Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air Speakers

This worked OK for about 6 months then after a software update it decided to lose connection (no change to my wifi setup), I ended up resetting the Zep Air a couple times a week, in the end I contacted B&W support and when they finally responded, they denied any issues and told me to get an apple airport base station, like a mug I did and guess what - no change! Overall I would say that it is somewhat outdated as the Airplay works better with a 3GS than a 4S and now with the 5 the dock is useless. Sound quality is below average, boxy and shut in compared with other Airplay systems. I would not touch this or any B&W product again.

5 of 5 people found this useful

I am currently on my 8th pair of zeppelins due to them breaking. The dock is extremely poor and if you press down too hard it simply breaks straight away.
I also have trouble getting any noise out of my ipod/iphone because the volume button disapears.

however these speaks are outstanding when they do work, just with me they tend to not work 90% of the time

3 of 8 people found this useful

I'll come clean it's awesome. You won't regret buying it. Great sound, phallic design and won't disappoint you musically. I'd go so far to say that it could even make X-Factore contestants sound an improved dreadful rather than their current level of musical genocide - I know, that would be a miracle, well it's that good!

3 of 6 people found this useful

Doesn't quite have the sound of B&W's 800 series :), but still sounds incredible for something that weighs little over 6kg. It certainly surprises visitors when such an impressive (and balanced) sound is produced from a deceptively small system. And as for AirPlay, its fantastic; plays in perfect sync with an Apple TV and Airport Express to fill the whole house with sound; though I have now learnt where the Wi-Fi antenna on an iPad 3 is; if you cover it, the music stops, so i'd recommend controlling iTunes using Apple's Remote app.

The set up app was a breeze and the price is easily justified, even if, like me, you won't use the dock on the front.

14 of 19 people found this useful

Fabulous product , sounds very very good either via airplay or with an ipod or iphone docked.
Bit fiddly at first setting up airplay , used the dedicated Zeppelin airplay setup app on my ipad in the end and worked without a hitch.
For some reason using the quickstart guide provided and connecting the Zeppelin directly to my macbook via ethernet as directed , I couldn't get the Zeppelin to see my wireless network.

17 of 23 people found this useful

We went out to test what was out there, the Zeppelin air was the best we tried in the store out of lots of top docking speakers. The sound is great even at full volume and even when playing Reggae. We are now going to get a second one to put in the other room for party's.

5 of 6 people found this useful

A stunning piece of kit. Bought for 499.99GBP. I had absolutly no problems with the set-up and have had no issues playing music through this device from an iphone or PC.

On the iphone you can stream almost anything; itunes, imusic, spotify, even a few games.

The sound is rich, deep and holistic. The bass is pretty intense and I had to knock it down a few levels - for my own personal taste.

Solid build, quality sound and only 499 quid; get one, you will not be sorry!

7 of 9 people found this useful

Firstly, ordered from Apple UK on Tuesday and I received it Wednesday and that was standard postage!!!

The Air was a doodle to set up (less than 3 minutes) and, as expected, the sound is awesome and that's from someone who already has the original Zeppelin and a Bose SoundDock. The Air is beautifully built and I've discovered all my music all over again. Just make sure that your iTunes music volume is set to minimum otherwise you might get a shock when the Air kicks in. All our iOS devices and all 3 macs found the Zeppelin straightaway, even those devices in the house that have their own Apple accounts and separate email accounts. Easy peasy.

7 of 9 people found this useful

I bought the Zeppelin Air for my other half as a prezzy, and then proceeded to spend quite some time enabling it at home on our iTunes account and then infuriatingly hours connecting it to our router (Virgin Super Hub)!!
I hope this short note saves someone the frustration.

Background: I was using a PC with Windows 7 and a Windows ie explorer.

Assuming of course that you have followed the Airplay set up instructions to the letter, I would suggest the following:
1. Wireless connection problem:
To perform Step 5 - 10 of the setup, (the point when you are teaching the Zeppelin which wireless network and which password to use) Don’t use Windows ie!! This will really waste your time. You need a Firefox internet explorer. Quite simply you have a compatibility issue. You will find when using Windows ie, that once you have set the Zeppelin up, and disconnected the Ethernet cable, the purple light will just keep flashing at you and you will never connect to the router.
2. iTunes compatibility issue:
Firstly do check that your iTunes version is up to date. Assuming that this is the case, I found that the solution lay with updating the ‘Firmware’ version on the Zeppelin to that of V1.3.1 (or more recent). I found the poorly written guide to this laborious experience on the B&W website.

On a final note. The speaker quality is great and I’m very happy to currently be sharing my tunes with the neighbours! So do persevere with the setup procedure. I just wish the IT team used in the development had been as qualified as the speakers team!

8 of 9 people found this useful

Bought the Zeppelin Air along with an iMac back in early January, it had been sat in its box since, till last week.

Fired it up with the ipod touch to start with and All Along the Watchtower, Mr Ferry's version from his album Dylanesque. Room filling, pin sharp sound out of such a small unit is astounding.

Followed the Air set up to the letter, done and dusted in under 5 minutes. Took it to the furthest point away from the Virgin router and streamed the same track. If there was any difference in the quality, my old ears couldn't detect it, all I got was the same blisteringly fantastic reproduction as I had from the ipod.

Was it worth the £500? Yes. Does it deliver what it says on the box? Yes. Am I pleased? Yes.

Unlike my old Nakamichi Soundspace system, or any other for that matter, this delivers and does so anywhere in the house with only the power cord to worry about.

In closing, I reripped my whole collection to Apple Lossless, a time consuming affair, but worth it.

It's your choice, I made mine and don't regret it.

4 of 4 people found this useful