These speakers:
1-Look Great on my desk flanking my 20" widescreen monitor
2-Are very easy to set up.
3-Can accept input from my MP3 Players as well as my computer
4-They exceeded my expectations regarding music reproduction. With out Eq. the Bose sound is great. Add 12 bands of Eq. and they sound outstanding!
5-They are very loud, effieient for computer speakers
6-They have, in my opnion, a very smooth low end and a rich mid band. The highs can be a prob with eq. If they are adjusted to accentuate 15khz to 20khz for a particular recording, then another song comes on with that range already acentuated the highs can be shrill. Turn off the Eq. and they sound good again. I will prob. keep the Eq. turned off and go with Dr. Bose's internal EQ.

Not many.
1-No power switch
2-
3-Did I mention no power switch?

Buy these before they are not available anylonger. They out perform their replacements.

I find it interesting that you are required to rate youself regarding your listening experience. I wonder what an Audiophile vs an Enthusiast is???? I am 50, in my late teens early twenties I was certified as an Audio Technician, Sold both High end and Mid Range Audio Gear and listened to a lot of Rock. I presented myself as a an Audiophile with all of the snobery I could muster.

I like to think I have matured past that stage. With that preface in mind, I love the Bose MediaMate Speakers.
I was not going for Booming Bass or Ultra clear highs. I know enough about audio to know that room dimensions, wall type, floor type, curtains and shape influence sound in general. I do not pay a lot of computer games nor listen to very loud music any longer.

What I wanted was Pleasing sound when I work. I didn't want to be blasted out by noise when my cordless or blackberry rang (shielding issues with my previous speakers). I wanted pleasing sound. I get it and more!

I have a small study that I am going to get a second pair for. My MP3 Player has FM as well as MP3. These speakers coupled with the MP3 make a very inexpensive and great sounding stereo.

People either love or hate Bose. It is very odd. I have never known anyone who bought a Bose speaker who, if they set them up correctly, didn't at least like them or find them pleasing.

Customer Service

The person I bought the speakers from micro78 on Amazon. The owner of the store is great. Fast shipping and immediate communication.

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I have a 25 year old pair of Bose 301's connected to my Home Entertainment system, a 1 Year old pair of 301 series VI in my bedroom. I have had 901's, Klipish Horns, KLH's, Adventsl, Electrostatics from the 70's and 80's, 2.1 computer speakers, junk computer speakers. I know there have been more over the years however I think you get the point.

Bass, Size, Dual inputs

None weakness except it does not have power on/off swith

Great Speakers!! I have never seen a speaker sound so better with this size. I have used lot of other speakers but amazed to lsiten these. Would reccomend for everyone. Bass is good at all levels and sound is very clear and crisp.

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Lightweight, easily-transported, clear sound with more rich low end than the two-piece competition. Sounds good at a range of volume levels. Bose delivers a product of fair build quality. A better value than most Bose products.

Just can't match the low end output of a separate sub. The connection from the passive speaker to the powered speaker has been sketchy at times.

When the internal amplifier finally went on a pair of old Labtec speakers I was using, I decided I only wanted another two-piece system. So I headed to the local Best Buy to compare speakers. On display were the JBL Duet and Bose MediaMate. I demoed the two speakers against each other for nearly 45 minutes but in the end the Bose were the clear winner for output level and low-frequency response (thanks to their very large plastic enclosures).

I took them home and, while it wasn't the same as having a separate 'subwoofer' (though most PC subs aren't really subs and I didn't want to bother with them), the overall clarity of the audio made up for the comparative lack of bass extension. These things still serve up a fair portion of lows, but they just aren't as deep as what you can get with a subwoofer. They also turn up fairly loud, though the internal circuitry introduces dynamic compression beyond a certain point to save the speaker drivers and stave off distortion. All the same, after living with these for about three years, I've been quite satisfied with my purchase. They have a clear, inoffensive sound that I have found more than adequate when I couldn't plug my computer into my very large 7.1 home theater setup. And being a two-way design, they travel quite well.

If you need some clear, clean sound for your computer and want to be able to easily move the speakers as well, the Bose MediaMate fit the bill nicely. If you're a bass pig, you might want to look elsewhere.

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Very large Labtec two-piece multimedia speakers, various other computer speakers, various other high-fidelity speakers

First The lack of treble / highs. I am using Creative Sound Blaster to process the sound and utilize their equilizer to customize the highs, mid-ranges and low to my desire. I use them to listen to music over the internet mostly. I would suggest using an equalizer with the Bose Mediamate speakers. I have also used Windows Media player with it's built-in equalizer and found great listening satisfaction.

The controls are easy to use. Two-source with mixing capibility is priceless. The bass is great for small rooms or close quarters. Excellent full sound. Great Design.

At first disapointed by so much bass and lack of treble, but a equalizer/ Digital Sound Processing solved this problem.

Love them! Purchased because of the 2-input capibility & headphone jack. The ability to switch between 2 input sourses and mix the two so you can listen to both at the same time or seperatelly is awesome. Great Bass. Excellent for for the bedroom.

Customer Service

Not needed so far.

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Altec Lansing, Sony, & Creative speaker systems.

Flat responce, even down to the bass. You won't believe the amount of deep sound to a tiny speaker!

I can honestly say none, though push them too hard and they will clam the volme level to protect it's self. go for the campaigns if you cant find these.

When I read reviews on here slagging these babys off it begger's belief, it really does. They must have faulty units or not runing them right. This really really is clever design. If you own a laptop pc or small mp3 player then there really IS no other choice, I've never been a fan of systems with subwoofers, as you will be adjusting it all the time but it will never be perfect, and though people say bass is 'omnidirectional' I feel that is not true, esp at low volumes. These sort all of that out, and though I agree that these are not the audiophiles choice for the money and the size they are simply awesome. leave the volume set to half and leave all your eqs set flat sit back and be impressed. cleverly they need a AC-AC power adapter so the DC smoothing is dealt with inside the speaker, meaning whatever noisey psu you chuck at it- it will always sound fantastic.

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altec lansing/yamaha subwoofer systems, loads of pc speakers

Two audio inputs. Good low volume sound. (most similar speakers in the $20.00 - $40.00 price range do well at low volume)

mid / high range attenuates automatically at anything above half volume. Probably to minimize distortion but sounds like somebody is adjusting the sound settings while listening - very annoying. Good thought, but i think the idea is suppost include the attenuation to be inaudible. Guess Bose didn't listen first before releasing to market.

Not even worth $60.00.

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JBL Multimedia

The look 'decent'

Poorly engineered - Bose should take their name off of these speakers.

Simply, the only thing going for these speakers is the Bose badge. Such a pitty, Bose could have done much better engineering these speakers. While listening prefences are subjective, engineering sloppiness like poor shielding which results in intermodulation, interference from radio stations, etc., is unexcuseable. I listen to mainly jazz, and if I say so myself, I have rather discerning taste in sound quality. I needed a set of speakers for my laptop and figured I couldn't go wrong with Bose. I was mistaken; I did go wrong in assuming because these speakers had the Bose badge they met a certain acoustical standard; they do NOT! You can do much better in this category of speakers.

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Sounds fairly good for near-field use. Loses alot of output if its further than 3 feet away and not toe-in (which isn't optimal for stereo imaging in the first place).

Bass. Trebel is recessed.

A 2.5" midrange driver in a semi-large cabinent. Very retro look to it. I compared it to Klipsch 2.0 Ultra (same price) and Altec Lansing MX5020s ($70 retail, I got that for $35 off eBay as well). The Bose was closer to the Altec Lansings...if "closer" was the muddy bass. Other than that it was no comparison. The Bose speaker strained to produce any highs (you can hear the plucking of the guitars with the Klipschs and ALs, with the Bose you just hear a cacophony of "guitarish" sound). Doesn't sound too bad as a computer speaker, but give its price ($100) and its performance (about or even worse than the $40 JBL Duets), you are really paying for the Bose name. It's like buying high end DVD players--except you don't even get the nice build quality for the extra price, just the Bose badge.

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Close to reality music, so natural sound. Best sound at its size - so small.

Badly represented image and soundstage. Contaminated headphone output. Distorted sound at high volume. Defeated by bigger room. No power-on button or status LED. Unequal sound between left and right.

I wrote this to warn you audiophiles who have plan to buy this little speakers for your computer set. Don't touch it or it will piss you off. The image and soundstage are totally messed up all around - you can not see clearly where is the singer and the band. The freaky internal EQ is what I suspected. Bose not usually doing this on their product. I've listened to some of their acoustimass models and they sounded much better. This tiny ones is exceptional. So, beware. Of course, from the sound textures point of view, This little ones is not too bad at all. Its sound is natural and comes close to the reality of music which means I don't have to explain anything much about the details. But with that ugly image and soundstage, it is going nowhere. The only down point of the sound of this speakers is the very low frequency. I think it just can't help with the bass drivers which has only 2.5 inches in diametre. For its size, I think Bose did a pretty good job so far. You'll never hear this amount of bass comes out of any other speakers which has the same or even much more bigger size unless it says "bose" on its badge. You listened to it and have to look at it again and again, wondering where are theirs hidden woofers? Not sub woofer though. For maximum sound quality. I think you have to sit near it. Probably put it aside of your laptop. Pretend that you are working or gaming on it or whatever. point it(toe in) to your ear, and enjoy, no matter your room is small or big. For casual listening, which means you are not sitting there and don't worry much about the image and soundstage, It is so perfect with a small room. As the room is bigger, its performance drops significiently. You can trust me that it is not suitable for rooms bigger than 12sq.m. or you try it on your own risk. Here comes what I've realized about this tiny speakers. First, Sound become distorted with high volume level - not as advertised. Second, The left speaker sounds louder than the right one. I don't know why. Third, it has very poor headphone output. you can try it by your self compared with the headphone output from the source, see how dirty it is. The rest of it would be there is no power-on button and no status LED. - am I asking too much? It would be the ideal pairs of computer speakers only if we can bypass the disappointed internal EQ. If anyone knows how to disassemble this speakers please let me know. What else do I have to say? Ah! please stay away from bose ipod thing also. That one is the most terrible bose I've ever heard. So hopeless.

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cosmetics, built quality

only one, the Sound!

I just upgraded my computer,and wanted a small speaker system to enhance the upgrade. I really didn't want to go to a three piece system (sat's & sub) so I found the Bose Mediamate 2 piece very attractive option. The built quality is nothing short of excellent, even the up angle design was appealing. All this for a c-note, what was not to like, possibly the perfect system for my application. Honestly, it feels great to upgrade and find that all your expectations are fulfilled in upgrading. The only problem was, they sounded AWFUL! Voices sounded distant, disconnected and thin. Distortion was unacceptable. Musically inferior to what I was replacing. I'm thankful to BESTBUYS for their 14-day return policy, and reattached my old Yamaha M10's. I will continue the search.

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