There's a lot of competition in the multimedia speaker business. With high-end names like Harman-Kardon and Polkaudio getting into the computer speaker business, how are the smaller guys like Boston Acoustics going to survive?

Well, Boston's answer to that competition is to totally blow them away with a low-end, 3 piece speaker offering that can outperform speakers twice their price.

For those that don't like to read the whole review, I'll be terse; these speakers are amazing! If you want to know the specifics, read on...

For starters, hookup is a snap, as expected from computer speakers. All three components are color coded for your convenience, and you should be up and running in no time.

Now, on the the speakers themselves. The two satellites are so small, they could be mistaken for Bose, and the subwoofer looks so tiny it's impossible to imagine any serious bass coming out of it. That's where you'd be wrong. These speakers absolutely crank! The bass is incredible, given the size of the subwoofer and the treble is amazingly clear, and separated even at high volume levels.

Most speaker offerings for under a hundred dollars fall way short. Boston Acoustics have almost shot themselves in the foot with this offering. They sound so good, for so little money, that there's little reason to upgrade to any of their other models. True audio fanatics will not be satisfied with these speakers. They obviously cannot compete with the 200-300 dollar systems that support Dolby Digital, surround, etc. These speakers are great, but they're not gonna work miracles.

Still, for 70 dollars, there is simply no other speaker on the market that even comes close to the sound you get out of the BA635. Unfortunately, Gateway seems to be the only computer company to have discovered the value inherent in these speakers. If you're looking for some low-end speakers that don't sound like your alarm clock-radio, these are definitely worth a look.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 70