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Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air Powered speaker system with Apple® AirPlay® and 30-pin iPod®/iPhone® dock

Item # 749ZEPPAIR

The Zeppelin Air looks the same on the outside as the original award-winning Zeppelin powered speaker system...

The Zeppelin Air looks the same on the outside as the original award-winning Zeppelin powered speaker system...

2 questions - 3 answers

Item # 749ZEPPAIR

Shop all Bowers & Wilkins Wireless Home Speakers

About the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

Ralph Graves

Take to the air!

The Zeppelin Air looks the same on the outside as the original award-winning Zeppelin powered speaker system — that unique and unmistakable shape actually helps improve sound dispersion. But internally it's been entirely redesigned to deliver even better sound.
Zeppelin Air AirPlay

Take to the air!

Sure, you can dock your iPod or iPhone on the Zeppelin Air and hear your music with breathtaking sound. But thanks to Apple AirPlay technology, you can also stream music wirelessly from your computer, iPod, iPhone or iPad® through this high-performance powered speaker system, for super-convenient access to your music library.

Apple's AirPlay technology lets you wirelessly connect any Wi-Fi®-enabled device that uses iTunes® — such as your iPod touch, laptop, or iPhone — with the Zeppelin Air. AirPlay can support multiple speaker systems simultaneously, so you can have two or more Zeppelin Airs throughout your home playing music from your iTunes library.

Choose songs and playlists, select your speakers, and adjust speaker volume all from your iPod as you walk about. Or from your laptop as you relax on the couch. Imagine watching a movie on your iPad with the soundtrack booming out of the Zeppelin Air. Or playing a game on your iPhone and hearing every detail clearly. AirPlay makes it possible.


Audiophile sound quality from a single powered speaker

The Zeppelin Air looks the same on the outside as the original award-winning Zeppelin powered speaker system — that unique and unmistakable shape actually helps improve sound dispersion. But internally it's been entirely redesigned to deliver even better sound.

FlowPort
Two rear ports reinforce the bass frequencies. Their dimpled contours minimize air turbulence, resulting in cleaner bass without distortion — even at maximum volume. The system consists of two aluminum dome tweeters, two midrange speakers and a woofer for the low tones. Each of these five speakers is powered by its own amplifier, ensuring accurate and responsive performance.

The system's audiophile-quality digital-to-analog converter (DAC) delivers every detail in your music with stunning accuracy. Advanced digital processing optimizes the incoming signal, giving you amazingly realistic sound.


FlowPort

Multiple connections for versatility

You can play your iPod or iPhone either docked to the Zeppelin Air or wirelessly through AirPlay, but that's just the beginning. Use the system's video output to connect the Zeppelin Air to a TV and enjoy videos and photos from your player as well.

An Ethernet jack lets you make a wired connection to your home network. Play music from other portable devices through the system's stereo minijack input. And there's an optical digital input so you can connect a high-end CD player or other component. There's also a USB port for software updates and syncing your player.

From the review The Zeppelin Air — Airplay and beyond!

"The Zeppelin Air does sound substantially better than the first-generation Zeppelin. And the added functionality of Apple AirPlay made it a definite asset in my wireless iTunes-centric home... If you're just getting into serious listening with your iTunes music, and don't already have an advanced audio playback system to do it justice, then a Zeppelin Air would be an excellent investment."


— Ralph, Crutchfield Blog Editor and A/V Writer

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Product highlights:

  • powered speaker system with 30-pin dock for iPods and iPhones
  • Apple AirPlay lets you stream music wirelessly from your iPod touch®, iPhone®, iPad®, or computer
  • two 1" tweeters and two 3" midrange woofers
  • internal 5" subwoofer with rear-firing ports
  • 25 watts x 2 for tweeters, 25 watts x 2 for midranges, plus 50 watts for subwoofer
  • gloss black and polished stainless steel construction
  • minijack auxiliary input accepts both analog and optical digital connections
  • composite output for connection to a TV
  • USB port (for firmware and syncing)
  • RJ-45 Ethernet port
  • remote control
  • AC power cable
  • weight: 13.5 lbs.
  • 25-1/4"W x 6-13/16"H x 8-1/4"D
  • warranty: 2 years
  • Note: You might experience network dropouts when using AirPlay with an iPhone 4S. Apple is working to fix this software problem.
  • MFR # FP30570

What's in the box:

  • Powered speaker system for iPod/iPhone
  • Wireless remote control
  • CR2032 Lithium battery (installed in remote)
  • 6.5' AC cord
  • 42" Ethernet cable
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Connection/Control diagram
  • Safety Instructions/Warranty
  • Zeppelin Air brochure

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Customer reviews for Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

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4.5 out of 5 stars
23 reviews

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More details on the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

Research Team
The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air replaces these items:

Product Research

Audio Section
Variety of Sources

Audio Section

Improved Sound Dispersion: The original Zeppelin's unique shape was designed to help sound dispersion. Zeppelin Air retains that shape, but now features smaller mid-range drive units to help the sound dispersion even further. This produces a more open, natural sound. Combined with the same tweeters as the award-winning B&W MM-1 computer speakers, Zeppelin Air delivers an incredibly detailed, wide, room filling performance.

Digital Signal Processing (DSP): Zeppelin Air's proprietary Bowers & Wilkins Digital Signal Processing (DSP) using double-precision processing and in-house algorithms optimizes speaker control. Simply put, this means Zeppelin Air performs like a considerably larger loudspeaker and produces room filling, controlled bass no matter how loud you like your music.

Audiophile DAC: In the digital world, the Digital to Analog Converters (DAC) are vital for getting the best from high-quality speakers. On Zeppelin Air all inputs are up-sampled through the audiophile-quality 96kHz/24bit DAC, including wireless music using AirPlay. This has the effect of lowering distortion, creating a smoother sound.

2.1 Speaker Design: Its fully active 2.1 design means that all five speakers are individually driven by dedicated audiophile class D amplifiers, which were specially designed for Bowers & Wilkins.

  • Tweeters: The high frequencies are handled by a pair of 1" aluminum dome tweeters. The sound is enhanced by an adapted version of B&W's trademark Nautilus tweeter tube.
  • Midranges: The unit features two 3" cone midranges, made from highly-optimized glass fiber.
  • Woofer: The single 5" woofer features an oversized magnet, a 4-layer voice coil, and a Kevlar-reinforced cone. The woofer is mounted in the center--the deepest part of the Zeppelin Air's sleek enclosure--with rear-firing ports on each side.

Discrete Digital Amplifiers: Powering the speakers are five high-quality digital amplifiers with a total of 150 watts. The single woofer is driven by a dedicated 50 watt amplifier, while each tweeter and midrange is driven by a dedicated 25 watt amplifier.

Flowport Technology: The Bowers & Wilkins Flowport technology dramatically improves the system's overall bass performance. The unit's dual rear-firing ports are dimpled to improve air flow, reducing turbulence. The result is less chuffing noise and less compression at high levels; which means better bass no matter how loud you like your music.

Bass Enhancement: When you place the Zeppelin Air with its back against the wall, the bass level is boosted, and more so if it is in a corner. The unit's "Speakers" setting has a tone control option which allows you to adjust the bass output. The default setting (Bass 0) should be used when the Zeppelin Air is on an open table. The Bass -1 setting should be used when the Zeppelin Air is against a single wall, and Bass -2 when placed in a corner to compensate for the added bass boost from the speaker's positioning. Personal preference settings (Bass +1 and Bass -3) are also provided.

Note: It is recommended that you turn off your iPod or iPhone's built-in equalizer.

Variety of Sources

AirPlay: Apple's AirPlay technology allows music, downloaded to iTunes, to be streamed (wired or wirelessly) from your Mac or PC to the Zeppelin Air. You can even bypass the computer entirely, and stream high-quality audio directly from your Apple iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad (all without the need to dock the device). The Zeppelin Air even supports Apple Lossless audio file transfer. The Zeppelin Air and your AirPlay audio source must be connected to the same wireless network via a WiFi (802.11g/n) router or hub.

  • iTunes Streaming: The B&W Zeppelin Air is able to play audio from your computer's iTunes account either wirelessly (WiFi) or via a wired (Ethernet) connection using AirPlay streaming technology. When connected to the same network as a computer running iTunes, the Zeppelin Air can appear as an output option in the pop-up menu at the bottom of the iTunes window. You can then browse your iTunes collection on your computer and stream music to the Zeppelin Air. To use the Zeppelin Air AirPlay feature you need a Mac or Windows-based PC running iTunes (10.1 or later) connected to the same wireless (WiFi) network.
  • Apple Device Streaming: AirPlay also lets you wirelessly stream music and music apps stored on your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad to the Zeppelin Air. So there's no need to dock your Apple device, unless you want to charge it. By downloading Apple's free "Remote" application onto your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad you don't even need to be in the same room as the components or your computer to play, pause, skip, and stop the songs in your iTunes music library. The Zeppelin Air AirPlay feature works with iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad with iOS 4.3.3 or later - connected to the same wireless network.

Note: If you have more than one Zeppelin Air, you can use them in an multi-room system. You can play the same music soundtrack from your computer's iTunes account on every Zeppelin Air in your home or select which Zeppelin Air you want to listen to from your computer. A maximum of three Zeppelin Air units are recommended. Multi-room streaming is not supported via your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad.

B&W Control App: In order to connect your Apple device to the B&W Zeppelin Air wireless music system, you will need to download the Bowers & Wilkins AirPlay Control App onto your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad (running iOS 4.4.3 or later). The Bowers & Wilkins AirPlay Control App is also available to download for your Mac computer or Windows PC from the Bowers & Wilkins Support Site, allowing you to set up and manage the wireless music system from your computer.

iPod/iPhone 30-Pin Dock: The Zeppelin Air is equipped with a 30-pin iPod/iPhone dock connector which complements the Apple device's user interface, allowing you to grasp the iPod/iPhone as if it were in your hand. It accommodates iPods and iPhones of differing depth through a spring loaded docking port that flexes to accommodate each model. Zeppelin Air's dock connector works with the iPod classic (80/120/160GB), iPod nano (2nd/3rd/4th/5th/6th gen), iPod touch, (1st/2nd/3rd/4th gen), and iPhone (2G/3G/3GS/4/4S).

  • Controls: The Zeppelin Air offers power and volume control on the top of the unit, but no track playback controls. When docked, the iPod/iPhone is positioned at an angle that makes it easy to select tracks or change settings, as if the iPod/iPhone was in your hand. The supplied wireless remote offers power and volume controls, as well as play/pause, next track, previous track, and select. When playing back a device using the auxiliary input jack, the remote's play/pause button acts as a mute button.
  • Video Output: The Zeppelin Air is fitted with a rear-panel composite video output that enables video on a docked iPod or iPhone to be sent to a connected TV or computer monitor. Video can be displayed on your connected monitor, which audio is reproduced by the Zeppelin Air.

iPod/iPhone Compatibility Chart: The Zeppelin Air has been certified "Made for iPod" and "Works with iPhone", compatible and supports the following iPod/iPhone model functions (as of 9/25/2013):

Apple Device Generation Tested Version Connection Type Media Type Control Type Display Type Charge
Dock Connector AirPlay Audio Video Remote iPod/iPhone Song/Artist Text Track Info
iPad 1 5.1.1 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
2 7.0 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
3 7.0 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
4 7.0 Y* Y Y N Y Y N N Y
mini 7.0 Y* Y Y N Y Y N N Y
iPhone 2G 3.1.3 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
3G 4.2.1 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
3GS 5.1.1 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
4 7.0 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
4S 7.0 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
5 7.0 Y* Y Y N Y Y N N Y
5C 7.0 Y* Y Y N Y Y N N Y
5S 7.0 Y* Y Y N Y Y N N Y
touch 1st 2.2.1 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
2nd 4.2.1 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
3rd 5.1.1 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
4th 6.1.3 Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y
5th 7.0 Y* Y Y N Y Y N N Y
nano
2nd 1.1.3 Y N Y N Y Y N N Y
3rd 1.1.3 Y N Y N Y Y N N Y
4th 1.0.4 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
5th 1.0.2 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
6th 1.2 PC Y N Y N Y Y N N Y
7th 1.02 PC Y* N Y N Y Y N N Y
classic 80GB 1.1.2 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
120GB 2.0.1 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
160GB 2.0.4 Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y
Note:
  • *Requires the Apple Lightning to 30-pin adapter or cable is required (both sold separately).
  • Apple iPod/iPhone software updates may change functionality results. If you download a newer software version, you may need to reset the device and your iPod/iPhone to regain functionality. If this doesn't work, you may need to wait until a newer software update is available.

USB Connectivity: The USB (type-B) input enables you to connect the Zeppelin Air to a Mac/PC in order to play stored or streamed audio, or to synchronize data held on your Mac/PC with your iPod or iPhone.

  • USB Audio Streaming: The Zeppelin Air's USB (type-B) port can be used to stream and playback music that is stored or being streamed on your Mac computer or Windows-based PC.
  • iPod/iPhone Sync: There's no need to undock your iPod or iPhone if you want to sync it with iTunes or add more playlists - you can do it all through Zeppelin Air (via its USB type-B port). Simply connect the Zeppelin Air to your computer via USB and your iPod/iPhone will be linked directly to iTunes. Syncing contacts, apps, bookmarks, calendars and playlists couldn't be easier.

Auxiliary Input: The rear-panel 3.5mm auxiliary input allows you to listen to an external analog audio device.

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Customer Q&A

2 questions already asked

Q
If I have 2 Zeppelin air units in my home can I stream music off pandora or similar to both at the same time or can only 1 unit play at a time? I'm looking for multi room system that can play together for even louder and richer sound.
vimal  Jan 24, 2015
1 answer
A
If you have more than one Zeppelin Air, you can use them in an multi-room system. You can play the same music soundtrack from your computer's iTunes account on every Zeppelin Air in your home or select which Zeppelin Air you want to listen to from your computer. A maximum of three Zeppelin Air units are recommended. Multi-room streaming is not supported via your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. We do also offer several other systems that have multi-room capabilities. Feel free to reach out to an Advisor by phone (1-800-324-9695) or online chat. They should be able to help walk you the differences between the system and get you set-up with the right ones for your needs.
jeff  Jan 27, 2015 (Staff)
Q
Can this be connected to a smart tv and be used as an audio system? I did not see HDMI. So how does it connect?
adam kallish  Mar 06, 2014
2 answers
A
You can use analog stereo minijack cable or mini-Toslink digital cable. it doesn't have HDMI. You can also AirPlay from your Apple TV.
george  Mar 09, 2014
A
Have had no luck connecting to tv. The system connects via apple airplay but there is an application for android to connect. There is a USB and an ethernet plug on the system so it may be able to connect to the TV if it is on the same network but haven't tried it myself
corbett  Mar 07, 2014

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