PC speaker has been always the weakest link in my home sound system, I’ve tried many speakers including Creative T30 and Bose Companion 5 but they don’t really meet my expectations.
The Bose Companion 2 Series III is my latest speaker system and I bought it because it is among the highest rated PC speakers on Amazon. At the time writing this review, the product has 871 customer reviews and the average rating is 4.4 out of 5 stars. Is this really a good speaker system? Let’s find out in my review.
Unboxing Video
Design & Features
The Bose Companion 2 was released 2 years ago (in mid-2013), so it is not as old as many other Bose speakers and I expect it will have a cleaner design. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of wires and it could make your desktop a little messy. Specifically, it requires a connection from left speaker to right speaker, an auxiliary cable connecting to the computer and a power cord. Therefore, this might not be a good option if you are aiming at a clutter-free workspace.
The right speaker is the primary unit in the system as everything needs to connect to the unit. You can see there are computer connection port, AUX in port, power port and left speaker connection port.
Another problem I got is the AUX cable. You might need to buy another one because the included cable is too short. It is just long enough to reach the port on the left side of my laptop. A longer cable will help you hide itself easier.
On the front of the speaker, there are a headphone jack and a volume control. I love the headphone jack because there is only one headphone jack on my MacBook and the speaker already takes it, now I don’t need to unplug the speaker and plug in my headphones.
In general, the design is alright but there are a lot of areas to improve. Obviously the speakers look quite ugly and old-fashioned but we can’t expect much from the cheapest Bose speaker system.
Audio Quality
The 2 speakers are quite small and lightweight but you shouldn’t underestimate its power. Bose is always known with the loudest speakers in class and the Companion 2 is not an exception. However, loudness and audio quality are two different aspects, check out the sound testing video below to know if you love the sound. I tried to record the sound as accurately as possible and also compared the outputs on the speakers, so you might get an idea of its sound signature.
Concisely, the Companion 2 Series III is very powerful and it can deliver a wide sound space. Unfortunately, I myself don’t like the sound that is emphasizing too much on low frequencies. I actually enjoyed it sometimes but my ears get tired very soon after 40-60 minutes, so the enjoyment doesn’t last long. The bass response is not really tight because the system doesn’t include a separate subwoofer. When I tested music tracks with some bass and movies with warm voices, I really hated that I couldn’t hear the voice and conversations clearly. This is totally a muddy sound in my own experience. I just wish that there was a bass adjustment so that it could fit different tastes. As compared to the Creative T30, my ears absolutely loves the T30 more because it can deliver a much brighter and clearer sound with significant bass.
Conclusion
Pros
- The most affordable Bose speaker.
- Small and lightweight.
- Useful headphone jack.
- Powerful sound
Cons
- Short AUX cable.
- No wireless connection.
- Muddy sound.
The Bose Companion 2 Series III Multimedia Speakers are available on Amazon for $99. I prefer my Creative T30 so I decided to sell the Bose speakers. However, I know that many consumers love the Companion 2, therefore, I’d recommend you to test it yourself to find out the most suitable speakers for your PC/laptop.
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Tonkza says
Nice, simple and very clear review. Thank you.
Gaboon says
Expecting bass from a multimedia speakers? Then buy one with a subwoofer.
And if the sound is muddy, that’s why computer equalizer is there for.
Tuan Do says
You should buy $20 speakers and play with the EQ. EQ is only helpful for subtle changes.
antonio says
whats the difference between aux input and computer input? thank you for your answer!!
Jason C. says
No diffference between the two, just offers a second input for another device.
bramns says
bookshelf with 4″ driver is what you at least need for decent music bass and a bit lower stuff. swans D1010-IV is a good one, a bit on the warm side compared to klipsch.
johny says
Is he really testing audio equipment with macbook being the DAC ? What joke is this ? Buddy your mac audio output is muddy, try to hook those to better sound source.
Tuan Do says
Do you really think people will use a dedicated DAC with these speakers? It’s totally unnecessary and you’re just wasting your money.
Don Andrews says
I have a loud crackle on My Bose Companion 2 left speaker – after a good many years of use.
Isthere any cure, or just replace the system?
pedro says
I have read in some user reviews that people fix the “muddy too much bass” sound by inserting some sponge-like material into bass-reflex holes.
sharko says
For 60€ more. you have the mini Soundlink II which is perfect -> Bluetooth, jack 3,5mm, embedded battery which last and last and last pffff … that’s indecent how long it is last …. hum hum 12h …. Bravo Bose, this SoundLink II is one of the best compromise between weight, High Quality Sound, and Autonomy … In fact its specifications are absolutely with no compromise.
Sen K Mathew says
Dear friends
I do not know why people are testing these speakers with horrible music. They think people like what they like. People are foolishly mad after bass. You know even a school kid who can make a basic amplifier can give base. But only a high quality amplifier and speaker can produce high frequency crystal clear sound. So balancing all these base treble and mid to a single speaker is not an easy task.
Bose did their best to attain it. Just listen to the sound of bell flute symbols side drums base drums kettle drums violin base guitar and rhythem guitar . If you cannot do it try to play a soft music not like the one played here. Try to understand the difference.
Tuan Do says
Because the music was taken from Youtube’s royalty-free music library. We all know this music is average.
Paul Pritchard says
The word you are searching for (or at least should be) is “bass”. Low frequency sound. “Base”, amongst other things is a stable lower level of an object. A lamp has a heavy base so it doesn’t fall over easily.
Michael says
If a speaker is good, then it doesn’t matter what music is played. They will make the music sound better because they are better speakers. Common sense. Stop defending mediocracy. How many people have wasted money listening to your drivel.
Dave says
Nice, I think you nailed it. Muddy. It is the sound that cheaper speakers make, so they did well to even get a 7.5.
Ryan says
I’ve had my Bose Companion 2 speakers for a few days now and I have noticed a few things:
On some source material, the sound quality can be muddy, but this is likely due to the data compression on the source material. When I turned on my SoundBlaster Play 2 SBX Pro Studio for external DSP (surround, crystallizer, bass crossover at 80hz), it really woke these up. Conversely, on high quality tracks, I noticed the internal TrueSpace DSP sounding decent. In this case, it’s one of those bad in = bad out, or good in = good out.
All in all, I think these are great speakers; however, depending on the source material, an external DSP may be needed for true hi-fi sound.
Michael says
Spot on review. Just purchase this Bose Companion 2 III after reading all the online reviews. Lesson learnt. Sound is tinny and clarity is worse than Logitec Z200 that I brought for 1/5 of the price. Maybe speakers have not worn in yet? Either way, should have read this review first before listening to amateurs online – who apparently still defend Bose on here LOL
Michae1 says
When I say clarity here I mean voice clarity which I believe is the most important thing for a PC speaker.
onur says
i have this. sound is terrible, not for music listener, may be for netflix watcher.
Ian Takats says
I too have these Bose speakers and they sound extremely dull and muddy. Spot on with your comments. I have decided to spend some cash and buy the Ruark Mr1 Mk2. I also have the Bose Soundlink mini and it blows these mediocre speakers away. Thanks for your review.
Mark says
I use these for PC gaming and have no complaints. I only rarely use these to play music and have no complaints there either. I’m not an audiophile so take my comments with a grain of salt.
I have had these speakers for over a year and they are used three times a week. Every time I use them they are unpacked and hooked up. When I’m done the entire system is broken down and repacked. These speakers have been very hardy and have not suffered at all (have been set up and taken down over 300 times).
Silmas says
I just look for new PC desktop speakers and to my astonishment, I see that the Bose Companion 2 Serie III speakers costs now 149 € :D and the reviews are excellent.
I bought them around 2013 for 79€ and I was reading some reviews they all said, that this is an average speaker.
So it seems the reviews are more favorable, when the prize rises.
I am searching because I used my Sennheiser HD 600 headset and compared it to the Bose speaker which sounds bad in comparison. There is something missing high and low frequencies. You should definitely try to make a sound test before you buy them.
So in my opinion it is only an average speaker system NOT worth 149€
If you remove the frontside covers the sound seems to improve a little
Jim Hobson says
On sound quality… did you EQ it to determine it’s true potential? I’ve always found Bose speakers (any model) to be very good, with a wide tonal range.
The Companion series doesn’t take up much room. The sound in our shop (working on guitars) has never solicited anything but “turn it up”.