Hi Fi shops are a “dying breed” claims the head of Parrot Australia, the maker of a sleek new pair of Philippe Starck designed speakers that will sell for a tad under $2,000.Peter George Country Manager for Parrot believes that the majority of Hi Fi dealers are still locked in “yesterday’s world”. As a result he is selling his new speakers that are Wi Fi and Bluetooth enabled via selected department stores such as Myers and consumer electronics retailers.
“We are currently expanding our retailers and we are looking at the specialist channel. The only problem is that the traditional Hi Fi dealer is a dying breed and I doubt whether they can deliver the volume or even the market that we are looking for with these speakers”.
The new Zikmu wireless speaker range, which come in a multitude of colours have room for an iPod dock in one speaker while the other speaker is wireless and Bluetooth enabled.
According to Christina Sanz Oritz, the global VP of marketing for Parrot the development of the speakers was a battle between the technology engineers and designer Phillipe Starck, due to the difficulty of combining “sleek functional design” with the latest in networking technology and Apple content systems.
“It was difficult and at times we almost gave up. We wanted the best design with the best technology and sometimes that is very difficult when you are dealing with two different cultures, one functional and the other aesthetic “.
The Zikmu Parrot speakers designed by Philippe Starck look like works of art with their bright colours and aerial curves.
The speakers allow users to dock an iPhone, iPod, or iPod Touch and recharge it while controlling the music through a remote. Additionally, you can stream audio wirelessly from your Mac, iPhone, smartphone, PC or MP3 players via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Finally, an analogue Hi-fi input enables you to connect your CD players or TV set.
The Zikmu concept is based on a unique combination of various acoustic technologies, made possible by means of sophisticated signal processing (DSP). Flat panel, NXT technology uses a different principle from a conventional loudspeaker.
According to Zikmu, a honeycomb membrane structure is vibrated by a set of exciters located in carefully defined positions resulting in uniform energy distribution through the room. The bottom part of the loudspeaker contains a sub-woofer placed in the down firing position.
The unit is essentially a bass-reflex system. Bass reproduction is amplified by placing the housing as close as possible to the floor and the driver is equipped with a neodymium magnet for maximum power in a minimum space.
