[Xenophon]

Not really, for flights I found them to be pretty much ideal and I fly twice a week at least. If you're flying business or first then recharging via the usb cable is not a problem as most companies provide a usb plugin, don't know about coach.

I've tried iem's fron Shure before but they're just not for me. Also used an on ear model by Sennheiser that was pretty expensive and had noise cancelling but frankly, the sound and the nc + bluetooth of the Zik are better, as is the construction imo. They're built like a tank and that's a good thing as I tend to be hard on my gear. They should pay me for testing: if I use it for a year and it's not broken then rest assured it's built solidly

 

[White Lotus]

If the battery is only six hours, is that pretty heart-breaking mid flight? Or do you just charge whilst flying/listening? 
 
Sometimes if I charge my iPad via in-flight USB ports, it will still slowly lose battery, even if it says "charging" as the USB port just doesn't have enough current to provide sufficient wattage.
 
I tried the Bose QC15, and loved its noise cancelling, but the comfort, sound quality and build quality were frankly just "not up to scratch" for the $400 asking price, for me at least.
 
The carry case looks pretty neat..
 

 

[Xenophon]

I charge while listening and fwiw, never had any issues with it, the Usb ports actually manage to fully recharge the battery while I'm listening and with NC active.

 

[Pappucho]

Not familiar with these but I just saw them on sale on Woot for 229.00, refurbished if anyone's interested.
 
http://www.woot.com/offers/parrot-zik-bluetooth-anc-headphones

 

[worminater]

So; a followup. I picked up the woot refurb as an airline/coffeeshop can; and so far impressed.  Some wonkiness when used off a laptop and not a mobile device; but seems workable(configure settings on mobile; then pair with laptop and settings carry over).  Initial impressions put it ~same sound quality as my hd595s; maybe a bit muddier; but with much more convenience + NC.  I wouldn't consider it worthwhile for 400; but may just be for 230. Also, as a bluetooth headset for phone calls it's the first I've used that the other end has considered it an improvement over simply talking into the phone.  I'll do a proper A-B with the rest of my collection once I get more usage in. (dt770, hd595, HD640, etc)

 

[guido]

Ok...have ordered a set from Amazon...looking forward to these interesting tekkie marvels...

 

[bozzo]

Hi
I have been following this thread for a while before I bought my set and thought I could add my 2 cents.
I have had my Zik for about a year now and I can hardly put them down. My 2 main uses: my desk (open office...) and in the plane. As others have reported the Bluetooth skips sometimes but it's likely when the battery is about to go. I really like the sound settings right on my phone (Galaxy S4) and the bt pairing is automatic. I managed to have the NFC work once but I don't miss it.

One thing I wanted to address is the battery life and the lack of alternative to rewiring the headphones when the battery is dead. I have taken matters in my own hands and created a spare battery charger specific to the Zik (Google Zut Charger). I know I am going to get flamed for this self promotion but I made the charger by necessity and think others can benefit: www.zutcharger.com
Feel free to PM me for any question.

 

[worminater]

Hi
I have been following this thread for a while before I bought my set and thought I could add my 2 cents.
I have had my Zik for about a year now and I can hardly put them down. My 2 main uses: my desk (open office...) and in the plane. As others have reported the Bluetooth skips sometimes but it's likely when the battery is about to go. I really like the sound settings right on my phone (Galaxy S4) and the bt pairing is automatic. I managed to have the NFC work once but I don't miss it.

One thing I wanted to address is the battery life and the lack of alternative to rewiring the headphones when the battery is dead. I have taken matters in my own hands and created a spare battery charger specific to the Zik (Google Zut Charger). I know I am going to get flamed for this self promotion but I made the charger by necessity and think others can benefit: www.zutcharger.com
Feel free to PM me for any question.

Other option for external charger; can charge my camera batteries and phone also so convenient for travel.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OALACA/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Xenophon]

Small update after some more time and countless hours of wearing them on planes have gone by:
 
Still very happy about the sound quality, noise cancelling and interface using the app.  They're worth every cent only for those aspects imo.
 
Negative aspects:  as already mentioned:  battery life.  It can be charged, it can be replaced, yadda, yadda...but 6 hours is simply too short.  And another thing which I had noticed but which became more prominent:  the headband has a peculiar shape and is stylish but hard where it presses on your skull.  It actually creates a pressure point that becomes uncomfortable after wearing them for an extended period (>2-3 hours at a stretch).  It's not the weight (I have no issues with my HifiMan HE-500 or HE-6), it really is the hard/slim design.  
 
Still in the big scheme of things I'm happy with them and would purchase again, the biggest issue is beyond any doubt the battery life.  If they'd find an easy fix for that the product would simply obliterate the competition as sound/build quality is good and the interface is lightyears ahead of anything else currently available.

 

[guido]

I agree wholeheartedly with the narrow rounded headband...it does make a dent in my head after a while. Perhaps a small mod could fix this but it would spoil the aesthetics of such a beautiful object.
 
Soundwise I am really impressed by the quality...no major flaws at all.
 
The interface is also excellent but am disappointed there is no app for Mac OS so I have to disconnect from my Mac and use my iPad or iPhone to change any settings.

 

[guido]

I just received a white and bronze one for my wife since she was using mine all the time.

 
The colour is really cool and does not show oily fingerprints like the black. It is a weird pale grey\off-white colour...if you want to buy your loved one a really cool present this is it...looks like a piece of jewellery!

 

[davidcotton]

Are these effective at blocking talking out?  I work in an open office with a fair amount of chatter and I don't always want to wear iems.  Sennheiser hd 25-II's don't off enough isolation fwiw!
 
Thanks

 

[turbobb]

I wouldn't recommend these after I discovered a bug with them which according to Parrot is "normal". During charging, the Zik remains on... this not only increases wear and tear on the Zik and battery but the time it takes to charge as well due to the unnecessary additional current draw in this state.

Furthermore, it's a nuisance as one needs to stop charging in order for it to shut off so a different BT device can be connected to the source. Last but not least, it defaults to pairing mode when on but not connected so is constantly discoverable (not a huge deal unless someone discovers it and accidentally (or intentionally) connects with it.

Dissapointed by their terse response and lack of follow ups and really didn't expect this from a company that prides itself on innovative technology.

 

[worminater]

I wouldn't recoomend these after I discovered a bug with them which according to Parrot is "normal". During charging, the Zik remains on... this not only increases wear and tear on the Zik and battery but the time it takes to charge as well due to the unnecessary additional current draw in this state.

Furthermore, it's a nuisance as one needs to stop charging in order for it to shut off so a different BT device can be connected to the source. Last but not least, it defaults to pairing mode when on but not connected so is constantly discoverable (not a huge deal unless someone discovers it and accidentally (or intentionally) connects with it.

Dissapointed by their terse response and lack of follow ups and really didn't expect this from a company that prides itself on innovative technology.

 
One solution woudl be to pick up a second battery and a charger for it; i rarely plug mine in and no downtime.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OALACA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Xenophon]

I wouldn't recoomend these after I discovered a bug with them which according to Parrot is "normal". During charging, the Zik remains on... this not only increases wear and tear on the Zik and battery but the time it takes to charge as well due to the unnecessary additional current draw in this state.

Furthermore, it's a nuisance as one needs to stop charging in order for it to shut off so a different BT device can be connected to the source. Last but not least, it defaults to pairing mode when on but not connected so is constantly discoverable (not a huge deal unless someone discovers it and accidentally (or intentionally) connects with it.

Dissapointed by their terse response and lack of follow ups and really didn't expect this from a company that prides itself on innovative technology.

Well, I like it that you can keep 'em on while charging, easy on a plane when you just connect it to a usb port for charging.  The first time you pair with them you need to enter a code iirc. Someone could find the default code I guess and they could then stream their music to your phones while they're not connected to your device and presumably not listening...not a big deal to me.
 
@davidcotton:  they're effective at blocking voices but do have a 'bone mic' feature where nc will switch off if it senses you speaking without the phone bt connection active.  
 
Each his own, I'd purchase again, my only gripes are mentioned above.