My take on the Apple iPod Hi-Fi vs. B&W Zeppelin Air

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Wolla

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Hi everyone,

this will probably only benefit current Apple iPod HiFi owners. If you own one of these Apple classics, then you obviously like it but may, like me, wonder how it compares with current technology like the B&W Zeppelin Air.

I have had Apple HiFi's for the past 5 years and have 3 at the moment - so yes, I am a fan-boy. Pleasant
However, my curiosity got the better of me and I recently purchased a Zeppelin Air to see for myself what the hype is all about and if it is time for me to finally 'move on'.

(If I do not specify, I am referring to the Air)

Here's my opinion and impressions:

Firstly, I was surprised just how small the Air actually is. It is a little awkward to handle and carry, quite unlike the HiFi.

Setup is reasonably easy, if you have the latest firmware and a iDevice with the B&W app installed. I am not going to go into to much detail here, but suffice to say that you will only need to fiddle if you want to use the 'Airplay' functionality. I also need to ad, that even with the current firmware installed, it is still a pain to switch between docked and 'Airplay' mode.

The sound (the actual reason why I am writing this post):

When I listen to a song on the Air and then immediately afterwards the same song on the HiFi, the HiFi comes across as 'cheap'. This first A-B test, or should I say B-A, is however not the full truth. With my initial finding, would suggest that the Air is much better as well as classier than the HiFi and that should be enough for most, if you have not lived with the HiFi for so long...

When I spent more listening time just with the Air, I found myself missing the HiFi's sound.

Bass:
I also could not get comfortable with a fixed bass setting, as on certain songs, genres or volume setting, I either wanted more, or less. On the HiFi it is always just right. The Air seems to go bigger on the bass, but seems a bit boomy, even in the mid-bass. If you like the punchy defined bass that the HiFi excels in, then I have come to the conclusion, that it is unique to the HiFi.

Treble:
Yes the Air probably has better tweeters, but the HiFi is a lot more forgiving and coherent across the spectrum.

"Soundstage":
The Air has more of a stereo image when you sit still on axis as well as quite close to it - up to about 2 meters.
However, this is not how anyone listens to this kind of device and off axis the Air is no where nearly as pleasant as the HiFi. Also although the Air can go quite loud too, it does sound like the artist and band is somewhere inside the device and does not flow around the room quite as comfortably as the HiFi.

Remote:
I like the old white Apple remote - the best remote ever produced, period! It just works. Both the new aluminium Apple remote, as well as the Air's remote, basically sucks - sorry.

Airplay
both can do this and is not a factor for me. Airplay works just as well, if not better, adding an Airport Express to your HiFi. I prefer not to use Airtunes from a device that is so close to me anyway, the additional radiation is unnecessary and if your music is setup and organized properly on your iPod, the Apple remote will do the rest.

Other niggles:
The Air's volume control is a bit irritating: it only has a few 'steps' of attenuation - it should have at least double the steps that it has currently.
It is very awkward transporting the Air. In order to protect it, you have to re-package it in the original box and packaging, which is also not very easy for one person to do. The HiFi you can grab one of the 2 robust integrated handles and simply carry it around and even just pack it in the boot if you need to take it somewhere. The HiFi is extremely stable that way - it stays where you put it and is very grippy at the bottom with a huge contact surface.

Compatibility: Yes, the Air can play as well as charge the newer iDevices. Who cares really? Just get yourself a 160GB iPod Classic and you are good to go for many years to come. There is a Scosche iPod charging adapter available that will enable charging of the newer 5V devices on the HiFi, but the iPod Classic sounds very good via the its 30-pin connector. Also this adapter is a bit awkward to use and not ideal - I have one, but don't use it anymore - just get yourself an iPod Classic or iPod Video.

From the above, you can probably guess that I am still a HiFi fanboy - but not without good reason. The HiFi is a very solid piece of kit, with not to many features, but with very little vices as well. What it does do, it does extremely well and its listeners will enjoy the effortless delivery of non-fatiguing and very coherent sound.

I sold the Air - long lives the HiFi!  :notworthy:

Some comparative pics:

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Comments or questions welcome.
 
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