Rating: 
Summary: Looks cool, sounds awful...
Review: ...but my officemate who bought them can't complain too much, he paid less than fifteen dollars buying a pair used off of eBay.
Consistent with other Bose products I've listened to, these speakers are all about pretty packaging, outrageous advertising hype, and mediocre electronics. Typical of Bose speakers, these feature screeching treble, hollow mids, and anemic bass. They were only a little better than the generic eight dollar speakers which recently died on my officemate, but not by much.
Now had he paid full retail (over a hundred bucks) on these little junky things, I'd REALLY give him a hard time. But for fifteen bucks he sure got some snazzy-looking paperweights! ; )
Rating: 
Summary: For their size, category and prize...
Review: ...they are the best Compact 2 speaker set for Computers!Its sad to see how some people say this speakers get distorted when THEY DONT AT ALL! I have owned my Mediamates for a year and 2 months right now, and I must say I am very happy with them. I have tested this speakers against the ones my old computer came with, that are JBL. Also, I have tested them against the ones my new computer came with, which are Klipsch 2.1 speakers. To tell you the truth the Bose sound way better, more clear, more spacious and more bassy than the JBL speakers, considering the JBL dont go as loud and cant take much bass at all. The test against the Klipsch 2.1 wasnt bad also.. considering these speakers are compact and dont have an extra subwoofer, and that the Klipsch are HUGE and have a BIG subwoofer(also way more pricey! Over $250).. the bose have the same sound quality.. with some things even more spacious, they just lack the room shaking bass that the Klipsch had. If you are gonna get these speakers know two things: 1) They provide amazing bass for their speaker category, but it isnt something that is room shaking, and the sound can be room filling as long as you place them well. 2) They are EXCELLENT for gaming(I have tested them with HALO and Nightfire), EXCELLENT for movies (I have tested Die Another Day, Star Wars Episode 1 and 2, Finding Nemo and many more, with certain scenes you can feel almost surround sound), and they are EXCELLENT for some types of music.. for others they are just good. To give you an idea, orchestra music and movie soundtracks sound perfect on this speakers just by connecting them to a CD Player. But for other music like Rap, Hip Hop, some Rock and Techno youd like to have a nice soundcard that has an equalizer or at least Bass and Treble controls, or youd like to have a nice hoometheater receiver with good controls, or also youd need Windows Media Player 7.0 or higher and set the equalizer to your preferred settings. With Rap I get a lot of Bass with Eminem (Eminem Show), but when it comes to Ja Rule, a song like Furious or Always on Time doesnt get much bass. With Rock, I have tested Green Day and Good Charlotte and they sound excellent. With Techno I have tested 007 Nightfire music and songs from the internet and they sound nice. Reggae sounds good on them, and the best is instrumental music. A great sounding song on them is Here Without You from 3 Doors Down. The speakers have 2 RCA Inputs, you can connect 2 things at once and mix both things. (For example get the alert sounds from your computer and have an Ipod connected to the other input, and just turn the mix knob a little). They go loud enough to get your mom yelling at you or to be heard around your house. They provide "lifelike" voices and instruments, especially with CDs recorded live. This is the perfect choice if you dont have more than $100! I am happy with them, they are way more then what I expected them to be. Just remember the main things you need: A NICE sound card, dont expect great sound if your soundcard is crap, and if you dont have a nice soundcard that lets you adjust bass and treble controls, then just use Windows Media Player's Equalizer on Techno mode, but with the first 3 bars set to the medium level. Youll love them! If you get this speakers and for some reason, when you connect them to your comp they sound bad or distorted, do this: Test them with your CD Player, connect Xbox or Ps2 directly to them, if those 2 things sound better than in your computer then consider changing your soundcard. In your computer these speakers should sound better. I hope this helps many of you! :) One last thing to say: I also tested them outdoors and they bring out nice bass and are heard throughout my backyard.. they just arent weather-resistant though. Bose is the best in sound! Many Bose haters come and make bad reviews, but to tell you the truth my love for Bose isnt based on the name, it is based on the sound quality, and if you do all my review says youll enjoy and love this speakers forever! The best 2.0 setup for PCs. Thats why they get 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Great value; Great Sound
Review: First, let's consider what these speakers are not. They are not a boom box. It's bass response is tight, not muddy and distorted as one might find on a boom box. Nor is the bass lacking to any significant degree. It is there in the appropriate levels.
They are not a modular surround sound system, so your not going to have a whiz bang experience of having sound engulf you from all directions. But believe me when a I say that you will be pleased with these speakers if you are interested in clarity of sound across its frequency range, without distortion.
The speakers take up little room your desk and are not expensive, at all when you consider the quality of sound that emanates from them. If you're looking for a set of speakers for your computer that will fit on your desk and cost only a very little bit, I don't see how you could do better than these.
Rating:
Summary: Good to Go
Review: Hello fellow Road Warriors. I travel a lot and sorely missed full spectrum sound. Earphones seemed the only option for portable sound with good bass but they are too encumbering. I tried a cheaper subwoolfer system but it was too big to carry and had too many parts. I was thinking about the Bose Wave radio sound, and found the MediaMate computer speakers. For the size and weight they do not disappoint. The sound is typical Bose, high quality and balance, something some people have to get used to after being blasted by boom boxes for their developing years. It is amazing what Bose got out of a 2.5" driver in a small bass reflex cabinet. There are no tone controls but you don't need them because they are well compensated and have a balanced spectrum at all levels including real soft but can play at moderate room-level if desired. They travel well, occupying about as much space as a pair of large men's shoes and weighting less than 5 lbs. The controls are neatly recessed but accesable, the cases are sturdy but of reasonable weight. There is a metal speaker grill. If you want to carry just one, not a bad compromise, you can drive both channels by plugging both L and R sides to the right speaker and mixing the A-B input balance. Bose tends to be pricy but these speakers are well worth the price. Real bass again! Now if I can just find my old Gov,t Mule CDs . . .
Rating:
Summary: Good to Go
Review: Hello fellow Road Warriors. I travel a lot and sorely missed full spectrum sound. Earphones seemed the only option for portable sound with good bass but they are too encumbering. I tried a cheaper subwoolfer system but it was too big to carry and had too many parts. I was thinking about the Bose Wave radio sound, and found the MediaMate computer speakers. For the size and weight they do not disappoint. The sound is typical Bose, high quality and balance, something some people have to get used to after being blasted by boom boxes for their developing years. It is amazing what Bose got out of a 2.5" driver in a small bass reflex cabinet. There are no tone controls but you don't need them because they are well compensated and have a balanced spectrum at all levels including real soft but can play at moderate room-level if desired. They travel well, occupying about as much space as a pair of large men's shoes and weighting less than 5 lbs. The controls are neatly recessed but accesable, the cases are sturdy but of reasonable weight. There is a metal speaker grill. If you want to carry just one, not a bad compromise, you can drive both channels by plugging both L and R sides to the right speaker and mixing the A-B input balance. Bose tends to be pricy but these speakers are well worth the price. Real bass again! Now if I can just find my old Gov,t Mule CDs . . .
Rating:
Summary: Best sound for the money
Review: I bought these speakers to replace some Harmon Kardons that died on me. I wanted something with good sound since I listen to a lot of music while I am working. (Programming can get REALLY boring...) These speakers are all I could have wanted and more. The sound is clear as a bell and the speakers do not distort even at high volumes. Highs are clear and these two little speakers can put out some wicked thumping bass. Everyone in the office popped in to my cube to find out where that great sound was coming from. I have home theater system that does not even come close to sounding as good as these two little speakers! It is making me seriously consider buying a new home theatre system from Bose, or at least building one from Bose components. My Boston Acoustics computer sound system at home (a good system) can't hold a candle to this product either. Bose is bottom line the best audio equipment in the world, and these speakers are no exception to that rule. If you want to sample Bose quality at a lower price, buy these speakers. If you want great sound but don't want to have one of those computer speaker systems with the huge woofer and all those tiny speakers, buy these Bose speakers! This product will probably sound better than that stuff anyway. The speakers have a headphone jack in the front, and are also capable of dual input sound. I don't have a need for dual input but it is nice to know that the capability is there. My only wish is that these speakers were about 30 bucks cheaper. Can't have it all...
Rating: 
Summary: Ok, but music lovers need to look elsewhere
Review: I currently have Bose 201s and 601s - and I found the 601's very satisfactory. Thus when the time came to buy a 2/2.1 computer speaker system, bose was the first choice. Sound quality, size, and complexity were the criteria. The Bose mediamate sounds very impressive for its size - can certainly fill a hotel room - and are portable enough for use while travelling. The drawbacks are:
a. The "clarity" of mids and highs is noticably poorer than a good home system.
b. Cheap feel of the plastic controls,
c. The lousy connection between the primary and secondary speakers that creates enough noise to disturb your music listening
d. No power off button - one has to unplug the adapter from the wall
e. Bass is not deep - but given the size of the speakers it was an acceptable compromise. Therefore, I was back on the hunt with a budget of upto $150. I heard the Altec Lansing MX5021 THX. Against my criteria, it was bulky, not too complicated and sounded excellent at all levels. I compared it on the shop against similarly priced speakers from Kiplisch, Creative, other Altec Lansings and some others - and found that much better. So that's the one I have now instead of the Bose.
Rating: 
Summary: Overpriced, but worth it
Review: I have experienced some audio products, in the home theatre arena, that includes Yamaha, Onkyo, Klipsch, Infinity, and some JBL stuff... nothing fancy, and I have had somewhat a loaded past with multimedia speakers, from early days of Altec Lansing ACS54 to cheap TDK tremor series, to Klipsch 4.1, Logitech Z560, Altec Lansing powerhouse 641, to Logitech Z-2200 (worth every penny if you want power), to my current flagship Klipsch Ultra 5.1 which I just sold on ebay (check my id: phreeco), my roommate owned Gigaworks S750 which he just sold as well (check his id: UW_Madison). My other roommate has Logitech flagship Z680. I don't claim as audiophile, but with my fair share of experience, I can wholeheartedly recommend Bose MediaMate for people who have limited space but want big sound. I have been shopping for 2.1 small footprint speaker for my laptop recently, so my comparison incl. only spk of this category. I tried Companion 3, the sound is too thin for me to recommend it, and it's even more overpriced. Altec Lansing VS4121 is also good, but sound is not as balanced, you need to tweak it around with the treble and bass button. If you have more space and / or want more power, get Klpsch 2.1, the sound field is not as wide open as MediaMate, but it's small difference that the bass module more than makes up for it. Two things that surprised me about MediaMate: 1) the wide sound field, very good ambience 2) the integrated woofer is much more potent than it looks 3) the sound is surprisingly balanced and clear. couple that with very open airy ambience sound, I believe the money is worth it. Oh and if you want power, Megaworks 250D is also a very good choice. Altec Lansing MX5021, FX6021, JBL Creature, Yamaha YST-MS50, Monsoon PlanarMedia 14 are also good choices, but I am not going to comment on those because although I sampled some of those in store I have not had enough time to evaluate the sound extensively in a better environment. And for those that want 5.1 surround sound, do yourself a favor get Klipsch Ultra 5.1, the redesigned Dual 8" subwoofer is titanic and unbeatable, but make sure to sell it fast if you received a few citations / complaints from your neighbors... next thing you know they're calling police.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite what I needed
Review: I needed speakers that sounded very good but that were small and light enough that I could take on trips with me. After reading the reviews here, I decided on the Bose. I noted that the price was the same at a local Best Buy, so picked them up there the same day. These speakers sound much better than the built-ins in my laptop, but they lack the level of bass that I wanted. If you limit your listening to jazz or vocals that aren't dependant on a deep bass sound/feel, then I think these would be fine. My music tastes are eclectic, and the Bose just didn't do it for me. I returned them the next day and checked out Cambridge Soundworks. I'd picked up CS computer speakers about 6 years ago for my home computer and they sound great, but I was trying to get away from a 3-piece system because the bass module was so big and non-mobile. Long story short, last week I ordered the "Soundworks" speaker system, $75, arrived today, sounds great complete with very low bass, and the 3-piece system only takes up a little more room than the Bose system (the bass mod is the same size as the two Bose together; the sats are 3"X3" each).
Rating:
Summary: Bose, take a bow!
Review: I purchased these remarkable speakers a few months ago, as I spend a lot of time in front of the computer (streaming DR Klassisk from Denmark--the best online classical music station in the world), and my considerable ears stood up and saluted at the quality of sound these speakers deliver. I've since ordered another pair for my office. My home study is a loft overlooking the living room--and I've stopped using all the extensive Sony sound equipment down there, it's enough just to crank these sweet little puppies up (w/ no distortion and amazing bass) and have them fill the whole house. One looks at these simple, stylish little boxes and begins to believe in magic. I guess you could say I rather like them.
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