Verdict
The Zeppelin Pro is a nuance of the old model , send packing Alexa vocalization support but tweak the phone for an even better sound . Some wo n’t sleep together the want of forcible inputs , but this is a wireless loudspeaker system first and first off , and it ’ll bring your euphony streaming program library to liveliness in impressive fashion .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Back in 2021 , theBowers & Wilkins Zeppelinwireless speaker returned to embrace the digital age of streaming and voice assistance – and it was a mighty fine effort .
But like with its speaker system and headphones , Bowers & Wilkins distinctly had an scabies it could n’t wait to fret and tweaked several expression for the updated Zeppelin Pro .
It ’s the same look , but underneath the hood it ’s been retooled like a car enthusiast giving his motor a new lease of liveliness . Out goes Alexa voice control , in come a revised driver set - up and upgraded digital signal processing . Good changes or has Bowers & Wilkins tinkered to much with a five - star formula ?
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Price
The Zeppelin Pro Edition is available for the same price as the Zeppelin at £ 699 / $ 799 but presently it ’s an on-line scoop to the Bowers & Wilkins internet site .
The previous Zeppelin is still on sale but it ’s in its “ last of spirit ” status so once stay on neckcloth is sold , the Zeppelin Pro will eventually replace it .
Design
We ’re onto the 6th edition of the Zeppelin series and aesthetically not much has change . The Zeppelin silhouette remains a highly typical feel for a wireless speaker and Bowers & Wilkins has n’t renege on on its decision to omit physical ports altogether . This is a wireless speaker in the truest sense .
The change that have been made admit swap the Alexa button for a Bluetooth geminate button and add more colours . The received Zeppelin comes in midnight grey and a lighter pearl greyness ; the Zeppelin Pro comes in space Second Earl Grey and the fetching solar gold of this review sample distribution .
The stand is integrated into the body of the speaker , and features a downlight that ’s been retool to offer over 15 disjoined colouring with cleverness fitting options for each .
There ’s no remote , so for control it ’s either the release on the back ( playback , mass and the multifunction button ) , or the Bowers & Wilkins Music app . At the back of the tie-up is the power retail store ( thankfully the cable is n’t a capacitive one ) , and USB - hundred serving port and a reset button .
User Experience
Set - up of the Zeppelin Pro is middling straightforward , as the speaker is recognised quickly by the Bowers & Wilkins Music ascendancy app , after which you need to press the multifunction button to sync the speaker to your account .
The Bowers & Wilkins Music control app is an app in the vein of Sonos or Bluesound , whereby you’re able to control music in the app rather of being bounced out to the native apps .
It looks very dainty on both an Android smartphone and an iPad Pro . The Home Thomas Nelson Page has a mixture of curated subject matter from Bowers & Wilkins along with message individualise for you , advocate playlists , tracks , and record album .
you could sign into services such as Tidal , Amazon Music , Qobuz , Deezerand last.fm . It ’s no means near the breadth and variety of the Sonos app , but there ’s always the argument for quality over quantity . There ’s no accompaniment for Apple Music or Podcasts , which I ’ve been told is n’t a expert restriction of the app but a decisiveness by Apple to bound access . Unsurprisingly .
point to the configurations and you may aline the verbalizer ’s EQ by altering basso and treble from -6dB to 6dB , enable aptX Adaptive Bluetooth ( with gadget that stomach it ) , and play around with the Ambient Light context .
While using the app is slick and responsive , there are a few thing I ’m not as fond of . For whatever reason , when I go to my tracks in Tidal , the B&W Music app wo n’t permit me shuffle them , so a track will play and then stop .
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I also recollect that the search could be slightly better at zero in in on tracks . It ’s not a fundamental trouble and maybe it ’s just my peculiarity , but if I ’m explore for a track that ’s in my ‘ preferred ’ list in my stream apps , I ’d prefer that result come in up rather than results of likewise - named song .
It ’s a slight pain sensation gunpoint as jumping into the Library tab of the app shows all the albums and track I ’ve saved across multiple streaming services , and who wants to scroll through hundreds of songs just to find one ?
Features
As an all - streaming wireless verbaliser , Apple users getAirPlay 2(which decrease the shock of not throw Apple Music desegregation ) while Android drug user benefit from aptX Adaptive Bluetooth ( or either SBC or AAC ) .
apart from the services mentioned previously , there ’s also Soundcloud , TuneIn , and Spotify Connect . Spotify Hi - Fior whatever it ends up being called will be supported . There ’s no Google Cast support , just like there was n’t on the previous speaker .
Although Bowers & Wilkins has revise the speaker set - up , the Zeppelin Pro is still driven by 240W of amplification – more than the KEF LSX II LT ( 200W ) , Kanto Ren ( 200W ) and less than theNaim Muso Qb 2(300W ) .
Inside is a 24 - bit/192kHz DAC though – as far as I know – the Zeppelin Pro only accepts a 24 - bit/96kHz signal . Frequency response covers 35Hz to 24kHz .
Multi - room is corroborate with other Zeppelins and shaping products . The Zeppelin Pro does support a feature whereby you could ‘ hand over ’ medicine to a pair of Bowers & Wilkins headphones though it does require tapping a button in the app to perform the switchover .
Sound Quality
The ‘ standard ’ Zeppelin had two 25 mm duple dome tweeter for the highs , two 90 millimeter FST ( Fixed Suspension Transducer ) number one wood to take upkeep of the midrange , while the basso was covered by a 6 - inch subwoofer .
The Zeppelin Pro changes things up . There are still two 25 mm forked tweeter but the new ones have been borrowed from Bowers ’ 600 Series 3 speaker unit , while the fabric has switched from aluminium to titanium ( more receptive phone , better definition , more realism , agree to Bowers ) .
The midrange driver unit of measurement has been raise with improved damping material and a revise strobile to subdue noise and reproduce the midrange with more clarity and subtlety . The long - cam stroke 6 - in subwoofer is the same , but Bowers & Wilkins has updated the digital sign processing to improve the overall audio and mix the new drivers better , much in the same means it did with the Px7 S2e over - spike .
Have these changes made a difference ? Very much so .
I felt the previous Zepplin strike a inert and precise phone ; penetrative and clear-cut at the top remainder , while firm and punchy with the lows , and a midrange performance that was crisp and detailed .
The Zeppelin Pro sounds warmer in whole step to me , not as shrill – perhaps slenderly less overall detail – but its character is more piquant . Bass vocalize richer , the midrange more lively and musical in tone , while the highs are brilliant but also slightly richer .
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The welfare is that the Zeppelin Pro has more of an worked up auditory sensation that was lacking on the more clear cut Zeppelin . play the Downtown Downtempo track from the Last Night in Soho soundtrack again , the Zeppelin Pro sounds rich with Anna Taylor - Joy ’s representative , carrying more emotion than I remember the elderly Zeppelin speaker express .
With voices , the Zeppelin Pro divulge mickle of nuance , subtlety and pellucidity whether it ’s Sufjan Stevens in Chicago or Anette Askvik ’s in Liberty . There ’s plenitude of space for performers to strut their hooey and the Zeppelin Pro is enjoyably expressive in how it reproduces those voices .
It sound fond at the top close of the frequency range , which reduces levels of sharpness and definition with Veronica Swift ’s The Man I Love and Isfar Sarabski ’s Déjà vu , but the highs are still bright , varied and clear with just a pinch of richness in places .
It ’s not a verbaliser diffident from delivering energy or power either , but there ’s always a mother wit of control about the Zeppelin Pro ’s sound – it does n’t get as irritable as I recall the original sounding .
There ’s a strong mother wit of regular recurrence , dynamism and tempo that breeds a likeable sense of energy and self-confidence with System of a Down ’s Chop Suey , and it produces a soundstage that properly spans the width of the speaker to create a stereophonic effect . The one look where I did n’t find the previous Zeppelin living up to arithmetic mean was its stereo performance – the Zeppelin Pro is much good .
The long - throw subwoofer number one wood of the Zeppelin Pro seems to labour bass harder and with more punch and vitality in its performance . Masego ’s You Never Visit Me has a vainglorious , brawny basso performance with the Zeppelin Pro . It ca n’t gain down to sub - bass levels , but what ’s supply impress for a speaker of its size ( and contour ) .
A brief watchword on theBluetooth performance . The healthy caliber is better over Wi - Fi than Bluetooth : more detail and clarity , punchier bass and more energy . The Bluetooth performance is not too shabby but does sound compressed . Wi - Fi offers the best experience .
Should you buy it?
The tweaks to the driver set - up and digital sound processing have yielded a performance that ’s even better than its still fantabulous harbinger
There ’s no room for physical input so only those who ’ve leap to the streaming world want utilise
Final Thoughts
In the same vein to its tweaks with headphones and stereophonic system speakers , the Zeppelin Pro is an betterment in the right piazza that ’s made an already excellent speaker even better
It deliver two-channel strait with fine pellucidity and a rich bass performance that belies its size and shape . It ’s a toe - tip , rich - sounding wireless speaker that ’s a pleasure to mind .
There are no strong-arm inputs so you ’ll have to make your public security with its streaming - only approach . It ’s a wireless speaker fed on a diet of music streaming service and is n’t versatile to being used for anything else ( like a TV ) .
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But that ’s o.k. with me . The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro is a superb - soundingwireless speakerthat you wo n’t need to cease heed to .
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How we test
We screen every wireless speaker we review soundly over an extended full stop of time . We apply industry stock tests to compare features decent . We ’ll always tell you what we get . We never , ever , live with money to look back a product .
recover out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
Alexa voice control has been removed from the Zeppelin Pro edition , but it ’s still available on the Zeppelin ( 2021 ) version .
Full Specs
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