Small computer speakers offer big improvement in sound

I hate headphones. They make me feel cut off from everything around, and physically confined, too. I'm not like all the cubicle geeks who gladly drift off to an island of computer-driven music. As someone who does most of her work from the comfort of home, I'd rather not have a pair of tight, leathery clamps on my head all day as I listen to my favorite CDs.

So I need to have a good set of computer speakers to fill my office with sound. But that presents another problem: how to keep my work area from turning into a speaker cart. Bose claims to have the solution: the Companion 3 multimedia speaker system, available for $250 at Bose retail stores and at www.bose.com.

There are two tiny speakers, each 3.5 inches tall and 2.5 inches wide, about the size of a Hi-8 tape. The woofer is bigger -- comparable to a shoe box, though taller. I stuck it under my desk, next to the CPU. Bose, based in Framingham, has always tried to push its ability to make a lot of sound with a little equipment. The popular Wave radio is the best example of this, with its single console that's supposed to fill any room with a rich, surrounding sound.

Which is the promise the company makes again here -- for anyone interested not only in music, but also in watching DVDs or playing computer games.

Some audiophiles sniff at Bose's claims. To read their musings, just check out the endless online complaints filed under Google Groups. The big joke audio geeks use is: Bose -- "Because Overpriced (Overrated) Speakers Exist." But for someone like me -- who just wants to hear a good CD play while typing -- the Bose Companion 3 system works.

One Sunday evening, I plugged it into the computer and dialed up 92.5 (WXRV.com) to stream in some music. The Bose system offered a dramatic improvement over my mediocre Gateway-provided speakers. The woofer added just the right bass and tone on the Cars' "You're All I've Got Tonight."

And I appreciated one other feature that some might dismiss.

The graphite and silver speakers come with a 2.5-inch round touchpad that controls the volume and, with just a tap, will go to mute. With a baby in the other room, that's incredibly convenient. (The sound pod also has a headphone jack and auxiliary input for hookup to a portable CD or MP3 player.) Now maybe the system won't satisfy someone who wants to know what it sounds like to live inside Itzhak Perlman's violin, but it's good enough for me.

Carlene Hempel can be reached at carlenehempel@hotmail.com.