B&W Zeppelin

One of the biggest spin off in the iPod series is the amazing number of accessories developed for the iPod audio players. It's a whole industry of its own. I am guilty of spending a small fortune on these things as well ranging from docking stations, remote controls and of course, external speakers.

The latest and greatest made-for-iPod external speakers to date is the B&W Zeppelin. I was very interested when I heard that B&W has gotten into the iPod bandwagon. Being a B&W fan (speakers and of course BMW cars as well.. .), I went to the B&W showroom in HK a week ago to listen to it. Unfortunately the manager told me that it will only be available in Dec or early 2008. What an anti-climax...

Hence I was rather surprised when I saw this speaker unit in the local Apple dealer (which B&W showroom swore is a grey import) in the mall just now. While I did not have time nor was it the right environment to test it out, what I heard playing through it was lovely. Good tight bass, lovely mids and highs. This is definitely the one to go for if you are in the market for a pair of iPod speakers.

The only thing that may stop one from buying it is the price. It sells for USD599 in the US and HKD6,750 (about RM2,800) here in HK. You can pick up a decent mini system for that price that plays CD/DVD and comes with a radio. The B&W is only an amplified speaker unit with no frills except for a basic remote control unit for your iPod. It does have aux in though in case you want to connect other audio players to it.

Worth the money? For the sound... I would be very tempted though.