If you have a Zeppelin, we hope that you are already enjoying the fantastic sound that it offers. But as is always the way with hi-fi, if you put a bit of thought into placement the resulting performance will improve. Small things can make a big difference in audio.
For starters, the more solid a platform you can sit your Zeppelin on the better. We’re not saying it has to be on a dedicated hi-fi rack, necessarily, but as solid a base as you can manage is a good idea. It will pay dividends with the sound.
Also, think about space. As is the case with most hi-fi speakers, a little bit of breathing room does wonders for the sound. In the case of Zeppelin the subwoofer and flowport technology perform better with a little bit of space to ‘breath’. But, as always with hi-fi, a little experimentation will allow you to get the best possible sound for your own taste and the room in which you have the system.
Also, while Zeppelin has what can comfortably be described as a ‘room filling sound’, traditional hi-fi values can help when it comes to where you place the Zeppelin for listening. If you want a high-quality stereo image – where all the musicians appear in the areas of the soundstage where the producer intended them to be, then try placing the Zeppelin directly in front of your favourite listening position – this will work especially well if you decide to use you Zeppelin to boost the sound of your television as well as an iPod speaker.
There’s also an optional Zeppelin wall-bracket. This allows you to free up some valuable shelf space, and also makes it easy to position your Zeppelin below a wall-mounted flatscreen television.
Further adjustments can also be made by using the menu system that pops up on your iPod screen when attached to Zeppelin. A new menu option called ‘speakers’ appears, and from here you can adjust the bass output of Zeppelin to suit your taste. Try it, and see what works for you.
And if you have any more Zeppelin set up tips, please feel free to post them here via a comment, so that others can learn from your experiences.
Dear Kim,
We do not recommend docking a device of the size and weight of an iPad onto the Zeppelin Air’s docking arm, as doing so may potentially cause damage to the Zeppelin Air that would undoubtedly not be covered under it’s warranty. The docking arm is designed for devices such as compatible iPhone and iPod models.
It is however possible to connect an iPad to the Zeppelin Air for audio playback. The most convenient way of doing this would be by wirelessly streaming audio via AirPlay directly from the iPad to the Zeppelin Air (no direct physical connection required). As well as this, you could connect the iPad to the Zeppelin Air’s Aux socket at the rear of the speaker using a 3.5mm to 3.5mm headphone jack cable.
Kind Regards
Posted: Tuesday, 8 November 2011Amy
I can’t seem to find the User’s Manual for the Zeppelin anymore. Are you able to send me a link? Every link I go to is for the Zeppelin mini.
Posted: Monday, 26 December 2011Hello,
Just wondered if there were any firmware updates within the last six months for the Zeppelin Air? I did the first firmware update the day I bought my Zep. Air, but have no clue if there were any more recent ones.
Cheers,
Posted: Friday, 30 December 2011David
Hi Diane,
The user’s manual for the Zeppelin is here:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Downloads/Product/Manual/ENG_FP30570_Zeppelin-Air_manual.pdf
Kind regards
Posted: Monday, 9 January 2012Bowers & Wilkins
ARE YOU INTENDING TO INTRODUCE A ZEPPELIN MINI AIR
Posted: Monday, 9 January 2012Can’t get any sound from my Sony bravia tv. Any ideas here please?
Posted: Monday, 16 January 2012I have a B&W Zepplin and I’m very happy with it.
Posted: Wednesday, 29 February 2012I’m thinking of pulling out my vinyl collection and wondered if you have any experience of connecting a turntable through a Zepplin.
I purchased two Zeppelins, 1 in 2008 and another in 2009. The first one developed the dreaded flashing red LED problem and had to be sent away for repair, which was done prompptly and effectively by BW. Now the second unit has developed the same issue so we will see how things go. I am sure the unit is out of warranty yet the problem appears to be well-documented.
Posted: Monday, 19 March 2012Michael, the dreaded red flashing light is because B&W decided to build their stuff in China, and from a B&W’s tech’s mouth in Boston, the Chinese factory decided, on their own, to install a cheaper, non-spec. power supply in the Zeppelin (not the Zep. AIr), instead of the one B&W specified. This issue is also with the Zeppelin Mini. You will know your Zeppelin Mini has the bad power supply as you will hear crackling noises during play. The price B&W paid for having their products made in China. Imagine the $$$ B&W has had to spend on warranty repairs, and damage to their good name because of this! Should have made them in another Far-East Country, like Malaysia or the UK!
Posted: Friday, 6 April 2012Michael,
Posted: Monday, 9 April 2012Just to let you know, I am TOTALLY positive B&W will take care of you if the second Zeppelin of yours goes bad. The issue has been known for a very long time. I just feel bad for B&W as it was not their doing, but someone in the Chinese factory deciding to use the inferior/non-spec. power supply. On the other hand, I think B&W should have more closely watched what goes on in their Chinese factory. I was not happy at all to buy and return three Zeppelin Minis from a store here in Georgia. I finally gave up as all three of the Zeppelin Minis had bad power supplies, and bought another Zeppelin Air. I LOVE my: Zeppelin Airs, my P-5 headphones, and my new P-1 speakers!!! But I really wanted a Zeppelin Mini, but after three defective ones, as I said, I gave up. Still am a huge B&W and Rotel fan. I wish I could afford the 805-D speakers! But the P-1′s are STUNNING! AMAZING SOUND!!
Simon and Ignacio search for the recovery software on this site, it will fix that dead zepplin after error 65531 issue for you. I also downloaded the Airplay setup app for my iphone and ipad and ran that and everything is working fine.
Posted: Sunday, 29 April 2012Just received my Zeppelin Air, wow.. amazing, thank B&W.. i’m all mac’d and ipaded up and its awesome.
Posted: Thursday, 7 June 2012hi all. was wondering if anyone has found a travel case for a zeppelin? strange shape and fragility mean if i want to take it with me i need some protection. ideas?
Posted: Saturday, 30 June 2012thanks
Received my Zeppelin Air 4 days ago and I am becoming more and more impressed the more I listen.
Set up was easy to my Wi-Fi network as was installing the latest firmware update. My grand daughter was most impressed with the iPod dock and was playing music immediately with no hope or instructions from the old folks.
Highly recommended.
Posted: Saturday, 30 June 2012Are B&W considering making a dockless zeppelin – similar to Sonos Play: 5, Bose Soundlink, Libratone Lounge?
With airplay and optical in (e.g. for linking to Airport Express, TV etc) and I’m buying!
Posted: Friday, 17 August 2012Will B&W be issuing a firmware update for the zeppelin to support Apple’s new Airplay Direct?
Posted: Wednesday, 29 August 2012Dear all,
Posted: Wednesday, 5 September 2012I have a Zeppelin and am very pleased with it. To listen to music from my Macbook, I use a mini-toslink to mini-toslink cable and am pleased with the result, but wanted to ask if some has tried to compare this setup with a USB connection. Which gives better soundquality: toslink or USB?
Thanks.
Advice for anyone with a Zeppelin Air suffering intermittent drop outs when streaming from an airplay device. Changing the channel on your wireless network should resolve this issue. Channels range from 1 to 13 and you may need to experiment to find the one that works best. For example, my wireless network was configured to channel 6 and I discovered I was able to reproduce the drop outs by simply opening an external door in the room. This also affected my Macbook in that it lost access to the wireless network. I changed the channel to 2 and the drop outs stopped.
Posted: Sunday, 17 February 2013Does anybody tried to DOCK an iPod Touch 5th Gen. (Latest Model) in a Zep Air? can it be be distinguished by the Zep. using Lightning to a 30-pin adaptor?
Posted: Saturday, 18 May 2013