cerwin vega cls-215

ronnie

anybody hear these speakers....looking for a second pair of speakers to really rock to....they have a reputation for being indestructible, and very very loud with the right amplification

Refefer

Indestructable + loud != Good

You have a decent HT setup, why not stay in the family and grab a couple of R30-50s, M-30-50s for dirt cheap? They can take quite a bit of juice and are particulalry good in respect to price. The R30's I bought a long while back cost me a grand total of $120 including the shipping to purchase, new. And they rock pretty well IMHO

VR3

If you are looking for loud, obnoxious sound...

Cerwin Vega is for you..

But CV is right up there with... white van speakers.

ronnie

i guess they are pretty lousy when it comes to accurate sound, and thats what i really care about. whether loud or not, accurate is whats important to me

Tex

I have some vintage Cerwin Vega's model 316R that not only rock, but sound good doing it. I have had some white van speakers, and some CV's that sounded like white van speakers, but these sound almost as good as my SRS 2's. I would not recommend the Polk R30's. Spend a little more and get the R50's at least. They sound a lot better.

F1nut

I've always wanted a CV.

ronnie

I Don't Think These Speakers Belong In The "white Van" Catergory. They Have Been Around Forever And Have A Following, And I Think They One Of The Best Bang For The Buck Speakers There Are Out There Today....i Know Many People May Disagree, But Thats My Opinion. I Know Many People Who Have Started Out There Rig Building With Cv's...i Did....I DONT THINK THERE SOUND IS TRASH, JUST NOT REAL ACCURATE....BUT FOR BASS LOVERS ON A BUDGET YOU CANT GO WRONG

Danny Tse

I believe the CV series in question was designed by, or has some connection, to Bill Bush. Bush is the chief designer at NHT. I believe this was talked about over at audioasylum.com. Research time.....

Edit: According to a post on 1/27/2005 at audioasylum.com, this CV series was designed by Bill Bush, Bill Bush, formerly of NHT, and Dominic Buinoconte, formerly head of Revel.

Edit #2: The bookshelf model reminded me of the JBL HLS-610 (HLS stands for Horn-Loaded Speaker?), one of the most underrated inexpensive audiophile speakers in the 90s.

ronnie

You Rock Danny

ruffjustice

it all depends on one taste i love c. v.'s cause they rock ! i alway's remember looking @them many years ago and drooling over the red foam rings on woofers ..a friend of mine bought back then small 8" inch. towers and back in the dial up tuner dials were rated well below 40 watts range per ch. was concidered lot watts.. , anyway they were so freaking loud and clear bass kick **** ! of coarse we were into rock era ( kiss..) 20 years ago .. or more our ears could not loudness for long periods of 1/2 hr. i still smile thinking dam they are f.ing awesome... they still are ! if you want metal music @concert level @ home...

Danny Tse

But so far, none of us has heard this series of CV speakers, right?

Perhaps CV's sound has changed.

ronnie

I Used To Have The Vs-120 And Couldn't Kill Them... Had Them For Ever.....sold Them And Bought My Polks......big Difference In The Highs, But Thats All The Difference I Heard. Cv's Actually Have Accurate And Strong Bass. And No Matter How Crazy You Push Them The Fuse In The Back Blows Before Any Damage Is Done To The Speaker

burdette

I had a pair of these that I bought new around 1988:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300005927669&category=50597

Not many 8" cast-frame woofer baskets back then.

At the time, I was auditioning these and a pair of Warfdales. I took the Warfdales back. Both were pleasing on the top end; in comparison, the Warfs didn't have a sack on the bottom end

The CVs rocked, and sounded great doing so. Hardly 'white van' speakers... My brother-in-law had the D2s - 10" 2-ways rather than my 8". Sounded pretty much the same with a little more bottom end. The CVs I've listened to seem to sound better the louder they get.

Some speakers are made to do a particular job - and they may do that particular job very well. If your fav CD is the 2003 Helsinki Oboepalooza, maybe walk by CV. But if you want to ROCK, and most of your movies are laden with gunfire, at least based on the past.. CV gets the job done.

F1nut

Danny Tse wrote:

Perhaps CV's sound has changed.

Doubtful, more like most of us have matured since the frat party days.

VR3

Maybe good sound has completely spoiled my ears.

But Cerwin Vega is the kind of speaker you have when you are walking around the house and sound staging, detail in the sweet spot etc just dosnt matter.

My friend has a really nice set of Cerwin Vegas, 1" thick cabinets. LOADS of bass, TONS of volume. About as much detail as a tin can and a string. Basic imaging, no real definition among centering the vocals.

Cerwin Vega is what it is, they are nothing special. They just do what other speakers (big, bulky, big drivers) didnt do as good. They were durable, loud, loaded with bass for not a big price...

I would buy them for a house party speaker. Something to set up on some shelves or possibly leave on the floor, boost the bass to +10 and party on.

mopedbob

thanks

XJRGUY

I have a set of Cerwin Vega DX-9's in our garage.

Loud, imposing, very efficient (102Db rating)

Horn tweeter, nice midrange and the punch of a fast paper cast aluminum basket 15" woofer.

Two HUGE ports you can stick both of your fists through on the back. Solid build quality and butyl rubber surrounds.

4 Ohm and 405 watt power rating, I brought one inside the house for the hell of it and watched the Soundcraftsmen's Power LEDs dance!

Sounded Yummy!

The RTI12's are the main speaker for our house, but one of these days I am gonna hook up the pair of DX-9's and see what they can do with some monster amplification.

Neighbors beware!

heiney9

A friend has had/still has a couple pairs of 80's CV's and they are merely average at best. All paper cones including the tweeter. Very Very Bose like in sound and presentation. Fast forward to a couple years ago and I talked him into getting a Polk PSW-650 and another set of surrounds (Polks) and now he's a complete convert.

He's going to be building a house in the next couple years and he already told me he is going all Polk next time. My job is done .

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but CV's are barely entry level and if you are at all serious about this hobby, put 'em out at the curb. Just my humble opinion. They are what they are.......a lifeless, flat, inaccurate, mediocre sounding LOUD speaker. I call them the Chrysler "K" cars of speakers. Right up there with those coveted (although I have no idea why) Pioneer HPM series speakers.

H9

LessisNevermore

The older CV's are very good. I have a friend with a pair of D-9's paired up with an early 1980's Onkyo 300w/ch. amp. Just awesome. (with rock music)

How are older CV's so different from Klipsch? They are both highly efficient loudspeakers, (emphasis on loud) aside from the obvious horn. I have heard a set of Cornwalls from the 60's that sounded absolutely horrible unless mated to McIntosh tube gear to tame the brash horns. Seems to be a bit of a double standard, Klipsch being ok, but CV sucks?

Loudspeakers are the ticket for rock music, I have LSi9's for mains, and heavy metal sounds like **** through them. Not everyone can stand classical, I can appreciate it in small doses. Certain speaker designs cater to specific style of music. (at least from my own experience)

Another friend has a pair of $30K Jensens the size of refrigerators, powered by some choice vintage tube amps and pre's. They sound fandamntastic, as long as nothing challenging (busy mix) is presented through them. When it is, they quickly become very pedestrian.

Shouldn't we be listening to the music, instead of using music to listen to our set-ups and looking down our nose at something not currently considered "Hi-Fi"? No system is colorless, there is always something influencing what we hear, how much of it you hear, and like/dislike, is purely subjective.

ronnie

this is exactly how i feel:D

LessisNevermore wrote:

Shouldn't we be listening to the music, instead of using music to listen to our set-ups and looking down our nose at something not currently considered "Hi-Fi"? No system is colorless, there is always something influencing what we hear, how much of it you hear, and like/dislike, is purely subjective.

heiney9

Hey guys, if you start asking to discuss specific models, etc. expect to get some opinions. All that matters is you like them in your system. Sorry my POV isn't the same as yours, that's what makes the world go round. Enjoy the music

H9

VR3

This post 2 above mine is backwards.

Your LSis do not sound bad playing rock music.

Its just the fact that Rock music sounds bad and the CVs are so...dead to detail that you cant tell it sucks.

heiney9

LessisNevermore wrote:

How are older CV's so different from Klipsch? They are both highly efficient loudspeakers, (emphasis on loud) aside from the obvious horn. I have heard a set of Cornwalls from the 60's that sounded absolutely horrible unless mated to McIntosh tube gear to tame the brash horns. Seems to be a bit of a double standard, Klipsch being ok, but CV sucks?

I dislike Klipsch as much as CV. Want to sell your LSI's I'm local just down the road from you.

H9

ruffjustice

i'll swap up my polks rt 600i cherry for some d9's c.v. rocks !

Midnite Mick

You guys beat me to it but I think of Cerwin Vegas as poor man's Klipsh. Either of which is not my sound preference. They are strictly a rock, rap type of speaker. Neither have any beauty in the midrange nor any elegance, detail in the highs.

But if you are looking for a loud speaker that rocks out bass then these may be your answer.

Good luck,
Mike

F1nut

Yes, CV's play loud, but so what! They fail miserably at reproducing all music, including rock. There is a lot more to music than volume.

I don't know what rock music you're listening to Sid, but I get wonderful tone, dynamics and micro detail from the rock I listen to.

LessisNevermore

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

This post 2 above mine is backwards.

Your LSis do not sound bad playing rock music.

Its just the fact that Rock music sounds bad and the CVs are so...dead to detail that you cant tell it sucks.

Yes, my LSi's do sound bad when playing metal music. Maybe they will be better with a separate amp. They sound great with classic rock and milder. Some of us have a wide variety of listening tastes, and need a more versatile speaker.

Yet, rock/metal music sounds clear as a bell through properly amplified CV's.


So people should only listen to music that sounds "good" through the more detailed (as you call it) speakers?

My point was that a more detailed speaker is more complimentary to delicate music, but choke and mud up when facing heavily distorted guitars and unmuffled drums. This is due more to the mixes, but the point stands.

LessisNevermore

heiney9 wrote:

I dislike Klipsch as much as CV. Want to sell your LSI's I'm local just down the road from you.

H9

From my cold, dead hands.......:D

Nah, I'll probably pick up another set of "****" loudspeakers to listen to that "****" music on. lol


I wasn't knocking your difference of opinion, It's all good.:cool:

Midnite Mick

I don't listen to heavy metal but with rock now that I have a more resolving system I definately have to be more selective. I can't just throw any recording in there and enjoy it like I used to. We are definately more dependant on the quality of a recording than those with less quality systems.
Maybe if all heavy metal and rock music were recorded better, the Lsi's would sound as good as they should. It is not the fault of the speaker as they are quite capable, but the fault of the recordings as has been eluded to.

Thanks,
Mike

AMROCKO

the cls-215 vegas are monsters . they got the mini nite club pa sound .if thats what you want. lots of powerful bass .not a sit in the sweet spot speaker,just big walk around the house party speakers , like it was before we cared about sound quality .a good tube amp + lp+ POLKS= MUSIC..

chargerman426

My dad just got his on Friday and they rock. We hooked them up to a carver M1.5t and they hit really hard. I think they are a little harsh but he liked them. I think its the age difference between us showing its self. But I think I might get a par just for when I want to play so loud that it blows out the windows in the house.