B&W Zeppelin iPod Speaker Review - Yanko Design

There are few companies who evoke experience and know-how in speaker design every bit Bowers & Wilkins do. The company has over 40 years of history creating some of the all-time sound experiences for consumers and audiophiles akin. I had the opportunity to review their Zeppelin Speaker for the iPod. It's been getting rave reviews from customers and won a Gold 2008 Thought award. Kudos to Native Design. Must be good right?

Let me preface by saying I'm not audiophile. Give me good bass, clear sound with easy controls and I'm a happy camper. Now on to the review. The Zeppelin'due south elongated football shape looks like an aesthetic characteristic simply it actually helps disperse sound waves over a wider area filling up the whole room. At that place are only two controls on the unit, a power push and volume. Everything else is done via a pocket-size pucky remote.

Pictures don't do its size justice. It's big, over 25 inches long and weighing at least 15 pounds. Color me surprised when I realized the iPod dock wasn't a handle. The manner it was packaged, it was totally beckoning my hand to grab it and pull it out of the box. Merely then did I noticed the instructions clearly cautioning such foolishness. Thankfully the unabridged unit is very well constructed so nothing broke. Just an FYI if yous decide to buy i. Turn the box over and let gravity do the work for you lot.

Information technology works with every iPod, iTouch and even the iPhone with a few caveats. Just seat your device onto the dock and the unit automatically turns on. It'll also charge your device so that'south a win in my book. Navigating via remote was a cinch. Play/pause, next/previous, volume controls, main menu and ability all arranged in a cross layout. Navigating an iPhone however was difficult. You could simply move thru a current playlist since the iPhone'southward iPod role is organized slightly unlike. This is of no mistake of the Zeppelin since it was designed specifically for iPod and iTouch devices.

What yous really intendance about is sound. I was super delighted. My only other large iPod speaker investment was the sick-fated Apple tree Hullo-Fi. Information technology's comparable in size and I thought it sounded fantastic merely the Zeppelin is leagues alee. The audio was so well-baked and life-similar. I kept pumping upwards the volume to meet if I could hear distortion – merely at the upper limits which is fine since nobody in their right mind listens to music that loud. In that location aren't any treble or bass controls but I supposed using the iPod's built in equalizer is adequate.

The rear of the unit is almost entirely chromed out with the logo beautifully engraved flanked by two large port holes. Merely above the rubberized foot stand are a bevy of ports, perfect for extending the unit's capabilities to a TV, figurer, or a not iPod MP3 player. Let me just say this. The Zeppelin, plus LCD Television receiver, plus the Playstation iii = Sky.

At $600, the Zeppelin is priced at the very upper eschalon for iPod speakers. Really the only competition in that price range are from Bose and none of their units wait as sleek or sexy. I would argue you could buy a really nice multiple speaker entertainment system and get an AUX cablevision to interface with the iPod for less than $600 but that takes infinite. If you're looking for an all inclusive unit of measurement, pick up the Zeppelin. You won't be disappointed.

Features

Midrange and tweeter derived from Bowers & Wilkins' award-winning and class-leading G-1 speaker
Internal subwoofer driver centrally and deeply located for bass that has ability and authority
Three loftier-quality amplifiers: one for left, one for right, and ane for bass
Docking port arm that lets you grasp your iPod as if it were in your hand
Spring-loaded docking port flexes to accommodate each iPod model, eliminating the need for adapters
Standard AUX port for connecting earlier iPod models, CD players, computers, and more

Specifications

Technical features: Digital Indicate Processing; digital amplifier; switch manner power supply
Drive units: I 5 in./125 mm bass; ii 3.5 in./90 mm midrange; two 1 in./25 mm metallic dome tweeters
Frequency range: -6dB at 47Hz and 22kHz
Amplifier ability output: One 50 W (bass); two 25 W midrange/tweeter
Power input voltage: 100V-240V @ 50/60Hz
Power consumption: 20 West rated; 3.7 W standby
Inputs: 30-pin iPod dock connector; 3.5 mm mini-jack analog/optical digital (TOSlink); USB 2.0 slave (for software upgrades)
Outputs: S-video (mini DIN) composite video (RCA phono)
Enclosure: Polished stainless steel with black trim; grilles of black cloth
Dimensions (HxWxD): vi.viii x 25.2 10 8.2 in./17.3 x 64.0 x 20.viii cm
Weight: xvi.5 lb./seven.5 kg