Good low and mid response. Can handle lots of juice for size and you can get these puppies LOUD!

Complete absence of upper octaves + high Bose price = terrible value

Ah yes, Bose. The company audiophiles love to hate. Unfortunately for good reason. My first experience with Bose (as I suspect is the case with many people) was around 1985 (I was 15) and my cousin got a pair of those tiny 3" dual stacked cube Bose speakers. I was blown away that such little speakers could put out such huge sound.

I think Bose has ridden the back of that line of speakers for far too long now. Do these Bose 141's totally suck? No, I mentioned their strengths. The problem? That ridiculous Bose over inflated price. I bought these things used for $50 a piece two years ago and that was waaayy too much. Check out my review of the Yamaha A638 I just recently purchased. They simply blow the 141's out of the room with not only their overall frequency response (oh, looky there, the top two audible octaves of human hearing, I wondered where those were) but their presence per decible is MUCH more room filling. All this for much less money than Bose is going to take you for. The lack of high frequency really sinks these for surround use as well, especially for pro-logic. Generally surround effects are like the splashy sound when it's raining (high frequency) the bird tweets and cricket noises in the forest (high frequency).

Anymore, I just feel Bose is raping uneducated consumers (oh well it is $100 more than this other speaker that sounds the same but, it's Bose, it just has to be much better) NO IT IS NOT!!! Bose isn't awful, but geez, you can get SO MUCH MORE for your money by reading the reviews on this site and buying the well rated products on sale.

I'm going to give this product a counter-intuitive rating because overall they are decent speakers but for the money: "Get that $%#@^ Bose outta my face!"

Similar Products Used:

Cheap KLH's, Yamaha A638

Nice range, handle a lot of power and great price

Not much bass but hey, they're bookshelves...

Unless your a true audiophile who is really into the finer points of speaker fidelity, or one of those immature freaks who thinks he can pick up chicks by "thumping the bass" in the mall parking lot, you'll love these speakers.

I've owned a set for over a year now and I am truly amazed at how good they sound for what I paid.

No, they don't have a lot of low end, but it's likely to be enough for the average user. And I'm sure that you wouldn't want to use them as your main speakers if your a true audio nut. But in a bedroom or den, or as surrounds, they are terrific.

Don't let the hard-core fanatics scare you away from these speakers!

Similar Products Used:

Bose model 301

I like these speakers they sound good and powerful for a small speaker. I feed these things 110watts of pure power and they still take the heat even above their rating. Make a nice surround speaker.

Cheap! $50 a pair (new) is not bad. Decent mids. Better then the KLH junk. Can handle power. They are worth the price. NOTHING for $25 ea. can beat it.

No highs or lows. BUT if you where looking for highs or lows in a 4.5 inch 1 drive speaker, then you WILL be disapointed.

For all the Bose haters, this is junk. If you compare this to speakers that cost a lot more, sure these are junk! Also, if this is you primary speaker (even for a small room), then they will disappoint. Like I said, it's not designed to be mains. A single drive speaker cannot sound that good. They are great for the rear. And anyone on a budget can get these very cheap speakers and get surround sound.

I got a few pairs and I will be giving them to my friends.
All will use it as surround speakers.

Bottomline, hate Bose all you like. But when they are this cheap, it's fine with me. Just be careful how you use them. Use them wrong and you will join the Bose haters in the world!

BTW, I have Bose AM-7 and 301s and I got them cheap too. And they sound fine to me. Again, I'm no music nut. I just want decent music and soundtrack and my speakers deliver. I paid $159 (pair) for my 301s (new) so I'm happy with them.

Similar Products Used:

Nothing good. Hey, I'm not into burning money for surrounds

the bose name (ONLY)

wimpy sound muddy highs

i bought a cd at a guitar recital i had very recently attended. some of the live selections were present. played it on my old speakers; a little bassy, but reproduced well. switched to the bose and damn near choked on my tea!

except for the claim to reproduce music (sound) accurately, you'll find none of that with this pair. dr. bose' name is on this product, but i believe he never had anything to do with them.

the construction quality suffers as well. for the money, i'd expect more natural materials to assist the sound. they are more inefficient than the house anchors of old. my speaker wires, which are not the money pit monster type, even pulled out of the connectors under their own weight!

tins ears rejoice, these are a fair value, "engineered in the usa built in mexico. but save your pennies, and buy real sound.

even at the good price i paid, these are going back!

Similar Products Used:

panasonic sony polk

Rear Surround, Extension into high-noise environment (i.e. kitchen, rec room)

Lack of depth and clarity, construction, price when compared to similar products

If you are planning to buy these speakers, let me stress something here. By no means should you expect excellent sound out of a 4.5" single-driver speaker. It is very easy to buy the hype about some of these things. My advice is to keep in mind what you plan to use your speaker for, don't listen to the salesperson's advice (most of the time), and listen to what you hear. Then, compare things in and below your first choice's price range. The Bose 141s are decent as a speaker extension into an area where pristine, top-quality sound is not an issue - such as the kitchen, rec room, or garage. They would also make a decent rear surround in a Dolby Prologic setup. However, when used in a situation where full range, clear sound is a must, the 141s are unsucessful. I mean, hey, it's a single-driver system. (By the way, don't buy the Star-Driver junk, please.) The only reason why these are dissapointing is that they are over priced. This is the main problem with all Bose speakers. Based on construction and speaker materials, as well as other factors, they are just too expensive. Yet people buy them any way. Whatever, it's your pocket book. I just think that you can get something that performs better than this for equal or less money. Decent, when used in certain applications, but there are better choices for value.

Similar Products Used:

various KLH bookshelves, various Cerwin-Vega Bookshelves, Sony Bookshelves

value, power handling

sound quality

For 80$ or less yo will not find a set of speakers that deliver this kind of sound. But most bookshelf speakers costing twice that blow them out of the water in terms of clarity, imaging and bass response. My Polks, although not amazing, deliver much better sound and accept more power than the 141's. Use them as surrounds in a Dolby setup and they work very well though.

Similar Products Used:

Polk RT3's

I don't know exactly what people expect out of a singular drive speaker but I have to admit this little speaker does a fine job as surrounds. They take a pounding and I've driven them hard enough to knock the covers off of them and they don't flinch. Granted I paid $35 for the pair (open box) so I'm grinning like a big dog. If you can get them as cheap as I did, grab them. KLH, no good.

Surprising bass for a little speaker. Blowout proof.

Somewhat muddy reproduction. Not bright, upper octaves missing in action. Bring lots of power, at least 20-30 watts to party.

This little $35 speaker is a testiment to how far speaker design has come. Thirty years ago this would have been a really decent speaker, but would have cost far more, and be really big. Now it's cheap & considered somewhat limited.

I use them as surrounds with Boston Acoustics front & center, and a Boston THX subwoofer. They work just fine & actually come close to timbre matching (they're all warm).

I have a set in the master bath and bedroom too, driven hard by a separate 80 watt Sony receiver used as an amp. They are clearly inferior when I walk into the den to the good speakers. But they are a lot of bang for the buck.

Excellent value, very good performance for its size and for being a single driver speaker

A little inefficient power handling, but that is being too trivial considering cost and size.

I have owned the Bose 141's for years and still love them. When I first bought these speakers, I tried them out as my main set and thought they did admirably. They will never be confused for larger, more expensive speakers, but the far eclipse speakers of a similar cost and design (including the Bose 100's and other of Bose's smaller speakers). The 141's have an amazing frequency response for a full range driver and the bass is impressive for such a small speaker. I have read a number of negative reviews and cannot understand some of the reasons for them. The clarity is not the same as a speaker with two or three components in them, but it would be ridiculous to assume that. Maybe these people are using an amp or receiver with too little power or lack efficiency. The speakers, themselves, are a little inefficient and require a little more power to get them as loud as the other speakers that I own, but they sound great, nonetheless. If you are looking to build a lower budget system, I would recommend these speakers wholeheartedly. When you can afford bigger, more expensive and impressive speakers, the 141's make superior surround speakers due to their excellent bass reproduction.