This is the latest follow on to the original and well-received B&W Zeppelin introduced for use with iPods in 2006. In the words of the old TV commercial, “You’ve come a long way, baby.”
The new Zeppelin’s shape may be the same, but current technology is built inside to provide 240 watts (according to the B&W Website’s specs) of clean, clear, room-filling stereo in the excellent tradition of all B&W speakers. Measuring about 8.25” high x 25.5” wide x 7.5” deep and tipping the scale at 16 pounds, it will be a comfy fit on a wall with the optional wall mount or on the deck of a credenza, dresser or anywhere there is the space for its package.
The new Zeppelin is easily and quickly paired with iOS and Android mobiles and with the added connectivity commands from built-in Alexa, Zeppelin is and always has been a visual and audio work of art. In all ways simple to operate, she is smile-producing to all listeners who can appreciate the solid sound from such an unusually shaped package. The latest iteration of the Bowers & Wilkins app melds basic settings with connected content from Bluetooth-connected mobile devices and a growing list of content providers (more on this later).
Whether perched for service in a bedroom, office, kitchen, separate workspace or anywhere there is power (yes, she needs to be plugged in), the newest Zeppelin is sure to please as a premium audio product for the discerning customer.
**WHAT’S IN THE BOX**
• Zeppelin
• Power cord
• Basic and simplified manual with separate safety booklet/warranty
**THE SETUP**
Open the box, read the paperwork, download the mobile app, plug her in, launch the app, update firmware if applicable (mine was), Bluetooth-connect with mobile devices, one at a time.
On the back panel towards the top are the power button, volume buttons, play/pause, and Bluetooth setup. Alexa was set up easily through the iOS app and she responded when summoned. The Alexa function was easily defeated with the press of the Alexa button for five seconds, turning off the mic.
Lower and hidden in the recessed back panel are the reset button, power cord plug and USB-C service port.
Connected and powered on, then linked with optional, paid services including Deezer, TuneIn, Last.fm, Tidal, Qobuz, with more to come, it’s fired up, ready to go and time to . . .
**PUT IT TO THE TEST**
Because I am so familiar with some of the tracks on the Eagles Hell Freezes Over live album, that was my first stop, sent by the Music app on an iPhone. It’s my go-to for many speaker tests. Listening to Hotel California, Take It Easy and Desperado, I noted the bass response and clarity of vocals along with stereo separation while conjuring comparative memories of these tracks as heard through other audio systems with other speakers. So far, so good.
Next, some classical tracks from Apple Music’s lossless selections, including Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony, and a little Yo-Yo Ma thrown in just because I love his work.
We sampled a few tracks from TuneIn, Last.fm and Deezer, all with premium sound characteristics. In our subjective judgment, this B&W delivered pleasing, balanced sound imaging without being heavy or light anywhere along the continuum of frequencies, all managed through the app. Not everyone will agree, and this is where the app settings will come in handy. Make the sound pleasing to the listener.
Zeppelin also features Apple AirPlay 2 connectivity, another convenience.
**CONCLUSION**
In this case, value is in the ear of the beholder. With so much to offer in what is a unique, classically designed package, powerfully delivered, Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin with wireless streaming and built-in Alexa is highly recommended. It will be sure to please for many years to come. Though we cannot assure that B&W’s promise to add more capabilities and services will be delivered, there is every indication that they will. Since its initial availability in recent months, sources have been added that total those listed above.
Important to note, NONE of the premium sources are required. Send music or over content already available in the user’s music library or even from YouTube or other free resources.
Time to go and enjoy listening to my Zeppelin.
**WARRANTY**
Two years manufacturer’s warranty

TLDR; This wireless speaker blows my mind (and ears) on so many levels. The sound quality is superb, capable of outputting 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution stereo sound. The design of the Zeppelin exudes so much style and confidence. It begs to be placed front and center as a conversational piece. It breaks the traditional Bluetooth speaker pairing paradigm with Wifi connectivity and access to hi-res content. It doubles as an Alexa smart speaker when idling from playing music.
Sound quality is attributed to its five drive units: 2 tweeters (1”), 2 mids (3.5”) and 1 low (6”), delivering a total output of 240W. The sound is best enjoyed at least 10-15 feet away and as far as 40 degrees from center. It has tremendous amounts of clarity and can get very loud without distortion, easily filling a large room with sound. Sometimes I feel like it can be a bit on the bright side and I end up taking the treble down a couple of decibels to let the midrange come through. The only, only thing that might draw a bit of criticism is the low end thump. No, this is not a subwoofer, yet there is plenty of clean low end bass for what it is trying to accomplish. It just won’t shake the windows or rattle the ground, if that’s what you’re after. I love using Dr. Dre’s 2001 Instrumental to gauge the bass performance of speakers and I’m not disappointed at all as you can actually hear the bassline nice and clear. There are no bass/treble controls on the unit itself; you’ll have to use the BW Music App to access those tuning knobs, and it only offers bass and treble tuning adjustments. I threw almost every genre at this thing and it did not disappoint.
From a design standpoint, I think the speaker looks amazing. The front grill is just one large sheet of fabric, with continuity only interrupted by its name plate. The integrated stand is recessed back to give an illusion that the speaker is floating and there is a dimmable cool-white LED that illuminates the gap between the speaker and stand to enhance that illusion. There are no buttons to push from the front side as they are slightly hidden toward the back side where the fabric meets the hard shell. The body is shaped, as you guessed, like a zeppelin. It’s significant because we have all been used to square/rectangle or cylindrical designs, and BW’s iconic design is unique and unchanged since its creation at Steyning Research Establishment (SRE) in West Sussex back in 2006. From a functionality standpoint, its shape dictates where the drivers are placed (more surface area in the center for the large driver, then the smaller drivers as it tapers toward the edges), and they are spaced across the entire face to help promote stereo sound separation. The Zeppelin is wide enough that it could take the place of a soundbar (if your TV supports BT streaming), but I think it’s best suited on a table where it can be admired on its own.
I think a majority of consumers looking for a wireless speaker solution immediately think of a “bluetooth” speaker. As a matter of fact, I thought that exact same thing when I was setting this up, only to learn that I have to download an app to make this thing work. Apprehensive at first, I thought BW was cornering themselves with this method of setup and playback, but man was I wrong. The Zeppelin is both a bluetooth speaker AND a smart speaker. It supports aptX Adaptive, AAC and SBC codecs if your device supports it, and connectivity is handled from within the app first and then exposed as a “part of your house” name in the available BT devices to choose from within your phone’s BT setup. Then you can still go about streaming music like you would normally to a BT speaker or headphones. Oh, and it supports Apple Airplay2. But the feature that makes this thing shine is the ability to stream music from services through a Wifi connection. I do have TIDAL and this can be played back from within the app with an available Wifi connection at home. With Wifi set up and app connected, there’s no need to worry about BT codecs or stream connectivity. And when the music stops, the Zeppelin will standby as a smart speaker. And like a smart speaker, you’ll have Alexa at your disposal. Even at louder volumes, Alexa is still able to pick up my voice and answer my requests for music and weather, for instance. I will probably stream music through the app from this point on. Other music services supported are Qobuz, deezer, TuneIn, last.fm, NTS Radio, SoundCloud, and Dash Radio. BW mentions that they will continue to add more streaming services in the future.
A few complaints: (1) The Zeppelin can only use Alexa as the voice assistant. That may not be an issue for those who’ve already adopted Amazon’s solution, but for others that have Siri and Google Assistant, it will be an annoyance to have another voice assistant just to tell the Zeppelin to play music. (2) 24-bit Hi-Res tracks can only be had through the Qobuz Music Streaming service, linked into the BW Music App. I pay for TIDAL now for its MQA tracks, but I cannot enjoy them fully through the Music App. I ended up signing up for Qobuz… (3) There is no indication of the actual bit depth or bitrate when streaming any music through the Music App.

Elegant, stylish and cool looking speaker. It rests on a isolating metal pedestal stand that prevents the transmission of speaker vibrations to the furniture its sitting on.
It is purely a wireless streaming speaker with support to several music streaming apps via B&W music app. The B&W app itself is pretty simple with options to stream music from different apps with a simple sign on. It also supports Airplay, Bluetooth, and has built in Alexa voice control support. It also has controls to adjust bass and treble. Waiting for google home support and few others music apps and suppose to have support for those in the near future along with the multi room capability to share music among speakers in different rooms. It has dimmable (via the app) light projecting on the stand. Took less than 5 minutes to set it up and update the firmware. No specific instructions on how to connect to Bluetooth, which I eventually figured while checking out the app features. The app has an option under “devices” to enable Bluetooth and pair it with TV and other devices. It doesn’t come with a remote, not a stop shopper for me, but good to have feature.
It boosts a premium 6″ base driver, 2 mid-range drivers on either side of the base driver and 2 tweeters with total of 240 watts of output, which is pretty impressive given its size. Coming to its performance, it definitely competes with the name brand ones in its price range. It fills the room with rich and lively sound and its design allows the sound to travel around the speaker. I cranked up the volume and the bass and didn’t hear any muffled audio at all. Midrange is a little low and good for small to average rooms and it still delivers high quality audio at full volume. Vocal is crisp and clear at high volume. Enough bass to match the music and fills the room with rich and lively music. I tested 30+ speakers and music systems and this definitely falls in the top 5% speakers in its price range when it comes to performance and would highly recommend it for music lovers who crave rich and lively music.

There are so many Bluetooth speakers in the market today. Most differentiate themselves as being portable, powerful, and offer some sort of sound dispersion. Bowers and Wilkins is so far beyond 99% of those speakers from enhanced sound reproduction to exclusive and unique styling. This unit is meant to be seen, it’s meant to be as much a conversation piece as a speaker. Like many speakers in the Magnolia collection, this unit excels by offering not only the most well designed cabinet and speaker locations, but also WiFi streaming with a 24 bit DAC sound processor and BT APTX adaptive enhanced sound. So yes, it’s a Bluetooth speaker, but also a wifi speaker.
The Zeppelin doesn’t disappoint once you set it up by downloading the B&W app and setting up an account. It connects to a handful of wifi music apps like Deezer and Spotify that you can access right thru the app. Music reproduction blows you away and actually sounds better 20-30ft back! There are no equalizer settings on the app, just treble/bass. I think with this type of speaker, less is more, the DSP takes care of it all. The highs are crisp and clear, the midrange is effective and explosive, the bass tone is only noticeable over 100hz. That would be the only place it faulters a bit in the lower frequencies where you should hear and feel a thump of radiating bass, you get a hum and tap. The important thing is the sound is very clear and no discernable distortion even at annoyingly high volume. Genres of music like BPM, Dance, Dubstep, Classical, all sounded clear and true to tone.
I’m a little surprised at this price point that it doesn’t connect with 5ghz wifi. My phone automatically connected to the 5ghz network at home and then I wondered why it didn’t recognize the speaker after I was sure to have connected it. Alexa only works if my phone is connected. I’m not a big fan of Alexa, but I assumed Google Assistant would also be available. The app is updatable, so as they will be adding new services, they may add support for Google.
I think this speaker has a lot going for it, from it’s amazingly clear sound, to it’s unique Zeppelin (blimp) aesthetic, coupled with the app’s support for adaptive music service and updatable features, I highly recommend it.