New B&W Zepplin Mini, the Ultimate IPOD DOCK?

[mossym]

Bowers & Wilkins announces Zeppelin Mini | Bowers & Wilkins News

B&W have announced a new model on their well received Zepplin, Zepplin mini, retailing at £299. Don't know about you guys, but this looks like a must buy for me, especially with the added addition of usb connection to my laptop as well...out by october

[MR. APPLEHEAD]

B&W say same audio quality, I don't know about that?

From the specs the bass is better, from 47Hz @ -6dB on the larger zeppelin, to the new mini which says 38Hz @ -6dB. How! Also the device is a 1 way system so has no separate tweeters, = worse highs? Unless they have come up with a weird driver like KEF?

It says hearing is the only way to understand. I must hear this thing!
I hope my dealer gets one in for me to hear

[spl23]

Hmmm - not sure I believe this bit:

"Key differentiating features include an updated docking arm. On the original this innovative solution worked incredibly well, allowing hassle-free mounting of any iPod, and easy access to Apple’s user-friendly interface. These qualities remain, but the addition of USB connectivity allows Zeppelin Mini to bypass the analogue output stage of any iPod, providing access to the very best digital sound an iPod has to offer."

I know that it is possible to directly access files on the iPod filesystem via USB, but I don't believe it is possible to do so while using the iPod's UI to select what you listen to. I'm not aware of any other product that does this, and I'm not sure how it could be done. The fact that they are talking about "any iPod" means this isn't a reference to accessing the digital out on the latest iPods as the Wadia dock does.

[MR. APPLEHEAD]

Originally Posted by spl23

The fact that they are talking about "any iPod" means this isn't a reference to accessing the digital out on the latest iPods as the Wadia dock does.

Hmm, I see what you mean.

If your sure the older iPods do not have digital out through the dock connector, I'm pretty sure that B&W would have designed it to use the digital output on iPods but analogue from the older ones which do not have digital out?

I cant think of any way the dock could access the files to play without losing the controls and functions of the iPod, they must have worked with apple and updated all the iPods for this to be the case.

[spl23]

Originally Posted by MR. APPLEHEAD

If your sure the older iPods do not have digital out through the dock connector, I'm pretty sure that B&W would have designed it to use the digital output on iPods but analogue from the older ones which do not have digital out?

Digital out was added for the iPod classic, at the same time as they added component video and stopped all the old peripherals from working. This was when the "authorisation chip" was added to peripherals, which tells the iPod how to assign the output lines - to use them for composite video, component video or digital output, depending on the connected peripheral. Any iPod prior to the classic and the equivalent generation nano definitely doesn't have this feature.

I suspect you're right, in that it will use digital out if available or analogue out if not. Either that, or it will use the analogue outs irrespective of the connected iPod - actually, that's probably even more likely!

[mossym]

given that they state digital out, i'll wager they will use digital out on all the ipods that support it(touch, iphone, classic) and analog on the others. Can you even buy the video anymore? if not and it is discontinued then their claim of all ipods may be to available ones

at the end of the day, the old zepplin was miles ahead of any of the other docks out there in terms of sound quality. B&W have made their name on High end speakers, so i don't think they'll risk their reputation on an ipod dock, so i tend to believe what they have said...

[freero]

hmmm not sure on the design, also not sure why they called it the mini it doesn't look THAT much smaller than the zepplin (less wide is about all) I do like the dock tilt feature though. But i've no doubt it will still sound excellent

[spl23]

Originally Posted by mossym

given that they state digital out, i'll wager they will use digital out on all the ipods that support it(touch, iphone, classic) and analog on the others. Can you even buy the video anymore? if not and it is discontinued then their claim of all ipods may be to available ones

Ah - but they very carefully *don't* say "digital out" - they say "USB connectivity" and "digital sound". The implication of this is that they are remotely accessing the music files stored on the iPod's drive and playing them remotely - this would indeed bypass the analog stages on any iPod. I just don't think it is possible to combine this with control via the iPod's own interface, so something about this paragraph is wrong.

Edit - just looked on B&W's site, where there is some more information. It now says "Zeppelin Mini works with all the latest generation of iPods, playing and charging touch, classic and nano models. It’s also compatible with all iPhone models, including first generation, 3G and 3GS. Zeppelin Mini will also play earlier models of iPod, such as third and fourth generation nanos, but will not charge their battery."

So it's now claiming "latest generation of iPods" only - I think the marketing people got confused by the fact that it can now apparently stream audio from iTunes on a *PC* via USB. Looks like it is indeed using the digital out on the dock connector on recent iPods - very nice, given how few products there are that support this.