Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

Hello all, hope this helps like minded individuals. I have a "sensitive" ear for audio and my tastes run from opera to heavy metal and RAP. So here is the meat-n-potatoes. After buying the B&W Zeppelin, MM-1, and Bose Companion20's I can say this. You don't go wrong with any of these. The MM-1 are wonderful near field GEMs (best if the only speaker you're going to purchase for near field). The 20's surprise and delight with rich full frequencies that create a tight image but sound a bit more artificial than the MM-1's. The Zeppelin is in a league of it's own. If money is not the object, it stacks up against the B&O and blows away "tube" offerings in realistic and impressive room filling sound. It performed much better at filling large open areas with sound that recreates a sound stage that in some ways defies this old audiophile. No issues with airplay for me. Long and the short, after trying 10 different models, I bought the 20's for my iMac and the Zeppelin for living area. At near fields (arms length) the 20's are comparable and half the price.

12 of 12 people found this useful

I love this speaker !!!!!!!!
I was, at first, turned off by all the nightmare stories I read about the "set up".
I got the application "Air play set up" from Itunes.
It made it so easy and fun to set up.
If you buy it make sure you use the application.
NO ethernet cables.
NO internet log in.
Good luck !!!!!!!

13 of 13 people found this useful

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.

17 of 27 people found this useful

This speaker/docking system is the best on the market for it's intended use. It does not replace a larger system for large rooms, but for home or small room use - you simply cannot purchase a better unit. I would recommend multiple units to effectively fill larger rooms, which B&W supports with their software enhancements to sync multiple units together.

The outages that other people complain about has nothing to do with the B&W unit, but rather their WiFi systems. People using multi-channel WiFi will not experience sound interference. Alternatively, one can dock their unit onto the unit, which by=passes the WiFi airplay, and plays directly to the system.

Sound is clear and bass is smooth and punchy.

20 of 23 people found this useful

I have had my Zeppelin for 6 months. I truly believe that there are now many great sound systems in the Zeppelin category. However, this system is just a step ahead. No one can argue with the sound of any B&W speaker. True audiophile sound and absolutely beautiful design. Check it out, well worth it!

10 of 14 people found this useful

Just picked this up today. The product itself has some good weight and looks gorgeous alone on a shelf. AirPlay setup can be very easy, B&W have created an app which can be found in the app store and all the setup can be done from your iDevice took no more than 10 minutes.
When your device is sitting on the dock the sound is crystal clear with awesome bass.
AirPlay takes 2-3 seconds to start and its quality is on par with when its connected.
I have experienced one outage where the music cut out, but it came back in 2 seconds.
Really can't emphasize how amazing it sounds.

9 of 12 people found this useful

The set up process is quite complicated and if you make any error you have to reset. The instructions require you to have a Mac with an ethernet port ( Need an adapter if you have a Macbook Air). Once I got it hooked up and configured it cut in and out all the time. My iPhone 4s would not play when connected to the dock. I have read elsewhere that many people have connection issues and that there is some type of bug with the 4s. I would beware.

4 of 9 people found this useful

the zeppelin air sounds as good as it looks. no really, it does. sounds amazing, bass, powerful. crystal clear iPod dock. even at times i have to adjust the bass setting and change equaliser cause too much bass. just shows u its got enough bass. room filling and loud. i thought my hifi was good until i bought a monster beats by dr. beat box. i thought that was great until i bought this beauty.really comes out. even when i am out of my bedroom and on the other side of the wall it sounds great. no wonder its got an award. as for air play. it took ages to set up and even when done it won't play through it and air play icon docent show on my iPhone. and when it works, it keeps cutting off. why can't it be so easy to set up like in airport utility. i wouldn't use it anyway. i just use iPod and aux. a really brilliant piece of tech. may be expensive but its all worth it

10 of 11 people found this useful

Great product. Best toy ever for an iProduct or a MAC. Sounds great. I haven't had any trouble with connection and design is very nice (best design, I think). I am actually waiting for the zeppelin mini to get airplay to put it in another, smaller, room and make it a complete sound system.

5 of 8 people found this useful

I bought three Zeppelin Airs (as employee gifts) about 4 months ago. One of them has already died. I contacted Bowers & Wilkins and was told that I need to ship the unit back to them at my cost. These devices are very large & heavy, so shipping's not going to be cheap. Maybe I'm just used to the stellar shipping/return policies of Amazon, but when you buy a "luxury" brand like Bowers & Wilkins, I would expect a little bit better customer service. And the fact that 1/3 of our Zeppelins has already failed doesn't speak well as to their reliability.

40 of 47 people found this useful