14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
UPDATED Oct. 2009 - Premium price BUT Premium sound and design too.
Date of Review: Oct 17, 2007
The Bottom Line: Zeppelin packs 100 watts, 5 speakers and an iPod dock inside a visually stunning, premium quality, simple to operate, great sounding product. Among iPod speakers, there is nothing like it.
Reason for buying
I use an iPod Touch for music in an area of my home where it is not convenient to have a full stereo system. Until now, I've played the iPod through a 3-year-old Bose SoundDock....but that unit has developed problems with the power connection.
So I needed a replacement.
Why the Zeppelin?
I saw the B&W Zeppelin at the Apple Online Store as I was comparing the many, many available iPod speaker systems. The design of the product immediately sets it apart from the competition...it looks like...er...a zeppelin!
The visual appearance piqued my interest and I went to the Bowers & Wilkins website (www.bowers-wilkins.com) to learn more, and to better understand why the Zeppelin had such an eye-popping price ($600). I got my answer soon enough.
About that price!
Since $600 is about twice as much as I paid for my old (and not so impressive) Bose SoundDock, I needed a good rationale to justify such a purchase to my household Finance Committee.
At the B&W website, I learned about the impressive design of the Zeppelin, the 5 proprietary B&W drivers, including a 5-inch subwoofer powered by a dedicated 50 watt amplifier, with 50 more watts spread out between 2 other amplifiers which power the other 4 speakers.
I have B&W speakers hooked up to my main stereo system so I know the company makes fine (yet expensive) products that perform well. The Zeppelin appeared to have the same pedigree, along with a truly stunning visual presence. Comparable iPod speakers in that price range (ie: George from Chestnut Hill Sound) are said to perform well, but are not so great in the "looks" department. Since my iPod speaker would be displayed in a living room on top of a nice cabinet, I wanted it to LOOK as good as it sounded.
Bottom line....you are paying for a piece of visual electronic art that sounds great and is packed with premium components made by a legendary name in audio circles. The price for that combination, unique amongst all iPod speakers I have seen, is not unreasonable to me.
Unpacking
As the courier handed the box to me at the door, I noted the weight.....almost 20 pounds! (My SoundDock weights about 5 pounds) I opened the standard cardboard shipping box to reveal a second box....and it seemed to me that B&W had hired Apple to design their packing materials.
The box had a glossy black finish (similar to the fancy Mac Pro packaging) with first-class graphic design - everything you would expect when buying a premium product.
Inside, a top tray (faux velvet-lined, no less) contained an egg-shaped remote, power cord, manual and rubber stand. Lifting out the tray exposed the Zeppelin, a surprisingly large device (25 inches end-to-end), wrapped in cheesecloth (not plastic) and secured at each end by styrofoam inserts.
There is a caution label warning NOT to lift the Zeppelin by the chrome docking arm that juts out from the front of the unit. I removed the cloth, placed the Zeppelin on its rubber stand and put it onto the cabinet. It truly does look dramatic....not like a piece of sound equipment but more like a modern sculpture.
The black cloth enclosing the front half of the Zeppelin appears to be permanently "welded" to the chrome-plated stainless steel back. Indeed, the manual specifically advises NOT to attempt to remove the grille cloth, warning that the speakers inside are easily damaged once the protective grill is removed. (Darn!) However, B&W thoughtfully provides a cutaway view of the Zeppelin's guts on its website for the technically-curious.
Hooking it up
Zeppelin presents a minimalist approach to all aspects of operation. A chrome arm containing a spring-loaded iPod dock rises artfully from the midsection of the Zeppelin, following the curve of the unit. My iPod Touch snapped into the dock perfectly, and the visual combo of the Touch plus the Zeppelin is very "cool". All iPods newer than 3G are supported. There is space between the dock and the unit itself, allowing your fingers to reach behind the iPod as you operate its controls.
Bisecting the Zeppelin is a narrow chrome band containing power and volume up/down buttons. Other audio sources can be played through Zeppelin through an array of back-panel inputs. The egg-shaped remote is a bit too curvy for my hands, but manages basic iPod functions like track-forward and back, pause, volume and power. Otherwise, the remote offers no advanced features, nor a display.
As mentioned, the manual notes that some Zeppelin functions may not be available with older (pre G4)iPods. And, the included rubber stand is used when Zeppelin is placed on a higher location (ie: top shelf of a bookcase). The stand causes the Zeppelin to tilt slightly downward toward the listener. Alternatively, if Zeppelin is placed at the listener's ear-level, the stand is not necessary. Either way, the visual impact of Zeppelin remains the same.
Bottom line ......hookup is a breeze.
Performance
Plugging the Zeppelin into a wall socket illuminates a small LED which is actually hidden behind the black grill cloth. This LED changes colour to indicate operating modes...red for OFF, blue while playing from a docked iPod, etc.
I noticed that Zeppelin added a new "Speakers" menu item to my iPod! (I'm wondering how much Apple was involved in the Zeppelin's design!) The Speakers menu allows four possible bass response settings ranging from "one-louder" to "3-softer" or neutral. I found the bass response so full that I actually dialed it down by one notch to the "-1" setting. Perfect!
Within the realm of iPod speakers, I judge the overall audio performance of Zeppelin as "very, very good". There IS no comparison to the anemic-sounding SoundDock it replaced. And it would be unfair to compare Zeppelin to a full-sized home theatre sound system.
Zeppelin produces strong but solid bass at all volumes, clear treble and mids. Importantly, the sound at low levels remains rich and clear, unlike the SoundDock which at low levels sounded more like an old transistor radio. At louder levels, Zeppelin's performance rivals any fine bookshelf speaker system.
Bottom line: I have heard many iPod speaker systems. None have sounded this good.
Conclusion
Who would have ever thought an iPod could sound (and look) this good?
The B&W Zeppelin pleases both eye and ear in a format that aggressively stands out from the dozens of available iPod speakers.
You get what you pay for. The premium price buys premium components, simple yet stunning design, and category-leading audio performance. For those who can accept the price, there is nothing else quite like it.
UPDATE AS OF OCT. 2009 : Started noticing an issue where the Zeppelin was starting to drop the signal from an attached Sonos Zoneplayer. The Zeppelin website suggested performing a firmware update.....simply hauled the Zep up to the computer room, plugged it in using a standard USB cable, and performed the update with really clear and simple instructions from the site. This completely eliminated the issue.
After 2 years of regular use.....we still love the Zep and have "sold" at least two more units through demos in our home. Hearing is believing.
Lovely!
