Cerwin Vega vs. Paradigm (1 Viewer)

[spanky]

Hey all,

I am having a really difficult time deciding what to do about speakers for my existing home theatre. I currently have Paradigm Titan bookshelf speakers (main), a Paradigm centre, and two Paradigm Atom bookshelfs (surround). These speakers are about 8 yrs old.

Last night I got some Cerwin Vega speakers from my brother, and am not sure if I should change some of them out. The mains are E-208 bookshelf, the centre is cc-250 and the surrounds are really small.

The mains and the centre are what I'm thinking about, the specs seem comparable, but the Cerwin mains are a higher wattage (125 vs. 100).

I'm looking for advice on which would be better, as they both sound great, but I don't have the room to have them ALL hooked up. Which would you choose?

 

[John Garcia]

Hook them both up and listen, keep the ones you like better. That wattage rating is pretty much useless in comparing speakers. My guess would be the 'digms will prevail, YMMV.

 

[Greg_R]

Yep, ignore the wattage ratings. Is there something wrong with your current setup that you are hoping to fix with this change?

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

What center are you using...the cc-70? I think the Paradigms will win too although I found them extremely bright but not Klipsch harsh.

 

[spanky]

Luis, (and others)

it's the cc-50 that I'm using. There was really nothing wrong with my setup before, it was more that I had the chance to get the speakers for free. I actually originally bought the speakers back in '95 or '96, and my dad bought them off of me, then in later years gave them to my brother, who doesn't have the room for them, and asked if I want them back.

I had always thought that Cerwin's were a high end speaker, and was hoping that if there was a clear cut winner, that's what I would go with.

Problem is, I hooked them up last night and switched back and forth with the A/B buttons on my receiver, and they do sound different from each other. The hard part is that I'm not sure what sounds better. They both sound really good, but in different ways.

I guess what I'm really looking for is a way to compare them objectively, and I haven't been able to find much info on the web. It seems that everyone who has Cerwin's speaks other languages that I can't read. I also haven't been able to find comparisons between any speakers.

I'm going to try them again tonight with a movie, this time louder, and before the kids go to bed...

 

[spanky]

I thought that I should clarify what I meant about sounding great, but different from each other.

On my Yamaha receiver, I was using the a/b switch to quickly go between the speakers.

On the mains, the Cerwins seem to have more in the upper range than I heard in the digms. They both have good mids and lows. My question is if the digms are missing something, or if the cerwins are normally more responsive on the highs. On the Cerwins it has 1 driver and 1 tweeter, but I can't take the cover off of the digms to look.

On the centres, the Cerwin seemed a little louder, but both seemed really clear. The digm has 1 driver and 1 tweeter, and the cerwin has 2 drivers and 1 tweeter.

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

The problem that I see here is that you have both speakers right there with you and you want us to tell you what sounds better? Shouldnt it be better to let YOUR ears decide? Perhaps your question is more along the lines of knowing which speaker is more accepted by "audiophiles" in order to know which one you should like and thus sort of start refining(?) your ear to a better sound? I have the titans and the cc-70 and too me they are extremely harsh (not klipsch level but still). The Cerwin Ive never considered to be high end...not even mid end, more like "lets make it big to get people's attention" type of marketing but I dont consider their sounds refined at all, so based on that I would assume the Titans will prevail. One deceiving thing when a/b speakers is that if one is more sensitive than the other, the added volume will automatically trigger your brain to think that one is better so be careful on that.
Regards

 

[Jacob C]

You could set up a second system in another room.

 

[Phil_O]

Several years ago I had Cerwin Vega VS series as my mains and center for a Pro-Logic system. Now I use that system in my bedroom. Not bad for party or loud music, but when I got Paradigm Monitors it was night and day as far as extra clarity/smoothness.

I still turn on the Cerwins if I'm in my room and want to crank some rock music, but they have a bit of harsh treble, and they just plain don't sound as good. They are generally pretty high sensitivity so they can get pretty loud.

I believe I paid somewhere around $100/speaker for the mains. They have an 8" woofer and a POS tweeter! These are from around 1996 so maybe they've changed a little, but they are definitely not considered high-end.

Better than your average college "boom box" bedroom music play though!

 

[spanky]

thanks guys,

Luis, you're partially right on the loudness thing and me looking for the audiophile answer. Since I don't want to keep both sets, I didn't want to do my own tests and sell the one set, and find out that I just had something tuned wrong.

I was looking for the input here to help me decide if I should give them a chance, and I got the answer that I needed.

Since the Cerwin's didn't jump out, and since they don't appear to be real gems for HT, I'll keep the digms where they are.

Thanks all.

 

[jim09]

try some music with a lot of high pitch like saxaphone and see how the cvs sound they may be slightly harsh on the high notes . i find mine a bit much after about say 2 movies and a few cds this is noticable if im by myself relaxing .
if im partying they are awesome