Great sounding speakers for your PC - without the need for a sub-woofer!
Written: Sep 16 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great sound, compact size, no need for sub-woofer
Cons: Difficult to turn volume control, no on-off switch
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended for great sound without need of subwoofer, yet speakers are very compact. If Bose used better knobs and an on-off switch, I would have given 5 stars.
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| morasch's Full Review: Bose MediaMate® 2 Speakers |
For their size, these speakers sound fantastic, and unless you need to rattle (or break) window panes - their bass output is just fine for PC use. If you need more power or bass, then you might as well just go the full route and buy a stereo system with a high power amp and sub-woofer.
I'm surprised that no other reviewers picked up on the only "major" fault of these speakers, which is the hard to turn volume and "mix" controls. Seems that the Bose stylists wanted the look of a knob that is flush with the rest of the enclosure. In other words, the knobs don't stick out from the box. While this may look great, it makes for knobs that are just plain tough to turn with your fingers. You must turn the knobs from the very far right side, where only about 30 degrees (out of 360) of the edge of the knob can be touched with your finger.
Other minor annoyance is lack of an on/off switch, with a power on LED light. Unless you pull the "wall wart" power supply out of it's power socket, the units remain powered up all the time. Consider using a power strip with it's own on/off switch to avoid damage to the transformer by daily use of plugging in, and un-plugging it.
The best thing about these speakers again is the SOUND - you get FULL RANGE sound coming from the main left and right sources. This is unlike the sub-woofer based speaker systems where it still sounds a little strange to me hearing high and mid range sounds coming from speakers next to your PC monitor, but all the low notes come from the sub-woofer. Since desk space is at a premium for me, the sub-woofer would have had to go somewhere on the floor under the desk. I much prefer the Bose speakers where everything is in both speakers, right next to the PC monitor.
The "mix" feature is handy for listening to a regular radio (from a tuner), while working on the computer. You can use the tough to turn mix knob to blend in the radio sound source with the PC generated sound.
I ordered direct from Bose, as everyone had the same retail prices, with no discounting found. The Bose website was easy to order from, and very clear.
Other very minor annoyance is that the speakers arrive without the little rubber "feet" stuck on the bottom. You are supplied with the feet on a peel off piece of plastic, and then you simply stick them on the bottom of the speaker. Takes less than 5 minutes, but for the price these speakers sell for, I don't know why Bose wants you to complete their manufacturing process. This probably saved Bose less than 50 cents in production costs. I can understand this if the product cost less than $20, but at $100 - having to install these plastic feet seems kind of cheezy. Units should be ready to use right out of the box.
Finally, Bose supplies all the cables & connectors needed. That is decent! One less trip to Radio Shack!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
morasch
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
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