John Darko
One of the most visually iconic and popular Bluetooth loudspeakers of all time gets an upgrade this week with the introduction of a Pro model. The Zeppelin Pro Edition from Bowers & Wilkins adopts the shape of the original, subtly upgrades its design language, adds a user-controllable downlight and introduces two new finishes: Solar Gold and Space Grey.
The improvements, however, go beyond the unit’s aesthetics. The Zeppelin Pro Edition puts a pair of 1″ Titanium dome tweeters – pulled from the British company’s 600 Series of loudspeakers – at the far edges of the enclosure to better isolate them from the negative impact of the vibrations generated by the unit’s other drivers:
- a 15cm subwoofer mounted to the middle of the cabinet and has been optimised to avoid unwanted cabinet rocking to take bass reach down to 34Hz
- two 9cm midrange drivers housed in what Bowers & Wilkins calls Fixed Suspension Transducer FST™ — technology that has also been pulled from the company’s passive loudspeakers
From the press release: “These drive units have been upgraded with increased cone damping, reducing the effects of cone break-up leading to a more open midrange sound. Along with revised DSP tuning designed to make the most of the potential of these new drive units…”
Connectivity? Say hello to aptX Adaptive Bluetooth and network streaming via Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay 2, which keeps Roon in play. Support for Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal, Last.fm and TuneIn has been folded into Bowers & Wilkins’s Music app (iOS, Android).
The Zeppelin Pro Edition is available now for £699 or US$799
Further information: Bowers & Wilkins
