Bose Companion 2 Series III Multimedia Speakers - for PC (with 3.5mm AUX & PC Input) Black

UPDATE 7/19/2015 - After over a year with the speakers they are still going strong! Yet, I found myself in a Bose store the other day and purchased the more expensive Companion 20 speakers. Look below for my comparison of the two.ORIGINAL REVIEWI own a pair of bose QC 15 headphones which have spoiled me and made me discontent with the mediocre sound systems around my house. So, I wanted some bose speakers to connect to my wireless network at home via my airport express and airplay. Well, I am happy to say that these $100 Bose speakers sound GREAT! The sound is spacious, deep and CRISP. The high notes sing and one can feel the base.ARE THEY LOUD ENOUGH?Some reviewers complain that they do not get loud enough. I thought the same at first and then realized that my music was turned down at the source. Now, I have the volume all the way up on my iPad and then adjust the volume on the speakers themselves. I have to tell that they get extremely loud with no distortion. The volume only needs to be up half-way on the speakers for the volume to shake the room and tickle my eardrums.ARE THE MIDS DECENT?Just to clear-up another misconception - the highs and lows are reproduced extremely well. Both the high notes and the bass are VERY pleasing. Ragtime Piano, for example, sounds excellent on the speakers. The weakness is indeed with the mids. Nothing bad, but the speakers do seem to equalize (True Space technology) in such a way where the mids do suffer. For example, Josh Groban's incredible voice looses some of its magic on these Bose. The same is true on my QC 15 headphones, by the way. For me, this is a minor thing that I immediately tolerate because the other sound strengths more than compensate.SHOULD YOU PURCHASE THESE?Indeed, buy these now. You will not regret your purchase and will feel that they are well worth $100. Especially if you are new to Bose, then you will love this entry level product._________BOSE COMPANION 20 vs COMPANION 2 Serries IIIThe wonderful Bose Companion 2 Series 3 computer speakers have graced our home ever since they first came out. We have really enjoyed them. Not at the computer but instead for inconspicuous bookshelf speakers in a small room. the Speakers were souced wirelessly via an Apple Airport Express router and AirPlay. Though they were great for this function, recently I have been itching for an upgrade. So, the other day I visited a Bose store and came home with the larger and more expensive Companion 20 speakers. So, how do they compare? Here are some detailed impressions...SOUND QUALITY OVERVIEWThe less expensive Companion 2 held up pretty well when first compared side-by-side with the 20s. In fact, at lower volumes the two speakers sounded nearly identical. After a while, the supiorority of the Companion 20's became clearly evident. They are much more rich and crisp than the 2s. After hours of listening to the new speakers I switched back to the 2's and they sounded tinny and shril. Especially at moderate and higher listening volumes.HIGHS and LOWSFirst about the lows. Again initial impression led me to think the base sounded nearly identical on both speakers. It wasn't until I played bass heavy music that I noticed the difference. The 20s bass is much tighter and gives a cleaner thump. In their promotional material Bose states that when one walks into a room where 20's are playing they will look around for a base module. This is true. Especial when the rear of the speakers are placed near a wall or a corner. My Companion 2s are spread nearly three feet apart on a bookshelf. Each speaker is slightly angled towards eachother with the backs up against the corners of the shelf. This is the sweet spot for the room. As to the high, the 20s are also the clear leader. Female voices SHINE on these silver speakers. High notes on the 2s by comparison sound like they are distant as though the singer is behind a closed door. In general every musical detail (highs, lows and mids) are better detailed and distinct. Play a song with complex instrumentation, for example, and you will distinctly hear most every nuance of each instrument. On the Companion 2 speakers similarly complex tracs sounded blended together where the details were muted or lost.BUILD QUALITYI thought the 2s were well built but, oh my goodness, they look like toys next to the aluminum 20 speakers! The quality becomes especially apparent when you feel the weight and heartiness of the build. This is best showcased by just the control module on the 20. The knob feels substantial and turns smoother than any dial I have ever used. Really, you must try it!. This buttery smoothness is balanced absolutely perfectly with proper resistance and responsiveness. The module further boasts a touch sensitive on/off "button" which is also amazingly responsive and instant. In short, looking at the Companion 20s and controlling them are just as pleasant as listening to them! The 2s are solidly built but their look and feel is only average.FURTHER COMPARISONSI own several othe Bose products including he Bose sound link mini, the QC20 in-ear headphones, and the Bose QC15 over-the-ear headphones. So, how does the sound of the Companion 20s compare to these other products?Soundlink Color - The 20s win easily. This is remarkable because I think the Color sounded better than the Companion 2's eventhough the it is a small Bluetooth speaker compared to a wired 2 speaker system. The color has better clarity than the 2s and overall boast a higher fidelity. The 2s did have better stereo separation (obviously) and can play at a higher volume. On the other hand, my new Companion 20s just sound better than the Soundlink Color in every single aspect.Quiet Comfort 20 - The similarity between the Quiet Comort 20 headphones and the Companion 20 computer speakers comes in warmth of sound. Both boast a warmth that is very pleasing and Senheiser like. This is where the comparisons end. The QC headphones win in the area that they sound a little more natural and balanced. Though, the Companion 20s beat the QC20s in crispness and detail. When I have a choice between the two, I enjoy listening to the speakers over the QC20 in-ear headphones.Quiet Comfort 15 - Now, here is where the Companion 20s begin to fall short. The best sound I have ever heard comes from my QC15 headphones. They are astonishingly impressive. These companion 20's get me much closer to that great sound quality. In fact, the Companion 20s sound warmer and a tad richer than the QC15! Unfortunately, the music is not as detailed nor crisp. I do find myself debateing whether or not to enjoy music via the QC15 headphones or via the Companion 20 computer speakers. By comparison the Companion 2's always sounded decent but I never purposely chose to go listen to them over any of the other Bose products that I own.CONCLUSIONThough Companion 2s have seen series of re-iterations through the years, the Companion 20s are still the original speakers first introduced in 2011. To me, the fact that a Companion 20 series 2 does not yet exist hints that there is not much to improve with the current speaker. Give these speakers a serious try and I think you will agree.PS - A note about source volume. The manual for the 20s instructs to place the source volume at a maximum of 80 percent. This is key! Use the control pod to crank up the volume. There will be no distortion not even when turning the dial all the way up. With the 2s the sound the sound improved with the source volume at 100 percent and the knob on the speakers at slightly over half. All this to say that the more expensive 20's do a better job of signal processing and improving the source signal into that distinctive rich and Bose sound. By the way, the 20s top volume is about twice that of the 2s.

Great condition for used. Great Bose quality at a great price!

Best sound for my computer, I have only owned these speakers, great sound, good size, love them

I got tired of reading endless forums about the "best budget desktop speakers" so I decided to purchase the following and compare them in real life against each other: Neumi BS5P | Micca PB42X | Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX | Edifier R1280T | Bose Companion 2 Series III | Edifier G2000.I am not an audiophile, I am not technical. I have played instruments my whole life and run sound in some amateur settings, so I'm guessing I have a slightly more critical ear than the average listener, but definitely not of those truly dedicated to hi fidelity listening. I don't know proper terms. I took these notes kind of haphazardly, but they are listed in order of best to worst after personal testing. I intend to play games and listen to music with a slight preference towards gaming as I have another speaker system for music that I can use for music.High level takeaway: the true battle is between the Neumi BS5P and the Micca PB42X. Between those 2 speakers, either would be the right choice of all these options depending on your intended use. I ended up choosing the Neumi because I am going to be playing games quite a bit, and they provided much better low end to fill out a lot of the sound effects. If I were choosing a speaker just for music listening, I would have gone with the Miccas as they have superior mid/high/vocal clarity. The Miccas have a good enough sub that I wouldn't be missing the low end on most music, but if I wanted to, I could just add a sub to fill out the lows on the Miccas (for edm type music)._______________________________________________________________________________________________Neumi BS5P 75-Watt $139.99 - My personal winnerPro:- Sounds full and satisfying right away- Great bass (almost as good as the dedicated sub on the Klipsch, definitely better than all other options without a dedicated sub. I've got adjacent neighbors so I won't ever go sub heavy anyways, so don't need a dedicated sub with the power these pull)- Decently clear mids/highs, though this is less defined than the Miccas. These get better after doing the firmware update, and get it much closer to the Micca's clarity, but still not quite as good- Bluetooth pairing quality stays really high (doesn't make a difference for me)Cons- Mids/highs/vocals still just not as good/clear/crisp as the Micca- Much larger than the other options (might be a pro if you're looking to fill a room with more volume - I'm not looking for that)- Need to update the firmware to get better mids/highs than out of the box (minor inconvenience but might scare some away)Micca PB42X $109.99Pro:- Really nice, crisp/clean mid/highs (better than everything else) The vocals are bright and shiny, unrivaled by any other of these options- Doesn't seem to add much coloration (but this also leads to it feeling slightly emptier than the 1280T, could be good or bad)- Pretty good bass for what it is (far better than the G2000 and Bose, worse than the others)- It comes with a 2 part dc cable that's longer than others, and a longer mp3 cable than others (doesn't really matter, but it's nice)- Fairly flat (might be a good or bad thing for usage)Con:- Getting really nit picky just to find differences, but the connection cable on the back is a twisty, rather than a poke as the Edifiers have. Twistys just seem less stable/more exposed- Mids/lows start to sound more tinny in comparison to the mids/lows of the neumi, leaving a somewhat less satisfying feeling- Ultimately this feels a bit emptier than others with better subs, but is also definitely crisper/clearerKlipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified $144.99Pro:- Great sound out of the box- Great bass (only one with a dedicated sub, so that should be obvious)Con:- Decent mid/highs, but still not as crisp/clear as the MiccasEdifier R1280T $129.32Pro:- Beautiful aesthetic- Good sound out of the box , there's not the obvious tinny sound of budget speaker- Volume, bass, and treble knobs- I'm satisfied with the sound immediately (I grew less satisfied with the sound the more I A/B compared to the Bose due to the coloration. I then adjusted the tilt of the speakers and it seemed to fix this coloration issue and bring more clarity to the mids/highs)- It's really minor, but the power plug is a plug and not a brick like all the othersCon:- No sub out option- Definitely colors the sound to fill in the space more (which could be a pro for some people too). Ends up adding a layer of mud to the overall sound- The mids/highs are really just muddy due to the colorationBose Companion 2 Series III $149.00Pro:- The mids/highs are nice and bright and clear- Really compact if you don't have a lot of desk space00- I'm satisfied with this sound out of the box- Seems not to color the sound (certainly not nearly like the R1280T), feels more accurate- Has an upward tilt so it seems to naturally position for the sweet spotCon:- Only a volume knob so no automatic control over bass/treble (I assume there's eq software that would fix this?)- Bass is a bit lacking (probably would be satisfied with the amount of bass if I weren't comparing against the others)- Something feels emptier about these speakers against the 1280T and MiccaEdifier G2000 $109.99Pro:- Decent bass and presence- The LED light is kind of niceCon:- Stupid startup car sound is absolutely childish and obnoxious- The LED light stays on (I think you can turn it off but who's going to go through the hassle of turning it off and on if you have to hear the stupid car sound at every startup)- Still clearly sounds like a budget speaker with a constant of tin/noise- Bass can wash out pretty easily at medium volumes- It crackles at other certain sounds like my incoming email ping- Not satisfied with this sound out of the box