[obobskivich]

I'd agree on the Companion 20 - they're a sad replacement for the Companion 3. Haven't heard about the JBL Creature in almost a decade - surprised those are still out.

Have you tried whatever iteration Altec Lansing is on of their ~$80 2.1 system?

 

[quadmaniac]

No, the store did not stock the Altec Lansings, nor the Creatives (I was disappointed since I specifically wanted to try the Creative T40)

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

6. AudioEngine A2 (J&R)
 
At first sight, OMG - are these so small? They're quite smaller than I expected. The guy at the store played a CD and the music playback was pleasing. I would say that I expected more, from their $199 price tag and all the hype. Maybe they are true flat-response and maybe they are audiophile material, but my ears didn't find them fun at all. I tried with my mp3 player, and the volume output was EXTREMELY low, definitely needed an amp. I turned up to max, and the result was okay, but nothing mind blowing.
 

 
 
Did you set the volume of your mp3 player to max? You should--always, when plugging into speakers.

 

[quadmaniac]

Eric, yes I had to turn the mp3 player to the max, even then the A2's demanded a lot more power.
 
Update:
 
I finally purchased the JBL Jembe 2.0. After bringing these babies home, and having played them for about an hour, I feel that this is a positively great purchase for around $60. The sound quality is quite good for their size, though it won't satisfy bassheads. The highs are superb, the mids are good but not as meaty as in the Bose C2's and the bass is about the same to the C2s. 
 
Overall, I like them since they pair quite well with my Clip Zip and I don't need any additional headphone amp (which I suspect I would've needed with the Bose C2s). What's impressive is how they fill a smallish room with sound at about 50% volume on them, and 90% volume on my Clip Zip. Me gusta