Bose Companion 3 Series II multimedia speaker system (Graphite/Silver)

If you have any brand loyalty for Bose or Beats, buy these speakers.  If not, go thrift shopping and find some vintage Hi-Fi.  Aside from the packaging, these speakers offer nothing special. They are a massive improvement from earbuds or standard computer speakers, but much more affordable speakers can be had for much less.   Although I could be biased, I think bookshelf speakers look good.  At leat in a Pottery Barn catalog they do.
 
The Bose have big boomy bass that easily overwhelms the music at lower volumes.  Lowering the bass knob doesn't offer much because the satellites rely so heavily on the acoustamass module.  See?  Even Bose knows it's not a real subwoofer.  The lack of any tweeter is apparent when listening to anything that isn't pop.  Even decent earbuds have a better voice to them.
 
I don't want to thrash on these speakers because they certainly have their place.  That place shouldn't be on your desk because it is easy to find much better sound for much less money.  If you like the looks, then go for it!  For the rest of you, find a vintage audio shop and see what real audio sounds like while supporting a local business.

Great desktop 2.1 system if you just want to enjoy sound rather than analyze it.
 
The Companion 3 offers slow but deep bass, no low mids and pretty much no upper treble, there's no great detail either, and imaging and soundstage are pretty poor, but the bass is big and airy (at least in my room) even though it rolls off drastically under 50hz, and while this may not sound like a compliment it kind of is.
 
I would never use these for serious listening, but for just chilling and enjoying music while doing something else or films I find this sound signature perfect. 
You could listen forever because of the relaxed, veiled presentation. It particularly shines with bass heavy music but not so much with stuff that requires great bass precision as this can get too muddy perhaps. It sounds great for modern metal because highs are never piercing and the bass, even if it can't keep up with fast paced music, doesn't distract me and on the other hand I kind of enjoy the rumble however stupid this may sound. Also these work great with electronic music like Massive Attack, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Thievery Corporation. They totally don't work with light ambient like Sigur Ros or generally more delicate music as the sub sometimes overwhelms the whole frequency spectrum. 
 
 
I have these speakers since 2007 and they're still going strong which must count for something, but now I'm looking for a replacement just because I feel like sometimes I'd like a bit more detail and precision. I was looking for a non fatiguing system, absolutely without forward mids or piercing highs, generally warm and with deep and relaxed bass. I'd still like a 2.1 system, and owning a pair of Sonus Faber Concerto speakers I'm very interest in their Toy bookshelf speakers, because they just look awesome and are small enough for my desk. I was thinking about an SVS SB-1000 and an amp like the NAD D3020. If I ever get to listen or own them I'll write a review!

These are a great pair of 2.1 speakers!
They are so small and can be very loud!
The Bass is amazing out of the small subwoofer.
The mids and highs are amazing.

The only con I have for this system is that the ON/OFF switch is touch activated so whenever you go to change the volume you might accidentally turn it off or on.