Review: Bowers & Wilkins Z2

They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but for Bowers and Wilkins, the hits keep coming. Following in the footsteps of the Zeppelin Air and the A2 and A7, B&W’s latest Airplay speaker dock follows with a sleek, minimal design, and big sound for its small size.

While the A7 comes in at $800, the Z2 features a much smaller $400 price tag. It’s still steep for a speaker dock, but even in this more affordble package, Bowers & Wilkin’s reputation for quality and attention to detail is evident.

At 12.6 x 7.1 x 3.9 inches deep, the Z2 is B&W’s most compact AirPlay device to date. The body is built of glass-filled ABS plastic, giving the unit a solid, sturdy feel. The black version is shipping now, with a white model hitting stores next month. In addition to AirPlay, the Z2 features a built-in Lightning connector, for plugging in an iPhone 5 or late-model iPod . The edge of the recessed dock features touch-sensitive volume buttons, with subtle raised plus and minus symbols, making it easy to control the Z2 by touch alone. The design is beautiful and minimal, but unfortunately the recessed Lightning connector means charging is limited to recent iPhone and iPod models.

The Z2 also includes a small remote in B&W’s signature oval shape. It’s got playback controls, but we quickly put it down in favor of the iPhone 5′s native controls. Keep an eye on that remote though—it’s the only way to switch the speaker to the 1/8-inch auxiliary input, which is hidden on the back of the Z2.

Setting up the Z2 is fairly simple. A free iOS app gets you connected to a WiFi network, or you can hard-wire the device, thanks to the Ethernet port on the back.

For it’s size, the Z2 offers remarkably big sound, but that’s what you get for four bills. It’s lacking some of the bass punch of larger siblings the A7 and Zeppelin, but the pair of 3.5-inch full-range drivers easily fill a living room or bedroom, with plenty of volume to spare. At higher volumes, the higher frequencies thin out and become brittle, but the Z2 doesn’t distort, even when pushed to the max. For casual listeners, the Z2 would make a great secondary listening system, especially if you already have other AirPlay-equipped speakers in other rooms. It’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

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