New Cerwin Vega SL line

[Mike Grant]

I'm currently replacing my 30 year old Fisher Preference 5.1 system in the family room and need some of your recommendations. The room is 25'x 20' with 9.5' ceilings with a maple bookshelf/entertainment center across the entire front. No way to put floor standing speakers in the front corners but they can be up at counter height in the bookshelf corners. The entire room and ceiling is hand troweled plaster. Carpet is a burber so the room is pretty live. Rears are in the wall with metal grates on them.

I've been auditioning speakers (B&W, Kef, Martin Logan, Klipch, Boston Acoustics, etc) and noticed that Cerwin Vega has a new SL line that looks like a good deal. From reading up on these, apparently they are still built like tanks but they are much more balanced than the frat party speakers I had in college. Problem is, I can't find anywhere to audition these. I guess I could purchase them from Best Buy and return them if I don't like them? Anyone heard these? Any suggestions for our new 5.1 or 7.2 system? Thinking of running a Denon AV receiver with > 100W. Thanks.

 

[Putterman]

I can't really help you with the CV's but can recommend the Denon line. If you are looking at Bookshelf speakers on a 'bookshelf' look for sealed or front ported speakers as opposed to rear ported ones. I'd be inclined to pass on speakers that you can't actually audition and /or don't have extensive reviews by people who you know share your general tastes in music and sound. I'd also keep my eye open for 5.1 systems at thrifts or Craigs List from people who are downsizing to Speaker bars. This would allow you to research and possibly audition the speakers.

 

[Mike Grant]

Thanks Putterman. I think I'll go with a 7.2 receiver instead of the 5.1 even though I only plan on having 6 speakers in the room. I didn't realize that 5.1 is old tech now. Good suggestion on the front ports. Can't decide if I like ports or sealed speakers. I don't like the "chuffing" sound that the ports can make but I did see that Polk Audio now has a speaker that has a "power port" that supposedly eliminates this. Haven't heard it yet but I do have some other Polk speakers in my condo that I like.

 

[the skipper]

If Best Buy does have them, that would be your best bet. You won't get a real idea of what they can do in the store anyway so taking them home and living with them for a week or two would be the ideal situation.

Just make sure their return policy is as generous as you say it is and, whatever you do, keep your receipt and all packing materials.

But, keep in mind that that's a lot of room and you've got to move a lot of air. Your hopes of getting room filling sound from small speakers might put you at odds with the laws of physics. You can put in as many subs as you wish but that will only help the low end. You might want to look at speakers with good sized, or multiple, mid/bass drivers.

 

[Mike Grant]

Thanks Skipper. I don't know if this is a cuss word among all you audiophiles but I'm thinking of going with Polk Audio RTi 9s for my mains. They will definitely fill up the two corners of the wall unit. They start with the port and speakers at the bottom of the cabinet so, when I put them up at counter height, I get sound right at ear level when seated. If I can't balance them well enough, I can always tip them forward a tad as well. There is enough area to move air in the room to not have Mr. Physics yelling at me. I have a pair of RT11s in my beach house as part of a 7.1 system (that is all Polk) and they sound pretty good to me. Maybe I'm just taking the easy road? I have a green card from the boss to upgrade but don't know if I'm selling out because the Polk stuff is easy to come by and reasonably priced.

 

[Guest126]

I am currently running a set of these with my Onkyo 7.2 channel a/v receiver. They will surprise you. The sound is solid and crisp, but they seem to handle the power that you throw at them. I have the twin 8" cone floor speaker(s), the quad center channel and I'm also waiting for the 15" subwoofer (some may say that I don't need it but I like well produced low frequency-bass). The speakers themselves develop good bass and great volume.

The downside is like you mentioned, as I would've liked to have played these against other makes (like I used to do in the days when we had shops selling audio equipment). It just seems that what's left of audio shopping today is online comparisons and reviews. You end up taking chances; But I will say based on my experience that the CVs are solidly built and deliver. Not a crackle or quiver so far. My set is rated at 300 watts max. (I made sure there was room power wise), as even though your receiver or amp may be rated at a number, sometimes power from your music media (albums, cds) may double the output at certain notes or instances.

I'd say that the CVs excel at mid and low frequency response, and are pretty good at high frequency response.

 

[Mike Grant]

Thanks lbls1. I think you are the only person that has heard these. When I ask the Millennials that I work with, they look at me with a blank stare. I'm sure they would have more input if I asked about a new phone or a pair of ear buds. When I was growing up everyone knew about CVs since they were the party speaker. I think that they powered most of the school dances for garage bands that couldn't afford a PA system!

 

[Guest126]

That is how it is nowadays. The home audio genre has been obsoleted by PCs, pods, and phones. Everything now is at the palm of your hands. No more system or rack building, or carrying huge 50+ pound speakers up a stair. Only a handful of the faithful that still desire fully amplified music remain. It appears that the genre has had a rejuvenation of sorts during the last few years, and I only hope that it will continue. I advocate that the arena should come up with lower cost alternatives to high fidelity components so that they can encourage more people to purchase products.

 

[Mike Grant]

I'm with you for sure. I really appreciate good sound without feeling like I have my finger in my ear. Don't get me wrong there is a time and place that I use my earbuds but not when I really want to hear something special or something with power. I have an 18 yo son that mentioned that he thinks that he is in the first generation that has no music of their own. That's why a lot of them listen to classic rock.

 

[Guest126]

The music genre has taken a hit as well. There are hardly any new performers, let alone new material that's worth listening to. All of my music that I listen to pre-dates at least 17 years! Ashame, but thats what's left of music IMO. One thing, though; Jazz, soft Jazz and alternative music is still alive. There are more recent examples around in those genres. That is where my ear is pressed concerning newer music.

 

[Northwinds]

CV's are no longer made in the USA so I have no experience with the Chinese import line. I own two pairs of USA made CV's: E-712's and D-9's. Neither are frat party speakers IMO but then again, I use quality amplification with them so they are not just making loud noise/clipping sounds. The D-9's got extra cross bracing and 35lbs of extra ballast each so they no longer walk (they weigh about 140lbs each now). I also replaced the terrible bullethorn speakers with Heppler dhorms used by Polk and Altec. They are direct drop in replacements as they were also used in CV's HED line

 

[Mike Grant]

I used to be a professional musician and changed my major in college from music performance to business finance. Best decision I ever made. I truly believe that iTunes destroyed the music industry. People used to buy an entire album to hear one or two main songs. I bought albums as a work of art. I wanted to hear how the artist set up the songs and how he/they changed the mood during the album, not just the hit song. Now, why buy the cow when you can get the song for $.99? That's not even including the pirates. The only good that has come of this is that now we have less musicians that are just in it for the money. If they go into music, its usually because they truly have a heart for it.

I love to listen to all kinds of music with the exception of rap. That's not music, it's poor poetry set to a beat. When I'm in the mood I love Indie and Alternative and there is some pretty good stuff out there, but there is also a lot of junk. I'm also a big time jazz fan. I grew up with Spirogyra, Bob James, George Benson, Earl Klugh, etc. always in my car and I've see all of them in concert.

 

[Guest126]

I forgot to mention; This week I received my CV 15" powered sub (thanks Uncle Sam!). This was a definite attitude changer to my already good pair of speakers. Bass to spare!!!! Exactly like I want my music and bass...uninhibited. I dont dare turn up the volume higher (yet). If you go by the way of CV I highly encourage that you include the subwoofer of your choice. Try to match the output within striking distance of your system's power. Its great if you get the sub's wattage 25 to 30% above your system's power, but depending on your needs and space, you would do well by matching your system's power or being slightly below it with the CV sub.

 

[Mike Grant]

Thanks lbls1. You are not in Northern California by chance? I'd love to hear what you've put together and the new sub. I'm still having issues trying to decide. There are a lot of choices in my price range. My son and I hooked up an old Marantz receiver that I had laying around with some cheap, old Yamaha surround sound bookshelf speakers, all 4 in the front and a couple of subs with my existing rears in the walls. We had a lot of fun moving and separating the speakers and subs on the wall unit to get the perfect speaker placement so that we now know what we want. I've never heard two subs before. We put one on each side in the front. Pretty cool I must say. I'd like to try front and back now, or maybe directly under the couch which may take some doing. Can't wait to get something super clear and balanced up there.

This week I have a lead on a Denon AVR 4308ci for $500 that I might get interested in off CL. Uncle Sam was not good to me this year so it's going to slow me down mentally. It feels like the IRS and the state are literally taking money out of my account as I type (and they will actually be doing so tomorrow on tax day). I pay more in taxes than my whole family, including my in-laws combined! Sometimes it sucks to live in California.

 

[Guest126]

I know what you mean with the IRS: I've been on the bad side of them before with owing money. In fact, for a few years now the returns have been lean, with last year netting near zero for a return. This year I got a little lucky...don't ask me how lol!!

I have a couple of old components laying around as well; I wanted to start a new stand alone system for myself. The only piece that I went with vintage was the turntable(s), as there were longstanding models from the past that I wanted, but didn't have an opportunity to buy until this year. Actually I could've rebuilt a set of speakers I had laying around, but that takes time and money and I wanted to start with a clean slate (I may still rebuild an old set way down the line).

Well it would've been nice to sample my set for you, but I'm on the eastern shore (NY). Be careful with CL listings, but go with your instincts. If your gut tells you to take a chance then by all means.

When I set my amp up with the turntable, all I had laying around that was working was a 50 yr. old set of speakers (with poly cones replaced 25 years ago!). Luckily they worked and I had some sound for a couple of days until my CV floorspeakers came in. Do investigate adding a sub or subwoofers; It really improves the sound.