Customer Reviews

BOSE(R) Companion 3 Multimedia Speaker System - Graphite / Silver

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When i first opened my $200 (i bought them early when they were only 200 then they uped it to 250) speakers i thought the sound would be amazing. WEll the bass was great but the satelites weren't "heavenly". Then i went online and found out that you need to break in new speakers for 20 hours to get best performance. So everyday when i left for work i started leaving them on until i hit 20 hours. I put on a good song and it was awesome. The sattelites were unbelieveable and the bass was even more great. So this really woke the lion. One little thing that annoys me, The sattelite speakers hiss a little when no music is on but nothing nerve racking. All i do Is just hit the snazzy mute (touch sensitive) and its the hissing is gone, nothing to not buy them over. So i absolutely love mine and bose surely held up its name. Great for music and works ok for games but go for 5.1 if you're into hard gaming and movies. One more thing these speakers aren't the best on hard rock or something where there's guitars and drums banging alot. But it's awesome on pop techno hiphop classical etc. Also be sure you got a good sound card i have an audigy LS and it's great for the price. TWo thumbs up!!

I bought these speakers a few weeks ago and like them more and more every day. The first thing I noticed when I hooked them up was that they are very loud. After that initial reaction I felt as if there was a lack of good mid-range, shrill highs and overly heavy bass. I have since managed to tweak things to my liking and I have to say these speakers are awesome. The following is a list of things that worked for me to help get things sounding right:

* Point the speakers away from you, like they suggest in the manual. I have mine about pointed about 30-45 degrees outward. This will keep your sound stage wide and cut down on the tin-like sounding highs

* Don't be afraid to turn down the bass. I have my acoustimass module under my desk and against the wall so it has a lot of surfaces to bounce off of. This increases the bass response. I have the bass dial up only about 1/4 of the way and I find that to be about the right level. The bass still thumps when you listen to 50 Cent but it doesn't become all you hear.

* Play around with the output levels on your computer. I have my master volume and mp3 player set to only about 50%. For some reason this seemed to bring back my midrange a bit and cut down on how loud the sound is when the volume knob is all the way down. I also have the treble output on my sound card set a little lower than normal to further reduce the over-emphasized highs.

* Break in your speakers. I've read that new speakers need to be broken in and I think I'm buying that suggestion now. I think this is also why I feel a lot better about the system after a few weeks than I did the first day I installed them.

So, they take a little finessing but once you have played around with them for a while, you'll be happy you have them. It's also worth it to mention they are easily the most sylish speakers out there and one of the few brands of comupter speakers that also make other top-notch audio products. The volume/headphone jack/second audio source/mute control disc is a really nice touch too. Everything about the system is well designed.

One of these reviews mentions the heavy weight of the subwoofer being a con. I see that as a pro. Lets you know there's a lot of high quality, durable components inside it.

Whenever I read something like the following oft-repeated mantra from Dallas Electronics Fan:

"No highs, no lows (must be Bose!)"

I am reminded that there is a cadre of Bose haters out there possessed with as fervent a religious fanaticism as the Bose lovers.

Part of the problem is that speaker manufacturers are clearly targeting their products at the gaming market. They assume that everyone wants to be immersed from all 7.1 sides in explosions accompanied by heavy metal thrash music. Small 2.1 systems are treated as cheap throw-away afterthoughts - "shovelware" tossed in the box with every low-ball Dell and eMachines.

To Bose's credit, it appears that Bose actually considers the Companion 3 to be a serious product aimed at a different target than juvenile gamers. These speakers sound more pleasing with music (especially classical music or jazz) at low-to-medium volume than most of the future landfill being sold (or given away in computer bundles) in the compact 2.1 computer speaker system market. And the volume control/connector pod is really slick and smooth in its operation, more intuitive, simpler and just better than anything else out there, with a satisfying sense of heft and precisely the right tactile feel.

This level of product refinement and design forethought arguably costs money and to many people this makes a product worth shelling out some extra. For a more familiar example, why do people knowingly and willingly pay a significant premium for McIntosh computers when nearly everyone with any objectivity now agrees that a Windows PC can do anything a Mac can do and do it cheaper? Many "macaholics" say it is because Macs are just more sophisticated, slicker, smoother, "cooler" and more pleasant to use than the average generic Windoze beige box, and this makes Macs worth their premium cost. That argument either is compelling to you or it isn't; it's YOUR money. In any case, there isn't much sense getting worked up about it. We claim to have religious freedom in this country after all.

While I said that the sound of the Bose Companion 3 is "more pleasing" than most, I didn't say "more accurate." Bose uses much electronic and psycho-acoustic flim-flammery to make these speakers sound fuller and more spacious in close quarters and at low volume than any tiny 2.1 speaker system has any right to. And what do most people who are not stick-in-the-butt audiophiles or blood, entrails and explosion-addicted gamers really do with their computer audio? What do these non-enthusiasts really want from their speakers while working at their computers? Most of them are listening to MP3s or Internet radio while checking their email, balancing their bank accounts and/or budgets, surfing the web, etc. They are NOT editing a video or mixing a digital master, nor are they wreaking mayhem and destruction in Palookistan. Though they may be sophisticated enough to appreciate clarity, low distortion and a reasonable sense of bass extension and heft, they want it in a small, tidy, simple-to-set-up, simple-to-use package that is satisfying at less than lease-breaking volume, even at low, 2:00AM kind of volume.

Considering sound quality and sonic accuracy alone though, I personally find the Cambridge Soundworks - selling for a ridiculously paltry $79.95 - to be a better choice. In my opinion, nothing else in a small 2.1 system is even close. And at the $79.95 price point, everything else sounds like two tin cans hung on strings, with subwoofers like somebody beating on an empty Cheerios box. The Cambridge Soundworks are the cheapest speakers BY FAR that I can stand to listen to for any length of time. And for me, that is saying a lot, since I am a classically trained musician who spends much more on audio gear than I can rationally afford.

But the Cambridge Soundworks' user-friendliness and execution is rustic compared to the Bose Companion 3. The Cambridge product lacks a headphone jack, an auxiliary input, or even a volume control, except for a rinky-dink inline thumbwheel afterthought wired into the input cable. And to cap it all off, the bass level control is located awkwardly on the back panel of the subwoofer.

All this considered, I went ahead and purchased the Cambridge Soundworks despite its usability shortcomings because its octave-to-octave balance was more even and accurate than the Bose (or anything else for the Bose's price or less), though I found I need to manually goose the subwoofer a tad at low volume to approximate what Bose's circuitry automatically does to compensate for the human ear's natural loss of sensitivity to bass as volume decreases. As for Bose's clear superiority in features, ergonomics and general product sophistication, it wasn't enough for me, in the end, to justify my paying more than TRIPLE the cost ($249.95).

I think the Bose product would be a fair value at $149.95, a bargain at $99.95, and an out-of-the-park home run at the same price as the Cambridge Soundworks. While I praise this product's unique virtues, I cannot say I recommend it given Bose's notorious "bigger idiot theory" of product pricing (i.e. "with enough info-mercials and slick ad campaigns, and pricing through the nose to increase 'perceived value,' there will be enough 'bigger idiots' to make us rich!").

If you listen to this speaker at Best Buy or Circuit City and like it, look for a low-miles used one on ebay. DON'T pay retail unless you LIKE the idea of raiding your children's college fund to send the good Doctor Bose's grandchildren to Harvard!

I give the Bose Companion 3 "4 stars" for its slick execution and better than average performance in a small 2.1 system. But I give it only "1 star" for its low value for money. Consider it on balance a "3 star" product.

I bought these because I was looking to reduce the clutter on my desk. My set up had the Yamaha TSS-1s (which I highly recommend for entry level surround sound--if you can still find them in black), but I felt like the need for surround sound was diminishing in favor of less clutter. I'm in a 12' x 11' office with the speakers a couple of feet in front of me and the subwoofer under the desk to my left. I hooked them up (through a audio switcher from Radio Shack) to my Laptop (headphone jack), Win2K Server (headphone jack), TV (Samsung 170MP-headphone jack), and DVD player (line out).

What sold me was...
-It's Bose. I know alot of folks don't like Bose, but I do.
-Alot of folks say that Bose doesn't use quality parts, but I think they actually do make some durable stuff.
-I shouldn't admit this, but they do look cool.
-The sound is clear and bright. Although Bose doesn't publish the frequency range or power ratings, which bugs me.
-They mount easily on each side of the monitor (which is where I put them) or sit on the desktop.
-The mounting brackets are pretty solid and function well.
-The control pad - It's a hockey puck a little over 2" round and a little over 1" high. The top black ring is the volume. There's also a headphone jack and secondary input on it (the primary input is on the subwoofer). What's the best part is the touch-sensitive top which is the mute/standby. At first, it was a little annoying when I would touch it accidentally (as it sits right next to my keyboard). But, I got used to it and I don't have as many accidents. The control pod is very easy to use and shows good design.
-I recommend finding a demo. I was able to demo it at Best Buy. They sounded good there, but the size of the store (and noise especially during the holiday rush) did impact the quality. Bring some sort of source (MP3 player...) and a stereo jack. That way you can hook up to the secondary source on the control pod and listen to what you want to.

Other Thoughts...
-The secondary input on the control pod "adds" a secondary source. It doesn't cut off the primary source. It's kind of neat to add a second source on top of the primary. But, may be troublesome if you can't mute the primary source.
-The subwoofer has a bass control, and also feels solid (pretty heavy).
-The TrueSpace does create somewhat of a spacious environment. When placing them or mounting them, Bose suggests pointing the speakers outward which enhances the airiness...I actually like them pointing right at me and getting my head in between the speakers. I tried both pointing outward and at me. Both sound fine, I just prefer at me instead.
-It's pretty good at "centering" the important audio while sending other audio outwards.
-Loudness is good. It plays louder than I can stand. If distortion occurs, there is some circuitry to cut off the sound (which has happened during my testing.. :^)
-Watched the opening NightCrawler scene from X-Men2 with both the Bose and my old speakers TSS-1s. The TSS-1s because they are DD5.1, did sound much better in terms of having the sound move around me. In a side-by-side, you can tell. But, on it's own, the Bose sounded just fine.
-I also put in Bug's Life which IMHO has an excellent soundtrack. The speakers did a good job of left and right and some back to front.
-I don't do any gaming, so sorry no opinion here.
-There's a slight buzz when the source is low volume and the Bose is high volume. May be my set up.
-Headphones jack is fine. I have Grado SR-80s. Only that buzzing again...
-You can't get the volume down to nothing (you have to mute). If the sound source is a line out like my DVD, it has a static volume level. This volume level can be higher than desired (especially at night). For movies on my DVD it's OK, but some music (like No Doubt's Singles) plays too loud at the lowest volume. For the TV and PC, it's OK because I can adjust the volume from the device. The line out, I can't

Conclusion
I'm glad I bought them. They met my goal of reducing the clutter while not losing too much sound quality. Beside losing true surround sound, I think I reached that goal. I like the way they look and the ergonomics of the control pod. It also sounds pretty good and has good clarity at high volumes. The price tag is a little high (as is all Bose equipt). But, I figure the control pod adds some value over a normal control pod. The solidness of the pieces also adds value. But, I still think it's a little high. At maybe 20% lower, this would be better priced and I'd feel like it was really worth it. The only other con is that the I can't get the volume low enough with my DVD which has line out.

To follow up, I talked to Bose Support and not being able to turn the volume down to nothing meant it was broken. So, I returned it (Best Buy was out of stock and I was going to buy it again when they came back in). So, now they raise the price $50 to $249! I think that stinks. I still think they are pretty good, but not for $249.

Bose a highly respected name in speakers is taking advantage of that. When I first got my speakers I thought they were pretty good. However as time went on they have gotten worse and worse. The sattelites have stated an irratating buzz wich can be heard over the music. The bass is awesome but the sattelites leave much to be desired. I also know i havent blown them and it is not my sound card. My final thought is that if your going to spend $250 on speakers get somethig else.

I love the system but it failed six months after my warranty expired. But for $50 Bose fixed the unit and the turnaround was superfast -- I shipped it to them on Monday and received my working unit back on Friday. Fabulous.

I received a set of Bose Companion 3 speakers as a gift, and they are absolutely fabulous. More than loud enough for a typical computer room. Games, CDs, DVDs etc all sounds great. It's easy to tell which mp3s i used crappy encoding on. Oh well, time to re-rip some of my CDs with a better bitrate...

I dunno if they are the sexiest speakers i've ever seen, but are modern looking and suprisingly small for all the sound they produce. They take up hardly any room on my desk.

The control pod was wierd at first, but after a little bit of using it, it's quite cool. The volume is very smooth, although the mute can be somewhat sensitive at times (it has a touch sensor like in some lamps, etc.). I would have really liked the bass control to be on the pod. Currently you have to reach the rear of the sub to change it, although the subwoofer is versatile enough, it's easy to find a setting that hits w/o overpowering the satelites.

While the satelites have ample cord length, the cabling isn't really that impressive; not to mention it's all permenant. What they ship is what you use, period.

If i were paying for this out of my own pocket, i'd have gotten the 200W Klipsch 2.1 Pro Audio set, for $100 less, it sounds almost as good (if not AS good).

Overall, i couldn't be more pleased with these speakers. They're small, loud and the headphone jack on the control pod makes it easy to put the speakers in out of the way places.

I'll make this short and sweet. They are very cool high end speakers from Bose. There are very few systems out there that will provide the same performance let alone the elgance amd simplicity that Bose provides in all its products.

I am a music major, and sound means a lot to me. I prefer to be live in the concert hall listening to the music. If anything is going to crack I want it to be my ears not the speakers. The sound is so wonderful. I can't get them to crack, and the base is something else. Here is why I like them:

There are only three speakers. I live in a dorm and space is precious in small rooms like that. These take up so little space I actually have more space now then I did before.

Secondly for the sound they produce. It feels and sounds like surroud sound. I have never heard anything so little produce so much sound. They also won't crack. There are no highs or lows with this system. If you like bass, "Turn it up." I wanted to test out the bass, so I turned everything up on my soundcard and on the system. Then I put in Pearl Harbor;I shook the whole room, the windows rattled.

I also like the controls. It is very easy to mute and turn up or down.

Of course everything has a con. I think the biggest one is the weight of the sub. That thing has to weigh at least 4 pounds if not more. My arms felt like they were going to fall off just carrying the thing.

Also I cheated with the sound a little. While bose sounds wonderful I have an Audigy (soundblaster) card. The connections that Bose uses is lacking in the highest quality connections, that I could have with my soundcard.

Here is why I bought this system. I have always loved bose sound. It is amazing how they can get so much sound out of little speakers. I knew that I was missing details on my CD's but I didn't know how much until I got this system. Secondly I think that the price was actually pretty good. You can find cheaper 3 speaker sets like that, but none that can be heard 3 floors up. If you want true surround sound, or a system that sounds this good you would expect to pay about this much for it. Finally simplicity and connectivity. With only three speakers to worry about it is very simple, not to mention that the two speakers plug into the sub, which helps you keep track of your wires. These speakers can (with a little work) be connected to most anything. I would highly recommend it. You may want to invest in a good soundcard to go along with it a system can be limited by the sound card it uses. Soundblaster's Live 5.1 is great if you don't want to spend much more than $50.

Hi all, firstly, I am a Bose lover and after reading some reviews from some people who posted negative reviews, I also would like to say something fair.
Bose only has 3 sets for computer: companion 3, companion 2 and mediamate. Other brands have dramatically more products such as Klipsch, Altec Lansing, Creative, Logitech, Labtec. And the number of people using Bose is just small. So in most stores, you will see mainly other brands. Furthermore, when you are paying such a big sum of money for a premium speaker such Companion 3, you always have a chance to test it at the stores. I am sure that every store will allow its customers to do so. You are not fool because it is 249 buck. Hence, if you bought this speaker, you would certainly check it. I think that nobody will disagree with me about this point.
However, I found somebody complained about the thing that they checked and bought?? Is it reliable to hear them? I think that they are just those who called Bose hater.

I am a person who demand the very high quality of sound. I love listening to my favourite mp3 songs, 24-bit CD, DVD Audio... I tried some speakers from Creative, Altec Lansing, Labtec, Klipsch, Logitech (I am sorry that I have not tried some brand new sets from Logitech such as 5500). I found that Klipsch is the best in them. Altec Lansing is just so so. (even the FX6021 the most high end set of Altec Lansing). Klipsch has wall-shaking bass. However, these can not compare to Bose. The sound of Bose Companion 3 is different. It is only from Bose Companion 3, I know what "lifelike" and "spacious" are. Its bass is also as good as Klipsch.

I think that what I say here is not very persuasive. The best way is to experience it yourself. Go to a Bose retailer, ask them to let you check. You can bring your laptop, your mp3 player (ipod, muvo....) and so on. You plug it in, you will immerse in the world of Bose.

If you still want to read how good companion 3 is from me, you just need to read all reviews that gave Bose Companion 3 5-star. All these reviews fulfilled every aspects.