Parrot's latest drone includes an immersive cockpit headset
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Parrot Zik
78
Engadget Review
The Zik generally performs well, but various kinks make it fall short of the $400 asking price.
Pros
- Breathtaking, comfortable design
- Active noise cancellation and passive noise isolation
- Intuitive mobile app and onboard controls
Cons
- Short battery life, proprietary battery
- Slightly erratic Bluetooth performance
- Sound quality is pleasing, but could be better
View All Critic & User Reviews
Parrot Zik
- Critic Reviews (11)
- User Reviews (15)
- 81AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE11 ReviewsPC Mag80Parrot ZikThe Parrot Zik is a masterfully designed, wireless headphone pair, but you'll need to seriously tweak its customizable EQ to get the audio performance up to the same level.Laptop Magazine80Parrot Zik by Starck Headphones ReviewThe Parrot Zik by Starck headphones are a beautiful marriage of design, wireless convenience and impressive audio quality.Popular Science80Parrot ZiK Review: Pretty Much the Fanciest HeadphIt’s hard to say exactly who would buy a pair of these. With some features targeted directly at mobile users and others squarely at audiophiles, its place in the market is hard to decipher. Still, you could do a lot worse for the price.CNET80Parrot Zik wireless Bluetooth headphones reviewThe big question, of course, is whether they're worth $400. For most people they won't be. But if you're looking for a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones that sound really good, have an impressive design, and have some really nifty features ... it's easy to make a case for buying these.Engadget80Parrot Zik by Starck review: Is $400 worth it forThe Zik generally performs well, but various kinks make it fall short of the $400 asking price.Gizmodo80Parrot Zik Lightning Review: More Than the Sum ofThere’s no doubt that the Ziks are the best Bluetooth headphones you can buy right now.Wired70Review: Parrot Zik Noise-Canceling Wireless HeadphParrot’s Zik headphones aren’t cheap, but they are positively futuristic, and all the technology crammed into these cans make them far more interesting than your average pair of wireless over-the-ear headphones.Pocket-LintNot RatedParrot Zik by Starck headphones: Hands-on with theA Parrot Audio Suite dedicated app for Android and iOS is available which adds other features, including an equaliser, and we have to say that they sound excellent. Now they look the part too.PC World Australia80Parrot Zik wireless headphonesThe Parrot Zik headphones are the best wireless Bluetooth headphones your money can buy, combining a great looking design with some excellent features like intuitive, touch sensitive controls. However, the high price tag doesn't match the audio quality.T3100Parrot Zik reviewThe Parrot Ziks are certainly impressive and undoubtedly the best Bluetooth headphones we've seen yet. Along with the reliable wireless performance, the touch operation is superb, the cans are comfortable and the audio is excellent.Daily Mail80Gadgets review - Parrot ZIK headphonesThe system needs more refining to elevate it from cool gadget to game-changer. For those after statement style and sound that will blow your mind, though, these ZIKs are worth every penny.Android Community80Parrot ZIK Wireless Headphones ReviewBottom line here, we have to say we were impressed with the everything from the way these look to the way they sound. And thankfully they were also comfortable to wear. We would love to say they would be good for just about everyone.
- 87AVERAGE USER SCORE15 ReviewsEngadget Reader100January 29, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A gadget unicorn - EngadgetEngadget Reader90July 10, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!They actually have me not playing with my phone when I drive now. Great Bluetooth phone connection and works well with voice recognition software.Lou Reed EQ setting is really neat as are the custom audio settings in the app allowing for personal fine tuning to your own individual ear and taste.Takes text to talk Siri orders accurately even when the window is down and look very much worth the price from a style perspective.Really enjoy them.Engadget Reader90June 23, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader100May 2, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!These fill the exact niche I was looking for answers to. I currently own four pairs of noise cancelling ear phones/ear plugs (Sony and Bose), but they are all wired. My only bluetooth headsets are some old HP's, and the standard jawbones and and plantronics single ear models. I also have a pair of Sony wireless headphones (not bluetooth). I needed a pair of wireless nc earphones for traveling (mainly plane and car) and for mowing the yard. I've found that for me, absent the noise cancellation feature, it is extremely difficult to listen to music under those conditions. I've now tested them on two trips, two work outs, and one "lawn mowing" and they have exceeded my expectations.The sound is amazing, but they only reach amazing after tweaking the equalization through the free app that controls some of the digital processing. I own some really nice Yamaha headphones, along with many other pairs of the Sony and Bose, and the sound these headphones can put out is extremely impressive. They can go quite loud without any overpowering boomyness (again, the equalization is quite adjustable). The bass can be quite impressive. I listen to all types of music ranging from pop and rock, to classical, to dub step, to dance trance, and even country and western, and have not been disappointed.Battery life appears good, but I bought an extra battery just in case. The only way to recharge the battery is in the earphone itself, so you have to go through the exercise of charging one battery, then removing it to charge the other. Thankfully the easy-to-remove magnetic battery door makes this pretty simple. The magnets are strong enough to feel comfortable in that there is very little possibility that it might become dislodged on its own (perhaps even impossible without throwing the headphones on the floor). Although they are slightly heavier than I would like, I am not bothered by their weight. They seem quite sturdy. I took them to work out in, and found they might be too top heavy to look up high. That won't stop me from bike riding or other exercise for which I don't have to look up or bounce too much. The comfort is good, however after about 3 hours of listening, you might need to pull them off for about 5 minutes, especially if you don't get them positioned properly over your ears. I'm slightly worried about the suns's affect on them this summer as I got the all black with titanium insets (they do sell a white version that i didn't buy due to the fact I thought that might be too much bling to mow the lawn in). I see myself as kind of a techie, and I love the "tech" features of these headphones (they are honestly too cool). In addition to the touch adjustable volume, pause, forward, and replay controls on the right ear cover, and the app that can adjust equalization and other digital processing, the battery cover is held on by magnets that allows for easy access to the battery compartment, without feeling like you are going to break something trying to pry it open (similar in usefulness as the magnetized power cords on apple laptops).Overall, I am extremely happy with the product, it does exactly what I need it to do.By the way, I'm not sure why you can't find these headphones listed on engadget under the "headphone" category, they appear to only be listed as a bluetooth headset. I believe that unfairly pigeon holes them into a sub-category that they go well beyond in achievement. Just because they can connect and be used as a bluetooth "headset", I'm not sure this should disqualify them to be listed in the headphone category. It took me awhile to find the reviews on them because I perceived them to be headphones and looked there first. I'm also slightly confused on how a product that can primarily get 8's, 9's and 10's is relegated to 78 on the conclusion.Engadget Reader60February 3, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!not worth the money. if i am buying earphones i want to enjoy the music not only the tech behind pausing or whatever it does.Engadget Reader80January 2, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!There's a lot to like about this in spite of a few flaws. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90December 10, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!First of all, this beautiful product, IMHO is by far the most advanced in features than any other headphones out there as of April 2013. The sound it produces is superb which is the most important for me. The materials that was used aren't the cheapie-cheapie type. The head rails are really made of alloy and not the plastic that looks like metal. Touch features, motion detection, simple pairing, hands free calling and auto noise cancellation (ANC) - all worked very well just as advertised. The wireless capability is the deal breaker for me. It was hard to look for all those features in one product.The weight is just right and fits quite well. It adjust easily, my daughter (9yrs. old) can wear it without a problem.The Zik app was easy to use. It gives you the ability to tweak the sounds. I found my perfect setting in a matter of minutes.Now the sour part:Battery - all those technically advanced features I mentioned above are useless unless you power up these pair and connect it to your device via Bluetooth. I wish it would last longer than what it is right now or it should've come with an extra battery. It should be able stand at least 8hrs of continuous use.Wired connection - you can't use the Parrot app. I think you can still use ANC but the sound quality is degraded, in this setting you also lose touch controls.Wired connection, passive (without battery) - you wil not be able use the app. No sound effects and ANC. Sound is now worst than it was. I guess It will do if you get bored without your music while traveling.Protective case - made of cloth! The two aluminum head rails keeps bumping each other when I place it inside the bag that's suppose to protect it. It’s fine if it’s just in drawer or a shelf. Did they not think that these will be used in travel?! With a $400 price tag, you couldn't give your customers a good hard case? Why parrot, why?All in all, the Parrot Zik is still an amazing product but it is not without flaws. However, they did not compromise on sound and build quality. The app is simple and easy to use, it also notifies you if there’s firm update.It did everything it said it will do. So, I'd still give 5 for innovation and unique design points. I am happy with this purchase.Note: I suggest to check its best price at: seebestdeals.com/headphones/parrot-zik.htmlBest Luck!Engadget Reader100October 25, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A gadget unicorn - EngadgetEngadget Reader70July 12, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!If you're like me, whenver you "give in" to an expensive purchase, you try to ignore the issues you find, sometimes even subconsciously, to justify the money you put it. Well as hard as I tried, I still had to realize that the Parrot Zik is not a product worth its high price. I've returned them after a week of daily use. Here is why.The stuff I love first. The design of these headphones are great and probably what got me into buying them in the first place. They are very comfortable to wear (although quite heavy and gets uncomfortable after a while), look great and have brilliant features like the touch-sensitive controls, the automatic music play/pause, etc.I was also impressed by the sound quality "for bluetooth headphones". Let's be honest, bluetooth has its limitations when it comes to sound quality and the Parrot Zik is no expection. Fortunately, you have a bunch of settings (via the app) that allows you to set the sound to your liking. For me all these settings merely allowed the sound quality to get to my standard rather than add cool effects like the Concert effect.Now the stuff I don't like. Battery was my number one issue to the point that it made the product unusable. I knew from other reviews not to expect something great, but was still quite surprised. I used the Parrot Zik during my work commute; that's 20 minutes of tram ride in the morning, and 20 minutes in the evening; in other words, not much. On my 2nd day, starting from a full charge, the battery died on me on my trip home. I always switched off the headphones when not in use. I also used the headphones for a call that lasted 5 minutes max.Worse than the headphone batteries, is the effect on my iPhone's battery. That's an iPhone 5 with, at the time, 6 months of use. Generally, the battery lasts almost the whole day on my regular use. With my commute-use of the Parrot Zik, my phone's battery died at noon. Noon ! I don't know if it's specific to my phone, but that's something to consider before a purchase if you don't already get great battery from your smartphone.Another issue I encountered was after the first time the battery of the headphones died. I plugged them to charge over night. In the morning, the headphones would not switch on at all. I had to re-plug them several times, remove and replace the battery, to finally get them to switch on.Finally, although they are really comfortable, I really feel the weight of the headphones after wearing them a while (anything over an hour). I felt like my head was leaning forward and straining my neck. Also, the headphones make your head feel very hot. Might be good in the winter, but sweat-inducing issues in the summer.Conclusion. I returned them. The price does not justify the product and the battery issues are a killer for me, no matter how great the other parts of the product are.Engadget Reader90July 6, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!on testing (via youtube's 777 sounds and my home speakers) the Zik trully seems to be the perfect flight companion with one little problem....battery life. at least thats what every other review online will tell you. I haven't tested it out enough to see for myself but 90% of the reviewers can't all be off. you're best bet would probably to go and order extra batteries for long flights...that or learn to enjoy music with the CHE (concert hall effects) or EQ turned off.Engadget Reader70February 15, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!These are cool looking headphones and they do sound great. It's also cool being able to control playback just by touching the earpiece. The accompanying iOS app is pretty good too, and there many different sound options. On the flip side, they are really pricey and the worth is questionable. They're also heavy and become uncomfortable after a prolonged wear.Engadget Reader90February 4, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Overall, these are great. They are by far the most I have ever spent on headphones, but considering all the technology in them and features, I find it worth it. Biggest gripe is battery life, so I recommend you buying at the minimum 1 extra battery. If you have longer international flights, you will need more than one. The extra batteries are like $29, but come on, you just paid $400 for these so go for it. I have had very very minimal Bluetooth blips and cutouts, but 99% of the time they perform flawlessly. As far as Bluetooth headphones go, these sound the best I have ever heard. Maybe not quite as good as Bowers and Wilkins, but on a plane I actually find these to be better because of their great noise cancellation. However without powered features the sound is actually not very good even when wired.If you are up for spending the money, I definitely recommend these.Engadget Reader90January 7, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90October 14, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Great and innovative Headphone. For sure best btooth in his class, incredibly user friendly controls through capacitive right headphone pad. Super reccomended on board airplanes. I just had my 13 hours flight from Singapore to Milan, and the strong noise generated by air con and flight itself, was completely cancelled. Another great issue is the innovative App, that allows to select different sound environments, monitor battery life, and activate active noise reduction (98%). Warm suggested also due to the great fashionable design.Engadget Reader100July 15, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I am very impressed.I got these for many reasons. But most of all to check out the tech. I have been wearing my Bowers & Wilkins P5 headphones while rollerblading for quite some time now; probably about 2 years or so. I was hoping that these would be able to replace them and I can now say they have. But for my specific use and needs.I rollerblade about once a week, for about 2 hours and about 30 km. I listen to music throughout my entire session, quite loud and use RunKeeper (GPS) to keep track of my session. I was worried that Bluetooth headphones were not going to be able to keep up with that both for battery-life and sound quality. However I was certainly looking forward to getting rid of the cable running from the headphones to the iPhone in my pocket.I've had the Zik for a couple of weeks now and have been waiting for it to stop raining, here in the Paris area, so I could give it a full run on my rollers. Finally the sun shone early this morning and I gave it a good workout. I repeat: I am very impressed.The headphones are big. But they do not feel big. They are extremely comfortable and long-wearing. I wear spectacles and generally a baseball cap while rollering. They never became uncomfortable at all either on my ears, behind my ears or even on my head. I was worried they would be heavier than the P5s. But I did not notice any difference. They are extremely well-balanced and I didn't feel the bar across the top of my head.About half way through my session it started to rain. As the rain became a bit hard I took the Zik headphones off and replaced them with my P5s which were in my rucksack. I didn't want to get the Zik headphones too wet both because they were basically new and as they are battery-charged I was worried I might damage them in some way. Fortunately this allowed me to immediately compare them to the P5s which I used for about 30 minutes. There was no noticeable weight difference at all and no difference in over the ear comfort. The difference in sound power however was noticeable. The Zik can be really loud! And that's just how I hoped they would be!!I hadn't realised how much more powerful these amplified headphones would sound. When I crank up the volume the power is awesome. The amplification accompanied by the equalizer and concert hall effect which I managed on my iPhone as well as the active noise cancellation is downright amazing. The sound levels are great for what I wanted them for: loud, outdoor (noisy environment), sporting activities. However the sound coming through the Bluetooth 2.1 wireless, although excellent, is a bit compressed and "airy" and this is especially noticeable on my older MP3 tunes. Most of my MP3 songs are ones I ripped from my CDs and they are at 320 kbps and they sounded wonderful. But some of the iTunes + songs I have on my roller playlist definitely sounded more compressed than usual. But I just loved how loud I could crank up my tunes while skating. These are great for my needs. But I don’t believe I would fully appreciate them while listening to jazz or classical at home and hoping for high-fidelity.Bluetooth pairing was dead simple. I paired it with several different devices without even having to enter a code. Once the headphones were paired with a device all I had to do was turn them on and they were ready to use. The headphones apparently have NFC functionality as well which I have not tested.The tech effects, which were honestly what I had bought them for, were more than just fun. They were quite practical. Being able to change the volume by stroking my finger upwards on the earpiece was definitely fun. Being able to skip a song or replay it by swiping forwards and backwards on the earpiece was excellent as sometimes I’ll rest for a bit and I want to get back to the beginning of the song that’s playing. My favourite, however, is the 2 pause functions: a simple tap on the earpiece and it pauses the music while another tap and it starts again or take the headphones off and rest them on my neck and the music pauses. Now I can do all of that without pulling the iPhone out of my pocket. I used to be able to do all of these tasks on the little dongle hanging from the P5 headset as well. But I always had to make sure it wasn’t pinched by my rucksack and I had to find it while rollering. I also had to remember how many pinches to do to move forward or backward. Often I ended up pulling out my iPhone and trying to swipe the screen with my sweaty fingers which was not practical. The only negative point I have as regards the magic touch-sensitive earpiece is that it is only on the right ear. I found this out while testing the headphones the first day and it took me an hour to realise I had them on “wrongâ€. I watched the video on You Tube and noticed that the power light was facing forward and on the right ear. When I turned the headphones around like that they worked fine. But I am left handed and it is a bit awkward for me to do all of this controlling with my right hand on my right ear. However that is more a question of comfort than anything else and I’m quite used to it now.I enjoyed playing around with the iPhone app the first day I tried them. I was able to set up my own equalizer settings and concert hall effect and it’s the best way to check the battery level of the headphones.On the same magic earpiece are 2 microphones built in to the cushion part. They are used for the active noise cancellation. But they are, obviously, also used in phone conversations. I did not have any one to call during my session and I have not yet tried out that part. I assume they are as good as my P5 was although I liked how the P5 controls and microphone were on my left.Overall I am very impressed with these headphones and they have now earned a place in my roller rucksack in place of my P5s. They may even get used in my office as they work wonderfully with my iMac and MacBook Pro as well.
Key Specs
FORM FACTOR
Over-ear
TALK TIME
up to 520
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