You’ve probably seen the "blimp" before. It’s hard to miss. Since 2007, the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin has occupied a very specific niche in the audio world—it's the speaker for people who want their living room to look like a modern art gallery but still care deeply about how a snare drum sounds. Honestly, when I first heard they were releasing the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro, I wondered if they were just putting a fresh coat of paint on a twenty-year-old idea.
I was wrong.
Basically, the Pro Edition isn't just a "v2.1" with a new colorway. While the iconic elliptical silhouette remains, the internals have been hollowed out and replaced with hardware that feels more like a pair of high-end floorstanders than a single-box wireless speaker. It is a beast in a tuxedo.
🔗 Read more: LG Chocolate 2: The Truth About Why This Verizon Icon Actually Failed
The Sound: Why the "Pro" Name Actually Matters
If you're an audio nerd, you know the Bowers & Wilkins 600 Series. Specifically, the 607 S3 speakers have been winning awards for their titanium dome tweeters. Those exact tweeters—not just a "mobile version," but the actual 25mm titanium domes—have been crammed into the ends of the Zeppelin Pro.
That shift from the old aluminum domes to titanium changes everything about the high end. It’s crisper. It’s more transparent. You notice it most in acoustic tracks where you can suddenly hear the literal texture of the fingers sliding across guitar strings.
The driver layout is still remarkably wide for a single unit:
- Two 25mm Titanium Dome Tweeters (positioned at the far edges for maximum stereo separation).
- Two 90mm FST Midrange Drivers (using the same "Fixed Suspension Transducer" tech found in their $30,000 speakers).
- One 150mm Subwoofer (dead center, anchored to minimize cabinet vibration).
Most wireless speakers "cheat" by using digital trickery to fake a wide soundstage. The Zeppelin Pro does it through physical width and driver positioning. It’s 65cm wide—nearly 26 inches—which gives those tweeters enough physical distance to actually create a stereo image that doesn't feel like it's coming from a single point in space.
Power and Processing
Under the hood, you’ve got 240 watts of amplification. It’s loud. Not just "fill a room" loud, but "annoy the neighbors two houses down" loud. But the real magic is the 24-bit DAC and the new Digital Signal Processing (DSP). Bowers & Wilkins tweaked the software to better handle the frequency response of the new titanium tweeters, resulting in a sound that feels more "grown up." It’s less about boomy bass and more about accuracy.
The Design: Gold, Grey, and a Levitating Glow
Kinda surprisingly, the two new finishes—Solar Gold and Space Grey—don't look nearly as gaudy in person as they do in press renders. The Solar Gold is subtle. It’s more of a warm champagne than a "look at me" gold.
📖 Related: AirPods Pro 2nd Gen Release Date: What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest visual change you’ll actually notice daily is the downlight. On the older 2021 model, you just had a light. Now, you can jump into the Bowers & Wilkins Music app and pick from 15 different colors. You can dim it, brighten it, or turn it off entirely. When it's sitting on its metal pedestal in a dimly lit room, the light reflects off the stand and makes the whole 14-pound unit look like it’s floating.
What They Took Away
We have to talk about the "glaring omission" that everyone is buzzing about: Alexa is gone. Bowers & Wilkins basically looked at the data and realized that people buying $800 audiophile speakers weren't using them to set kitchen timers or check the weather. They were using them to stream high-resolution audio from Tidal or Qobuz. So, they ripped out the microphones and the voice assistant.
Honestly? It’s a win for privacy, and it clears up the top of the speaker. There’s no longer a "summoning" button for an AI that probably wasn't listening half the time anyway.
Connectivity: Living in a Wireless World
Let’s be clear: the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro is 100% wireless.
If you were hoping for an HDMI eARC port to use this as a soundbar, or a 3.5mm jack for your old turntable, you’re going to be disappointed. The only port on the back is a USB-C service port. That’s it.
💡 You might also like: The Steve Wozniak Plane Crash: What Really Happened to the Apple Co-Founder
You’ve got options, though:
- Apple AirPlay 2: Perfect for multi-room setups if you're an iPhone user.
- Spotify Connect: The gold standard for ease of use.
- Bluetooth 5.0 (aptX Adaptive): This is the big one for Android users. It supports high-bitrate streaming that actually does justice to the titanium tweeters.
- The Music App: This integrates Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, and Amazon Music into one interface.
The app also allows for multi-room syncing with other B&W gear, including the Formation range and their newer wireless towers. It's not as seamless as Sonos—nothing is—but it's gotten significantly more stable over the last year.
Real-World Limitations (The Honest Truth)
It’s not perfect. No speaker is.
First, the physical buttons are on the back. If you have the Zeppelin Pro tucked into a deep shelf, reaching back to change the volume is a pain. You’ll end up using your phone for everything.
Second, the lack of an Ethernet port is a bold move. If your Wi-Fi is spotty, you’re going to experience dropouts when trying to stream 24-bit/96kHz hi-res files. High-resolution audio requires a lot of bandwidth, and relying solely on a wireless chip is a bit of a gamble in crowded apartment buildings.
Finally, there’s the price. At $799, you’re paying a "design tax." You could technically get a pair of powered bookshelf speakers for the same price that might offer slightly better stereo separation. But those speakers won't look like a piece of aerodynamic art sitting on your sideboard.
Is It Actually "Pro"?
The word "Pro" gets slapped on everything these days—from iPhones to hair dryers. Here, it signifies a shift in the acoustic signature. While the 2021 Zeppelin was a fantastic lifestyle speaker, the Pro Edition leans closer to the "True Sound" philosophy Bowers & Wilkins uses in their studio monitors (the ones used at Abbey Road).
It’s more revealing. If you play a low-quality MP3, the Zeppelin Pro will show you exactly how bad it sounds. But if you feed it a lossless FLAC file of a well-mastered jazz record? It’s breathtaking.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check your streaming tier: If you’re going to buy the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro, don’t stay on the basic Spotify plan. Upgrade to a lossless service like Tidal or Apple Music to actually hear what those titanium tweeters can do.
- Placement matters: Don't shove this against a wall. The 150mm subwoofer is rear-ported, meaning it needs at least 3-4 inches of breathing room to avoid sounding "boomy" or muddy.
- Update the firmware immediately: Out of the box, the app will likely prompt an update. Do it. This fixes initial handshake issues with AirPlay 2 and unlocks the full color palette for the downlight.
The Zeppelin Pro is a specialized tool. It’s for the person who wants the absolute best possible sound from a single, beautiful object and has zero interest in cluttering their home with wires or separate amplifiers. It’s a statement piece that happens to sound like a concert hall.