I need your help buying speakers, thinking of Cerwin Vega. (1 Viewer)

[Dimme]

Hello, I'm new here

I'm going to buy a pair of new speakers to replace my current old Gamma speakers with 12" woofers. They are to slow and the base is too sloppy, besides they can't handle more than 50W of power so they rock bottom when playing a little loud.

The speakers will mostly be used for watching movies and a little for listening to music. Since I can't use a subwoofer on my amplifier, I need a pair that have good bass.
So I checked out a pair of Cerwin Vega speakers which should do the job.

I found a pair of used Cerwin Vega E-315 (15" woofer, 6.5" mid, 1" tweeter) for a reasonable price (about $340, they are more expensive here)
http://www.cerwinvega.com/products/h...ries/e315.html

Many love CV speakers and many hate them. I have only heard CVs PA systems before but will of course listen to the speakers before I make my final decision so I'm still open for suggestions. I'm going to go listen to them tomorrow and see what they are like. It would be very nice if you could say what you like and dislike about the CVs.

What should I look and listen for when buying used Cerwin Vega speakers?

Thank you in advance.
Regards
Dimme

 

[RobWil]

You don't have to have a subwoofer pre-out on your receiver to use a subwoofer. You can run speaker wires from the Front L and R speaker terminals on your receiver to the speaker IN terminals on the subwoofer and then another set of speaker wires from the speaker OUT terminals on the sub to your Front L and R speakers. You would then use the adjustable crossover on the sub.
Just a suggestion that maybe you're already aware of?

 

[David Preston]

I have been using Cerwin Vegas for quite a few years now. I like them a lot but it's time to upgrade. I will be putting them away next week for my new speakers to come in. I have two 12" CV up front two CV bookshelfs in the rear and a 12" CV sub. My center is different. I thought my CV were awesome till I heard some DIY speakers. It was time anyway they don't match my decor anymore. One thing I like about the CV is they have a fuse that blows on the back before you do damage to the speaker. They are great for really loud music if thats what you like and great for HT except the sub does not go low enough for me now. I will be selling mine just waiting on someone local or a friend to buy them. I was planing on letting all speakers go for about $500. I would say CV's sound good for the price but they are some big speakers.

 

[ShaunLB]

Well,I've heard some CV's in my auditioning sessions, and I can agree that they like it LOUD. HOwever, I don't find them very refined. I'm just making a guess here....are you shopping at REX? About the only place I see CV's these days. Personally I'd recommend trying some different retail/etailers and getting some entry level towers (or large bookshelfs) and a decent sub.

I'm not knocking CV at all, I strongly considered them myself..but decided I'd go ahead and skip them on my upgrade ladder for a more HT oriented brand.

 

[RichardHOS]

I don't think they have any Rex's in Sweeden!

Are there any decent bookshelf/sub combos for around that $350 price? I can't think of any really... unless going used.

 

[ShaunLB]

Doh didn't notice the Sweden part. :b

Well, some brands I'd look at for sub/sat combo (for starters) Polk, Infinity, JBL, Athena, Energy, Tivoli, and so on.

 

[Sheldon C]

I know I'm not suppose to, but I love my Cerwins. I've been abusing them for over 5 years and they just keep asking for more. If you are low on amp power, they are the way to go. I have the 15' mains and they have a sensitivity of 102 or 103. Many people say they have muddy bass but I disagree. I own a svs 20-39pci and I think that using the large/both setting sounds better than letting the sub handle all of the bass.

 

[Dimme]

Hello, thank you for your replies.
I was out listening to these Cerwin Vegas yesterday (E-315 15" woofer) and to be honest I liked the overall balance of the sound. Even though the tweeter was a bit sharp and the bass a little too overwhelming, I'm sure it can be a little adjusted with the help of an equalizer.
To top that off, the person who is selling them had treated them very well (used a Denon 3802 receiver with them), they looked like new and sounded great.

I went to a hifi store today and checked out the new Cerwins (V-12F) and listend to them a little. Even though they were pretty ugly they sounded ok but not as overwhelming as the E-315. It could be because of the accustics of the room, too, but that doesn't make them less ugly :p

I think I'm going to get this pair of Cerwins (E-315). I will be using them with a Marantz amplifier that delivers 2x60W (true watts) in 8 ohms.

Sheldon, which model do you own?

Thanks

Oh, and we don't have Rex here in Sweden

 

[Jaime B]

Dimme:

Cerwin-Vegas are designed to be very efficient (most models are at or over 100db @1 watt), play loud, very loud, and take the abuse (great party speakers) but with little regard to fidelity. Don't get me wrong, some models are quite listenable. For what you are paying, you'll get bass and blast in two large boxes.

Cerwin- Vega was founded by Gene Czerwinski, who apparently likes BIG woofers in his speakers!

JaimeB

 

[Frank Grimes]

I think Jaime said it perfectly, great party speakers. I own a pair of the E-310's. They definitely get loud, but the bass is fairly underwhelming. If I didn't have to worry about keeping a respectable volume in my apartment, I would definitely upgrade, DIY style...

 

[Nathan Porteous]

I used to own a pair od e-710's they were great on the right song the sub could jump out 3 inches and man could they go loud I think you would be making a good choise, most people dont care if they can here everything look at surround sound in a box. i hope they pound for years to come just like mine did!