OTHER TECH

B&W ZEPPELIN

One look at B&W's Zeppelin, and you'll either love it or hate it. Actually, I can't believe that anyone would dislike it, since its sleek, retro-modern design is a welcome relief from the usual techno-clutter gadgets. B&W is well known for its cool speaker styling, and the Zeppelin is no exception. My only question is, if you buy a Zeppelin, can the rest of your room décor live up to its expectations?

The Zeppelin is shaped like, well, a dirigible. Its front black grille cloth adorns a composite body, and a polished stainless-steel back panel (Steel Zeppelin, ha!) matches the back of some iPods. (But it seems a pity to hide such bling in relative obscurity.) A phallic chrome extension in front carries a standard iPod docking connector. When docked, your 'Pod almost hovers in midair. The only controls are discreet power and volume, and a multicolored status LED behind the grille. The Zep's back has dual acoustic ports, connectors for power, a USB 2.0 slave (for software upgrades), an auxiliary input (dual analog and digital optical), and S- and composite-video outputs.

The Zeppelin incorporates a three-way stereo speaker design. There are two metal-dome tweeters, two midranges, and a shared woofer. They're driven by four 25-watt amplifiers and a 50-watt woofer amp. Beware: The B&W can't recharge some older-generation iPods.

The Zeppelin's minimalist styling is matched only by its spartan features and simple operation. A polished black egg, otherwise known as a remote control, has buttons for power, volume, play/pause, forward/backward track skip/scan, and source selection. The iPod's controls continue to function normally when the 'Pod is docked (but the thumbwheel of Type B iPods can't change the volume level). An included heavy rubber pad can be used to tilt the Zep.

One of the most basic axioms of speaker design is, if you want good stereo separation, make your cabinet look like a zeppelin. In other words, the wider the spacing between boombox speakers, the better. This Zeppelin's shape allows for good physical separation - and hence, good stereo separation, providing a much bigger soundstage than most other docks can offer. The single woofer gave some solid punch on drums, with impressive kick from bass drums. The midrange was characteristically B&W smooth. The high end was a bit soft for my taste; I usually like a soft high end, but this one lacked a bit of desired edge. I bet it was intentionally tuned that way, to avoid the typical shrill boombox sound. Playback was amazingly loud at maximum volume level, with still-solid bass, although distortion in the mid and high frequencies was stridently evident.

Weary of plastic boxes and fake chrome? Yearning for something a bit more stylish but don't want to sacrifice sound quality? Then B&W's Zeppelin is the airship you've been waiting for. This is a remarkable product. If only the rest of my home appliances looked as cool. To paraphrase Will Smith in Men in Black, this Zeppelin will make your iPod look good.