The Bose 141 ranks #150 out of 177 total Medium Size Bookshelf Speakers for sound quality. See all Passive Home rankings for every top pick.
Brand: Bose
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#150 Bose 141: $150 per pair Discontinued eBay
Pros: A small, inexpensive Bose bookshelf from the 1980s and 1990s with a single full-range driver, easy to place and to drive. Measured bass extension of 61.5Hz (-10dB).
Cons: Discontinued and found used. Bose’s own measurements show a very uneven response (1.19 band deviation) and a rough in-room response, scoring -0.39 on its own and 2.70 with an ideal subwoofer, and bass stops at 88.5Hz (-3dB).
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | about 61.5Hz (derived, log-interpolated between spinorama.org -9dB/-12dB points) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 88.5Hz (measured, manufacturer data via spinorama.org) |
| DIY Kit | No |
| Drivers | 4.5” full-range driver |
| Spinorama Preference Score | -0.39 (spinorama.org) |
| Spinorama Preference Score with Perfect Sub | 2.70 (spinorama.org) |
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
Frequency Response
How the Bose 141 measures across the audible range. A flatter listening window (the sound arriving straight at you) is more neutral: peaks sound forward or harsh, dips sound recessed. The estimated in-room response adds what a typical room does, and there a gentle, even tilt down toward the treble is ideal. Both curves are shifted so their 300 Hz to 3 kHz average sits at 0 dB.
Measurement data: spinorama.org, measured by the manufacturer.
EQ for a Neutral Response
Flattens the measured listening window from the Bose 141's own bass extension up to 16 kHz. Set a preamp of -3.1 dB, then add these filters to any parametric equalizer in the signal path: the speaker's app or DSP if it has parametric EQ, a miniDSP, Equalizer APO or Wavelet. Boosts are kept to 3 dB, and EQ cannot fix how evenly the speaker spreads sound off-axis, which is why some speakers gain more than others. Predicted preference score with this EQ: 1.3, up from -0.4 (4.4 with an ideal subwoofer, up from 2.7). Calculated by Speaker Ranking from the spinorama measurements above.
| Filter | Frequency | Gain | Q |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak | 828 Hz | -2.4 dB | 4.00 |
| Peak | 1,108 Hz | +1.9 dB | 4.00 |
| Peak | 1,500 Hz | -1.1 dB | 2.10 |
| Peak | 4,042 Hz | +2.9 dB | 4.00 |
| Peak | 6,857 Hz | +3.0 dB | 2.79 |
| Peak | 10,020 Hz | -4.8 dB | 4.00 |
| Peak | 14,125 Hz | -2.6 dB | 4.00 |