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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 vs Bluesound PULSE 2i

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021
Bluesound PULSE 2i

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 17, 2023 04:17 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 27, 2023 05:23 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 Picture
Bluesound PULSE 2i Picture

Variants

  • Zeppelin 2021 (Midnight Grey)
  • Zeppelin 2021 (Pearl Grey)
  • PULSE 2i (Black Matte)
  • PULSE 2i (White)

Our Verdict

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021

Bluesound PULSE 2i

The Bluesound PULSE 2i and the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 are both high-end home speakers. Depending on your style preferences, you may like one look more than the other. The Bowers & Wilkins brings a little more low-bass, though, and since its voice assistant support is built in, you don't need to connect it to a third-party device like with the Bluesound. That said, the Bluesound does get a touch louder.

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Check Price

Midnight Grey
Zeppelin 2021
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black Matte
PULSE 2i
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Pearl Grey
Zeppelin 2021
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
PULSE 2i
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.5
7.2

Soundstage 
 

7.9
6.8

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.3
7.0

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 Style Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

3.0
4.5

Dimensions Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 Dimensions Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

1,602 in³ (26,251 cm³)
984 in³ (16,128 cm³)

Weight 
 

16.1 lbs (7.3 kg)
11.3 lbs (5.1 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

6.7
6.4

Build Quality Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 Build Quality Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Good

Water Resistance 
 

No
No

Dust Resistance 
 

No
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Controls 
 

6.9
6.8

Controls Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 Controls Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 Controls Photo 2
Bluesound PULSE 2i Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Decent

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Tactile)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Tactile)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Tactile)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 In The Box Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.3
7.0

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.23
-0.26

Std. Err. 
 

2.76 dB
3.65 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

51.9 Hz
51.1 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

19.1 kHz
17.7 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

7.9
6.8

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

3.98 dB
6.06 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

8.1
8.5

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

96.2 dB SPL
101.6 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

1.61 dB
2.18 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving 
 

No
No

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

9.4
0.0

Alexa 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
No

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
No

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
No Microphone

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Great
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

4.4
9.3

App Picture  

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 App Picture
Bluesound PULSE 2i App Picture

App Name 
 

Bowers & Wilkins Music
BluOS

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Bass/Treble

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

No
Yes

Party Mode 
 

No
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
Yes

Other Ports 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.1
7.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

149 ms
201 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

21 ms
189 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

321.5 ft (98.0 m)
193.6 ft (59.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

8.3
7.7

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Unspecified
Wi-Fi 5

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

-7 ms
154 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Check Price

Midnight Grey
Zeppelin 2021
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black Matte
PULSE 2i
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Pearl Grey
Zeppelin 2021
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
PULSE 2i
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021

Bluesound PULSE 2i

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin 2021 vs Bluesound PULSE 2i: Main Discussion

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