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Are these good speakers for an iMac...
- Thread starter levitynyc
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The "New" Companion 3's just came out (As far as I know nothing changed sound quality wise, just a new look. You can probably get a nice discount on the originals if you goto a store asap)... they are definitely a step up in terms of standard computer speakers. If you can afford it and maybe wait for them to show up in stores I'd suggest checking out the Companion 5s, they will use similar speaker technology as the 3-2-1 GS and GSX. They just won't have the ports on the back (by ports I mean ports for reflected sound, similar to that of the Wave products). They are going to have two drivers for each speaker enclosure. One will be for the back channel and one for the front channel. Same for both sides... It will do surround sound with just the two speakers... I am considering getting them during the employee sale to replace my Klipsch Pro Media 4.1s... or at least have them available for it..
It's all subjective, of course, but when I compared the Bose and Klipsch systems that were set up at my local Best Buy, I felt that the Bose had almost laughably weak output in comparison to the Klipsch. I didn't believe it either, because, like many, I had been indoctrinated into the whole "better sound through research" thing. But after some internal debate, I just had to trust my ears.
Your mileage may vary.
Your mileage may vary.
igucl said:It's all subjective, of course, but when I compared the Bose and Klipsch systems that were set up at my local Best Buy, I felt that the Bose had almost laughably weak output in comparison to the Klipsch. I didn't believe it either, because, like many, I had been indoctrinated into the whole "better sound through research" thing. But after some internal debate, I just had to trust my ears.
Your mileage may vary.
Different design for sure. Always buy what sounds best to you. Bose does a lot of psycho-acoustics. They've found out through "research" what most average people hear and what they don't hear and build on the parts they do hear. I think the Companion 5s are going to be a more appropriate comparison to the Klipsch THX certified Pro Medias.
Here's a fun fact for you though. In a concert setting, 11% of the sound you hear is directed at you, the other 89% is reflected sound. Bose tries to replicate that with their products that use direct/reflecting speaker technology.
I think the computer speakers are a bit of a struggle for them. Having not heard the Companion 5s though I can't comment too much on them and they are a tad on the pricey side so I'm expecting them to be better than I am expecting but we'll see. Convience though is a big one... 2 speakers that can pull off surround sound and avoid the 2 back surround speakers will be a nice little bit for me personally.
Try a bunch of stuff, find out what sounds best for you and run with it.
The bose companion 5's connect via usb while the companion 3's are a standard 3.5mm headphone jack
DXoverDY said:
Its only usb to connect to a mac or pc it has a line in and headphone out jack on the control module. I may head down to the bose store and see if they any setup for me to listen to. The mac supports it multichannel capabilities and I think they might look really nice with my imac when it arrives
SpankyPenzaanz said:
It's four channel audio my friend. two channels per enclosure just like the 321GS and GSX home theatre solutions. (I've read the material
so essentially you'd need two 3.5mm cables to power it... since it's not your typical setup, USB allows it to communicate in a satisfactory way. it uses a phantom center channel speaker for center channel audio and the outside speakers in the 5s do your back two surround channels, inner two speakers do your front surrounds. Each speaker has a total of two channels in it. Be sure to call ahead because not all stores have a companion 5 set out to demo... I know my local store doesn't, they got some in and had to send them back for some reason. So be sure to check ahead if it's a bit of a trip for you.
The #1 question is: are you an audiophile?
Because, if you aren't, you don't want or need $250 speakers, or even $100 speakers. You could probably get away with Logitech X-230's ($35). But there's one thing you should NEVER do:
Buying Bose just b/c of the name. Any audiophile will laugh at you if you buy Bose, so it is only worse if you buy it, believing you are getting the best.
Because, if you aren't, you don't want or need $250 speakers, or even $100 speakers. You could probably get away with Logitech X-230's ($35). But there's one thing you should NEVER do:
Buying Bose just b/c of the name. Any audiophile will laugh at you if you buy Bose, so it is only worse if you buy it, believing you are getting the best.
Mav451 said:
That's a bunch of bull. If you're anal you want control ... thus you'll go the component route and build your own. Then you can waste an insurmountable amount of time on finding the best equipment, spend another crap load of money on the equipment just to get a system that you think is superior because you spent more time and money on the system.
Yes there are products that are better than Bose. But Bose isn't about the greatest sound, it's about simplicity, elegance, AND performance. That is why people buy Bose products, not because it sounds "teh best." It's by no means the best but it is clearly the best product on the market when it comes to home theatre and not having a crap load of components and other garbage taking up valuble space and time.
Computer speakers aren't their hallmark, their Lifestyle systems ARE and so are the Wave products.
I love how people will go out there and say Bose sucks but those people are specifically the people who they are not targeting. They are targeting average joe who wants something that sounds great, is easy to setup and doesn't take up 20 square feet.
DXoverDY said:
Great post! Bose is not targeting the high end market, they have never targeted the high end market. They target the middle market and the average consumer who wants good sound without all the hassle. Something that looks stylish and is compact, but still sounds great.
There are some Bose haters out there...but you will also find many Apple haters out there. The Bose theory when it comes to sound equipment is not a whole lot different then the Apple theory on Computer equipment. Make it simple, look great, and perform well.
Bose is crap. They re-market and pretty up the worst and cheapest stuff they can find and say "LOOK! WE DUN GOOT!$ BUY OUR STUFFZ!". Crack any of their speakers open and look at what you find inside and you will understand. It isn't about hating bose because they are bose, it is about the pure lack of quality that they signify. If you are asking here, you at least care to a small amount about making a mistake with your purchase, so this is above the joe six-pack issue.
Seriously, ANYTHING else is better. JBL, panasonic (who makes most of the bose speakers I have looked at), yamaha and just about anything else at circuit city or best buy will sound at least close to the intended purpoe.
I dare any of you to play a sine sweep with a bose speaker and measure it. Even in an anechoic chamber, you will see huge 20+db dips and peaks. This is not audiophile griping, it is people buying into crap without understanding how much better it could/should be. They are marketing to people who don't care about what they purchase and just want "loud noise".
For 250 get a setup of etymotic er6 earphones or grado headphones and save some money for a nice system. Then you can jam out or play some games with serious sound and not annoy anyone else, plus you can take them with you to use with the new widescreen video ipod on a plane or roadtrip!
If you have to get speakers now, head to your local audio store and pick up a set of NHT zeros and a cheap (but really nice sounding) yamaha, nad or onkyo receiver. That will set you up for 5.1 sound in the future while giving you an amazing pair of very small speakers without having to throw anything away later when you want to upgrade (which you will want to with the bose).
ebay auction 330026565202 has a pair of absolute 0s going for 99 bucks. There are tons of other auctions just like that. Spend 10 minutes and check them out.
If you want REALLY nice bookshelf speakers, look for spendor, but the chance of finding them on ebay is slim. Other people love B&W but I have never been big on their smaller line..
(btw, I am an audiophile but I don't buy into certain common knowledge things, like I use a pro-amp (behringer ep1500) for my magnepans. Frigging awesome combo, without the expensive amp. I have a macormack dna-125 I have hooked up to the same speakers with no noticable difference, so yes now I know I wasted 1100 dollars extra on the dna-125 and I am not afraid to admit it.)
Seriously, ANYTHING else is better. JBL, panasonic (who makes most of the bose speakers I have looked at), yamaha and just about anything else at circuit city or best buy will sound at least close to the intended purpoe.
I dare any of you to play a sine sweep with a bose speaker and measure it. Even in an anechoic chamber, you will see huge 20+db dips and peaks. This is not audiophile griping, it is people buying into crap without understanding how much better it could/should be. They are marketing to people who don't care about what they purchase and just want "loud noise".
For 250 get a setup of etymotic er6 earphones or grado headphones and save some money for a nice system. Then you can jam out or play some games with serious sound and not annoy anyone else, plus you can take them with you to use with the new widescreen video ipod on a plane or roadtrip
!If you have to get speakers now, head to your local audio store and pick up a set of NHT zeros and a cheap (but really nice sounding) yamaha, nad or onkyo receiver. That will set you up for 5.1 sound in the future while giving you an amazing pair of very small speakers without having to throw anything away later when you want to upgrade (which you will want to with the bose).
ebay auction 330026565202 has a pair of absolute 0s going for 99 bucks. There are tons of other auctions just like that. Spend 10 minutes and check them out.
If you want REALLY nice bookshelf speakers, look for spendor, but the chance of finding them on ebay is slim. Other people love B&W but I have never been big on their smaller line..
(btw, I am an audiophile but I don't buy into certain common knowledge things, like I use a pro-amp (behringer ep1500) for my magnepans. Frigging awesome combo, without the expensive amp. I have a macormack dna-125 I have hooked up to the same speakers with no noticable difference, so yes now I know I wasted 1100 dollars extra on the dna-125 and I am not afraid to admit it.)
Again Targan you are not the intended market. You missed my post apparently... you were too busy playing the "no highs, no lows, must be Bose" game. If you're happy with your equipment... GREAT. But don't go trying to sell him on buying a big bulky ass receiver and speakers when all he wants is a computer speaker setup.
That's the thing I hate about you "audiophiles" ... you want to shove your "great expensive component system" to everyone like they give a rats ass. The idea behind Bose is simplicity ... again you missed that in my post. I'm guessing based on his interest in the Companion 3s that he wants something that just plugs into his system. But just for the record, let's ask.
Do you want a simple setup of two speakers, and a subwoofer? or do you want to go with a component stereo system that while being more flexible takes up more space around your computer?
We'll get his answer hopefully.
Again, let's go back to the Bose principles, is the greatest sound what you want or is it all bass as you seem to have indicated in your original post? In other words, are you looking for a lot of bass or are you looking for the best sound and accurate reproduction of the music as intended?
And yet again, do you want something small and contained or do you want a lot of other equipment as well?
Based on his interest in the Companion 3s I'm guessing he knows what he wants and what you recommended isn't exactly something he wants to deal with. But we'll wait for the answer.
That's the thing I hate about you "audiophiles" ... you want to shove your "great expensive component system" to everyone like they give a rats ass. The idea behind Bose is simplicity ... again you missed that in my post. I'm guessing based on his interest in the Companion 3s that he wants something that just plugs into his system. But just for the record, let's ask.
Do you want a simple setup of two speakers, and a subwoofer? or do you want to go with a component stereo system that while being more flexible takes up more space around your computer?
We'll get his answer hopefully.
Again, let's go back to the Bose principles, is the greatest sound what you want or is it all bass as you seem to have indicated in your original post? In other words, are you looking for a lot of bass or are you looking for the best sound and accurate reproduction of the music as intended?
And yet again, do you want something small and contained or do you want a lot of other equipment as well?
Based on his interest in the Companion 3s I'm guessing he knows what he wants and what you recommended isn't exactly something he wants to deal with. But we'll wait for the answer.
Abercrombieboy said:
I'm not sure I can agree with that. In addition to lacking a 'killer app' like OSX, it seems that Bose don't keep the build quality and components at least up to the level of direct competitors, which Apple certainly do 99% of the time.
David
tarjan said:Bose is crap. They re-market and pretty up the worst and cheapest stuff they can find and say "LOOK! WE DUN GOOT!$ BUY OUR STUFFZ!". Crack any of their speakers open and look at what you find inside and you will understand. It isn't about hating bose because they are bose, it is about the pure lack of quality that they signify. If you are asking here, you at least care to a small amount about making a mistake with your purchase, so this is above the joe six-pack issue.
Seriously, ANYTHING else is better. JBL, panasonic (who makes most of the bose speakers I have looked at), yamaha and just about anything else at circuit city or best buy will sound at least close to the intended purpoe.
I dare any of you to play a sine sweep with a bose speaker and measure it. Even in an anechoic chamber, you will see huge 20+db dips and peaks. This is not audiophile griping, it is people buying into crap without understanding how much better it could/should be. They are marketing to people who don't care about what they purchase and just want "loud noise".
For 250 get a setup of etymotic er6 earphones or grado headphones and save some money for a nice system. Then you can jam out or play some games with serious sound and not annoy anyone else, plus you can take them with you to use with the new widescreen video ipod on a plane or roadtrip
If you have to get speakers now, head to your local audio store and pick up a set of NHT zeros and a cheap (but really nice sounding) yamaha, nad or onkyo receiver. That will set you up for 5.1 sound in the future while giving you an amazing pair of very small speakers without having to throw anything away later when you want to upgrade (which you will want to with the bose).
ebay auction 330026565202 has a pair of absolute 0s going for 99 bucks. There are tons of other auctions just like that. Spend 10 minutes and check them out.
If you want REALLY nice bookshelf speakers, look for spendor, but the chance of finding them on ebay is slim. Other people love B&W but I have never been big on their smaller line..
(btw, I am an audiophile but I don't buy into certain common knowledge things, like I use a pro-amp (behringer ep1500) for my magnepans. Frigging awesome combo, without the expensive amp. I have a macormack dna-125 I have hooked up to the same speakers with no noticable difference, so yes now I know I wasted 1100 dollars extra on the dna-125 and I am not afraid to admit it.)
I'm not defending bose but I do question why so many hate bose. But clearly you are not their target audience and by judging you probably never were. Therefore you nevver really considered them a viable solution provider to your audio needs...and it is generally audiophiles who hate bose and I just don't understand sorry
DXoverDY said:It's four channel audio my friend. two channels per enclosure just like the 321GS and GSX home theatre solutions. (I've read the material
Be sure to call ahead because not all stores have a companion 5 set out to demo... I know my local store doesn't, they got some in and had to send them back for some reason. So be sure to check ahead if it's a bit of a trip for you.
Cool...Thanks for the heads up
orangezorki said:
I can't agree, sorry. but when I worked for Bose they (we at the time) routinely replaced a product outside of warranty... say 2 years out of warranty? They do an extremely good job of making sure their customers are happy. Plus we had no problem helping customers find a solution, even if it wasn't ours. We would've rather had the customer happy with something they wanted rather than shoving something of ours down their throat saying it'll be the best thing for them. If they want it they will buy it and we can help crush their fears along the way.
The number of defective products while I was there was really low. Many people came back saying they loved their purchase and wanted more. There are obviously a few problems that do arise and that's where Bose really accelled at helping them get it fixed and/or replace it (many times free of charge).
SpankyPenzaanz said:
It is quite easy to understand why. Go listen and compare two systems and you will get it, just be forwarned that Bose won't let you compare in their stores.
If you want to know how to listen, bring a cd you know well and compare a third party system that is priced in a similar range to a bose system. Listen for each instrument the band uses during a set/song or whatever. I will bet you that some/many of the instruments just won't be audible, at all, in the bose setup due to the pathetic "engineering" they do to make the products look and sell better.
At a bare minimum I want to actually hear the instruments that are on the cd or in the game or whatever. I mean seriously, why else do you want to get something other than the stock computer speakers? If you are spending money anyway, you should at least get the best bang for the buck.
Well I have a set of creature II's i bought for about $50 at target last christmas and I am still happy with those. I found a bose lifestyle roomate for $90 at circuit city(b/c they're morons) it sounds amazing when I connect it to my record player - I heard things on the pink floyd animals album that i never knew about and i have some decent shure e4c's. That could also be the cd vs record debate though. I am not sure.
I just bought the black creature II's to match my blackbook, heh. Was just about to post asking if anyone had these and how they liked 'em. I'm no expert on sound, so I won't be able to nitpick. I just wanted good looking speakers with a good name and that sound good (because boy if speakers sound bad to me, then they must be terrible!). Hope I made the right choice..!SpankyPenzaanz said: