B&W Zeppelin Mini iPod Speaker Dock
How exciting is this! I am definitley struggling to suppress my excitement long enough to tell you this, but those clever guys at Bowers and Wilkins have released a Mini version of their iconic iPod speaker, the Zeppelin.
Yes they have!
When it came out, around 2 years ago, the B&W Zeppelin blew the iPod speaker market away thanks not only to its groundbreaking double conical design, but its sound technology. The makers claimed that ‘the Zeppelin is an ipod docking station that fills a room with crisp, deep, lifelike stereo sound, and delivers musical detail that you won’t believe your iPod is capable of’ and according to many, they were right.
The new Zeppelin Mini, just like its big brother, is an excellently crafted piece of kit, which comes from Bowers and Wilkins considerable experience in high-end audio projects like the system on the new Jaguar XJ.
The soft curves are definitely reminiscent of the Zepplein senior, but the designers have given this compact B&W its own definitive look that would easily be at home in any smart gallery or funky arhitect’s office.
Looks are important to this design conscious unit, but it also looks to offer a lot in the way of clever features as well.
The first of these is the docking arm that rotates around 90 degreess so that iPhone, iPod touch and iPod nano owners are able to keep their devices in landscape mode so that they can get the most out of Cover Flow or movie watching.
B&W Zeppelin Mini iPod Speaker
The Mini Zeppelin also excels ahead of other iPod speakers with its connectivity options.
The main connection is obviously via the top mounted dockin arm we mentioned earlier. A 3.5mm aux input also lets you connect other devices via their headphone jack. The best bit though is that you can connect your B&W Zeppelin Mini to your Mac or PC via a USB input. Not only does this USB input allow you to play music from your computer through your speaker unit, but reports suggest that you can also sync your iPod via this connection.
One last geeky snippet about the USB connection is that it enables the Mini Zeppelin to connect directly to your iPod or iPhone digitally, bypassing the analogue output of your device to bring you clean, crisp digital sound.
The B&W Zeppelin Mini is available from John Lewis priced £299.
If you like the B&W Zeppelin Mini then there’s a good chance you’re going to like the new B&W P5 headphones.
Other B&W Zeppelin Reviews
“Magical music worth the price” Wired.co.uk
“B&W makes some of the best-sounding speakers in the world” UltimateAVmag.com
“Superb iPod speaker dock and a great addition to the Zeppelin range” WhatHiFi.com
“You’ll be impressed by its compact design, neat rotating dock, and cool remote” iLounge.com
“Zeppelin Mini is a thing of beauty” CrunchGear.com
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