Bose speaker for desktop: Bose Companion® 2 Series III Multimedia Speaker System

Bose Companion® 2 Series III Multimedia Speaker System

• Overview
• Specs
• Reviews
• Accessories
• FAQs
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• Companion® 2 Series III multimedia speaker system

  Overview

  Specs

  Reviews

  Accessories

  FAQs

  Support

• Buy now

  $149.00

Overview

Upgrade your sound—and your experience

Love playing music, games and videos on your computer? Wait until you try it with the Companion® 2 Series III multimedia speaker system. You’ll enjoy performance that’s significantly better than your original speakers—and it’s our most affordable computer speaker system.

• High-quality audio performance, with clear sound at any volume
• Wide, lifelike sound delivered by two elegant speakers
• Play an additional device—just connect to the auxiliary input
• Volume control/headphone jack on front of right speaker

Quality sound within reach

You can access a world of entertainment on your computer. Bose® engineering makes sure you hear it all with just two speakers. Unique digital signal processing produces consistently clear, full sound at any volume. So you’ll enjoy your favorite music, videos and streaming content even more than before.

A wide soundstage

Sit down at your computer or laptop and get ready to hear sound that seems to extend far beyond the actual speakers. It’s spacious and lifelike, made possible by TrueSpace® stereo digital processing circuitry.

Feel the performance

Don’t just play music, games and videos—feel them. You’ll notice deeper low-end performance and more detailed sound, thanks to the speakers’ ported cabinet design.

Simple setup, easy listening

Everything you need is in the box, and you can set up in minutes. Volume control and headphone jack are on the right speaker.

Expand your entertainment

Use the auxiliary input to bring Bose performance to another audio source such as your iPhone® or iPad®.

Specs

Dimensions/weight

• Right speaker:7.5″ H x 3.1″ W x 5.9″ D (2.3 lbs)
• Left speaker:7.5″ H x 3.1″ W 5.9″ D (1.8 lbs)

Inputs/outputs

• AUX input
• Headphone jack

In the box

• Powered speaker
• Accessory speaker
• Audio input cable with mini-plug
• Speaker cable
• AC power pack

Rated 5 out of
5
by
Wyatt from
Great Performance!!
Unexpectfully clear and Crisphy Sound like similar to own large Music System. Outstanding Value for just computer speaker.

Date published: 2020-06-27

Rated 5 out of
5
by
pkh from
Great Speakers!
I replaced my laptop computer speakers with these speakers and I LOVE them! I had speakers attached to my laptop but the connector was bad and I didn’t know how to fix it. I wish I had purchased these Bose speakers sooner! I have been shut-in for very long…since before the pandemic crisis, with health problems. These speakers have added so much joy to my bland, dreadful life!

Date published: 2020-06-10

Accessories

No accessories available

FAQs

Does the Companion 2 system include a bass module?

No. Companion 2 speakers have built-in ports for low-note reproduction.

Can I connect a CD/MP3 player to Companion 2 speakers?

Yes. Use the auxiliary input on the back of the right speaker.

Are the Companion 2 speakers shielded?

No. The speakers are not magnetically shielded. However, the magnetic field around the speakers is not strong enough to harm data on most magnetic storage media. (If you are still concerned, keeping these items at least four inches away from the Companion speakers should be sufficiently distant to limit magnetic interference.)

What is the warranty for the Companion 2 multimedia speaker system?

The product has a limited one-year warranty.

Support

Manuals/guides

Product and technical support

Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers – Full Review and Benchmarks

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The Logitech G560 speakers offer booming sound and plenty of style.

Editor’s Choice

Tom’s Guide Verdict

If you want some serious sound that puts PC gaming front and center, the Logitech G560 is a worthwhile choice.

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Gaming headsets have their place, particularly if you’re into the competitive scene and need a microphone by your lips at all times. Otherwise, a good set of speakers is often the way to go. These let you experience deep, rich sound without the need for restrictive headgear — and you can share your gaming glories with friends and loved ones. Enter the Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers: a full-featured, three-part set of peripherals that also provides one heck of a light show.

The promise of the G560 is twofold: First, it wants to be an excellent speaker, for both music and games. Here, it succeeds without qualification, which won’t surprise anyone who’s familiar with existing Logitech speakers.

Second, Logitech has also imbued the G560 with a sophisticated lighting system comprising four distinct zones with bright, colorful LEDs. The lights are pretty and innocuous, but they can also be distracting, due to some issues with the software and some aggressive lighting defaults.

• Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers (Black) at Amazon for $199.99

Still, if you want some of the best computer speakers that put PC gaming front and center, this Logitech G560 review will show why it’s a worthwhile choice at a reasonable price.

• The best PC games you can buy right now
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The G560 comes with a lot of pieces and wires, but it’s not nearly as complex as it looks. (The setup instructions are printed right on the box, and there are no words involved, which is reassuring.) A rectangular subwoofer, which will probably live somewhere on your floor, acts as the focal point for the whole setup. From there, you connect two circular speakers (with monitor cables, in order to facilitate the lights), which you place on your desk. There’s also a USB cable that runs from the subwoofer directly to your computer, and a power cable.

While the speakers require a little cable management, once they’re hooked up, there’s not much else you have to know. The left speaker is just a speaker; the right speaker has a volume control on top, as well as a button to change the RGB lighting brightness. Around the back, there are buttons to shut off the speakers or pair a Bluetooth device.

Those who take pride in their game center’s appearance will find a lot to like in the G560. The subwoofer is plain and black, blending with whatever setting it’s in. The speakers themselves are streamlined and attractive, with a distinctive shape that nevertheless doesn’t draw attention away from their overall surroundings. (The lighting can be distracting, but of course, you have control over how intense that gets.)

The speakers are quite large: about 7.5 x 6.0 inches (compare that to the Razer Nommo speakers, which are 8 inches across by about a foot tall) at their widest point. If desk space is at a premium, you might consider more vertically inclined speakers.

The G560 has one significant drawback, though, tied directly into its physical design: Because the speakers route directly through the subwoofer, it’s not possible to turn the subwoofer off completely. As anyone who’s ever owned a subwoofer can attest, bass vibrations can be more noticeable and distracting than even moderately loud music, particularly late at night.

If you share a wall with your parents, your children, your roommate or even just your neighbors, operating your speakers late at night or early in the morning could quickly turn into a fraught situation. There are a few ways to mitigate this drawback — there’s a headphone jack in the right speaker, and you can decrease the bass volume in the Logitech Gaming Software — but neither solution is perfect.

The headphone jack sounds treble-forward, and its position in the back of the speaker makes it perilous for short cables. Decreasing the bass will silence the woofer, but you’ll also stop hearing bass sounds through the regular speakers. If late-night gaming is your thing but you need to keep things relatively quiet, the G560 may be a tough sell.

Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers review: Gaming performance

While the G560 can handle any sound you throw at it, from any source, its primary purpose is as a PC gaming accessory. (Indeed, you can get similar non-gaming setups from Logitech for about $100. ) As such, I ran it through a rigorous round of testing with games ranging from competitive first-person shooters to story-driven single-player RPGs.

The G560 provided rich, immersive sound, regardless of the genre. Whether I used DTS 7.1 surround sound (with a preset gaming EQ profile) or standard stereo, the audio broadcast the full range of everything I needed to hear: voice work, sound effects and music. Sweeping orchestral tunes dominated Pillars of Eternity, while the roar of gunfire was front and center in Overwatch. Because the G560 supports surround sound, you can even position your speakers a little creatively and feel like a whole game is taking place right around your ears.

The sound from the two circular speakers is comparable to what you’d hear on a high-end headset. However, if you’ve never gamed with a subwoofer before, it’s difficult to explain just how much of a difference it makes. You don’t simply hear bass music and explosions; you feel them in your gut and, depending on where the woofer is located, maybe even in your feet and legs. Even on lower volumes, the woofer makes a tremendous difference. I can’t say whether it will give you a competitive edge, but it will definitely make your gameplay feel that much more immediate and realistic.

The punk rockers in the crowd need not worry — the G560 gets plenty loud. I have been hesitant to crank the volume past about 20 on Windows 10 for fear of blowing out some actual, physical windows. You could rock a house party, or possibly a smallish club, with the G560. But while it handles the top part of the spectrum with aplomb, you can’t actually make it that quiet, at least on a PC.

Even turned down as low as it will go, the G560 comfortably filled the private office that I commandeered in order to test it. When I turned it a few levels higher, it was clearly audible through the glass door. This wasn’t really a problem when I was playing games or cranking tunes in a busy daytime office, but at home, at night, with no background noise, I imagine I might want the speakers even quieter.

You can adjust the volume in individual games and apps, but it’s not nearly as simple as just hitting the volume button on the right speaker. Even hitting the button can be something of a problem; the volume-up and brightness buttons are right next to each other, so you can imagine how many times I got those two mixed up.

Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers review: Software and RGB lighting

Unlike with some of Logitech’s mice and keyboards, for which the software is a helpful bonus, the software is fairly integral to the overall function of this speaker. You’ll use the Logitech Gaming Software not only to configure lighting options but also to activate surround sound, switch between equalization settings and create profiles for individual games.

The integrated lighting is the primary thing that distinguishes the G560 from the competition, and it’s impressive — for the most part. By taking advantage of four separate lighting zones, it’s possible to do a lot of cool and subtle things with the G560, from attractive color cycling to preprogrammed patterns in games like Fortnite and Final Fantasy XIV. (You can also turn the lights off completely, if you’re the kind of person who eats plain Cheerios while listening to Imagine Dragons.)

However, the coolest lighting option on hand is also the most inconsistent. Logitech has implemented a feature called a “screen sampler,” which allows you to split your desktop screen into quadrants and take color samples from each. These colors will then correspond to the G560’s four lighting zones. For example, suppose you’re playing StarCraft, managing a Terran base in the upper-left corner while waging war on the Zerg in the lower right. One speaker will show you subdued blues and grays; another will show you a shifting series of browns, purples, reds and yellows.

In practice, it sometimes works like that. More often, though, the screen sampler is incredibly sensitive and will flash a huge range of colors, at varying intensities, even more quickly than its default color cycling. It wasn’t fun to watch; it was kind of dizzying. By reducing the sensitivity of the color changes, I was able to get it to a more manageable level, but this required a fairly deep dive into the sampling options. Furthermore, you can’t see all four quadrants on-screen at a single time, meaning that setting up the perfect distribution requires a bit of guesswork (or an eidetic memory).

For comparison purposes, the Razer Nommo Chroma speakers ($150) also offer colorful LED lighting, which can sync with other Razer products. However, there’s no screen-sampling feature, and they don’t offer game-specific lighting patterns, unless you’re willing to program your own.

It’s also worth pointing out that if you have the Nvidia GeForce Experience software installed, you should disable its overlay, or else your games won’t automatically switch lighting or sound profiles. This isn’t a bug with the Logitech software, but learning from my mistake could save you a lot of trouble.

The Logitech Gaming Software also allows you to switch the lighting options over to the hardware. This lets you connect a device via Bluetooth and still see a fancy light show — a handy application for a party. Bluetooth connectivity is simple and efficient, although the audio quality is understandably better through the USB cable.

Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers review: Music performance

Those familiar with Logitech’s lineup of everyday speakers won’t be shocked to hear that the G560 handles music and movies with just as much fidelity as video games. A DTS 7.1 surround-sound setting for music and movies makes passive entertainment come alive; the stereo setting also sounds robust and nuanced, if you’re a purist.

I ran the G560 through just about every genre in my playlist: rock, bluegrass, punk, classical and more. The sound was beautifully balanced, whether I was listening to the twangy bass of Old Crow Medicine Show or the aggressive accordion of Flogging Molly. Listening to Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Major was especially a treat, as I was able to pick out every part, from the prominent violin to the usually almost-inaudible harpsichord.

Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers review: Verdict

The Logitech G560’s lighting ambitions sometimes outstrips its performance. I wish you could disable the subwoofer and have finer control over the volume at low levels. Beyond that, though, the G560 is an impressive first crack at a dedicated gaming speaker system. Given Logitech’s track record for both speakers and gaming peripherals, maybe that’s not shocking, but it’s good news, just the same.

With rich sound for both games and music, a novel design and lots of ways to customize your experience, the G560 is a worthwhile investment for gamers who prefer wide-open sound to the confines of a headset. Just be sure to take advantage of the headphone jack if you play late at night — and to turn off the lights.

• How to upgrade your gaming PC: 5 easy tweaks
• The best gaming headsets, ranked
• Logitech G333 review — gaming earbuds with a versatile design

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Logitech G560 Gaming Speakers: Price Comparison

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Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom’s Guide, overseeing the site’s coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi. 

Bose Companion computer speakers

Bose Companion computer speakers

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Bose Companion speakers

The American company Bose has developed the Companion line in order to bring home acoustics to a new level, while maintaining affordable prices. Thanks to this line, computer users can also appreciate the value of good sound.
If the sound quality of ordinary speakers is not enough for you, and the sound seems faded and flat, try speakers from Bose. With them, watching movies, video games and musical accompaniment will become a real pleasure. Even professional experts note that the equipment from the Companion series is an ideal solution for home acoustics.
Bose has long established itself as one of the best brands in audio systems. She is trusted by both professional musicians and ordinary users who appreciate good sound.
The Companion line proves that you should not consider computer speakers as a normal working tool. More needs to be demanded from technology. Companion at an average price offers satellites that can create a full sound panorama while listening to music files. These speakers are easy and convenient to use. They can be set up in minutes and enjoy rich sonic nuances for years to come.

The range consists of such models.

• Companion 2 III is the most budget option from this line. Most often, these speakers are chosen for offices and home listening. The device allows you to simultaneously connect several pieces of equipment at once. The speakers are equipped with TrueSpace stereo sound processing circuitry. It does not require any additional drivers or software to operate. The kit contains all the necessary wires and cables for the smooth operation of the equipment.

9The 0006 Companion 20 breaks the stereotype of substandard laptop speakers. This device is equipped with a separate remote control, which makes switching the volume even more convenient. It also has a dedicated headphone jack. Drivers do not need to be installed. The speakers are suitable for TV, laptop, PC. Including whimsical technology from Apple.

The

• Companion 50 is an even more advanced version of the computer speaker system. Surround sound can be compared with the result that you expect from a five-channel device. Despite the compactness of technology, it produces a powerful sound without cluttering the desktop.

If you are interested in BOSE products, you can buy them in our company on the most favorable terms: we offer affordable prices and a long-term guarantee for certified products of a time-tested manufacturer

Overview of the portable speaker system Bose Portable Home Speaker

The number of portable speakers on the market today is quite large, but because manufacturers are looking for different ways to make their devices stand out from the crowd – from protected cases to dynamic lighting. In the Bose Portable Home Speaker, the developers decided to bet on versatility: the speaker can act both as a component of a home multi-room system and as a portable device for hiking in nature. It supports many streaming services, is equipped with AirPlay 2, works with a voice assistant – however, some of the features are not available in Russia. Well, since this is Bose, the sound will be at least interesting, and the price will be impressive.

Specifications

Packaging and contents

We tested both the speaker itself and the charging dock, which is not included in the kit and must be purchased separately. Both devices come in stylish black boxes made of thick matte cardboard with illustrations on a white background. The upper part of the box with the column is removable, inside the device is securely placed on a plastic cradle.

The Bose Portable Home Speaker comes with the speaker, documentation, a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, and a removable plug charger (plug format varies by country).

Only documentation in various languages ​​is shipped with the docking station.

Design and construction

The shape of the device is similar to a small bucket with a handle, and even more like a can. There are two color options: white and black, we had the first one on the test. At the bottom of the case there is a speaker grid, and a carrying handle is mounted on top. The cover of the handle is made of a material that is pleasant to the touch, providing a good “grip” with the palm when carrying. The corrugated surface is prone to the accumulation of dirt, which is especially noticeable on a light background – buyers of the white version should keep this in mind.

The design of the cabinet provides 360° sound propagation – the speaker can act as the “center of the party” in the literal sense, being inside the circle of listeners. The manufacturer’s logo is applied on the front side of the case.

In the upper part of the housing there is a control panel with a three-color indicator of operating modes in the form of a ring. Around the panel there are holes for microphones that serve to “communicate” the user with the voice assistant.

The power and mute buttons have their own LEDs.

Radiator mesh made of metal. Little is known about the internal design of the Bose Portable Home Speaker, the network has information that there are three passive radiators in the case, plus an active speaker.

You can charge the speaker using the USB Type-C connector at the bottom of it, or purchase a special docking station.

For charging from the station at the bottom of the dispenser there are contacts in the form of concentric circles.

The docking station is powered by the included USB-C cable and charger.

The charger is quite compact, equipped with a USB-C port. The output current is up to 3 A, it is worth using either a complete charger or a comparable one in terms of characteristics – the time for a full charge reaches 4 hours anyway. The cable has a good level of quality, the insulation looks reliable and pleasant to the touch – we did not expect anything else from a device from the “premium” segment.

Software and connectivity

The speaker is tightly connected to the Bose Music app. There are versions for Android and iOS, we chose the first option for testing. First, download the app and create an account if you don’t already have one.

We authorize, the program asks to give it several permissions, explaining in detail the reason for their need. We agree, after which we get the opportunity to add a new device.

Bose Music supports many of the company’s products that can be assembled into multi-room solutions. But we won’t talk about this today, we’ll just set up one column. We select the desired section on the connection screen, the program tells you how to activate the appropriate mode on the device.

Next, enter, select the Wi-Fi network and enter the password (2.4 and 5 GHz networks are supported). The device informs about everything that happens by voice messages, the Russian language is supported. The voice acting is peculiar – the column is absolutely charmingly burr.

After that, the program offers to rename the speaker, which can be useful again when creating multi-room configurations. Suggested titles include “Ray of Hope”, “Bass Monster” and even “Thunder as a Bucket”.

The program detected the Deezer and Spotify applications installed on the smartphone, after which it immediately offered to add them to the list of music sources. Deezer has been officially present in Russia for a long time, there is no Spotify yet, but there are rumors that it will be very, very soon. True, they have been going for a long time and not for the first time. After authorization in both services, we were asked to read a small instruction on how to use the column.

Added streaming services are displayed in separate tabs where you can find your playlists, favorites lists and more – almost like in the corresponding applications. A little unusual, but overall quite comfortable. Radio stations can be listened to through the TuneIn service, which is added by default. The current song or the selected radio station is displayed in the built-in player, which allows you to fully control playback, including adding the sounding song to your favorites.

Favorite playlists or radio stations can be placed on the main page of the application in the “Presets” section in order to quickly turn them on with one click. AirPlay support on an Android device is not very convenient to test, but it is possible thanks to the AllCast application. Everything predictably works correctly, the column is defined, connected, and so on.

The round button in the lower right corner opens a list of options, including turn off the speaker, go to the settings menu and equalizer. In the menu, you can return to the product overview, set up voice prompts, change the language, and so on. On the equalizer tab, you can adjust the bass and treble – 5 steps up and down.

As for the voice assistant, we were unable to test its operation. Bose Portable Home Speaker supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. In Russia, both of them do not officially work on “smart” speakers yet, although devices with Google Home seem to appear – in general, “everything is complicated.” For some devices, you can still activate assistants by changing the gadget’s interface language to English and making a couple more gestures. But in any case, there will be no support for the Russian language, and no one guarantees stable work. We tried to change the interface language of the gadget and even the country where the Bose Music account was linked – in the end we got the same message about the unavailability of the service, but only in English.

When Wi-Fi is not available, Bluetooth connection can be used. Pairing is activated using the button on the speaker control panel or through the application – if the device has not yet been disconnected from the home network.

The speaker does not support simultaneous Bluetooth connection of several sources. For sound transmission, only the SBC codec is used, which is a little discouraging – after all, the device is quite expensive, it would be appropriate to expect at least AAC support from it.

Apparently, the developers decided that the network connection will be mainly used at home, and the basic codec will be enough in the fresh air. In general, this has its own logic, and SBC is not as bad as it is commonly thought. Most manufacturers set the Max Bitpool parameter to 53, which limits the bitrate to 328 kilobits per second – not much, but quite enough for a stream from some Spotify. The Bose Portable Home Speaker has a much higher Max Bitpool value of 250, but in fact most OSes will use the standard value of 53 – in particular, Windows 10 did just that in our case.

Management and operation

The speaker can be controlled both through the application and using the panel on the top of the case. The soft touch coating gives a very pleasant tactile sensation when pressed. On the panel there are buttons for controlling playback and volume, power, Bluetooth activation, mute the microphone and call the voice assistant.

The key travel is small, the click is soft, but distinct. The entire panel is covered with a single layer of coating without gaps, the buttons are simply marked on it with recesses with the corresponding icons. This was probably done in order to ensure moisture protection.

The Bose Portable Home Speaker is rated at IPX4. That is, she is ready to withstand splashes of water, but nothing more. This is enough for a party near the shore of a reservoir or pool, but you definitely shouldn’t immerse the column in water.

The manufacturer promises up to 12 hours of autonomy, while they are promised when working at a high volume level. At a volume of about 40%, the column worked for about 21 hours – just an excellent result. At the same time, at home, you can keep it connected to the charger using a cable or installed in a docking station – all functions are available while charging.

Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to test the built-in microphones and voice assistant, but according to reviews from the network, we can assume that the device “hears” at least not bad. Well, we are all more or less familiar with how voice assistants work.

Sound and frequency response measurements

The manufacturer announces “powerful bass”, and it really is present. At the same time, there are no extra accents on the low-frequency range – it is emphasized, but it does not “mumble” and is presented quite clearly due to the fact that the speaker does not even try to reproduce “deep bass”. As they say, you need to set realistic goals for yourself – the developers of the Bose Portable Home Speaker did just that and did not fail. At high volume levels, noticeable distortion appears in the low-frequency range. But there is absolutely no reason to use the speaker in the “all knobs to the right” mode – it is very loud, it becomes uncomfortable near the maximum volume values, about half of the available stock is enough to sound a medium-sized room.

In general, the sound is unexpectedly balanced, all frequencies are heard perfectly, although the middle ones are far from the strongest side of the device, they lack detail, the vocal parts sound a bit muffled. But to scold a portable speaker for this would be at least strange. The “sand” in the highs is a little annoying, the hi-hats and the snare drum sound unpleasantly harsh, especially when playing with brushes. But these are details. The column is clearly designed for popular music and dance compositions, it copes well with them. And lovers of classics or jazz have completely different toys. Given the size of the device, the sound is excellent, in its class – clearly one of the best.

This is also noticeable from the frequency response graph (measurements were made when connected via Bluetooth). It’s far from perfect, but considering the form factor it’s quite impressive. You can see the emphasis on low frequencies, while the reproduction of the low-frequency range starts somewhere from 70 Hz – as noted above. There is a slight dip in the upper frequencies, but it is largely due to the measurement features.

We obtained the first graph by placing the microphone normal to the speaker at a distance of 60 cm. Meanwhile, in real use, the device is often located approximately at the level of the listener’s waist – somewhere on the table, for example. Therefore, we raise the microphone higher – we place it approximately at an angle of 45 °, after which we see a noticeable rise at the site of the failure. We average both graphs – we get the picture as close as possible to the experience of real listening.

Bass and treble controls work very delicately.