As someone who reviews tech for a living, on the one hand I'm fortunate to see some of the best products on the planet – day in, day out. On the other hand, however, I get spoiled with the best-of-the-best and then find myself needing to buy for myself.
But only the top products make my personal cut; the ones I can see true value in. A recent addition to my arsenal – ignoring the mega-purchase of my Pioneer XDJ-AZ, anyway – was the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro, which has been living on my desk for 4 months now.
It only took about 4 minutes to love what the Zeppelin Pro has to offer. But after 4 days, then 4 weeks, and now 4 months in, I'm totally smitten. This Bowers & Wilkins is my favourite Wi-Fi speaker of 2025 (despite often using it via Bluetooth) and a clear future classic. Here's why.
A classic for the modern world
The myriad speaker options on the market ranges from small and affordable, to giant and not-so-affordable. I'm nonplussed about massive floorstanding setups, because I don't have any more space to accommodate. Which is why all-in-one, self-contained speakers such as the Bowers & Wilkins are so popular right now.
The Zeppelin looks so iconic, too, its classic shape – first put to market in iPod-Dock-included form about 15 years ago – remaining as eye-catching as ever. But it's also a good form for outputting superb stereo sonics.
Because it's inside where Bowers & Wilkins has really gone to work in the Zeppelin Pro. There are five speakers inside – one 150mm woofer, two 90mm midrange drivers, and one 25mm tweeter – which are the same scale as the original, but have been tweaked with material choices for an even "more grown up" sound.
I love the look of the Solar Gold finish, which looks great on my desk and blends in more subtly, but there's also Midnight Sky – 'black', really – which is even more classic. The downlight at the front, as you can see in my pictures, can also be colour-adjusted for added personal flair.
Quality visuals match quality sound – and this is a high-resolution device that's capable of delivering up to 24-bit/96kHz. It's crisp and capable whatever your source, and with low-end that hits firmly, it's just a brilliant listen whatever your musical genre of preference. It's so good, in fact, that I've largely ceased using my bookshelf speakers these past 4 months.
Any drawbacks?
I suppose there are only couple of pointers regarding the Pro Edition that might point you towards the previous, er, 'not Pro' version.
First up, the speaker upgrades in the newer model don't bring a giant sonic difference. It's an improvement, of course, as that's much of its point – but even with side-by-side listening tests, I think many will only spot minor changes.
As the older Zeppelin is identical by design and in terms of size – and will still do a sterling sonic job – its lower price may make it the even more attractive option. No, the light can't change colour like in the Pro, but that's only a small point.
Second up, and your view on this may be in line with mine, is that there's no built-in Alexa. Personally, I don't want a voice assistant to interrupt my listening experiences – so I'm all for this and haven't found it to affect my use negatively.
Otherwise, well, there's very little that's bad to say about the Zeppelin Pro Edition. If you're seeking a distinctive wireless speaker with discerning sound – one that isn't a Sonos or wood-topped hi-fi setup anyway – then you need look no further than this 5-star option.
