Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speaker System by BOSE
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List Price: Our Price: $89.00 You Save: $10.00 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $70.00 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speaker System
Digital camera Review: A Sleeper In Hi-Fi
Summary: 5 Stars
I very rarely ever write a review of anything. I have had these now for over 6 months and they still surprise me in terms of the sound they deliver and especially considering their price. I go back a pretty long way in Hi-Fi, tube equipment, audiophile stuff, etc. These are truly amazing for their price and size. I confess I would seriously consider other Bose amplified products, seeing these are so good.
I listen primarily to classical music, including full symphony orchestra. I bought them primarily because of our tight space requirements, and the price seemed OK, and I have been wondering for some time how a Bose amplified product would sound. I have Acoustimass 5 speakers by Bose, and they are quite good, and I use them with a small Onkyo integrated amp. In an amplified system the amplifier can be matched to the drivers and compensation can be made to get a better response, hence my curiosity as to how these would sound.
I downloaded some free Mp3 church music, and some of the recordings are quite good. Some contain organ and or piano and vocals. I was particularly stunned by some of the vocals, the realism of which were quite impressive to say the least. No, they will not get close to 30 Hz, and no they do not do everything perfectly, but they are amazing for their price and size. Give them a shot and trust your ears. They usually have a free trial period, so you have nothing to lose. They sound good immediately, but they do improve after some hours of playing, so be aware of this. Also you might try experimenting with placement.
I have owned Rogers LS3/5a's (15 Ohm models), tube electronics, etc., and in terms of sound for the dollar for a new item, this is the best money I have ever spent.
I play an Mp3 player through them and a DVD player which we use to play CD's as well. If you like the music you throw at them, you will have a difficult time listening to the "speakers" as you will be too involved with the music. These are a "sleeper" in Hi-Fi indeed.
Digital camera Review: A Step Up!
Summary: 4 Stars
Are these the best speakers out there? No, for that have to venture into another price range. But, if you are looking for something to fill a room, particularly an office, these speakers are more than adequate. They give you very good sound quality making the music enjoyable, if you play enjoyable music. If you've only been using stock or cheap multimedia speakers you will find that these speakers bring out the ranges much better - hearing things you've never noticed before.
If you're going to spend for a computer speaker upgrade and want to have money left over for that awesome entertainment system - this is a good way to go.
Digital camera Review: A great buy for any laptop or desktop computer--unless you're a big-time gamer
Summary: 5 Stars
I read nearly all the reviews; good, bad and "luke warm" ones alike. My responses to the 2 primary "themes" of complaints about this product are as follows:
1.) Yes--compared to many of the other 2.0 systems the price IS on the higher side.
Personally, I did not want a 2.1, 5.1 or 7.1 system in my small home office. I simply don't need it. These speakers will be used for listening to Pandora, iTunes and the occasional web conference on Skype, Gmail Chat, etc. If I really want to "rock the Casbah", I'll use my Bose Sounddock or my home stereo. I wanted relatively small speakers which would fit on my desk without taking up tons of room--AND I did not want the tinny, small sound which you get every other speaker this size--at least all the makes/models I've listened to anyway.
2.) Yes--the bass does tend to be more pronounced on these speakers.
In my experience, this has been true of every Bose product I've ever listened to. Incredible bass is one of Bose's "claims to fame". The good news is, unless you're planning on using these speakers with an '80s-style Sony Walkman with no tone equalization, it is very easy to drop the bass levels and boost the treble levels in iTunes, Windows Media Player, your computer's sound card software--or even on your iPod/MP3 player itself. Problem solved.
Don't just believe me; bring your MP3 player to your local audio store and try a few 2.0 or 2.1 computer speakers.....then go try the Bose. Under $100 has never sounded so good! And if for some reason you decide later than you don't like them, the demand for used Bose products is very high, so you'll have no trouble selling them for almost full retail on ebay, etc.
Digital camera Review: A little pricey but excellent!
Summary: 4 Stars
These little speakers are packed with sound! The bass on this thing is amazing; if you're looking for impressive speakers with great sound quality I would highly recommend them. You can also plug them into your TV and use that for a nice set of speakers which is a plus. I am truly blown away by the quality you get from these. You can't go wrong with BOSE. I was hesitant at first since it was so pricey but after reading several reviews I finally decided to purchase them and try them out. The only negative thing I could say about this item is the pricing and the lack of on/off switch. Other than that it's a good buy.Digital camera Review: A little too much
Summary: 3 Stars
I got these speakers for the $89 price, but they still seem, like all Bose products, to be a little artificially price inflated. Granted, Bose does produce some very sleek looking products, and these two speakers are no exception. And Bose usually has very excellent sound quality, and for the most part, I do agree.
Most midrange sounds are nice and warm. Treble is excellent, and are not screechy and distorted as much on higher volumes like many speakers that I have tried out before these (though those speakers were pretty cheap, in the $20 range). The only problem is that these two ranges are overpowered and thusly shadowed by the artificially amplified bass that the speakers pump out. Now I wasn't about to pay upwards of $300 for the Bose Companion 3.1 model (which has the bass seperated out by a subwoofer), but I'm starting to wonder if I should have invested in a cheaper company's speaker system with a controlable subwoofer, as I do most of my computer gaming and music listening at night, and these speakers have bass that can wake the dead, even at low volume levels (which unfortunately cuts out the mid range and treble).
If you are slightly strapped for cash, but like Bose (or higher end speakers in general), and don't mind the heavy bass, then by all means buy these, but if you are a higher end audiophile with more cash to burn, you should probably at the very least upgrade to the next model up from these Bose speakers to get the seperate sub.