B&W Zeppelin Air or B&O Beosound 8

UPDATE: its okay not, problem solved. I went for the Beosound. please ignore this topic now
thanks

Can someone help me decide?

I found these two for the same price
Zeppelin Air £499
Beosound 8 £499.99 http://www.zavvi.com/electronics/ipod-docks/bang-olufsen-beosound-8-black/10644006.html (even less on ebay £450 but i'd rather pay a bit more to buy froma reputable retailer like Zavvi)

Which has the best sound?

I read that the Beosound 8 has better clarity and stereo separation. The Zeppelin Air has bigger bass but can be a bit over powering.

Zeppelin Air has AIRPLAY but a Airport Express can be attached to the Beosound 8 to give it airplay even though that would mean the DAC in the airport express is used instead of the DAC inside the Beosound.

I like the design of them both so thats not a factor.

anyone heard both of these before?

any advice would be appreciated, I have searched tirelessly on google.

thanks again

firmansolutions said:

-- just noticed you bought the B&O already. What is it like?

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Its great thanks. Sounds very nice and the design is awesome looking. So glad I got it now don't know how it compares to other high end docks though as i've not listened to others.

Brian Y said:

The B&O is a bargain at £499 - which is why I guess it's sold out.

Buying B&O might seem ridiculously expensive, but, you will get some of the best engineering and quality I've ever experienced from a consumer product, and they hold their prices ridiculously well. That is a speaker you'll be able to use for 5-10 years, and sell for over half what you paid for it (and buying at £500, I'd be shocked if you got less than £400 for it years down the line).

I bought the BeoPlay A8 (same speaker, but with AirPlay) on our company discount scheme for £449. Best purchase I've ever made by far. The sound is incredible. If only I could afford the A9

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Thank you. Btw does your Beoplay A8 make a hissing sound when not playing? Its the powerpack probably. I am quite sensitive to it and have to unpug my unit before I go to bed otherwise the hissing sound will really keep me up.

thanks

Brian Y said:

I can't say I've noticed it, but it's too far away from my bed to notice anyway. The only observation I have with it is that it gets quite warm, even when in standby.

Have you tried plugging it into a socket in a different room? And is it plugged into a surge protector?

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Thanks. Yeah it probably is too close to my bed like 2 metres away lol. I did what you suggested and got a new surge protector extension socket and the noise has seem to have reduced to the point that it doesn't bother me or I can hardly hear it unless I go right up to it.
thanks

Brian Y said:

Haha no worries! A decent surge protector does seem to do a good job of filtering that crap out. Plus, I always have my expensive electronics on a surge protector!

Have you found the adjuster switch on it too? There's a tiny switch on the back (under the removable panel, in the top corner) which changes the sound on whether it's in a corner, against a wall or in the open. Makes a massive difference.

Also - once you go B&O you won't go back!

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thanks yeah I found that switch. I changed it to corner since I have it on top of a chest of draws by a wall and a bookcase. Its made the sound more clear with less bass. I dunno which I prefer, will keep playing around.
thanks

alphabetagaga said:

questions for those Zeppelin air owners. if you stream music to this unit via iTunes or you phone, do you notice any drop in audio quality vs playing audio direct via a docked device? if the quality of streamed music is equal to that of a docked device then I can forget about buying a classic 7g!

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I read online that the quality drops slightly. On my Beosound 8 I have an airport express attached to it and I definitely notice a difference in sound quality compared to when I have my iphone docked on it. But maybe that is because via airport express it is not using the B&O DAC but the one in the airport express instead.