hiss added to the equation, it's not nearly as noticeable as it is on pairs with less effective NC circuitry. The circuitry here is above average?not the best, but in a pair that also happens to be wireless and full of secret magic tricks, certainly more than acceptable.

Who is the Zik for? Travelers, I'd guess?those with Bluetooth mobile devices, a desire for active noise cancellation, and, let's face it, those who want a very stylish and feature-loaded product. The Zik won't disappoint this crowd.

However, $400 is a lot of money, and if you're more of a sound snob than a feature-fiend, there are other headphones in this realm to consider. If noise cancellation is the most important thing to you, the aforementioned Bose QuietComfort 15 is superior. If you're looking for great noise cancellation as well as excellent audio performance, the AKG K 490 NC is a borderline masterpiece. And if you couldn't care less about noise cancellation but would love a wireless headphone pair that sounds great, consider the Logitech UE 9000.

If?all of this sounds very nice, but what you really want is a wireless option for a lot less money, consider the simple-but-effective Sennheiser MM 100?there's no noise cancellation, but at moderate levels it offers solid wireless audio at a fraction of the price.?

For those of you who love the sleek design and clever features that Apple has built into its products over the years, the Parrot Zik offers that level of appeal, answering needs you didn't think you had, and doing so automatically. I wish it sounded better out of the box, but kudos to Philippe Starck?the Zik is a magnum opus of design.

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