Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Loudspeaker Dock System for iPod and MP3 Players

Product Review

Welcome to the speaker system your iPod has been waiting for. Zeppelin sounds fantastic--and it looks great, too. It uses drive unit technologies and design principles refined and perfected for Bowers & Wilkins' most advanced reference-standard speakers. Compact, stylish, and beautifully simple to set up and use, Zeppelin releases all of the detail and atmosphere that standard iPod speaker systems miss, whether you're listening to standard MP3s or high-quality formats. It's time to set your digital music free.

Zeppelin allows you to have real hi-fi stereo sound wherever you need it--upstairs, downstairs; in your office or in a second home. Click to enlarge.

Unlike most iPod speaker docks, Zeppelin has increased capabilities that allow additional sound sources to play through Zeppelin, view videos on a screen using your iPod or iPhone, and/or stream sound using Sonos, Apple AirPort Express, or any other networking system. This makes for easy incorporation into your home theater, office, and/or bedroom setting.

Zeppelin is much more than a standard iPod speaker, and with its aesthetically pleasing design and amazing sound quality, it will reinvent the way you listen to music.

B&W Zeppelin (Click image to view larger.)

The body of Zeppelin follows the form of its components. (Click image to view larger.)

Accompanying Zeppelin is a pebble-like remote, which allows you to change tracks and volume. (Click image to view larger.)

Product Description

Overview
Zeppelin is an integrated speaker system from Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), makers of the speakers used to monitor the recording of much of the music on your iPod. B&W developed its iPod speakers with the same exacting standards as the speakers that are used in Abbey Road Studios and Skywalker Ranch.

Zeppelin is the embodiment of more than 40 years of experience and know-how in speaker design, all in a single package. Zeppelin uses the same technologies developed for dedicated high-end speakers, applying them to an iPod speaker for the first time. In addition to great sound, you're also awarded with a product design stemming from clever ergonomic thought and a beautiful 360-degree visual appeal.

Zeppelin allows you to have real hi-fi stereo sound wherever you need it--upstairs, downstairs; in your office or in a second home.

Design
Form follows function; the body of Zeppelin follows the form of its components, with two tweeters at each end, two mid-range drivers next, with a subwoofer/bass driver in the center.

B&W has complimented the iPod user interface by designing a docking port that allows the user to grasp the iPod as if it were in the hand as normal. It also cleverly accommodates iPod/iPhone of differing depth through a spring-loaded docking arm that flexes to accommodate each model without adapters or other manual adjustment.

Zeppelin allows you to have real hi-fi stereo sound wherever you need it. (Click image to view larger.)

The docking port allows you to grasp your iPod as if it were in your hand. (Click image to view larger.)

The connections at the back let you play other sources through Zeppelin, or channel images from your iPod to a television. (Click image to view larger.)

Heritage
At B&W, the quest to develop the perfect speaker has lasted more than 40 years. The quest is to create a speaker that portrays a musical performance exactly as it was recorded, with zero coloration, as the artist intended it to be heard. Founder John Bowers instilled this passion in the company to pursue his dream of the ultimate speaker.

Zeppelin is a direct descendent of B&W's legendary reference speaker range, the 800 Series, which is sought-after by world-leading recording studios from Skywalker Ranch to Abbey Road. In fact, B&W speakers have been used in Abbey Road since the early 1980s.

Technology
Not only is the shape of Zeppelin pleasing to the eye, but it also is based on sound acoustic principles. The less physical material there is around tweeters and midranges, the better they sound. Zeppelin's rounded tapering ends aren't there just for show. By minimizing the baffle area around the drive units, the cabinet reduces diffraction effects, making for ultra-wide sound dispersion and a much smoother response. In other words, it sounds as good as it looks.

The twin midrange drive units that supply the bulk of Zeppelin's amazing sound rely on glass fiber cones optimized using laser interferometry. Strategically placed resin-filled slots in the cones dramatically reduce the unwanted effects of standing waves, leaving music sounding cleaner, clearer, and true to life.

Drive units are the "engine room" of any speaker, and Zeppelin's midrange and tweeter derived directly from those in B&W's award-winning M-1, regarded by the world's specialist audio press as class-leading compact speakers. Added to these is an internal subwoofer driver, centrally located in the deepest part of Zeppelin's sleek enclosure, where it handles deep bass with power and authority.

Powering these drive units are three high-quality amplifiers (one for left, one for right, and one for bass). Most iPod speakers make do without the third one, but Zeppelin was conceived to offer the sort of sound you'd expect from a component stereo system rather than normal iPod speakers and will deliver all the detail and atmosphere that standard iPod docking stations miss.

Simple Operation
Zeppelin is simple to set up and use: plug it in, place your iPod on the docking port and hit the play button. The connections at the back let you play other sources through Zeppelin or channel images from your iPod or iPhone to a television. In addition, there's a USB input for internal updates available through B&W's website for download.

Remote
Accompanying Zeppelin is a pebble-like remote, which allows you to change tracks, volume, and mode.

Compatibility
Other than the iPods listed in the "Technical Details" section of this page, several other devices can play sound through Zeppelin. Both analog and optical digital connectivity is supported by a common (AUX) socket on the back.

Examples are:

• Computer either direct or wirelessly using Apple Airport Express
• Television
• MP3 Players, including early iPods without click wheel
• Home theater
• CD Players--portable or static
• Portable radios with headphone or digital outputs

The video iPod classics and nanos, iPod touch, and iPhone can take advantage of Zeppelin's video output capability to connect to a television's composite video and S-Video.

Zeppelin's power supply operates on all mains voltages from 100V to 240V--if you take it to a different country, it automatically will sense the incoming voltages and adjust itself accordingly.

Zeppelin will not burn electricity unnecessarily; it automatically goes into standby mode after 5 minutes of non-use.

What's in the Box
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin, quick start guide, product manual, product brochure, 1-year warranty and registration documents, remote control with CR2032 battery, power cord, and rubber tilt pad.

Customer Reviews