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Strengths: Bose name, good sound, attractive styling, small satellite speakers, setup is a breeze.
Weaknesses: Steep price, bass control is out of reach.
Summary: I had tried them out in the store and the sound wasn't the best. But I had seen mixed reviews of these speakers and wanted to give them a shot for myself. I got home and set them up as in the directions. The system looks really nice. I played a Windows Media file and was not impressed at all with the sound. I had the volume cranked up in Windows and on the system itself and I could barely hear anything and it sounded very muffled. I couldn't believe it! I paid $250 for this?! I could've hooked my internal computer speaker up to a Pringles can and had gotten better sound than that! I played w/Media Player settings and it still sounded the same.
I was about to pack them up and take them back when I decided to pop a music CD in. I had forgotten to turn the volume control back down so when the music came on I nearly jumped out of my seat! It was extremely loud and crisp. Luckily, when I jerked, I accidentally tapped the control pad and it muted instantly. Turned the volume down slightly and was very impressed by the sound. It sounds much better at home than it did in the store. It has very good bass (could be that I set the subwoofer pointing towards the wall helped w/this) and the mid-ranges and highs are extremely clean. I listen to different types of music w/my computer so I tried out different genres: rock, blues, rap, and even a little classical. The sound is very impressive throughout every one.
I do a lot of gaming too. So I popped in FEAR and gave it a whirl. There are sounds in this game that I couldn't hear on my old speakers(which I think are pretty decent) that came in loud and clear w/these ones. Even real low rumbles could be heard/felt very well. Now this game freaks me out even more! I am impressed w/the sound from these little speakers. It's some of the best sound that I've heard come from PC 2.1 speakers. I also noticed the sub doesn't really "thump" on hard, heavy, low bass, like a lot of speakers do. It's hard to describe, lows still sound good and can be heard/felt well, it's just different a little more smooth sounding. Maybe it's just me, but it sounds a little better when I'm a couple of feet away from the speakers. So I set the speakers back farther on my desk.
It has a bass control on the back of the subwoofer which is a little inconvenient for trying to adjust it to the way you like it, since you're supposed to have the back of the unit about 3-inches from the wall. (unless you point the back of the unit towards you, which is still impractical sitting at a desk) I just barely set the knob above it's mid-point.
I don't know why the Windows Media Player files sounded so horrible. I don't ever use that program so it doesn't bother me. Mp3s sound fine through it(WMP).
One of the big factors is the price. $250 is almost too much for computer speakers, especially a 2.1 system. I do like this system, but would be a much better deal at $150 or even $200. I know Bose used to be made in the USA so I could understand the higher price in the past, but these were made in China, it probably costs them at least 10x less to manufacture each unit over there, I'm sure they can afford to discount these speakers from their regular pricing scheme. I almost didn't buy these speakers for that reason alone. But everyone that I know who has Bose speakers loves them, so I got them. Plus, I could return them if I didn't like them.
You can get a lot of 7.1 systems that sound as good for this price or less.(And is in SURROUND SOUND) I don't have room for a 7.1 system though, otherwise I would have gotten one of them. I'm not an audiophile. I'm an ordinary person who doesn't have a huge surround sound system or a great stereo. So to those people who are audiophiles, this system probably sounds like poop. But it sounds great to me.
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