Reviews for Bose® Companion® 5 Multimedia Speaker System

Love these speakers, worked great with Snow Leopard. Sounds great, works great but any of the newer machines with OSX Lion installed will have issues with these speakers. Intermittent cut-outs. Controller seems to kill all sound. The only USB work around is to output through the headphone jack which means less control and and an extra wire hanging off your controller. I would wait for a fix from Apple.

The thing about these speakers is, they either sound really amazing, or not, depending on the song/movie playing. I picked up the C5 about 2 weeks ago from the Bose Factory Store refurbished (a "good deal" considering they still come w/ a 1 yr. limited warantee & are about $40 cheaper than new. Testing the speakers at first was great. I tested songs such as The National's So Far Around the Bend, BPA's Toe Jam, Peter Bjorn & John's Young Folks ...etc... and they sounded amazing!! I then went on to movies..... the system sounded Terrific!! Really surprised on how real the Simulated Surround actually sounds. I had these speakers hooked up at a desk, but decided since they sounded so good, I tried using them as a system for the living room/dining room area. The system seemed to lose base when getting farther away from it, and without that, the sound quality of the speakers sounded just ok. I'm not complaining though, b/c after all this IS a system meant for sitting down about arm's length from it, but for the price, I would have expected something just a little more ESPECIALLY because when I got to songs such as R.E.M.'s E-Bow the Letter, Van Morrison's Bright side of the Road, Ray Lamontagne's You are the Best Thing, Indigo Girls' Closer to Fine, IG's Galileo etc, and other songs by artists I listen to alot, it sounded like the song was coming from someplace far away, like when your headphones aren't inserted all the way into your ipod and the song doesn't sound right until you realize "headphones aren't fully connected!" and you fix them. But there's no fixing that issue of the C5..... I don't know how or why this happens, but it's kind of dissapointing. As I said before though, they are a great set of speakers, with (for the most part) really great sound. They're amazing for movies and for the music that most people will be listening to, I'd definately have to recommend them. If you can get them cheaper than the listed price (because they ARE a little pricey for what is offered in terms of sound output & versatality etc.) then I'd definately say get them.

I'm no audiophile as many claim to be but music is a huge part of my life. Before buying these I has altec lansings and the Bose Companion 3s. The Companion 3s were wonderful but lacked the power and surround feeling of the 5s. Even a casual listener will notice the difference with these beautiful speakers. You are paying for style but its not limited to that. While listening to bands like Radiohead I've discovered whole new sections that I haven't heard with other speaker set ups. If you have the money and find these on sale then just buy them, if you don't want to drop $400 then the companion 3s are also well worth your time. If you're a ridiculous sound expert auiophile then you probably already know what you're going to buy.

Don't rely on some anti-Bose rant by an "audiophile" who doesn't own these.

These are substantially constructed, look good on my desktop (sub is hidden), and have excellent sound quality for what they were intended. I wouldn't put them in the same class as a $100K pair of Rockports, but then again I'm not an audiophile either.

When you consider the PC you are going to plug these into has a mass produced audio chip that would struggle to keep pace with a $200 home receiver, these USB speakers are a perfect match for computer based music, games, and movies. I wish they were about $100 less (hence 4 stars), but then again I wish my MACs were priced more in line with higher spec'd PC's.

Yes, these are Bose. Yes, people hate the mass marketing Bose relies on. Yes, they sound great and were plug and play on all 5 of my Intel Leopard 10.5.7 MACs (2 new minis, new MBP, 8 core Pro, 24" iMac, and a lowly white macbook). Yes, they are a little expensive. Yes, I would buy them again.

Anyone that says these are overpriced needs to compare them to any other 5 speaker surround sound system. Let's face it, almost all of us don't have a wall or piece of furnature directly behind our desk to mount a fourth and fifth speaker. Thats where the geniouses at BOSE come in. they made a speaker system that is as easy to set up as any 3 speaker system, with sound that rivals 5 speaker systems.

Now about the price. People are saying that it costs to much, that it should be priced similar to other sound systems. Thats like saying "a Ferrari costs to much, who would buy it when you can buy a simple honda?" Now do you see what i mean? if you want good speakers buy these. If you want to save a buck, and you don't care about the hastle of real 5 speaker systems, get smething else.

R's final review: You get what you pay for. This is intended for those who want QUALITY, not low price.

These are fine speakers, I'm an avid audiophile and have now dedicated my hi-fi separates to dealing with vinyl since my itunes sound so good and have great detail and depth. However placement can be a problem as a lot of detail comes from the central drive unit which also offers the deep, deep bass. This means that unless you have desk and are willing to have the large black box on full view a lot of the mid-range is lost meaning that you get a slight echo feel to your play back with lyrics or spoken word material becoming lost amidst guitars, drums or ambient movie playback. Other than that they're are a class apart, build quality is sound and only lacking a wireless remote.

Having a mac is the ultimate....but these speakers are close...enjoy!!

I see several posts from "Audiophiles." They comment on the price and the Bose name. They also complain about static, muddy base and lacking mids. One thing they fail to mention is that these speakers are very accurate. So accurate that they bring out all of the detail in the music, snaps, crackles, pops and all. If defects in the music recording are there, these speakers will pick them up. Sorry audiophiles - that's how it works. I experience the same phenomenon with my $1,500 reference monitors. When placed correctly in the listening area and when proper adjustments are made to EQ settings (namely don't use them), these speakers shine immensely. Try listening to Mannheim Steamroller's Fanfare Abblasen on these gems and you see what properly mixed music sounds like!

Was recommended these by a smart-ass friend of mine from Finland. Said they sound like a good buy. Hooked 'em up yesterday and they do sound good.

Prolly a shade overpriced but that's Bose.