I do my listening at home via our (small) living room home theater type rig and a while back I realized how unsatisfying my Infinity 5-way system was to me - specifically the two front speakers for regular stereo. I upgraded my receiver to a decent Sony unit and replaced the Infinity spkrs with a pair of 141's. I am fairly knowledgeable about electronics and audio products and I'm aware of the drawbacks to some Bose products such as the weak construct of some of their overpriced NR headphones and the inherent flaw in the direct/reflecting speaker theory. [Reflecting off what? A flat wall on one side and a heavy fabric curtain on the other? Result: unbalanced sound, unless one designs the room around the speakers.]

These are budget speakers without even an attempt at fake-wood cabinetry. Instead of a 3rd rate tweeter/woofer config, Bose opted for a single 4.5" fullrange driver in the 141 and that's the beauty - and the limitation - to this speaker. The mids and highs are abundant and crisp, with even frequency response from lower mids on up, and a particular intangible smoothness, that "Bose sound" that one expects from speakers costing a great deal more.
OK, what about the bass? As stand-alone bookshelf speakers these might do quite well provided you have a graphic EQ either in the hardware of your rig or in your playback software (Winamp, etc) - I can't report since I haven't used them in that function. However with a subwoofer (passive Infinity) the overall sound is, above all, pleasing. I listen to music and great deal more than I used to and every time I play a track I notice how much I enjoy the flavor of the sound. Movies, TV and other video are also enhanced and sooner or later I'll need a 3rd unit to use as my center speaker (where the heck am I gonna find a single Bose 141?).

One negative reviewer points out that these are no match for a $1000 set of speakers from a reputable manufacturer. To that, I can add: the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. I will note that the price I'm seeing online new - $199 at Amazon - is a bit nuts for such a basic speaker. I bought these used off Craigs for a ridiculously low price, but I'd recommend them in the $75-$100 range which is easy to find.
I listen more. I'm listening now. Isn't that what it's all about?