£499.
Positives: top-notch sound in a more compact package than rivals.
Negatives: no AirPlay support.
A little over two years ago, we launched this gadget column with a review of the B&W Zeppelin iPod speaker dock. At the time it was in a class of its own, providing hi-fi quality sound in a unique, blimp-shaped package that rightly earned the unit my top recommendation.
The Zeppelin has remained the benchmark iPod dock ever since. Despite fresh competition from Bose, Sony and B&O, nothing could match the audio quality, style and convenience of the B&W machine.
Now hi-fi specialist NAD has thrown its hat in the ring with the Viso 1, a speaker dock that borrows many design cues from the B&W unit while adding a few tricks of its own.
Auditioned side by side, the physical resemblance between the two units is striking. Both machines sport anonymous black-cloth fronts with a raised chrome band around the middle. Both chrome bands host an Apple 30-pin dock connector, allowing compatible gadgets to be played and charged simultaneously.
Both models sport a stereo pair of full-frequency speakers and high-frequency tweeters plus a single low-frequency woofer, in both cases powered by a beefy 50-watt amplifier. At normal volume levels there is very little to choose between them, but crank things up to teenage house-party levels and the B&W wins.
The latest Zeppelin model features Apple's AirPlay technology, allowing wireless streaming from iPhones and iPads. With the Viso 1, NAD has taken a different approach, relying on the more widely used Bluetooth standard to provide wireless connections. It's a clever choice – while AirPlay is restricted to Apple gadgets, Bluetooth is supported by a whole range of smartphones, tablets and laptops.
The only compromise is range. While AirPlay devices use Wi-Fi networks to extend their range around the home, Bluetooth is a point-to-point technology with a range of just a few metres. Leave the room and the music stops.
All things considered, the Viso 1 and Zeppelin are evenly matched. In a house full of Apple gadgets, the Zeppelin's AirPlay support swings things in its favour, while users of Android or – shudder – BlackBerry handsets may prefer the Bluetooth support offered by the Viso 1.
My only hesitation in recommending either model wholeheartedly is a fear of the unknown. If the Apple rumour mill is to be believed, this month will see the launch of a new iPhone with a larger screen and, possibly, a new miniature dock connector to replace the 30-pin socket found on iPods since 2003. Adaptors will be made available to make it compatible with legacy kit, but it seems a shame to hobble a new hi-fi system with adaptor plugs if you're considering the new iPhone model.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article