At yesterday’s Bose event, I was given the chance to experience to experience the new Computer MusicMonitor speakers first-hand. As I was led to a small, closed testing room, I wondered what Bose had up its sleeve. Earlier, they were showing videos of a suspension system it designed for a car, so I had no idea what to expect.
I walked into the room and was greeted by a Bose representative who was extremely gentle and kind. Was this a Scientology booth? The setup was identical to the above picture: glass desk, new iMac, and a Bose speaker setup. One thing different though was a matching subwoofer that sat on the floor, glowing as if it were turned on. I was played six different pieces of music that ranged from classical to opera. This was to drive the point that Dr. Amar Bose had made earlier; Bose was aiming for “lifelike sound” with this speaker set.
As I sat in a chair, listening to excellent string pieces and focusing on the performance, I was amazed at the quality that I heard. For a speaker that’s about the size of one of those milk-cartons you got in elementary school, it was powerful. It should be noted that I am a strong critic of Bose and am not a fan in any way whatsoever of its products. I do enjoy the automotive sound systems they make though. So hearing a sound this good through a set of Bose speakers, I was pretty impressed.
Bass was a little better than the typical sound you’d get out of a Bose system. When violins and other string instruments were played, you can easily hear the musicians moving their hands up and down the neck while they bow the instrument. It’s very fascinating to listen to, especially since people who listen to these styles of orchestral music are part of Bose’s target audience.
Now for the kicker. Remember that subwoofer on the floor I mentioned? After the third track was played, the gentleman from Bose went and disconnected it. It was just a decoy. An empty box with nothing but a fancy design, LED, and 9V battery. This is when you realize that even though Bose’s sound may not be your thing, it sure as hell know what its doing when it comes to delivering a quality listening experience to the user.
I briefly mentioned in my post from yesterday that the Computer MusicMonitor speakers will go on sale for a whopping $399 come October 4th. For a pair of speakers that are designed to be used primarily for listening to music on a desktop computer, that’s expensive. What justifies this price tag? Why should Bose be able to get away with this highway robbery? I’ll tell you exactly why.
According to Bose President Bob Maresca, this is the best product that Bose has ever made. In terms of both sound and design, the Computer MusicMonitor speakers are the iPhone of its product line. We were given an in-depth, internal look inside the speakers, so here’s what we discovered:
The Bose Computer MusicMonitor is designed with the following:
It’s also worth noting that these match dead-on with the new iMac from Apple. Bose is without a doubt planning to bundle these or offer these in “select retailers” such as the Apple Store, but no details were confirmed or given during the presentation. It’s obvious though.
So come October 4th, I suggest heading to a Bose store near you or one of those “authorized retailers” and listening to these speakers. While I personally cannot justify the $399 price-tag despite the excellent sound, other will surely be able to. If you travel a lot and use a laptop, grab the $59 optional carrying case. You’ll be glad you did. I’ll leave you with some shots of President Bob Maresca and Founder Amar Bose.
Well that’s a good piece of information.
i want this! i’ll be buying this later this year if reviews are good.
Bose is AMAZING when it comes to sound and technology. What ever the price, it’s deffinitely worth it!
I am about to buy an iMac and these Bose speakers would be perfect if they are as good as stated. I plan to go to a Bose store and find out for myself.
I just listened to these little speakers, first in Columbus,OH, then two days later in Cincinnati. Wow. A lot of sound in a tiny package. I covet a pair.
I own a bunch of Bose products: Bose Companion 3 and 5, Mediamates, Cinemate, Wave Music System, 201 Bookshelf speakers, Triport In Ear Headphones and Quietcomfort 2 Headphones. (I used to own the QC1 but exchanged them for QC2s). Apart from those, I own Klipsch Promedia 2.1. That lets you know I understand sound quite well, and have a very good brand to compare those Bose systems: Klipsch, which is THX Certified.
I thought these speakers would be good, so I ordered them about a month ago. I am sorry and I feel bad to say this, but I had to return these. If these are the best speakers Bose has come up with, I wonder why they are outperformed by every single one of the other systems I have, some of them costing just 1/4th or half of their price.
For their size, these speakers are good, also for their remote control and their looks, but that is where it ends. They are lacking way too much volume to be worth $400, the $100 Bose Mediamates (now the Bose Companion 2) sounds about as good, while going much louder than these and also offering a more spacious sound and dual RCA inputs. These speakers are also lacking a little on the lowest end of the sound. Apart from that, they have a very good balanced sound, but if you are going to listen to rap or hip hop with really deep bass, dont expect them to rattle or thump, and for $400 they should no matter how small they are. The Bose Companion 3 and Companion 5, both at $250 and $400 respectively, completely outperform these speakers, in spaciousness, clarity, deepness and resonance of bass, but most importantly, they sound nearly 3 times as loud. If you are going to compare to the cinemate just for $100 more, or the Bose 201 Bookshels speakers (paired with a good receiver) there is just NO comparison to make, they are outperformed in every single way. So my advice to you, as a Bose owner is the following: DO NOT BUY THESE SPEAKERS. These are completely overpriced and surely arent the best bose can make, considering the bose mediamates (only twice as big) were made in the 90s, and they sound just as good if not better, and louder than the Bose MusicMonitor, for 1/4th of the price. If these speakers were a replacement of the Mediamates and Companion 2, they would still need to sound just as loud as them to justify paying the $100 the Companion 2s are worth. DONT BUY THESE SPEAKERS! Let Bose know they have lost their mind and their focus with these! Go out and Buy Companion 3s, Cinemates, 321s or 201 Bookshlef speakers instead of this.. if you can afford the MusicMonitors, you would be buying much better sound with those products. However, if you are in need of space, or cant afford any of those but still want the sound of these MusicMonitors, just try to find the Bose Mediamates online or buy the Companion 2, you will be pleased with those and just for $100.
Utter rubbish in above post…probably works for another speaker firm, or has tower speakers to compare these with…these are the best speakers for the size without subwoofer you can buy….bought some today in the UK, delighted with them and great value. The sound is AMAZING.
Andrew M… Man, didnt you read my post? I own A LOT of Bose Systems. I dont work for any speaker firm and I believe Bose is an excellent company, probably one of the best in the world, however, these MusicMonitor speakers are not even worth half their price. Did you take the time to listen to the Bose Companion 3 or the Bose Companion 5? The Companion 3 sounds at least twice as loud for $250, and the 5 at least 3 times louder for the same price of $400. Both of them have deep powerful bass that puts to shame the Monitors. Then there is the Bose Companion 2 which reaches a louder volume than your Monitors, and only costs $100. You will feel sad if you ever manage to compare the Companion 2 to the Monitors. The sound is sooo similar that the only advantage of the Monitors is they are tiny, but it does not justify the extra $300 they cost. Companion 2: http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/speakers/computer_speakers/companion_2/index.jsp