Computer MusicMonitor

Good Gear Guide

When it comes to high quality audio, Bose certainly know what they are doing. The Bose Computer MusicMonitors are a compact speaker system designed to give high fidelity sound without the need for a separate sub-woofer. For the most part, they deliver quite convincingly with bass that is quite impressive for a two-speaker setup.

Pros

  • Exceptional sound quality, attractive design, easy to set-up

Cons

  • Minor bass loss in far low end of the register

Bottom Line

The Bose Computer MusicMonitors are easily the best PC speakers we have reviewed. Considering their lack of a sub-woofer, the speakers produce vibrant rich sound and are a pleasure to use.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 499.00 (AUD)

We tested the speakers with a wide range of music. Whether it was orchestral, a piano concerto, jazz, hip-hop or pop music, the speakers delivered excellent crisp sound. The only downfall was in the bass where the lowest frequencies tended to be a little truncated. In order to create this low frequency rumble, a subwoofer is usually used as it can manipulate the large quantities of air required. In a small speaker system it is very hard to create a broad range of bass due to the confined space.

The MusicMonitors produce far more bass than you would expect from something of their size and an even more impressive amount of treble. Their strengths far outweigh their weaknesses and, in fact, we would consider these the best PC speakers we have reviewed to date.

Using a performance of the Prelude in C Minor by Rachmaninov we were impressed by the clarity of each note. In this example, bass was not an issue at all. The lowest notes were delivered with clarity and the interjecting high notes pierced the bass with precision. Out of all the different types of music we used on these speakers, all the piano pieces were easily the most incredible.

In orchestral pieces, the violins always tended to pull more focus than a French Horn or the building rumble of the timpani. In the upper registers, the audio is sublime with every instrument clearly heard and their position in the soundstage well understood by the listener.

Across most types of modern music the speakers performed beautifully. It was in bass-heavy genres like hip-hop and R&B that any weakness was evident. Human voices were accurately reproduced with vivid detail. No matter what song we used, the voices were always clearly separated and easily distinguished. Minute details like breaths could also be heard without being lost in the instruments being played.

We also tested using films and video games and found that both performed exceptionally for a two-speaker setup. The only complaint once again falls on the bass levels, but considering the strengths of the system, its minor limitations can easily be forgiven.

The Bose Computer MusicMonitors are easy to set-up, small in stature and attractive in design. In the end, they are the best PC speakers we have reviewed to date and are only hampered by their bass limitations and price. At such a high price we expected a little more but after listening to our favourite piano performances with such high fidelity, we can't complain too much.

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