When an iPod speaker costs $600, it had better be taken very seriously by its designers. Luckily, the new Zeppelin has high-end British speaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) as its loving parent. It looks like it flew right off the cover of Led Zep I, except that it’s not in flames. This 2.1-channel iPod speaker/dock sings with all the power of an opera diva — and just in time for the newest line of iPods.
I’ve been using B&W speakers (currently the 685 series) in my home audio rig for many years, so I was understandably excited when the company came out with a high-end iPod speaker. After unboxing and setting it up, which took all of a minute or so, I was definitely not disappointed in the least.
The Zeppelin’s gorgeous oblong polished stainless-steel body actually has a purpose: Putting less enclosure material around smaller speakers can help smooth out the frequency response by keeping the sound from pouring out of the midrange drivers and tweeters and bouncing off the speaker cabinet. A black cloth speaker grille covers the entire front and wraps part way around the back as well; unfortunately, B&W deliberately made it nearly impossible to remove, citing that the drivers are very delicate.
The whole thing measures 25.2 inches wide by 8.2 inches deep. It’s 7.8 inches high, or 8.8 inches if you use the included rubber tilt pad. Without the pad, the speakers are angled upward for placement on a low table; you’d use the pad if you were putting the speaker at head height, like on a shelf or on top of your TV — a very thoughtful touch. It weighs a very beefy 16 pounds, which is about the same as Apple’s iPod Hi-Fi, though the Zeppelin is a lot more awkward to carry.
The two 1-inch aluminum dome tweeters — the same Nautilus tube-loaded ones that are in the company’s downright unaffordable Reference 800 speakers — are at either end. Just inside those are a pair of 3.5-inch glass-fiber midrange cones, and there’s a 5-inch subwoofer in the center. The sub is driven with 50W from the speaker’s amp and hass two bass ports in the back, while each other driver gets 25W apiece. Those are pretty solid specs for an iPod speaker.
The curved iPod dock sticking out of the front has a cool spring-loaded design, so it doesn’t require inserts or adapters to accommodate the different iPod (and iPhone) models, which pleases the environmentalist in me. You can even grasp the iPod comfortably in your hand while it’s in the dock.
On the back, there’s an eighth-inch jack that does double duty as an analog line input and a TOSlink digital input. You also get a USB port, composite video output, and S-Video port. It’s a very thorough and space-efficient back-panel setup.
The on-board controls are simple: a power button and volume buttons, with an LED that glows blue, red, amber, or green, depending on power state, input source, and play/pause mode. An egg-shaped infrared wireless remote gives you access to playback functions, power, and source selection, plus it feels good in your hand.
When you plug in your iPod to the dock connector, an extra item called “Speakers” appears in the main menu. It doesn’t do a whole lot except give you access to a bass adjustment menu that goes from +1 to -3. You can also set when you want the iPod’s backlight on while it’s in the dock, and you can choose to have the player show full-screen album art (or not). The USB port on the back of the speaker isn’t just for pass-through syncing; the speaker can receive software updates so the company can modify how it communicates with future iPods.
My listening tests reveal the Zeppelin to be an unusually capable one-piece speaker in terms of power and stereo width, though it does have its limitations.
On modern rock tracks like “Rock the House” by Gorillaz and Tokyo Police Club’s “Your English Is Good”, the Zeppelin handles relatively deep bass and edgy drums very well in relation to the vocals. Plenty of impact, good overall balance, and fuzzed out bass doesn’t turn to mush.
Quasi-psychedelic classics from the late 60’s and early 70’s like Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and Gal Costa’s version of “Nao Identificado” benefit from a very wide stereo image for a single-cabinet speaker system. All the weird whirrs and panned freak-out effects come across very well, and the sweet spot where you can actually hear the panning properly is several feet wide.
More refined tracks sound excellent, with plenty of clarity and exceptional balance in all registers. Maurice Andre’s trumpet sings over the orchestra on the Albinoni Trumpet Concerto in B flat, but without being overbearing. The same goes for Frank Sinatra’s voice cutting through Count Basie’s band on “Pennies from Heaven”.
Even if the design weren’t outrageously hip, this would be a great speaker even at a hefty price of $600 (still not bad for a direct descendent of one of the best reference speakers series ever. But it just so happens that the design itself contributes to the excellent sound.
That thing looks awesome! Did I read it right though….$600? Yikes.
Pimpin’ ain’t easy… or cheap.
If I bought it, it would replace a $2,000 stereo system I had before, so I might even call it cheap. Well, maybe not cheap, but far from outrageously priced for what it is.
I tried it in the store and I was very impressed, especially from the fact that I put my iPhone right into the dock and even without switching it to airplane mode there was no noise at all. They really built some serious noise filters into that thing, and it shows.
If you want to try it, bring your own iPod or iPhone. Their musical selection has a bunch of old jazz recordings that are very noisy and don’t show it at its best. It played the more modern (better engineered) recordings flawlessly.
D
I just heard them yesterday at the apple store, I went in there to buy a $350 speaker and left to save more money for this one. Truly one of the most amazing speakers i’ve ever heard.
el zeppelin el sonodo maximo no es lo sufisiente potente, como se anunsia . es muy vaja potencia.
“Baja” is with B no with V.
The Zeppelin is an outstanding system. The companies customer service is great also. I had power problems with my unit and they sent me a new one within a week. $600.00 sounds like a lot for a I pod speaker system, but you will not be disappointed once you hear it.
Bought it at Apple store, build quality was poor (center chrome rim with volume control was misplaced by some 5mm). Had it replaced, build quality still is poor (rubber stand improperly attached, the unit tilts side to side), plus the new unit makes cracking noise when turned on and it seems some noise filter is not working properly, as there is significant noise from iPod classic hard drive seek in speakers when new track is loaded. Sound is great generally, but these cockups are unaceptable for 600 dollar gadget! I had B&w speakers in my living room for some time and they are great, but it seems company has little experience with CE products.
I was undecided in buying me a loudspeaker of so much money, but as soon as you hear it you remain lit of his quality and design.
David.
I was initially disappointed. I think it is reliant on careful positioning in your room, like so many devices. A bit of patience has paid dividends, and I now think the zep is a masterpiece. I’ve discovered new depths to many favourite tracks, and for me that means it’s good value for money.
My only ask is that if anyone has worked out how to take the speaker grilles off, to please let me know… I’ve put far too many greasy fingerprints on the shiny steel trying, but to no avail!!
Very overpriced and a silly remote. I believe that problems will show up relatively quickly.
The Zeppelin has been out for 2 years now and price is the biggest downfall…check out the newest video they have: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0u_WfLWOY
I have both the Bose sounddock 2 and the Zepplin unit… and I have to say that the Bose unit matches it for the most part, in my opinion if you can only buy one buy the Bose unit… cheaper and sound quality can’t be beat for the price… I’m not knocking the Zepplin… I own it! but if you can only buy one go with Bose
I’ve had this unit for a couple of weeks. It looks great and the iPod integration is flawless. The sound us generally ok but certainly not up to the standard of a quality set of home stereo speakers.
The unit emits a low squeal due to poor noise filtering, it does this both from my Ipod 3g and my 2g touch. Also the dock arm isn’t aligned fully with the chrome trim. For the price paid I expected much better.
Thinking of sending it back.
I bought one last week, and was very impressed with it, right up to the point where I got an electric shock from it (steel components). I’ve measured 190V AC on the centre ring (which might explain the rude awakening that it gave me!). I agree with some of the comments about build problems, but it is quite obvious that these guys know how to make speakers, so I am looking forward to the replacement when it comes. However, any owners, make sure that you don’t have the same problem as me – it was uncomfortable, and I would have been significantly less impressed if my 2 year old had touched it!