Product Reviews

Despite a reputation for high-quality audio reproduction in the consumer electronics market, Bose's computer and iPod speakers have been less than impressive. So we were keen to find out whether the performance of these tiny stereo desktop speakers (just 12.5cm high and 6.5cm wide) was as good as their sleek, elegant metal casings.

In addition to Bose's proprietary digital signal processing, switching amplifier and electronic equalisation, the MusicMonitor speakers use two opposing passive radiators rather than just one. This means that each cancels out the vibrations from the other, improving the speakers' ability to deliver bass notes - in theory anyway.

The speakers connect

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to your Mac and with each other via 3.5mm jacks. There's also a separate power supply which connects to the right speaker, while a credit-card style remote control allows you to power the speakers on and off and change volume. Setup is simple and takes only a few minutes.

Audio quality is as impressive as we hoped it would be. Bass notes are rich but not overpowering and there's lots of detail in the mid and treble ranges. They make a big sound for such small speakers too.

The remote control is superfluous and not particularly satisfying to use, but other than that we can't fault the Computer MusicMonitor. That just leaves one, fairly major, sticking point - price. At £279, these are hugely expensive speakers for connecting to a computer. Competing, high-quality rivals can be had for less than £100 and despite the quality of the audio, the good looks and the engineering that has gone into them, we can't help but feel that they cost too much for most of us. On the plus side, once you've bought them, you'll never need to buy another set of speakers for your Mac, because they look and feel as though they'll last forever.

In short these are the Rolls-Royce of desktop speakers and if you can cope with the accompanying price tag, they won't let you down.