I have the previous one from 2016. I love it! Works great with my M1 MacMini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPad Pro. AirPlay on this old friend sounds great! The new one is tempting! I'm glad it is re-born.
I did not understand why b&w has not provide an aux connection both optical and analogic as in the previous models. I have 3 zeppelin air: 2 with 32 pin socket and one with lighting. It is amazing how flexible they are using the aux. I can connect 2 zeppelin by using chromecast audio and group them. I can command my zeppelin with google assistant connected with spotify or other streaming music providers. Moreober, by using in the network a little raspberry pi with home assistant and the google cast integration I can cast all my media contents to a number of player widespread in my home. The last zeppelins are lacking of the aux port and are not so flexible. It should have also an hdmi port to be used as sound bar. The old models with the aux port may be connected via the optical output of the tv and the sound is amazing using the dac integrated into the zeppelin and using a high quality external dac it is possible to increase rhe quality further. I have many B&W loudspeakers, from the most aged to the newest and they are well built and durable but I did not appreciate the reliability of the electronics of the zeppelin that are prone to have faults as far the power supply is concerned. Some caps in the power supply units are very poor and in ebay there are many faulty old zeppelins. The lack of official support and free repaiir of a so commonly faulty device is not aligned to the expectations from a B&W product. They should recall all the old units that are so prone to fail and fix free from charges.
@@smarthomesounds if your phone have a minijack, then its probetly also old.. So it is not something everybody needs (lm not missing it or other wires) And we are living in a wireless time.. I think it makes sense to buy those things sepperat, i dont want to pay for speaker cables i dont use either And if i did have a wired streaming device in the rooms i have wireless speakers i would hide it.. I would not like it to have to be next to the speaker.. A straming device does not cost that much, if you are bying b&w speakers.. A couple of hundred dollers for a b&w speaker is peanuts
@@smarthomesounds and you can put all the wires on you want The sound will never come close to a couple of speakers that are wired to the amp also when streaming Get a pair of second hand real b&w speakers and wire them to a amp and use a dongle and you have better sound formation duo ever will give you... (or 100 times better sound then a zepelin) For under half the money
I have several Formation products (Wedge, Bar, Sub x2, Flex x2) my wedge has been nothing but problems, at 1.5 yrs I had to send it in for repair, and its had nothing but conection probles since. I refuse to spend anymore money on my wedge at this point, if it continues to fail it'll be going to the trash. All that being said the B&W app is very quirky, and the speakers often fall off of the wifi connection. If I knew all of this ahead of time I'd have spent my money elsewhere. I have purchased a couple of B&O products and I am very happy with them, none of the quirkyness, and the sound is as good or better than the B&W products. I give the Formation line a 2 out of 5 stars and will never purchase B&W again.
I bought the last model for £550 in John Lewis and it developed a fault and John Lewis were closed due a bank holiday and when I got to the shop after it opened bowers and Wilkins informed me that my warranty had ended the day before , I have literally a brand new zeppelin door stop , I will never ever give them my money again
I had a similar problem with the Zepplin air I bought in 2011. I’ve also recently had a problem with a new BMW product which I bought. This was the PX eight headphones, again not cheap. Unfortunately, after 3 months, the leather came unstuck from the headband. I tried to return them to Bowers and wilkins to be fixed but they wouldn’t help. In the end I managed to return them through Amazon, it’s a sad reflection when Amazon’s return policy is better than B&W. I’ve bought B&W products for nearly 40 years, but never again!
I’ve had the first and second zeppelin and although they sound amazing I had constant connection problems on both units. Music would be playing usually through Bluetooth and would suddenly cut out. . I took the speaker back to where I bought it and they couldn’t fix the problem. In the end I gave the zeppelin away.
The new one has AptX adaptive which is a qualcomm platform technology, meaning the platform has changed, which could improve or even erase the problems you saw.
I could not even connect the new Zeppelin, the tech support is terrible, returned for a refund very disappointed with B&W won't be bothering with their flawed tech again.
Wonder how it compares to the Naim Muso Qb 2? (I would imagine it has a better soundstage for one) I have a small kitchen and think I might struggle to find a place for the Zeppelin, so looking at the Qb 2 as well.
I wish your channel to approve, you are on the right way! I have bang olufsen beolit 15 and 17, but they are not so powerful as even Harman kardon go and play. Now I am searching for something new and it seems that zeppelin is a good candidate 🤔
I listened I. With my Apple ear pods pro and the wedge is more akin to a Sonos arc soundstage. I’ve been watching as I’m looking for a speaker that’s portable to take to parties etc and fill large rooms(daughters birthday in a hall at leisure centre) I did purchase the zeppelin last year from JL but returned it after the party as wasn’t overall impressed with sound compared to the arc? Q. Should I go for a pair of 5’s? But then that would work as a portable option would it?
So if not B&W for home, premium, hi fi, then what brand & speaker? Looking to set up a home system, surround sound for music & watching sports. Would like to be wireless and maybe have ability to add a couple speakers in different rooms but having them separate is an option. Price not a deal breaker. Looking forward to your recommendation. Thanks.
im about to improve the sound quality in my living room, but undecided between Sonos 5 and Zeppelin? Im an audiophile but also want a speaker that enable alexa and to TV pairing
personaly for me bowers and wilkins,bang and olufson,technics and yamaha are the highest quality speakers you can buy and yes svs and others are still amazing
I bought mine in 2010, and then a Sony wireless BT speaker, and recently Sony XM 1000 mk3 NC headphones. I think Sony handles wireless audio far better than B&W, and most other European brands. B&W should stick to conventional, large, wired, home speakers.
How does this compare to Sony's 360 sound system? Can I say I am comparing bw amazing mid range and treble to 360 sound ? Or still the Sony is a better choice overall?
Strange it was all go for the zeppelin until the wedge was included. Felt bit like it was a wedge review in the end. How does the zeppelin sound compared to something like the echo studio with its 3D sound capability? Having had the original Zeppelin I’m wondering how the new one compares to these upstarts.
I had the previous zeppelin wireless, but i had to sell it again and go back to a zeppelin air, because the wireless no longer had support for optical audio in where i do connect my Google chrome audio to integrate into a google assistant group, i tried to integrate it via bluetooth, but that was not working, because of a inconsistent delay. So my question is, did the bluetooth functionality improve so i can integrate it into a google assisatnt group? anybody knows?
Great review. Very well done. I did not consider the Wedge prior to watching this review but that speaker will fit better into the desired location in my kitchen. Thank you.
I have the Zeppelin Air and love the design but even with all settings reducing the bass it is still completely overshadowing the music no matter what sort of music you like. I really cannot understand the positive reviews. :(
Sadly the previous gen was not good enough to fill a large living room. The sound isn’t warm, the bass feels week, it doesn’t fill the space nicely. I’ve only enjoyed it in smaller rooms.
@@ReVersDC I bought the Wedge when it first came out. I was super excited… It sounded terrible. No mids and all highs and lows. Bass was quite good and that’s it. I was basically attacked online for stating that I didn’t care for the sound quality on the Wedge and actually preferred my old Bose SoundDock
@@jimkamenidis I don't think either has the power to justify its price tag though I think the Zeppelin would have a wider sound stage buy I've never heard it. Seems like they sacrificed power and loudness for sound quality and they managed to get it wrong altogether
@@jimkamenidis Yeah, I bought it from Best Buy years ago when it first came out. I returned it within the first week. Sound was mediocre and I didn't like the formation app either.
A lot of money for what comes across as clear but still a boxy sound. What separates the great from the good in the world of HiFi for me, is detail, clarity, soundstage… but can the system do it sweetly/richly and realistically without ear fatigue. Even when spending $$$$/££££’s on traditional HiFi it’s the same game to me. I think these products are just another generation of good but not amazing products. I prefer Sonos for lifestyle audio products. I come from a silly money HiFi background and I feel closer to HiFi with Sonos. What really surprised me about Sonos and why I invested in them, is that for a fun, rich, party sound you can mix up between music and movies around the house through such a simple interface. A convenient well rounded package. Sonos also don’t replace speakers or make things obsolete anywhere near as frequently as competitors in the lifestyle/convenience market. I think this one stop speaker concept at such a high price tag has it’s days numbered given how much fun you can get for half the price or less these days. Thanks for all the great objective reviews SHS! 👍
I'm using a similar sized BangOlufsen at home for years and I really wanted to believe this zeppelin would be a good replacement (on paper). Max disappointment when I went to listen the zeppelin. I would describe it as: non-airy at all, no soundstage whatsoever, dynamics are mushy (some kind of compressor is applied) and subtle details are missing (the fancy tweeters is just marketing). If you're looking for good sound, I believe there better similar priced items on the market right now, like Naim Muso QB or even Sonos 5. Disappointed😕
I bought a Naim QB2, its a lovely sounding speaker but the bass is thin at low volumes. In the end I setup the QB2 as my "centre" speaker and with two homepods in stereo config to provide the missing bass. It's a pity the Zeppelin is disappointing, just wondering if you listened over bluetooth at the store or did you use Airplay as it might make quite a difference? I was going to buy one to try it out but might get the Sonos Five instead now.
They are selling these off much cheaper now because basically they don't work as they should. Could not connect a NEW Zeppelin to the app making it useless on Android mobile. Tech support was less than useless just telling me to return the item. So disappointed with B and W and I won't be touching their overpriced technically flawed stuff again.
@@stevebarnes2 lucky you mine (brand new) does not. Why wouldn't B&W update the firmware to solve the connection issues before releasing this item? Beyond terrible to be honest because they have basically released an item that does not work for possibly 50% of potential customers ☹️
I listened with headphones and couldn't really tell. B&W is capitalizing on the Zeppelin name. The Wedge, unfortunately, doesn't have the name caché. I do think the Zeppelin looks better though.
I wont add this to my formation collection. After all people do get the formation products to get the best sound (and the wedge is in the cheap end of the formation lineup) But is looks cool
TuneIn, listening to BBC internet radio, are announce that this service will be disabled in 2023. BBC sounds dropping support and attempting to restrict listening to UK users via a browser or app on a mobile phone. TuneIn on PCs and Pure Radios are affected. B&O Beosound Emerge, Level and Balance have no similar announcement. Pure will not update their older internet radio speakers as they include FM and DABs. Perhaps B&W will provide an updated service.
Such a shame that when I connect this speaker to PC and play games it disconects every 20minutes because of power saving mode. It doesn't recognize that it keeps playing sounds ... It doesn't occur when listening to music from youtube etc. Its like having start-stop system in the car that turns off the motor while driving 🤦😒 And guess what ... You can't disable it in any way! Good job Bowers and Wilkins, next time when working on product try to hire someone that has any knowledge about functionality
Hi there, if you were looking at Bowers & Wilkins, the Formation Flex's sound great as a stereo pair which would total the same cost as the Zeppelin. Alternatively, we love the sound of the Sonos One SLs as a stereo pair too which are half the price, but admittedly not quite as powerful as the Flex's. Hope that helps!
The formation duo are the best and a sub with them ofcourse I would not get the flex without the subwoffer if you like bass The wedge have better sound then a pair of flex, specially if you can place the flex correct. The wedge have alot more bass, and it does fill the room better then the flex I like my flex speakers, but i only run them alone when i only want low sound. Or else i use them along with others just to give a little sound in the corners and fill out the room.
@@smarthomesounds i just put my flex speakers in my bedroom for tv use And placed my wedge in my living room for real sound.. (along with other formation products) Speacially compared to the duo, flex does not make much notice of them self. They just give a little extra trebble The wedge adds both bass and trebble Always listen to the speakers in the shop if you buy expensive speakers, and never cheat yourself for listening to a real pair of b&w speakers when you are at the shop Its worth the time 😉 It only posible to judge them when they are compared to other products
Thanks for the video. I would not consider this for a couple of reasons. Size and shape design. It’s waaaay to big. And it stands out with a retro design, which I’m not a fan of… and now it reminds me of a alien pod. 🤨 Pass
This is a VERY flawed product. When new if you can't connect via the app it is basically an ornament and USELESS. I have spoken to B&W support and they told me to try with an apple device as it will need a firmware update to connect properly. Why would they do this? So disappointed with B&W, I have an older Zeppelin which is good this new one is nothing but USELESS. It has to be returned for a refund.
Went to a B&W store to try the demo unit of Zeppelin 2021. Connected it to my Samsung Note10+ via Bluetooth to play some sound clips. Just about 5 seconds in with my sound clip playing, the sound cut off suddenly without any hint or reminder by the speaker and my phone kept playing as if nothing happened. Change of sound clips and change of players would NOT work it out. Had to disconnect and reconnect to make it sound again, during which no indication sound was audible unexpectedly. Terrible Bluetooth experience! Such never happened with even the cheapest Bluetooth speakers I ever used. Basically useless or at least very frustrating Bluetooth functionality. Besides, during Bluetooth playback, the play and pause buttons on the speaker simply would NOT work no matter how many times I pressed them even though an indication sound was audible each time I pressed them. The good: Nice Bluetooth latency. Didn't see lip sync issue while using it to watch videos. And seems no background noise sound when you listen very closely to the speaker, which quite some regular Bluetooth speakers do present such as UE MegaBoom 3 and some JBL speakers. Well, I can't say about the sound quality cos the store is in a fairly noisy spot in a mall with some people walking by. I think it's decent for the least. A personal note: It does not look as good in person as it looks on picture and video.