Reviews for Bose® Companion® 5 Multimedia Speaker System

The Bose Companion 5 sounds good i can't lie but its not worth 500 bucks i had a logitech Z2300 that cost less then half the price and it had pretty good sound quality with a much stronger subwoofer. So if money and bass is not an issue i recommend this product. But if you ask me go with with a logitech Z2300 or Z cinema advance surround sound system.

I've only owned them a couple of days now. There's something missing that I can't put my finger on. After reading all of the reviews, there are three things I will try in order to improve the sound.

1) Position the acoustimass module forward facing instead of sideways, against the wall as I have it set up now. I now understand that the acoustimass also delivers mid-tones, so maybe that's what I'm missing from this system.

2) As instructed, I turned the iTunes EQ off. Maybe I'll turn it back on and make some slight adjustments to the EQ afterall.

3) They've had a total of about 30 minutes use. Apparently they should be broken in for a few hours before making final judgement.

My flatmate is still sleeping, and I'm working today and tomorrow, otherwise I'd make these changes now. Instead, I'll post my final thoughts next week in order to give them a fair chance. Besides, I really don't want to return them! This is supposed to be Bose's top of the line computer system... there is a good chance it's just me at this point.

All in all, they sound good to me for the first little while, but after about 20 minutes in front of them listening to music I want to turn them off. Maybe it's the Bose Truespace digital surround circuitry?

I don't really game or watch movies on my computer... I generally only play music on it and often use the Airport Express to stream it to the living room stereo as well. I understand that the C3's don't use the digital surround technology, so maybe they are more suited for my needs. I'm thinking that's the real problem... the speakers are always on in simulated 5.1 surround sound mode.

In any case... I'll try the above changes and post my final thoughts in a few days.

An outstanding, tailored speaker system from Bose, perhaps the best available for computer use.
As always, when reading reviews, beware those from people who can't spell or who provide no information about the circumstances in which they tried to deploy a product. Some particular things to keep in mind which this speaker system:
Note speaker placement instructions in the Owner's Guide, where the left and right speakers must be no more than 24" apart, so having a 30" monitor is problematic.
There is no power switch, so this is yet another device in the home which consumes standby power.
Pay heed to the USB hub advisories published in the Owner's Guide (which some posters ignored).
Be aware of USB device support foibles. I own a terrific Yamaha RP-U200 USB receiver I had been using for years - which one day suddenly stopped emitting sound. I thought it was a blown internal fuse, but the receiver was fully functional. I realized that I had just recently applied an OS X update, which altered USB behavior, whereafter OS X would no longer drive the Yamaha. Maybe this is a deficiency in the Yamaha firmware, but in any case keep in mind that operating system changes can render a USB device no longer usable. I would not expect this to happen with a very mainstream product such as the C5, but things can happen.

Okay so I had been debating for about 3 months on wether to buy these speakers or not because the price seemed a little steep. After reading all the reviews and doing a lot of research I decided what the heck ill give it a try and worse comes to worse ill return them and get something else. The sound from these speakers is amazing! I feel like the music is being played live by just how clear and loud these speakers sound. I do not regret my purchase and I only want to buy Bose from here on. Everyone was right! Don't let the price scare you away they are worth every penny. And if for some crazy reason you don't love them, return them. That easy.

I have a iMac 24 and the Bose 5 for my audio they are better than my house speakers the over all sound is crisp the bass is full. A very smart buy if you listen to alot of music or watch alot of movies, you will not be disappointed! (don't let the price scare you they are worth every penny.)

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.

I doubted the capabilites of the surround sound when i bought it, but then i popped in the included demo CD and watched some of the 5.1 encoded media. WOW. It works great. And surround or not, the sound is great.

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.

If this costs to much, but you want the great BOSE quality and no hassle set-up, get the BOSE camanion 3. The only difference is it doesn't have the amazing surround sound.

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

I was very impressed with the simplicity of the product. The volume control sticks well to a glass desktop and with the turn of the wrist or tap of the finger you can control the volume. The sound of the speakers are fantastic and I would recommend this product for anyone.

I purchased a new iMac in Melbourne on 02 January 2008. As someone who loves music and iTunes, I wanted a good speaker system to complement my iMac. Like many other Apple customers, before buying a system, I read many of the reviews posted by other people. I purchased the Bose Companion 5 system on 04 June 2008 and I give it a 5 star recommendation. Here's why: 1) love the effectiveness and simplicity of the USB connection, and installation was dead easy; 2) the product finish is professional - each component looks and feels great; 3) the digital 5.1 sound is absolutely superb - movies and music sound excellent; 4) I have not encountered any of the "problems" referred to by other reviewers; and 5) overall, I am very impressed with this system.
Mick
Melbourne, Australia

Chuang Tzu, a Taoist sage who lived a couple thousand years ago, once said something like, "When the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten." In this case you could say, "When the sound is right, the speakers are forgotten."

To my ears, there's nothing in the output produced by these speakers that distracts me into noticing the sound. I'm left simply enjoying clean music, from the softest notes of Riley Lee's shakuhachi flute and the most delicate chants of the Aka Pygmies to the driving energy of U2's Until the End of the World and the frenetic pulse of Tick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

That lets me relax into doing what I really need to do: get lost in what's on screen. Not bad for something that has such an elegantly small footprint on my desk.