Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition: Two-minute review
The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition is part of a great lineage. It’s been almost 20 years since the first Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin launched – back then it was an iPod dock with a 30-pin connector. It’s moved with the times, of course, so now this version offers aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec compatibility and the ability to host numerous music streaming and internet radio services within the ‘Music’ control app it has in common with other Bowers & Wilkins wireless audio products.
The look of the Zeppelin Pro is, of course, the look. The Zeppelin line is very much its own thing, and build quality and the standard of finish are predictably good. And when it comes to business, the Pro Edition features a reworked tweeter array and uses the titanium dome unit found in the class-leading B&W 600 S3 series of passive speakers. That’s along with a couple of mid-range drivers and a relatively large (150mm) bass driver, plus 240 watts of power to drive them; the on-paper specification is promising to say the least.
And in practice, the Zeppelin Pro Edition makes good on that paper promise. It’s simple and quick to get it up and running, and once the listening starts in earnest there’s next-to-nothing to take issue with.
It’s a detailed, spacious and vigorous listen, able to tease out the finest details yet hit with real determination at the same time. The tonal balance is convincing, the frequency range is integrated smoothly, and there’s an openness to the presentation that’s far superior to any other one-box option among the best wireless speakers at this budget. It’s not the last word in dynamic expression, true – but nevertheless, the ‘plus’ column is far, far longer than the ‘minus’ where sound quality is concerned.
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Price and release date
- Costs $799 / £699 / AU$1,349
- Launched in late 2024
The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it costs £699. American customers will have to part with $799, while in Australia it’s more like AU$1,349.
You’re not short of choice where wireless speakers at this sort of money are concerned, of course. The excellent Naim Muso Qb Gen 2 is down to this sort of money nowadays, and things like JBL’s Authentics 500 are well worth considering too…
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Features
- Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX Adaptive codec compatibility
- 240 watts powering a five-driver array
- 35Hz – 24kHz frequency response
In most respects, the Zeppelin Pro shares a feature-set with the 2021 incarnation of the Zeppelin. Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX adaptive codec compatibility, 240 watts of Class D grunt powering a five-driver array, compatibility with the exemplary Bowers & Wilkins ‘Music’ control app, a claimed frequency response of 35Hz – 24kHz… so far, nothing has changed.
In fact, the only major difference where features are concerned is regarding 40 percent of the driver array. The Zeppelin Pro uses the same 150mm low-frequency driver and the same pair of 90mm ‘FST’ (fixed suspension transducer) mid-range drivers as the 2021 model – although the mid-range drivers have had their cone damping upgraded in an effort to minimize cone break-up.
The tweeters in the Zeppelin Pro, though, are 25mm versions of the titanium dome design that’s currently in use all across the company’s 600 S3 range of full-size passive loudspeakers. This, it’s fair to say, is an upgrade on the double-dome tweeters fitted to 2021’s Zeppelin. Revised digital sound processing is deployed to take account of the new and improved tweeter line-up.
As with previous Zeppelins, the Pro features built-in multi-room functionality – it can be paired with other Zeppelins or members of Bowers & Wilkins’ ‘Formation’ range of wireless speakers (in case anyone remembers them). The Pro can also be used in conjunction with any of the company’s current (and excellent) line-up of wireless headphones and earbuds.
And as with previous Zeppelins, the Pro is only part-smart. Bluetooth connectivity is all well and good, of course, and the fact that it can sit on your home network and access your favourite streaming services (or, at least, some of them) is good news too – but there’s no DLNA or UPnP compatibility, so network connectivity only takes you so far, and the speaker has no truck with voice assistants either.
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Sound quality
- Wide and organized presentation
- Punchy and detailed in equal measure
- Dynamic, but not to the extent separate speakers
Everything’s relative, of course, but while the idea that the Zeppelin Pro creates a true sense of stereo separation is hard to get behind, there’s no denying it generates a wider and more spacious sound that pretty much any other price-comparable single-unit wireless speaker is capable of.
It’s this openness that’s the most immediately striking thing about the way the Bowers & Wilkins performs. You’d never confuse it for the sound of two stereo speakers, of course, but whether it’s playing a 16bit/44.1kHz file of The Wedding Present’s Dalliance or a 24bit/96kHz equivalent of Summon the Fire by The Comet Is Coming, the Zeppelin Pro musters a big, well-organised and entirely convincing soundstage on which a recording can fully express itself.
There’s a gratifying amount of attention paid to the spaces between instruments and voices, and the amount of elbow-room each element of a recording enjoys makes for a coherent and easy-to-follow presentation.
Low-frequency impact is significant, and there’s good control of the attack of bass sounds at the same time – so the low end doesn’t blur, and rhythms are confidently described. The mid-range benefits a great deal from the overall spaciousness – vocalists of all types and all competences get the chance to properly communicate, for better or for worse.
And at the top of the frequency range, the reworked tweeter arrangement allows for plenty of substance to accompany the top-end bite and attack the Zeppelin Pro can muster. Integration of the frequency range is smooth and unobtrusive, despite the numerousness of the drivers here.
The Pro maintains a nicely neutral tonality throughout, and manages to invest every part of the frequency range with plenty of broad and fine detail. It does good work with high-frequency transients, and gives the bottom end lots of texture and variation where lesser speakers can just thump along monotonally. And the mid-range is absolutely alive with personality – there’s an eloquence to the way the Bowers & Wilkins hands over a voice that is never less than engaging.
Only a slight inhibition during the bigger dynamic shifts in volume and/or intensity prevent the Zeppelin Pro from scoring full marks here. If ever a band indulged in the ‘quiet/LOUD/REALLY DAMN LOUD’ dynamic, it’s The Wedding Present – but when the angst really gets into full swing the Bowers & Wilkins just can’t quite breathe deeply enough to give it the fullest expression.
It’s not that everything happens at a fixed level of attack, you understand – it’s just that there’s greater distance between the most contemplative and most fierce moments in the recording than the Zeppelin Pro is able to describe.
- Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Design
- Choice of two new finishes
- Choice of 15 (!) downlight colors
- Still looks like a Zeppelin
If you’ve seen one Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin, you’ve seen ’em all – which is not meant to be any kind of a put-down. In one guise or another, it’s a product that’s been in production for almost two decades, and it’s rapidly approaching ‘classic’ status – and the way it looks hasn’t done any harm in this respect.
So the Zeppelin Pro is recognizably a Zeppelin, and at 210 x 650 x 194mm it’s the same dimensions as the 2021 model. You’ll need a decently sized surface to stand it on, although at 6.6kg it’s hardly a burden where weight is concerned.
The speaker wears its relative bulk quite lightly, though, and this is helped in no small way by the two finishes – both new – in which it’s available. My review sample is in ‘solar gold’, and ‘space gray’ is also available. And within the stable, logical and extensive control app, there are no fewer than 15 different ‘ambient light’ colors with which to illuminate the speaker’s foot (and, if you’re anything like me, expose exactly how long it’s been since anyone did any dusting around here). Or you can turn it off altogether, of course.
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Usability and setup
- Bowers & Wilkins ‘Music’ control app
- Some physical controls
- Swift and stable wireless pairing
The Zeppelin Pro is ‘just’ a wireless speaker, and as such it doesn’t take long to set up – unpack it, plug it in, let the ‘Music’ control app (free for iOS and Android) discover it, connect it to your local network, and you’re in business.
The control app is fairly thoroughly specified. As well as Bowers & Wilkins’ curated content, it’s also able to let you integrate your favourite music streaming service(s) – as long as they’re Amazon Music, Deezer, NTS, Qobuz, SoundCloud or TIDAL. Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2 provide alternative ways of getting music over to it. Internet radio is available via Last.fm and TuneIn.
EQ adjustment (or, more accurately, bass and treble adjustment) is available, and the app also lets you update firmware as and when, and for some reason has a switch to allow aptX Adaptive reception to be switched on or off.
There are a few physical controls at top of the rear of the speaker, too. ‘Bluetooth pairing’, ‘volume up/down’, ‘play/pause’ and ‘power on/off’ are all available.
- Usability and setup score: 5 / 5
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Value
- Bowers & Wilkins devices are always of a very high standard
- Not as pricey as some B&W devices, but just as impressive
- Excellent specs and sound
If you know Bowers & Wilkins, you know there’s seldom any issue regarding the standard of build and finish of any of its products – and that’s as true of the Zeppelin Pro Edition as it is of a pair of its passive speakers costing tens of thousands of pounds.
Add in thorough specification, nicely executed control options and an intangible, but definite, pride of ownership and we’re well on the way to calling this wireless speaker ‘very decent value for money’. The way it sounds simply confirms things.
Should you buy the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition?
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Multi-room, aptX adaptive and more. But it’s only ‘part-smart’, lacking some connectivity options. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Sound quality | A wide and organized sound that also packs a punch. Would be perfect with a bit more dynamic intensity. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Design | A choice of nice finishes and funky light colors. The Zeppelin look is big and distinctive, and it’s impeccably made. | 5 / 5 |
| Usability and setup | Easy to get up and running, and the B&W app is very well put together and has good options. | 5 / 5 |
| Value | It’s not cheap, but it easily delivers on its price – for a one-box speaker, it’s a very good investment. | 4 / 5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition: Also consider
How I tested the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition
I positioned my review sample on the top shelf of my Blok Stax 2G equipment rack, and then because it was preventing my turntable from sitting there I also positioned it on a necessarily large bookshelf.
I used my Qobuz and TIDAL accounts to stream music of many different varieties and file sizes, and I also checked out some favorite internet radio stations using TuneIn.
I can’t pretend it was any kind of hardship to do this for well over a week…
- First reviewed: February 2025
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