When comparing V-MODA Crossfade Wireless vs Parrot Zik 3, the Slant community recommends Parrot Zik 3 for most people. In the question“What are the best over-ear, active noise-cancelling headphones with Bluetooth capability which have the option of plugging in the headphones and work once battery runs out? ” Parrot Zik 3 is ranked 4th while V-MODA Crossfade Wireless is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Parrot Zik 3 is:
The Zik 3 features a solid build. The headband is made out of metal and can flex a good bit without breaking. Headband adjustment is quite stiff, which ensures that your adjustments stay in place. The ear cup surfaces are covered with leather which makes the headphones look and feel premium.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Fun sound signature with boosted bass as well as highs
The bass is quite boosted, and results in a lot of power from bass drum hits and other low frequency sounds. Bass lovers will find these headphones to be quite pleasing. Also, the highs have a lot of sparkle and detail, though this can get quite fatiguing when there are a lot of cymbal hits and high frequency sounds in the songs. The mids have good clarity, but are slightly recessed.
Pro Solid construction
These headphones have a solid, high quality feel to them, and you can tell that they will last you a long time. The ear cups are made of high quality plastic, while the headphones' yokes and headband are made of metal. The headband has a generous give yet does not feel flimsy at all. You can even twist the headband quite a bit yet it still won't feel like it will break.
Pro Decent battery life
These headphones can last up to 12 hours of music playback off of a full charge.
Pro Good noise isolation
The closed back ear cups, combined with their over-ear design effectively blocks out sound from mixing in with the music. Sound leakage from the headphones is minimized as well.
Pro Has an optional cord
If you don't want to charge it all the time then you can use an AUX cord or USB.
Pro Supports up to two Bluetooth devices
It can connect and stay connected to two different Bluetooth devices which makes it easy to switch from screen to screen.
Pro Very good build quality
The Zik 3 features a solid build. The headband is made out of metal and can flex a good bit without breaking. Headband adjustment is quite stiff, which ensures that your adjustments stay in place. The ear cup surfaces are covered with leather which makes the headphones look and feel premium.
Pro Interchangeable battery
You can remove the right ear cup cover to gain access to the headphones’ battery. You can replace the battery if the performance is diminishing, or you can bring a spare, charged battery to swap in with the depleted one for longer playback use.
Pro Punchy bass with good clarity
The bass reproduction is full and punchy, yet does not get overpowering. Bass hits sound tight, fast and have fairly good depth. The mids sound natural while the highs are clear, yet a bit rolled-off. This allows the Zik 3 to deliver fairly clear sound without getting harsh.
The punchy bass makes these heapdhones work well with popular modern genres like EDM, hip-hop and the like yet can still work well with pop, jazz, classical and similar music genres.
Pro Good at blocking ambient noise
The noise cancelling is fairly effective. While it does not cancel out all ambient noise, the feature reduces a good chunk of it, so it does not interfere too much with your music.
Pro Gesture controls on right ear cup
You can swipe left or right for previous or next track, tap to play or pause as well as answer calls with the headphones on. This can be very convenient, as you do not need to deal with small and difficult to press buttons.
Pro Wired and wireless connectivity
The Parrot Zik 3 features Bluetooth as well as NFC connectivity for wireless use, which is great for modern smartphones or devices. If your music player does not have wireless connectivity, a 3.5mm jack can be used.
Pro Music automatically pauses when taking these off
When you take the headphones from your head or put it back on, the music can automatically pause or resume. The Zik 3's Presence Sensor detects such motions, negating the need to manually pause/play the music.
Pro Decent battery life
From a full charge with all of the audio features on, you can get around 7 hours of listening time. However, if you choose to run these in airplane mode (wired connection with noise cancellation) you can get around 16 to 18 hours of use.
Cons
Con Can be a hassle to bring on the go as the ear cups do not fold up
Unlike the Crossfade M-100s, these wireless Crossfade's ear cups do not fold up to reduce the headphones' size. This can make the headphones a little more difficult to bring on the go.
Con Presence Sensor can be too sensitive
At times, even slight unintentional movement of the head can trip off the Presence Sensor, pausing the music. This can get very annoying if it happens frequently.
Con Can be a hassle to take on the go
The industrial design of the Parrot Zik 3 looks amazing, but also comes at the cost of the portability. The ear cups cannot be folded into the headband. You will need to account for its size when travelling. An alternative will be for you to hang these off your neck while on the go, which may not always be comfortable.