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Bose Companion 3 with MBP

N

novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
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Be aware that you will get extreme contrasting opinions on Bose. Some people think they're among the best speakers you can buy, while others think they're highly overrated and average sound quality at best. I do feel comfortable in saying that Bose gear is overpriced. You can almost certainly get similar or better sound for less money.
 
I own a Companion 3 system and a Companion 5 system. I think the C. 3 is kinda weak, actually. The C. 5 system sounds great! If you can afford it, I'd try to get the C. 5 system. Sounds much nicer.
 
I agree in saying that Bose is not a good brand I know others will argue with me but I dislike the sound signature.

These will very likely serve you much better then the Bose.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studi...XJCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292294106&sr=8-1

To connect them to your computer you will need this

(10ft version)
http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP159-Stereo-8In-Mono/dp/B000068O3C/ref=pd_bxgy_MI_text_b

(3ft version)
http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP153-Stereo-8In-Mono/dp/B0002CZZ0G/ref=pd_bxgy_MI_text_c

get the smallest one you can get away with. Also if you wanted to upgrade even further in the future you could always buy a DAC which is basically a high end sound card for playing back music.A DAC would enhance sound even further.
 
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I am also not a Bose fan. If you'd like to get the opinions of a bunch of crazy audiophiles about what peripheral to get, I would suggest heading over to http://www.head-fi.org/

You'll get some good suggestions. There is a .0000001% chance that anyone suggests Bose over there. :p
 
ZenErik said:
I am also not a Bose fan. If you'd like to get the opinions of a bunch of crazy audiophiles about what peripheral to get, I would suggest heading over to http://www.head-fi.org/

You'll get some good suggestions. There is a .0000001% chance that anyone suggests Bose over there. :p
Click to expand...

Do you have an account over there? Whats yours? Mine is the same as on here.

To OP too be honest I would avoid Bose at all cost.
 
gatepc said:
Do you have an account over there? Whats yours? Mine is the same as on here.

To OP too be honest I would avoid Bose at all cost.
Click to expand...
Same user name, but I rarely post. To be honest, I sold my "audiophile" setup earlier this year. Most of my music listening, besides when recording/mixing music, comes on public transportation. Open back headphones, tube headphone amp, etc. aren't really going to cut it. :p

Currently, I just have 2 pairs of Etymotics (HF2 and MC3). HF2s when recording drums and MC3 for my phone/mp3 player. Thinking about trying out some full sized closed back cans for the daily commute. Sennheiser HD 448 is looking real nice.

Back on topic! :D
 
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I am on the fence when it comes to Bose. Working in the music industry for years now I have come across many Bose items that I thought were over priced and ridiculous. But that being said, some of the Bose equipment that I come across from the late 80's sounds better than it's counterparts of the same era. Some things don't age well. I also feel you are paying for Bose look and compact design in some ways no different than what apple does. I think if size is a premium, you can't beat Bose especially over the life of a product. I think there are better things out there but ease of use (connection) and small size form output is tough to beat. Good luck.
 
Thanks so much guys for all the input. I'm still searching and reading, haven't decided yet. But the Bose table control thing looks cool.

Pse post if you do have further advise as I'm still shopping around.
 
I would recommend you look into Cambridge Soundworks speakers. Extremely good sound at a great price. You can't go wrong with any of their speakers. Founded by Henry Kloss...

"Cambridge SoundWorks® is one of America's first and largest factory-direct speaker companies. Founded in 1988 by Emmy Award-winner and Audio Hall Fame member, Henry Kloss (founder of AR, KLH, and Advent), the company joined the Creative Labs, Inc. family of digital entertainment brands in 1997."

I have an older set of their PC speakers and my 5.1 home theatre are Cambridge. Here's a link to one of their popular PC/multimedia speaker setups for $350.....

http://store.cambridgesoundworks.com/Cambridge-SoundWorks-Extreme-2.1-Computer-Speaker/M/B003VZWTI2.htm
 
Anyone who says bose speakers have no highs and lows has obviously never listened to them. I agree that they might be overpriced but the design and compact style makes up for that, especially with the companion 5's. Just go to a shop and listen. You will be convinced.
 
sk8mash said:
Anyone who says bose speakers have no highs and lows has obviously never listened to them. I agree that they might be overpriced but the design and compact style makes up for that, especially with the companion 5's. Just go to a shop and listen. You will be convinced.
Click to expand...

I've listened to them. In controlled environments, not the snake-oil pit of the "Bose in-store listening room". They sound "good", but certainly no better than the many, many speakers that are available at much lower prices. Compared against speakers in their price range, they're very, very poor.

Ask a _real_ audio enthusiast what he thinks of Bose. It'll be a lot less cordial than my reply. ;-)

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

Design is cool, small size is cool. Although real high-end speaker manufacturers make even smaller speakers, _and_ they manage to make them sound good (see Polk, Gallo)
 
You guys are freaking retarded. Clearly you've never listened to anything from Bose, or you'd realize it's missing midrange and not the highs or lows. You could argue the lows are missing too. But there's virtually zero midrange sound coming from a vast majority of their speakers.

Before you start bashing or trying to say anything about their speakers or anything for that matter you should probably try having some real world experience with them rather than listening to stupid sayings online. Just makes you look stupid.
 
gks said:
You guys are freaking retarded. Clearly you've never listened to anything from Bose, or you'd realize it's missing midrange and not the highs or lows. You could argue the lows are missing too. But there's virtually zero midrange sound coming from a vast majority of their speakers.

Before you start bashing or trying to say anything about their speakers or anything for that matter you should probably try having some real world experience with them rather than listening to stupid sayings online. Just makes you look stupid.
Click to expand...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Okay dude, you're right. People _don't_ say "got no highs, got no lows, must be Bose". Bose _doesn't_ exaggerate the low-mids and high-mids, at the expense of the actual low-end and high-end. Yup, you're right. There's not emphasis peaks at 80Hz, 200Hz, and 7kHz on Bose systems, to try and fool people into thinking their getting highs and lows. Must have been mistaken. :rolleyes:

And _I'm_ the one that looks dumb. Yup.

And yes, I do know about the 200-280 Hz null spot in Bose systems. There _is_ midrange information missing. But the "Bose sound" is more defined by the lack of real low-end and high-end.
 
bpaluzzi said:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Okay dude, you're right. People _don't_ say "got no highs, got no lows, must be Bose". Bose _doesn't_ exaggerate the low-mids and high-mids, at the expense of the actual low-end and high-end. Yup, you're right. There's not emphasis peaks at 80Hz, 200Hz, and 7kHz on Bose systems, to try and fool people into thinking their getting highs and lows. Must have been mistaken. :rolleyes:

And _I'm_ the one that looks dumb. Yup.

And yes, I do know about the 200-280 Hz null spot in Bose systems. There _is_ midrange information missing. But the "Bose sound" is more defined by the lack of real low-end and high-end.
Click to expand...

It depends on the speaker you're talking about to some extent. Listen to the 201 speakers and you'll realize it has plenty of highs and a reasonable low end, but is missing midrange frequencies.

Other speakers like the Acoustimass Direct/Reflecting speakers tend to have plenty of midrange and then completely fall out in the highs and midrange as the midrange sound (as you describe) is used to try to create low frequencies.

Yet again, other speakers like the Jewel Cube speakers are all highs, no midrange (the spiral porting in the cube itself) tries to create midrange sound from smaller drivers.

Or better yet, how about the drivers in the 161 speakers? My understanding is that they're called Twiddlers, which are tweeters attempting to make midrange sound and lows as well from one type of driver.

All of the speakers with cubes have a bose bass... If you listen to those the bass speaker does the lower end of the midrange but falls completely flat on the upper midrange. It even fails at low end bass sound. There are obvious frequencies missing through the entire range. The focus seems to be on highs since people can perceive where those are coming from more easily than midrange and low frequencies which aren't as directional.

The moral of the story is that rather than trying to say some stupid saying that you see online instead listen for yourself and determine what is missing. There's clearly SOMETHING missing. But depending on the speaker it changes. I'm glad you have all kinds of numbers but my guess is you only listened to one or two pair of a particular set of speakers rather than listening to them all.

The point is that people should stop assuming that what people say online is true. Instead go listen for yourself. If you're happy with it, you're happy with it. If you're not, good thing there are other companies out there that make speakers.

Is it expensive? Yup. Are they worth it? Depends on your stance. Don't knock someone for wanting something. If it sounds good to them then it sounds good to them. There are choices for a reason. Every speaker company has somewhat of a signature sound, and because everyone hears differently then you can find a company that more accurately produces sounds you prefer.
 
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