Stuff UK – September 2019

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TESTED BOWERS & WILKINS FORMATION WEDGE

GOOD

MEH

EVIL

Design

divides

opinion

It’ll handle

aptX HD

Bluetooth

No arguing

with the

build quality

Stripped-

back

features

Grown-up

hi-fi

sound

[^ W

or

ds

S
im

on

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as

]

Let the Zeppelin rest in peace, because Bowers

& Wilkins has reawakened from its hi-fi slumber

with an all-new wireless speaker system

In the sepia-tinted days of 2006

there was iTunes and there was

the B&W Zeppelin – the coolest,

smartest, best-sounding and

priciest iPod dock around. It sold

for £500 – a big investment for

anyone who’d already spuffed

several hundred quid on Apple’s

mp3 player – but the British

brand sold Zeppelins as quickly

as it could build them.

By 2011, the Zeppelin became

the Zeppelin Air, which in turn

became one of the best wireless

speakers on the market. But since

then that market has exploded,

leaving B&W (or Bowers &

Wilkins, as it now prefers) out

of the picture.

Well, now it’s back with a bid to

regain its old glory. The Formation

range of wireless speakers,

soundbars and subwoofers looks

just the thing to do that job, and

it’s the shell-like Formation

Wedge that appears to be leading

the charge. Just don’t put three of

them in the bathroom with anyone

who’s seen Demolition Man.

£900 / stuff.tv/BWWedge

Shell raiser

Stairway to eleven

You can connect to the Wedge

with Bluetooth, Spotify Connect,

Apple AirPlay 2, Roon Ready

for networked audio files, or

B&W’s own Formation Wireless

technology – a discrete mesh

network for high-quality audio

delivery that syncs between

devices in under a microsecond.

Rumble on

The five-driver array consists of

two 40W 25mm double-dome

aluminium tweeters, two 40W

90mm midrange drivers and a

central 80W 150mm woofer (2).

Firing your tunes at them is a

minimal affair, using an app for

initial setup and touch-sensitive

controls atop the unit.

Black dog

Seashell or partially opened

paper bauble? There are reasons

why the Wedge is wedge-shaped

(1). It allows the five drivers to be

spaced out and firing at angles,

offering the best soundstage

from a single enclosure. The

elliptical rear panel looks smart

in the black wood finish.

Wireless

connectivity

only