Thread: B & W Zeppelin iPod Douck

THE BOWERS & WILKINS ZEPPELIN is an exquisite piece of art. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising to see it in the Musee du Louvre, Paris. Shaped akin to an airship, removing this iPod dock from its packaging will make you feel supremely important. But going by its 7.5kg deadweight and lack of any grip or handle, you'll feel as if you're unloading a thermonuclear warhead from a missile, where one slip would mean utter doom. In a mix of stainless steel and speaker grille, it's something you'd want to place in the centre of your hall even though doing so may not result in the best acoustics.

The front of the player consists of a vast expanse of felt grille with a curved arm for docking the iPod in the middle. Located at the rear are the two bass ports and a few nifty backpanel connections. There's a universal voltage power connector and an auxiliary input connector that supports both analogue and optical audio through the same jack! There's also a USB input which, ironically, is not for syncing your iPod but for upgrading the device's firmware when such is released by B&W.



Finally, there's S-Video and composite out if you want to watch the movies stored in your iPod on your TV. Which brings us to its sound. It's the darned best-sounding iPod dock ever created, and it's just as simple as that. Knives Outby Radiohead sounded pristine and clear with a vast and complex soundstage. Just take note of this: if B&W is notorious for one thing, it's the pricing. So be prepared to shed lots and lots of money to own this system.