Bowers and Wilkins Zep Connect Owners manual

Zeppelin

Connectivity Guide

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Contents

Topic Page
Introduction 3

Playing audio from a source with 4
headphone jack
portable CD player
iPod® without the Apple
30-pin socket
non-iPod MP3 player
mobile phone
table radio
laptop computer
desktop computer sound card

Playing audio from a single 5
audio/video component
CD player
DVD player
Blu-ray™ player
Squeezebox™

Playing audio via a stereo pre-amplifier 6

Playing audio via a surround processor 7

Playing audio from a TV 8

Playing audio wirelessly 12
using Apple AirPort Express

Playing audio from an Apple TV

Playing audio from a games console 14

Outputting video from Zeppelin 17
to a TV or computer monitor

®

®

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Introduction

Zeppelin™ is far more than just a simple iPod®
docking speaker. You can connect a wide range
of products to expand and enhance your listening
experience.

Whether you want to share audio from a device
that you normally listen to on headphones, improve
the quality of sound from your TV, or watch your
favourite iPod videos on a larger screen, Zeppelin
provides an effective, compact and stylish solution.

In this guide, we show you some of the
options you may like to try – how to connect the
components and how to control them.

In cases where you want to connect an alterna­tive audio source, you will be using the AUX input
at the back of Zeppelin. If you have been playing an
iPod/iPhone™, you will need to switch to this input
by either pressing the button on Zeppelin’s
remote or pressing and holding down for 3
seconds the button on Zeppelin itself. The AUX
input will only select when a cable is connected to
the AUX input. If no cable is connected the Zeppe­lin indicator will illuminate red. When Zeppelin’s AUX
input is selected, the indicator will illuminate green
as opposed to blue when playing an iPod/iPhone.

The Zeppelin AUX input socket can accept either
analogue or optical digital mini jack plugs.

In cases where you want to replay video stored
on an iPod to a TV or computer monitor you will
need to connect the TV or monitor to one of Zep­pelin’s video output sockets.

Zeppelin has no coaxial digital input so RCA
Phono coaxial digital cables cannot be used.

Zeppelin cannot reproduce Dolby Digital or
DTS encoded digital audio. When connecting
to Zeppelin using any of the digital options
described in the following pages you should
ensure any such encoded material is “down­mixed” to stereo PCM format. If this is not
possible, use an analogue connection option
instead. See the audio source component’s
user manual for more information.

3 SEC

When AUX is selected, Zeppelin’s LED glows green.

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Playing audio from a source with headphone jack

This category includes any device that you normally
listen to through headphones and where the head­phone socket is the only way to output audio.

Examples are:
Most portable CD players
All non-iPod MP3 players
iPods that do not have an Apple 30-pin socket
Mobile phones
Table radios
Laptop computers
Desktop computer sound cards (other than high­end sound cards, where you should follow the
instructions for component audio/video equipment)

You will need a cable that has a stereo mini jack at
each end. Simply plug one end into the headphone
socket of the source device and the other into the
AUX socket on the back of Zeppelin. The head­phone sockets of computers are usually coloured
green as well as having the headphone icon.

The source device will have its own volume
control. To minimise noise, the level should be set
a little below that which might overload Zeppelin’s
input. Start at three-quarters full scale and then play
your loudest tracks. Listen for clipping overload – a
scratchy noise during the loudest parts, even when
Zeppelin’s own level is not very high – and back off
the level until you don’t hear it.

Leave the source’s volume at this level and there­after vary the loudness using Zeppelin’s controls.

Some mini jacks have wide bodies that
prevent them fully engaging with the socket,
either in the back of Zeppelin or the source
device, so check for this before you buy your
cable. You need to be able to feel the soft
click of the catch engaging fully round the
ball tip of the plug.

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Playing audio from a single audio/video component

Socket layout will vary

AB

CD player
DVD player
Blu-ray™ player
Tuner
Squeezebox™

If you have a single source, such as a CD, DVD
player, Blu-ray™ player or Squeezebox™, you will
most likely have a pair of analogue outputs in the
form of RCA Phono (Cinch) sockets. To use these,
you will need a cable with a pair of RCA Phono
plugs at one end and a single stereo mini jack plug
(like your iPod headphone jack) at the other (Option
A), which plugs into Zeppelin’s AUX socket. The
RCA plugs should be coded to identify left and
right channels. This may be by the letters L and R
or colour coding, where the convention is that red
identifies the right channel.

You may also have the option of an optical
digital output. This may be labelled either OPTI­CAL, TOSLINK™ or S/PDIF and is preferred over
the analogue outputs. Zeppelin however cannot
reproduce Dolby Digital or DTS encoded material.
If such programme cannot be “downmixed” and
output by the audio/video component in digital
stereo PCM format, an analogue connection to
Zepelin should be used. The TOSLINK™ socket
may have a blanking plug in it, which must be
removed. You should, however, retain the blanking
plug to protect the end of the optical fibre should
you disconnect the cable. You will need an optical
cable with a TOSLINK™ plug at one end and an
optical mini jack at the other to plug into Zeppelin’s
AUX socket.

Optical mini jacks have the same profile as the
analogue version, but they have a hole in the tip
for the light to pass through and do not have the
two black rings. It is also possible to use a cable
with a TOSLINK™ plug at both ends, together
with a TOSLINK™ to optical mini jack adaptor.
However, these can be somewhat variable in
performance and we recommend that you avoid
them if possible.

These types of source equipment normally do
not have their own volume control, but if they do,
set the level to approximately 90% full scale and
use Zeppelin’s controls to vary the loudness.

5

Playing audio via a
stereo pre-amplifier

OUTPUTS

LEFT

RIGHT

1 2

Socket layout will vary

If you have several stereo audio sources – CD
player, tuner etc. – you may want to use a stereo
pre-amplifier to control source selection and
connect an output from the pre-amplifier to the
Zeppelin AUX input.

Pre-amplifiers generally offer only analogue
outputs, usually in the form of RCA Phono sockets,
so the cable you require will have two colour or
left/right coded RCA Phono plugs at one end for
the source and a mini jack, headphone-style plug
at the other to connect to Zeppelin’s AUX socket.

It makes sense, when you are using the pre­amplifier to control source selection, also to use
its volume control. Set Zeppelin’s volume to the
normal level you use for playing your iPod and
leave it there. Then you will avoid the sound being
too loud when you return to listening to your iPod.

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