Bose computer speakers

MediaMate speakers (either side of a CD player)

The computer speakers from Bose was the "MediaMate" system, which was released in 1987. The MediaMate included magnetic shielding so that they could be placed near a CRT computer monitor without causing the monitor's image to distort. They had dual inputs and two sources (such as a CD player and a computer game) to be played simultaneously, with a dial to adjust the relative level of the two sources. There is no on/off switch for the MediaMate speakers or any tone controls.[1] Production of MediaMate speakers ended in 2005.

In Japan, the MediaMate was sold as the "MM-1". The MM-1 included an "enhance" function, which basically acted as a tone control.. An "MM-2" system was also sold in Japan, which included a subwoofer.

The "Companion 2" was released in 2005 as the replacement for the MediaMate.[2] The Companion 2 speakers had two input ports, however (unlike its MediaMate predecessor) there was no control to adjust the level of each source.[3] Virtual surround sound emulation ("TrueSpace Stereo Everywhere") was included.[4]

The "Companion 2 Series II" were introduced in 2006.[5] The appearance changed from round speaker grilles to rectangular speaker grilles.

Compared with the similarly-priced M-Audio Studiophile AV20, the Companion 2 speakers were found to have inferior sound quality but the benefit of being able to play two sources simultaneously.[6]

The "Companion 3" system was released in 2003 and consisted of two satellite speakers and a subwoofer.[7] Control is via a wired remote.[8] Dual inputs allow two sources to be played simultaneously, however it is not possible to adjust the relative level of each source.

The "Companion 3 Series II" was introduced in 2006.[9] Changes included smaller satellite speakers with similar appearance to the Companion 5 system and the speaker grille on the subwoofer changing from circular to square shaped. Sales of the Companion 3 Series II ceased in 2016.[9]

The "Companion 5" system was first listed on Amazon in 2004. It was a 2.1 system consisting of two satellite speakers, a subwoofer, a wired control unit and an inbuilt sound card, which connected to the computer via USB. The subwoofer was very similar to that used in the Companion 3 Series II system, however the Companion 5 used larger satellite speakers.

In Europe and Asia-Pacific, a "Companion 50" version of the system was also produced.

The "Companion 20" system was released in 2011 and consists of two satellite speakers and a wired control unit (called "control pod" by Bose).[10] It remains on the market, as of December 2019.[11]

Computer MusicMonitor

The "Computer MusicMonitor" system was sold from 2007 and consisted of two satellite speakers and a remote control. The Computer MusicMonitor system was judged to have a convenient small size, but sub-standard audio quality for the price.[12] Sales of the Computer MusicMonitor ended in 2017.[13]

In Japan, a similar model called the "Micro Music Monitor (M3)" was released in 2006. The M3 was able to operate on battery power (unlike the Computer MusicMonitor).