Bose Companion 3 Speakers Follow-Up Review

A week ago on July 4th, I purchased a Bose Companion 3 computer speaker system (comes with a wired remote and subwoofer). I finally hooked it up to my Mac Pro tonight, and it is phenomenal. It sounded even better than the ones in the Bose Showroom. As with previous experience in trying out speakers in the showroom, it always sounds better there because the showroom is acoustically controlled and design to accentuate the quality of the speakers. However, this speaker system delivered sweet melodic mid-tones, non-ear chilling highs, and a heartful deep bass. It's by far the best computer speakers I've heard. Considering, I almost bought the Companion 5 system. Now, I'm convinced I made the right choice because Companion 5 would be too much speaker for my purpose and the Companion 3 delivered the perfect blend for the money. Bravo to Bose Sound System!!!

Bose Companion 3 Desktop Speakers

Today I purchased the Bose Companion 3 Speakers at the Bose Outlet at Cabezon, CA. I've been checking out this speaker for months. I couldn't decide between the lower model Companion 2 system (no subwoofer) @ $99 and the Companion 5 system @ $349.99. The good thing about the Bose Outlet store aside from the discounted price is that their demo station is side by side with the same music. I liked the Companion 2 speakers @ $99 but it's definitely sub-par to the 3 and 5 series. I found the Companion 5 is superb but maybe too much speakers for my need because if I really want superb quality sound to listen music and watch movies, I'll just turn on my home stereo system. The 5 series is perfect for those consumers who do no have a high quality home stereo system. That leaves the Companion 3 system which has low profile and footprint satellite speakers with a fantastic subwoofer for the low bass. It's like no other computer speakers I've ever heard. Just think the Companion 5 is even far better than the Companion 3 speakers. So, for those of you who do not have a home stereo system and want to listen to music or watch movies with your desktop computer, the Companion 5 system is the way to go. The Companion 3 and 5 system also features a remote volume control which also has a headphone jack and audio input jack for plugging in your mp3 player.

I've been lurking like a vulture for a sale for months. The retail price which never goes on sale is $249.99. It's finally the 4th of July weekend sale with an additional 10% off of the outlet price of $219. It's $197.10 before tax. It's such a good deal, I just couldn't pass up this offer even though these are considered refurbished models. It still carries the 5 year Bose warranty. Go check it out this weekend before the sale is over.

Navigon 2100 GPS

I got up early this morning to get to Staples and purchased the Navigon 2100 GPS. $149.95 This unit is listed $199 everywhere else. I've been looking for a GPS unit for my Dad for some time now. He's reluctant to drive and afraid to get lost at night because he's in his 70's now and his sense of direction and eyesights is not so good now. This way, he can drive my Mom to more places rather than cooped up in the house all the time. I thought it would make a great Christmas gift as it is very difficult to come up with new ideas and useful gifts for him year after year.

I tested the Navigon and I really love their 3D Reality view on a 3.5 inch display. It clearly shows which lane you should be if you want to exit to the correct freeway interchange. It's particularly confusing here in LA freeways and really useful feature to avoid missing an exit because you're in the wrong lane. Their text to speech of street names and exits is pretty accurate and it would be great for my Dad so that he doesn't have to constantly look at the display to navigate to where he wants to go.

Whenever, I slow down and come to a stop, it displays all gas stations, and restaurants in the vicinity. Some restaurants displays with their logo such as McDonalds and Starbucks coffee. Chevron logo is also displayed for their gas stations.

The only drawback is that it's only a 3.5 inch display, and it comes with only a care charger. You'll have to pay another $20 for an adapter to charge it indoor with a household electrical outlet.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the Navigon 2100 because it's feature packed for it's price. There aren't any other GPS on the market at $150 can produce the same amount of quality display and information

APS 1300VA UPS Battery Backup System

After purchasing the Apple Mac Pro for the past month, and loving it so much. I've been spending sleepless nights (ok, I'm kidding... in reality, I have an "off" switch on the back of my head. When it hits the pillow, I'm out) thinking about in the event of a bad electric spike, it can seriously damage my baby. Not to mention, if I run into a blackout during upcoming Summer months, I can lose my files to data corruption, and lose my work which I may have worked on for many hours.

The solution is to get a UPS (Interruptible Power Supply) made by APC. Belkin makes several reputable model as well. However, I'm old school with APC from the years of working as a network administrator which we employ APC UPS to power backup network servers.

Circuit City had a great deal this weekend with the APC 1300 VA Battery Backup System with LCD Display. The voltage capacity is very important when considering a UPS because depending on the number of device, computer, monitor and peripherals such as external hard drives and external DVD burners, it might be too much of a strain on a more anemic version. 1300 volts protection is just about right because it's affordable yet it can protect all the devices I mention above. It's rated up to 136 minutes of power backup which is ample time for me to save my files and turn off my computer, or enough time for power to recover. Plus, it conditions electric current coming out of the wall to my computer power supply and avoid too high of a spike which can permanently damage my baby. This model has a LCD display which show the status of the electric current and the load it's taking on. As a curiosity, I noticed that the electric current fluctuates from 119 volts to 122 volts throughout the day. It has 8 outlets. 6 of which is battery backup for devices such as monitors, computer, external hard drives. And 2 outlets not backup for devices such as printers, speakers, DVD burners, etc.

Now with APC 1300 VA running 24/7... I can now sleep soundly. ;-)

Bought it at Circuit City $129.95 - $15.00 Coupon discount = $125.00

Just a quick update on 12/9, Circuit City is selling it for $119. I guess I'll make a quick stop to CC and get my $10 + Tax back since it's within 30 days price match period.

Monster Cable Home Theater PowerCenter Surge Protector with Clean Power Stage 2 v.2.1 Circuitry

Well, you probably heard people say once you upgrade in one area, you'll end up upgrading exponentially to other things as well. From my previous posts, I purchased a Blu-Ray player and a new receiver last week. Only to realize that I'm not maximizing the potential of my AV Theater system because I don't have a electrical power conditioner to filter noise and produce clean powe to my Blu-Ray player and receiver.

I was little skeptical for the longest time. I thought it was just a ploy for sales people to get me to spend more of my hard earn money. They kept saying that I made a large purchase of a Hi-Def TV last year, and I need to protect it and give it the cleanest power so that I can get the best picture. "You bought the chicken, you might as well pay for the teriyaki source as well." I thought how can that be? But sure enough, I succumbed to the notion and got a Monster MT 1600 because I got a 10% discount coupon from Circuit City in my email inbox. I just love their instore pickup when I complete my shopping and transaction online. It speed up my shopping and research and I also make sure they have it in stock. And if not, I can go to another store that has it in stock. Any way, I did notice better picture quality because I notice there are less grain and clearer and crisper image with less "ghosting" effect especially 1080i sports broadcast (NBA Laker games). Circuit City $299.95 - 10% ($30) = $269.95

Sony STR-DG510 HDMI Receiver

Well, I woke up early this morning to participate in the Black Friday Holiday Shopping Frenzy. I came up empty handed at Fry's and Circuit City because by 6AM, there were over 500 people ahead of me waiting in line to go into the store. So, I decided to make a quick run to Best Buy and sure enough they had a line earlier but not it had discipated and I was able to walk right in. Many of the items I was hoping to get was no longer available. But, I came across a Sony Receiver which I was looking to upgrade from my 5+years old Sony Receiver with no HDMI connection. Black Friday price $100!!! Wow, it can be! But there were more than a dozen available right on the show floor without having to wait in line to get a sales associate to get it for me. I quickly grabbed one under my arm and proceeded to the cashier line. I will post a review in a couple of months after I tested the receiver thoroughly.

Sony Blu-Ray Player

I purchased a Sony Blu-Ray Player (BDP-S300) today. I waited a whole year for this because when I purchased my Sony Hi-Def TV last year, I couldn't afford the Blu-Ray player because it cost $1000! After a year, the player dropped over $600 and Blu-Ray movie discs are more abundant and affordable as well.

What an awesome upgrade from my Sony upconversion DVD player. The audio is just monstrous because Blu-Ray discs can hold 5 x as much data as a DVD. So, the manufacturer packed all kinds of audio and video codec files to provide maximum 1080p video format, and 5.1 audio.

I highly recommend for anyone who's looking for a great Christmas Gift for that special someone. It's gonna rock his/her world. I got mine at Costco for $379 plus a free Spiderman 3 Blu-Ray disc. It's the best deal in town because you save $20 for the player and another $30 for the movie disc.

The Apple iPhone arrives today!

Apple computers are definitely the master of hype. I should learn a thing or two and apply to my own business marketing strategy. Steve Job introduced the iPhone back in January. The Keynote address blew Bill Gate's keynote at the CES away. It was no coincidence that the 2 Keynotes were presented at the same time at 2 different cities... Las Vegas, and San Francisco. Steve Job's presentation was so smooth that he got everyone convinced that everyone needs an iPhone and all 5,000 attendees wants to haul out and get the damn thing right away!

They had people lining up in front of the NYC 5th Avenue store starting this past Monday June 25th. They then closed the store from 2-6PM today to prepare for the launch. The people got anzy right around 6PM and the crowd started the chant in counting down to 6PM. The press were swarming outside the store as well to catch a glimpse of the launching of the iPhone. 6PM rolls around and the guests who lined up were greeted with High-Fives and applause.

These people just spent $1300 for 2 phones (because each person is allow to buy no more than 2 phones, and these people were running out of the store smiling. That's amazing! $1300 for 2 mobile phones and they were estactic and thought they were the luckiest people in the world!

Bose QC3 Quiet Comfort 3 Noise-Cancellig Headphones

I went to the Apple store at the Grove and purchased a very pricey ($349.95) Bose QC3 headphones. It has active noise cancelling technology which cuts out most if not all ambient noise. I can listen to my ipod clearly. It's really strange, when I flip the switch on because I feel like I'm deaf and cannot hear anything at all.

The active noise cancelling features creates opposing sound waves to cancel out the ambient noise. This is better than the passive noise cancelling because it only provide you with plugs the stick so tight to your ears that nothing can go out or in of your ear canal. It's not very comfortable. The QC3 on the other hand is very comfortable to my ears. It comes with a charger and a rechargeable battery because in order to active noise cancelling to work it needs power. It's charging right now and I can't wait to try them on after it's fully charged. I'm going to use it for our road trip to WPPI tomorrow to drown out the road noise, and especially my partners' 3.5 hours of yakking. :-)