For around a year I’ve had the pleasure of having the Bose Companion 5 speakers on my desk. They are Bose’s premium desktop speakers. Part of the appeal of these speakers is the Acoustimass module. I have it located on the floor, beside my design. It allows the system to sound like a full 5 speaker setup with just two small desktop speakers.

This idea highly appealed to me. I enjoy high quality audio, but I’ve never been willing to have 5 speakers and a subwoofer on or around my desk.

The Bose Companion 5 speaker system uses Bose’s TrueSpace technology to spread the sound around me, replacing five speakers with two.

They plug into the USB port on my MacBook Pro for high quality, digital sound. There’s no special software needed. There’s also another audio input using via a 3.5mm connector for use with iPods, Gaming Devices or other devices.

Another important feature for me was that the speakers be magnetically shielded from interference. With speakers I’ve had in the past, when my cell phone would ring, the speakers would make a bizarre buzzing sound due to the interference. The magnetic shielding stops this annoying interference.

There’s also a small wired controller with a large volume control, a touch power button, an audio input, and a headphone jack.

So What Do I Actually Think of Them?

The Good

They are truely great. Not only do they sound great, but they look great on my desk. They’re simple to use and were simple to setup. I like the speakers because they don’t take up a lot of room on my desk as a lot of other speakers in this price range do.

I’m not an audiophile. But to me, they sound great. If you’ve got a really good ear, they might not be right for you, and you might prefer some Studio Monitors. For me though, these satisfy all my music needs. They sound great no matter what’s coming through them, be it music, youtube videos, tv shows or dvds.

The Bad

Bose currently has them listed for $399 on their website. At a time when anyone can go to their local electronics shop and get a 2 speaker + subwoofer package for 50 bucks, almost $400 is a lot to spend on a system.

For me though, the good outweighs the bad by a long shot.

Overall they are an excellent set of speakers. If you’re in need of a high quality set of speakers and don’t mind the high price, they’re perfect.

I highly recommend them, but due to the high price, I rate them 4.5/5.