B&W les news 
par Marc Philip, Magazine Audio. Publié le 29 août 2008
-Knowledgeable designers are very careful about loading up a room with the bulk and busy-ness of high-tech audio-and with good reason.
And yet many of these very same interior artists are willing and even eager to accommodate a Zeppelin in their designs.
The Bowers & Wilkins’ Zeppelin is from the world leader in high-end loudspeakers for serious music and home-theater fans.
The British firm’s beautifully formed and crafted, highly compact one-piece Zeppelin iPod® Speaker System has already won over the audiophile community with its jaw-dropping sonic abilities. Now it is taking the interior-design world by storm, with début installations in a growing number of impressive boutique hotels, including Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Landmark and the chic new dana Hotel & Spa in Chicago.
Its’ taken home several awards as well, including a 2008 International Design Excellence Award (IDEA®) Gold from the Industrial Designers Society of America.
One judge wrote, “This is brave design-high performance sound in a user-friendly, blatantly different and very well detailed ‘package.”
Zeppelin’s other awards include, the 2008-2009 Best Product award from EISA (European Imaging and Sound Association, the 2008 MacWorld award for Best Consumer Audio Product and the Robb Report Home Entertainment’s 10 Best Design award for 2008).
Bowers & Wilkins explicitly created Zeppelin to bring full audiophile-quality sound to design-sensitive environments.
The one-piece amplified speaker system/iPod docking station unites the best high fidelity playback with a smoothly sculptural form; created by international award-winning Native Design Ltd. of London.
Zeppelin’s highly polished stainless steel rear casing and contrasting, soft fabric shell yield a subtly beautiful whole that integrates harmniously into any living space and pleases a wide variety of tastes, while only quietly suggesting the power and high technology concealed within.
Zeppelin encompasses advanced digital signal processing, three-channel amplification totalling 100 watts, and integrated speakers-subwoofer utilizing Bowers & Wilkins’ famed Nautilus reference-grade technologies.
A “floating,” polished stainless steel arm holds the iPod in an ergonomic, easy-operating position, while highlighting its own design and preserving familiar access for a fully intuitive user experience.
A smart 30-pin docking port accepts (and charges) all current and recent iPods and iPhones™ without adapters or interchangeable bases, thanks to unique, spring-loaded design.
A full range of connections including USB, aux-audio, and video outputs extends Zeppelin’s value to a host of potential uses.
Zeppelin is also world-ready, as the power supply works on voltages virtually anywhere-and the speaker system automatically enters power-saving “sleep” when the iPod is removed (for example, as one grabs it in rushing out the door).
Striking but simple design, high-quality materials and world-leading technology come together to deliver musical detail beyond expectations.
Zeppelin’s confident, individual design statement emphasizes the premium quality and brand values of Bowers & Wilkins and complements the design language of the Apple iPod docked to it.
About Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins is Britain’s leading exporter of loudspeakers and the number one imported brand in North America.
Since 1966, Bowers & Wilkins’ “Quest for Perfection” has resulted in a succession of technical loudspeaker innovations that have satisfied the world’s most demanding listeners. Its products’ rave reviews and universal acceptance as monitors for classical music recording have helped Bowers & Wilkins become the dominant premium loudspeaker company throughout the world.
For additional information visit www.bowers-wilkins.com/Zeppelin
Listen and you’ll see.
IDEA® is a service mark owned exclusively by the Industrial Designers Society of America.
iPod is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.
All rights reserved.
Bower & Wilkins Adds 600 Series Sub
N. Reading, MA-The affordable 600 Series from Bowers & Wilkins, British maker of widely admired high-performance loudspeakers, has been an unqualified success since its introduction among customers and critics alike. Now the popular 600 Series family adds a new subwoofer, the ASW 610XP, that delivers reference performance from an amazingly compact, high-value design.
The new ASW 610XP utilizes a single 10-inch driver in a carefully calculated sealed enclosure, with substantial power, to surprising results: flat response to 25 Hz (-3 dB) with useful bass extension to 18 Hz (-6 dB), and impressively powerful and dynamic output potential. One secret to this remarkable performance is the ASW 610XP’s unique driver, a very long-throw “ten” with dual, high-current voice-coils and extremely strong, paper/Kevlar™ cone. Another is its “extra powerful” amplifier, a very efficient, audiophile-grade Class D design that delivers a true 500 watts to the sub’s operating band.
The new sub includes B&W’s familiar three-position EQ switching, which can maximize extension (setting “A”) or SPL (”C”), or compromise between the two (”B”). Additional controls include line-in level, low-pass frequency with bypass, bass rolloff alignment, and phase, plus auto-on/off/standby. The ASW 610XP includes both line-level (RCA) and speaker-level (binding posts) inputs, and a 12-volt on/off trigger. Measuring just 13×13x15 inches (approx.), the newest Bowers & Wilkins sub is available in Black Ash, Red Cherry, or Wenge vinyl-woodgrain finishes.
Available: Immediately, at a manufacturer’s suggested price of $1,200 each.
Bowers & Wilkins Launches New CM Series Models
Elegant range gets sophisticated new speakers and a stylish new finish
N. Reading, MA - Four new CM Series loudspeakers offer more choice to customers who desire stylish looks without comprising on performance. A seriously grown-up three-way floorstander, a larger stand-mount model, a new center channel and the range’s first dedicated subwoofer join the three speakers already available, while a stunning polished black gloss finish offers a fresh new look.
The CM Series from Bowers & Wilkins has long been a favorite among its discerning customers. Offering a combination of high performance and exquisite styling at a very affordable price, it sits comfortably between the exceptional value of the 600 Series and the high-end excellence of the 800 Series.
The new CM Series continues to provide stunning audio performance, backed up by cabinets in a choice of exceptional real wood veneers. But four new speakers offer customers increased choice when designing a stereo or home theatre system, and the addition of a polished gloss black finish offers them the option of a completely different style statement, and at no extra cost.
The first new model is the CM9, a three-way floorstanding speaker. It features a 25mm aluminum dome tweeter, a 150mm Kevlar® FST™ midrange driver and twin 165mm paper/Kevlar® bass drivers for a refined yet room filling performance and is ideal for customers looking for a more substantial sound than the smaller CM7 speaker.
The CM5 is a two-way stand-mount speaker designed to provide another dimension to the range and complement the incredibly compact CM1. It features a 25mm aluminum dome tweeter and 165mm Kevlar® bass/midrange driver.
Home Theatre enthusiasts will be thrilled by the addition of a second, larger center channel speaker, the CM Center 2. Larger than the CM Center, it gives increased output and bass extension, and features an FST™ midrange driver to provide a seamless match with the CM9s.
Finally there’s the ASW 10CM subwoofer. Its 25cm paper/Kevlar® cone bass unit coupled to a massive 500-watt amplifier in an elegant cabinet that belies the power it contains.
This addition allows customers to specify a complete CM Series Home Theatre system for the first time, providing them with the option of a stylish surround system that doesn’t compromise on sound quality.
As you’d expect from Bowers & Wilkins, the outward style is backed up with serious sonic substance. The B&W-built drive units are custom designed by the engineers at its world-famous Research Establishment in Steyning, West Sussex specifically to work optimally in each CM cabinet. The inherently smooth response of the drivers allows the use of minimalist crossovers in crucial, sonic areas.
Quite simply, having fewer components means purer signals. This simplified but most sonically effective design approach allows the engineers to spend many, many hours of listening time rigorously auditioning and selecting the correct components for the job.
Two of the new CM Series models also feature B&W’s innovative FST™ driver. This technology further improves the performance of the famous Kevlar® drive units, and appears in a newly developed form in the CM9 floorstander and the CM Center 2.
The CM Series bass drivers also benefit from longer voice coils and stronger magnets than the 600 Series that sits below it. This provides the speakers with more punch and attack, but also cuts down on distortion.
All of which combines to ensure that while the CM Series is certainly one of the most elegant speaker ranges around, it’s also the best sounding.
The existing models
- the highly compact CM1, floorstanding CM7 and CM Center - remain as key products in the range, and all are available in the new polished gloss black finish as well as Rosenut and Wengé.
Bowers & Wilkins’s new CM Series will be available in October and will be priced as follows:
- CM9 $1,500 each
- CM5 $750 each
- CMC2 $1,250 each
- ASW 10CM $1,500 each
