With its decidedly larger footprint and its 2001: A Space Odyssey look, the Sony SRS-ZX1 PC stereo speaker system isn't likely to be mistaken for the smaller, minimalist-looking Bose Computer MusicMonitor. Yet the two speaker sets—both of which lack a subwoofer and sell for $400—are exact competitors. The Bose set gets a lot of things right—particularly its upward-firing drivers, which ensure that desktop listeners will hear direct sound from the tweeters. The MusicMonitor's bass response, however, is lacking, and the same can be said for Sony's SRS-ZX1, though its limitations are different.