Bowers & Wilkins expands its AirPlay-equipped speaker lineup with 2 models-- the blimp-shaped Zeppelin Air LCM and the Z2, the first from the company featuring the 8-pin Lightning connector.
The speakers dock with the iPhone 5, 5th generation iPod Touch and 7th generation iPod Nano, but not with the Lightning-equipped iPad Mini. AirPlay functionality allows streaming from all wifi-enabled iDevices and the iTunes application.
The Zeppelin Air LCM is mostly identical to the Zeppelin Air, being a DSP-equipped 2.1 channel 3-way speaker with five drivers. Powering each driver is an individual 4x25W (plus 1x50W) amplifier delivering a frequency response of 51Hz to 35kHz (+/-3dB).
It also features 24-bit/96kHz DACs, USB port and composite video input.
Meanwhile the Z2 is the more compact option, featuring a subtly curved metal grille, two 3.5-inch full-range drivers, DSP and 2x20W Class D amplifier.
Both speakers should start shipping by Q2 2013.