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In a world where upgrading to a new smartphone within 12 months is mandatory for many, waiting six years for a product can feel like an eternity. But that’s exactly how long it took Bowers & Wilkins to release an updated version of its iconic Zeppelin wireless speaker.
This model has come a long way from “acoustics with cradle for iPod» Fully wireless premium audio systems with support for AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth – a codec that allows you to create high-resolution audio.
I have long wanted to evaluate the sound of Zeppelin, which is praised by all Western reviewers and tech bloggers. And now this successful technological acoustics is on my table, the power cord is plugged into the socket, and I’m looking forward to goosebumps from the amazing depth and richness of sound.
Let’s listen to this space airship together.
Laconic design in English
Externally, Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin looks stylish: the oval-shaped case is made of matte plastic, the front part of the compartment moves pleasantly smoothly in the form of a mesh. The controls are located at the back of the device and are not at all noticeable.
There is no included remote control, so you need to control the volume and turn on music either from your smartphone or using physical buttons. This round button with LED is multifunctional and can be used to launch speaker settings or activate Bluetooth.
The acoustics stand firmly on any smooth surface thanks to the convenient non-removable “leg”. Moreover, from a distance it seems that the speaker is literally floating in the air, so this leg is organically integrated into the Zeppelin design.
If you unfold the speaker, you can only see the connector for connecting the power wires. The engineers took care of the 3.5 mm headphone input, Ethernet and other confidential audio signal transfer capabilities to the device.
These speakers make the most of wireless advances, providing the user with access to millions of tracks on popular streaming platforms exclusively over the air.
Particular attention can be paid to USB-C, but this is a service port for diagnostics and firmware installation. You won’t be able to just plug in a flash drive with music and start listening to it.
Inside the rugged casing lies a whole host of different speakers: two 25mm high-frequency dome tweeters, two 90mm FST (Fixed Suspension Transducer) midrange speakers, and a 6-inch subwoofer responsible for the low frequencies.
Zeppelin’s power is 240 watts, which is more than enough for a decent attic, not to mention an apartment or country house. A DAC capable of processing 24 bit/192 kHz is responsible for processing the incoming signal.
It is clear that broadcast to the column can be monitored in an uncompressed format. These can be found on streaming services such as Last.fm, Qobuz, Soundcloud, TuneIn and Tidal, which can be accessed from local companion apps.
Music app | Bowers and Wilkins
The Bowers & Wilkins Music app can be downloaded for free from the App Store. Use it to control your music and connect to streaming services to expand your media library.
The main page of the application contains a number of recommendations, a list of recently played content, and the installation of playlists along with mute services. Also in a separate tab you can configure the equalizer speaker, changing low and high frequencies from -6 dB to 6 dB.
When you select a track in the application, you can activate sound/pause, skip and adjust the volume.
There is no support for DLNA or UPnP, so you won’t be able to use Chromecast or Google Assistant. Perhaps in the future this state of affairs will change with the release of new firmware.
Sound? No, SOUND!
Zeppelin is positioned as a universal acoustics capable of excellent reproduction of music of any genre. After a few days, your listening session may prove to be a success: no matter what kind of music you like, because Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin will capture the ears and hearts of electronic fans and devotees alike evil rock.
Let me give you an example inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The speaker produces a neutral audio tone, the sound itself is almost booming bass. The highs are punchy and clean, the lows are big and punchy, and the mids are crisp and detailed.
If you listen to tracks that feature vocals in the foreground, like Bob Dylan albums, Zeppelin confidently reproduces all the reverbs and tones without overwhelming them with instruments. This is especially true in tracks where the vocalist almost whispers words like Hurt from maestro Johnny Cash.
If you turn on some house or any electronic-rhythmic music, the acoustics convey the entire palette of sounds put into the track by the creators. Sometimes you even hear something that you have never noticed before. This is very nice and a credit to Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin.
A real Rolls-Royce in the world of acoustics
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin maintains high standards for quiet wireless speakers, delivering superior sound quality and ease of use.
I happily listened to my media library for days on end, all the time this column was in the editorial office. And when I left the office and switched to apple headphones, an almost fundamental disgust arose: you get used to good things quickly, and after the “dirigible” all other headphones and speakers are insipid, quiet and write in sound.
Against the backdrop of excellent sound, the lack of physical ports ceases to be a problem. I don’t remember that (and of course you too) was bothering with connecting some kind of sound source to a wireless speaker using a device. Most of us have every media library on our smartphones anyway, so they connect only via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
The price of Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin is not very affordable: today this acoustics costs 89,990 rubles. This is a premium product that is worth all the money, and if you have this “airship” in your home, you will not regret the money spent for a second.
But the holder of Android smartphones may be disappointed due to the inclusion of Chromecast. The rest of the sea evokes emotions thanks to the sound of Zeppelin, which I would call simply amazing.
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Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
