By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
During the course of the year, I get to try and test various headphones and headsets. Some of them come as partners to devices like smartphones and PCs, others are standalone wired on-hear or earbud type headphones as well as wireless bluetooth headphones. Throughout my tests, I realized there is no perfect pair and that it is a process of finding the best solution for my use case with the least compromises.
One model I keep coming back to is Parrot’s Zik smart headphones. Admittedly a premium set of cans with a lot to set it apart from the rest of the gaggle. It is designed by Philippe Starck, the audio has been tuned by late music icon Lou Reed and it features lavish leather on yellow gold treatment that’s visually striking but still rather muted.
Parrot’s added in all the necessary features, a companion iOS and Android app can help users connect, fine tune and get the most out of the Zik’s output. The company also included a premium colour-coded microUSB charger and headphone plug for using the set without batteries.
As standalone Bluetooth speakers, there’s hardly anything to complain about when it comes to the Parrot Zik.
They fit well, are comfortable for prolonged periods of time, and the touch and motion controls introduced a few years ago have been refined and are still the best in the business.
Once you’re listening to music or a podcast and remove the headset or rest them on your neck, the music pauses.
You can also easily navigate playlists and songs by swiping back and forth on the surface of the headsets, same for volume control which can be toggled by a quick swipe up or down.
In terms of quality, the noise cancellation features are quite spot on and the Zik, which uses four microphones instead of two to measure noise and isolate it. What they call the ‘Parrot Concert Hall Effect,” replicates the nuances of a concert hall and gives a grander sound that’s surprisingly well defined.
I’ve used the Parrot Zik Yellow Gold as my go-to set of headphones mainly for enjoying streaming music from Spotify on my iPhone, playing podcasts and playlists from iTunes and enjoying newly acquired used CD’s on my 1989 Sony Discman and have not been disappointed.
I’ve used the Zik as the audio output source for watching Blu-Rays connected to my video projector and that’s when the Concert Hall Effect transforms into a stunning surround sound theatre effect. I just watched Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now on Blu-Ray and Walter Murch’s dirge-like and eerie soundtrack really comes alive (as in it really creeps you out).
Same thing with one of my all time favourite movies, Blade Runner, seeing the movie using a projector and with the Parrot Zik capably feeding the sound, I found I was lost in the dystopian world and immersed in Vangelis’ synth-soaked musical score.
Best of all, since I was using the Parrot Zik plugged in, I simply unplugged them from my Blu-Ray player and connected them to my iPhone for listening to music, podcasts and taking calls the next day.
While I usually take smaller in-ear headphones during my travels, I’ve already decided to take the Parrot Zik to some upcoming trips. I find them comfortable, versatile and they sure don’t look like anything else out there. While I am more of a black on black kind of guy, I have to admit that I find the yellow gold look is starting to appeal to me.
Conclusion:
The choice of what headphones to use is largely a personal choice. Some people go for logos or for the entertainers that endorse the products but I find that listening to music is a deeply personal and individual experience. The headsets just have to sound really good, offer accurate balance and be versatile enough to handle all the media you throw at them.
In terms of versatility, the Parrot Zik has all the features that suit me as a wired/bluetooth headphone. It works great paired to mobile devices as well as connected to music players, video players and PCs.
Rating: 4 out of 5