Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

It took me more than two hours to finally succeed to turn the device light into purple so that I could setup the airplay feature. The sound is truly extraordinary but I just hope not to have to reset the wireless connection all over again...

So I purchased this because I know it's the best of the best - and it sounds great in the Apple Store. However, I lugged it home only to find out that it would not produce any sound. I was baffled. I called B&W support and they told me I'm one of the rare instances where the voltage in my house is just above 120V and the unit will not operate. So, I had to spend another $50 on a voltage regulator to plug it into. A little annoyed.

I compared my B&W DM110, which are ~30years old. They were entry level back then and are found used today very cheaply. I run them with an Airport Express and I stream all my music.

The Zeppelin Air is a $600 IPod dock, which is excellent because it is portable. If you're going for sound quality alone though, this isn't as good as dedicated speakers. The bass is stronger, which I didn't really prefer. The spacial imaging is quite good, but the sense of space is quite narrow.

Setup on IOS was great. I updated the firmware with a USB (not supplied btw) and that was also effortless. Since I already own B&W I thought I'd test out. But I'll be returning them. Too expensive for no improved quality over my dedicated loudspeakers.

I cannot do an "update " or further review from same account but I wrote the " Useless and Being Returned " review below on Dec 23. I feel obliged to update review, as I have now been able to get the Zeppelin working. The set up as per the instructions did not work ( nor the alternatives from the B & W website ) and I had given up when I wrote the review , but finally I was able, almost by accident, to get a " work around " using "the Network and Sharing Center" function in Windows 7 without the Zeppelin set up page ( via provided IP address) ever appearing. No matter how many times I tried, the IP address was not recognised by any PC or Mac I used. Also, it will still not work with my iPod classic ( 4th generation) docked, as the iPod will not recognise the Zeppelin. They need to do something about this because as advertised it is meant to work with an iPod classic . However, with an iPod Touch 4thGen, connecting through AirPlay and also streaming direct, from iTunes on my PC , again via AirPlay, it is a great device. The wireless operation is fantastic, assuming you can get it working. As for sound quality, I also own a Bose SoundDock in the UK and the Zeppelin is at least as good as the Bose ( although I have not tried the new SoundDock 10 wireless via Bluetooth for true comparison of Bluetooth wireless v AirPlay wireless). I would say the sound quality is therefore good but I would not go beyond that because it is expensive for what it is, sound wise, and as others have said there is some distortion at high volume I see that some have disliked the shape and look. I actually like it and it looks particularly good in any room, with furniture tailored to a modern, minimalist look.

i love the way these speakers sound. they truly give you a new perspective to how your music sounds, even better than you thought! my problem lies with the airplay and it doesn't work. while other reviews have said it drops after 30 seconds, i've had luck where it doesn't drop for 30 minutes or less. it's extremely frustrating to pay $650 for something that should work. apple shouldn't sponsor 3rd parties if they don't work with upgrades...or apple should work with third parties about how their upgrades change things. this is my second set of speakers and my phone still doesn't dock to play music. have to play by airplay and that doesn't work either. iphone 4s and itunes 10 have created a series of problems for this technology. i've worked with b&w on this but their fixes don't solve the problem either. if you are considering, possibly wait for the airplay bugs to be fixed.

I purchased this unit for 2 things, it's sound quality and the air play feature. It sound is great. The zeppelin works perfect with the iphone4s docked. however when you use air play it drops the zeppelin off the network within 30 seconds of playing! Causing you to have to restart the zeppelin air. I have tried all the items mentioned on the B&W sire to no avail. My IPad 2 and my spouses iPhone 4 works perfectly. It seems to be an issue with the 4s. I hope they can come up with an update soon. If not for this issue it would have gotten 5 stars.

the sound is excellent. I can't give it 5 stars because the setup is not friendly. I had no problem initially setting up Airplay. Connecting the iPhone was problematic. First of all make sure that you dock the iPhone without a case. It won't work otherwise. I think the documentation should emphasize this. I spent several hours resetting the speaker before it dawned on me to remove the case. However I still can not get the Setting on the iPhone that controls the speaker bass. I don't even understand why this critical setting was placed only on the docking device and not on the web configuration as well. In addition, every time I reset the speaker it comes up with a flashing yellow light and I can't configure Airplay anymore. I have to power down the speaker several times to get to the purple light. Like I said the sound is excellent but I would have liked to change the bass settings. The support is also inadequate. There is no number you can call. You can communicate only via email.

The sound overall is VERY impressive, and at times with the right recordings & apple lossless format are AMAZING! The D/A Converter and separate amps for each driver may account in part for the superior over the original Zeppelin.

The Sub creates to much bass of which can become muddy at times.
It may be the cross-over placing too much music on 50 Watt Sub (away from the mids) or a DSP Bass issue.
The 'Sub' takes on more of the music then it can playback cleanly.
With certain musical passages this 'thudsy' like sound is not at all apparent.
(certain electronic space music or certain rock songs with vocals)

Reading that people are lowering the bass eq or raising the treble on their ipod is a mistake cause NO Eq should be used with the Zeppelin Air! (needs to be off)
(this according to B&W, due to its own complex internal DSP)

Listening to the Rolling Stones "lady Jane" on the Zeppelin Air was s t u n n i n g.

The 'lower end' sounds over the top sound that often overwhelms the mids!!
Rating it 3 stars, based on my unit with major glitch and with the low end sound being less then high end like.