B&W Zeppelin Speaker Dock for iPhone / iPod
Retail Price: $599.99

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Zeppelin from B&W!

That’s right, we scored ourselves one of Bowers & Wilkins’ super-stylish and extra-sexy B&W Zeppelin Speaker Docks for iPod. The UK-based Bowers & Wilkins is renowned among audiophiles the world over for their reference-grade Hi-Fi (that’s high-fidelity – audiophile-speak for “awesome sounding”) home theater speakers. You might remember B&W for their flagship speaker – now considered a design classic in the audio-world – the B&W Nautilus. The Nautilus was released in the early 90’s and is still considered a true audiophile’s speaker.

B&W has now crossed-over into a new niche – they’ve applied their expertise to the portable music market. The recently launched B&W Zeppelin Speaker Dock brings the company’s sleek styling and breathtaking audio-reproduction to the iPod and iPhone markets.

Now, I’m testing the B&W Zeppelin with my iPhone, but the Zeppelin was designed as a “Made for iPod” product. Still, the Zeppelin, being a B&W product, has been designed to the highest standards – which means that the built-in amplifier and speakers are shielded from electromagnetic interference. Some “Made for iPod” speaker dock systems require that you switch your iPhone to “Airplane Mode,” should you select to use your iPhone – this ensures that the iPhone’s cellular radio is disabled, and cellular (electromagnetic) signals won’t result in an annoying interference “buzz.” The B&W Zeppelin will work perfectly with your iPhone without having to enable “Airplane Mode.” It’s not “Made for iPhone” but the B&W Zeppelin certainly “Works with iPhone.” From here on in, I’m going to refer to the Zeppelin as an iPhone Speaker Dock because it works just as well with my iPhone as it does with my iPod Nano.

The first thing I noticed when I got my hands on a new B&W Zeppelin was the packaging. It was almost too pretty to open. But, in the end, I knew the contents of the box warranted inflicting a few scratches, stretch marks, and tears. Then you notice the ergonomic packaging. Everything is put logically and securely in the box, and tiny space is wasted. I expected a sexy speaker design, but I had no idea that the Zeppelin’s box was going to be so nice looking and efficiently packaged – now that I consider it, B&W has been putting a lot of thought into efficiently packaging their speaker drivers within their enclosures, so it makes sense that they’d apply that same expertise to box-packaging.

I pulled out the B&W Zeppelin and found that it looks even superior in person. Images that you see on the web (whether amateur pics or fully processed glamour/press photos) don’t do the Zeppelin justice. Sure, that might sound cliché, but damn if it isn’t true in this case. You just don’t get a sense for the fine craftsmanship, the attention to detail, or the tasteful, mirrored stainless-steel body when you’re looking at a picture – you really have to get your hands on one to comprehend what B&W’s all about.

There are only four Zeppelin components to deal with – the Zeppelin itself, the cool remote, the power cord, and the additional Zeppelin stand. Instructions are provided, but who reads instructions? I was able to unpack the B&W Zeppelin (carefully, so as to protect that beautiful box from damage – is that weird?), place it next to my likewise sexy Samsung flat-panel TV, plug my iPhone in, and start playing music without so much as a single problem. Who reads instructions indeed.

Can an iPhone Speaker Dock be as good looking as the iPhone itself? Can it deliver hi-fi audio with incredibly detailed and accurate highs; warm, life-like mids; and full, rich lows at the audiophile level? Can a speaker dock just be sexy? Let’s find out…

iPhone / iPod compatibility

I already mentioned that the B&W Zeppelin wasn’t specifically designed to work with the iPhone. But I’ve a feeling that B&W intended to give iPhone users the same aural pleasure that iPod owners will enjoy. I state that because B&W, with their high-quality philosophy (no cut-corners here), shielded the amplifier and speakers against electromagnetic interference. Maybe B&W just didn’t want to pay Apple an additional licensing fee to certify the B&W Zeppelin as “Made for iPhone?”

Whatever the reason, the iPhone works flawlessly with the B&W Zeppelin. There’s no need to enable “Airplane Mode” or listen to music in fear of hearing the dreaded “cellphone signal” buzz. When the iPhone receives an incoming call the current music or motion picture audio is attenuated (muted) and current playback is paused. You’ll then be prompted to answer the call or decline it.

As a full-featured speaker dock, the B&W Zeppelin charges the iPhone when it’s put in the cradle. The included remote also wields its magical music/video-controlling powers over the iPhone. You can change volume from your iPhone, directly on the Zeppelin’s minimalist mirrored stainless-steel control panel, or from the remote. It’s all highly integrated to give the user the flexibility to use the Zeppelin as they see fit.

Packaging

The box. It’s so pretty it injured to tear the box open. I managed to extract the well-protected Zeppelin without damaging the box too much, but it was sad to break the seal.

B&W saw to it that their high-end iPhone Speaker Dock would be well protected during shipping. The dock is encased in foam and packed tightly into the box (less wiggle room means less potential shock-induced damage. The packaging was so good that I briefly entertained the thought of dropping the box from waist-height to test the padding – briefly being the keyword here, this thing is pricey after all. And, to ensure that random accessories and cables don’t get jostled around during shipping and bump into the Zeppelin (possibly denting its Chrome surfaces), Zeppelin places all extraneous (all three of them) accessories in a separate box that sits on top of the Zeppelin’s foam casing.

I’ll leave it at this – the packaging of the B&W Zeppelin is nearly as beautifully executed as the design of the Zeppelin itself.

Portability

Right. Portability – the capability to bring the speaker dock along with you.

Well, on this front, we can’t give the B&W Zeppelin very high marks. The thing is heavy, it’s oddly shaped (a beautifully odd shape), and there’s no carrying handle. If you want portability, look elsewhere. Sure, the Zeppelin’s box has a handle on it, so you could theoretically take it with you wherever you go, but I can’t imagine that anyone would want to go through the hassle of boxing and unboxing their Zeppelin every time you want to hit the road.

I should note that weight alone does not constitute good build-quality or craftsmanship, but density sure does. The Zeppelin is 25.2 inches tip to tip, 8.2 inches deep, and 6.8 inches tall. It’s not all that massive, but it’s a lot heavier than you’d expect – about 16.5 pounds (lbs). And, density of materials is something you want to look for in a high-end speaker or speaker system. You want to hear the music, not the speaker enclosure rattling away. B&W paid special attention to the speaker cabinet (enclosure) to ensure that you get vibrant sound resonating through room, not the dock.

Design / Ergonomics

Design. In one word – simply oozes sexiness. Okay, that was more than one word, but come on, how do you describe something this beautiful with a single word.

It’s sleek, just like your iPhone. The B&W Zeppelin doesn’t bother with any extraneous controls or superfluous surfaces, just like your iPhone. The minimalist design actually gives the Zeppelin a modern, classy look – just like your iPhone.

From the iPhone dock to the bass tubes that are molded into the stainless-steel rear, each aspect of the B&W Zeppelin truly serves a function – and it serves those functions with style. And, all those components and surfaces are meticulously detailed and constructed from high-quality materials.

Again, the materials used on the Zeppelin are solid and un-cheap (I don’t know how much it costs to build, but it definitely costs a lot more than cheap, untextured plastic), which helps deliver richer, more accurate sound reproduction. When it comes to high-end and luxury markets, material quality is the yardstick by which to judge.

And, the Zeppelin's minimalistic styling and understated elegance owe to the speaker dock's ease of operation and setup. In Apple-esque fashion, the B&W Zeppelin goes from box to full setup without any need for instructions. Hook up the power cord and dock your iPhone into the cradle, and you're good to go. If there's one thing Apple does well, it's creating an intuitive, and stylish interface - and it looks like B&W has followed suit.

Sound Quality / Acoustic performance

Sound quality is astounding. The engineers at B&W really know what they're doing, and it shows. At first glance, you might not anticipate a speaker dock as relatively small as the Zeppelin to deliver room-filling and chest-rumbling sound. You won't get the same performance as a 7.1 surround sound system with a dedicated 12-inch subwoofer, but the Zeppelin holds its own quite well. Deep, strong bass underlies the incredibly clear and accurate high notes. The mid-range woofers deliver warm tones that tie the highs and lows together in harmony.

To reproduce the clear high-end, the Zeppelin uses two alloy-dome tweeters that are capable of pumping out frequencies beyond the range of human hearing. A pair of mid-range woofers are made of fiber-glass, impregnated with resin and coating with polymers to produce a semi-flexible cone - allowing for the uniquely warm mid-range sound. And, the impressive bass is delivered through a 5-inch (sub)woofer that does not deform under pressure (allowing distortion-free low-end sound) - powered by a dedicated 50W amplifier. Great sound with no distortion is the name of this game. Anyone can make a “loud” speaker, but to do it distortion-free is a feat.

Stereo separation is likewise impressive. How the team at B&W managed to get stereo sound that almost feels like a surround-sound system is beyond me. The Zeppelin's woofers are relatively close together, but you'd never know it - it sounds like you've got separate left and right channels hooked up to your iPhone / iPod / TV.

I hooked up my TV and DVD player to the Zeppelin through a standard 3.5mm AUX jack cable and the sound quality was still impressive. The circuitry inside the Zeppelin gets the credit here. If I could control the Zeppelin with my universal remote control, I'd be using it for everyday Television viewing. But, seeing as how I have to juggle the universal remote and Zeppelin remote, I limited the Zeppelin to movie-duty (when there's less need to keep changing the volume level).

The high-end is crystal clear and couldn't be better, but if there's one thing that could have done well with a larger (sub)woofer. A more massive (sub)woofer would increase the already generous bass-response to booming, hip-hop levels. Most people will probably have no need to “out-bump” their neighbors, but it would be nice to know that you could if you wanted to. I should mention, there is a “Bass Level” settings menu available through iPods that I wasn’t able to access through the iPhone - this allows the user to turn up or lower the bass response.

Connectivity

i-whatever, it's compatible with the Zeppelin. Whether its an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, or iPod Nano, the Zeppelin works flawlessly (and interference free) with them all (late-generation models are fully compatible, earlier models are limited) - charging the device as it sits in the dock.

The S-video and Composite video ports nestled in the stainless-steel backside of the Zeppelin allow you to pass video from your iPhone/iPod to any Television or monitor with an S-video or Composite video input. Picture quality is as good as your cabling will grant.

The AUX audio input port allows you to use the dock as a home theater speaker of sorts. You're not going to get true surround sound, but the Zeppelin's compact frame still delivers massive, surround-sound quality audio.

And, there's a USB port back there to handle future firmware updates to the Zeppelin.

I would have like to have seen an HDMI connection or even an audio/video composite hookup on the Zeppelin. The higher quality audio and video would really do justice to the Zeppelin's hi-fi design. An additional input port would have also been handy - allowing me to connect my stereo, TV, and iPhone up to the Zeppelin with no cable-swapping. But hey, you can't win them all.

Specifications (Specs)