Bowers & Wilkins’ innovative wireless iPod® speaker system, the new Zeppelin Air featuring Apple AirPlay® technology, has been awarded a Good Design award in the prestigious Australian International Design Awards.
“The Zeppelin Air is an ingenious speaker, marrying an aesthetic beauty with functional performance beyond expectation” said Geoff Matthews, Chief Executive Officer for Bowers & Wilkins Australian Distributor Convoy International.
“The Zeppelin Air, like the original Zeppelin before it, was developed from a vision to create a simple, bold and compact form that offers an ideal acoustic engineering envelope. “
“Bowers & Wilkins achieved just that with this iconic speaker.”
The Australian International Design Awards, a division of Good Design Australia, rewards companies that differentiate their products and services through design. This year’s Finalists were selected from 232 Australian and international entries all of which underwent a thorough physical assessment by a panel of leading design experts.
Matthews noted that Mr Brandon Gien, Managing Director of Good Design Australia stated “To be named a Finalist in the Australian International Design Awards is a significant achievement. This year with our first ever Finalists’ public exhibition, this recognition is more valuable than ever and rewards those companies championing the value of professional design.”
About Zeppelin Air
Zeppelin Air is the ultimate AirPlay wireless speaker system and the first premium iPod speaker to feature the new Apple AirPlay wireless streaming technology.
Its fully active 2.1channel design means that all five driver units (totally new designs for the Zeppelin Air) are individually driven by dedicated audiophile class D digital amplifiers, which were specially designed for the Zeppelin Air by Bowers & Wilkins. The addition of Bowers & Wilkins Flowport® technology and advanced Digital Signal Processing has dramatically improved the bass performance. The state of the art DACs have also been upgraded, with 24bit/96KHz capability for improved performance.
Apple’s AirPlay technology allows music to be streamed wirelessly from your Mac or PC to Zeppelin Air. You can even bypass the computer entirely, and stream high-quality audio directly from your iPhone®, iPad® or iPod touch®, without the need to dock the device. AirPlay also makes it possible to create an elegant multi-room system with multiple Zeppelin Airs.
Zeppelin’s stunning design was created by Native in London. Morten Warren, founder of Native, and his team have worked with Bowers & Wilkins for over 10 years, designing award-winning classics such as the original Zeppelin, the 800 Series and the PV1 subwoofer. Working closely with Bowers & Wilkins' engineering team at the world renowned Steyning Research Establishment, they together developed a unique an elegant form that is designed to help sound dispersion, offering a more open and natural sound than standard iPod speakers.
The Zeppelin Air is available from B&W specialist retailers for the RRP of $799.
About the Australian International Design Awards
The Australian International Design Awards, a division of Good Design Australia, is one of the longest standing and most prestigious design awards in the world. The program has a proud heritage dating back to the Industrial Design Council of Australia established in 1958. Today, the Australian International Design Awards is highly regarded by business, industry, academia and government for its important role in setting a benchmark for the design profession and for driving competitiveness in Australian business. Internationally, the program is respected for its rigorous design assessment process and for focusing the world’s attention on Australia’s high standards of design, creativity and innovation. For more information please visit www.designawards.com.au.
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