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cerwin vega at-15's, should I ?

old 2080

old 2080

Well-Known Member
got chance to pick up set of these monsters, but wanted to get some comments from you guys here before pulling the trigger, the set i'm looking at are still functional with good drivers, cabinets could use a good sanding and staining, only bummer i see is the grills are missing, price is right i feel though, are these things just too big to be practical?, i'm thinking more along the lines of just getting them to clean up and resell, they just have that classic vintage monster speaker look that can be a "must have" for the right person, not sure if that person would be me though...........:scratch2:
 
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Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have the DX9s and I love them! Keep in mind that thet are 4 ohm speakers which require and amp that will handle it! I am using a pro amp QSC GX3 this is the most economic way to go! Some will say this and that about Cerwin Vega but what is most important is what sounds good to your ears and not what others say! Enjoy
 
People will really beat you up over the grills being missing. I guess people seem to think the pink foam is ugly or something? If you can get them cheap they are worth $100+ all day, just remember, no wives or girlfriends want mammoth speakers in their dainty livingroom. Its not like selling a bose sub-sat system where anyone would want them.
 
don't waste your time,you will tire of them then have to sell.save your cash and buy a quality speaker
 
If your intentions are to sell these down the road save your money . Big speakers aren't moving to well in the market . I've seen these listed for under a hundred and they're still up on cl .
 
I had a set for a short while and there was nothing really spectacular about them. They were harder to resell than most other decent brands.

I have passed on several sets in need of a re-foam since then. Save your money for something better. :thmbsp:
 
Look again, they are almost certainly vinyl covered, so sanding and restaining is out. They might take paint.

If you are considering flipping, and all the drivers are in good shape, you ought to be able to part them out on eBay for between $150 and $300.

I currently have a pair of AT100s sitting in my living room awaiting pickup. They have the same drivers and dimensions as AT15s, but are a different color. JC told me that he thinks they are the European version of AT15s. They will go loud in the way of Cerwin Vega speakers, but what impresses me about them is a marvelous presence and plenty deep bass even at low volume. I like them.
 
old 2080 said:
got chance to pick up set of these monsters, but wanted to get some comments from you guys here before pulling the trigger, the set i'm looking at are still functional with good drivers, cabinets could use a good sanding and staining, only bummer i see is the grills are missing, price is right i feel though, are these things just too big to be practical?
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It depends a lot on what you want out of your speakers. What these speakers are best at is getting loud - 102dB sensitivity. Compare that to 88dB sensitivity on my JBL L150s for example, and you can see they are worlds apart in terms of how much power they need to really get loud. They are also 4 ohms. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. Good in the sense that most amps put out more power at 4 ohms than they do at 8 ohms, bad in the sense that it will generally cause amps to run hotter, and some (mostly lower-powered units) might have problems with it.

Taking all of that into account, they would make good party speakers. You get loud music without tons of amplifier power, and they are generally very resilient against stuff like a drunk party-goer cranking the volume knob. Unfortunately, even as "party speakers" go, they are still a step-down from Cerwin-Vega's previous offerings such as the D-series, though overall the AT-15 is still one of their better offerings from over the years.

I ran a pair of Cerwin-Vega D-9's for a while, and then two pairs stacked. It was really fun, and a lot better than what people give Cerwin-Vega credit for. Ultimately though, I found that my JBLs can party just as hard (using WAY more amp power than the Cerwins ever had or needed) while maintaining a higher level of quality at the same time.

Edit: Also, I forgot to mention, both of my D-9's had their woofer foam intact when I first got them. Both pairs had their foam last a few extra months after I bought them before the foam began to disintegrate, the 2nd pair being a later model serial# wise and lasted a bit longer. I wouldn't expect the foam on those AT-15's to have much more life in them, even if the foam is currently in "good condition". Though at least Cerwin-Vega woofers tend to be easy to refoam.
 
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I can't add much that the others haven't touched on, but I replaced the tweets in my DX9's with some selenium JBL tweets (20 bucks apiece on Parts Express, I think) and the difference was vast.

Now, after a refoam, they sound pretty good on the porch. I use them when I'm working out, and they produce effortless, strong bass.
 
I have a pair, and to be honestly I don't really care for them. They were my second set of hifi speaker and really I was just astounded by the sheer size and power handling capabilities of them. I got them home and re-foamed them with the help of a good friend. After that I demoed them and immediately noticed a rattle at around 75hz in one and not the other. I panicked of course assuming one woofer was shot but my good audiophile friend listened closely, then bear hugged the cab and the rattle stopped.

So I started another project to add some internal bracing. I did and that relieved the rattle. However sound quality wise they're just not anything special. I can't quite explain what it is but they just don't have a "hifi" sound. Another problem is they're very very hard on amps. I came very near to overheating several and basically had to rotate my amps for party use every hour or so. These weren't crappy amps either... Kenwood ka601, pioneer sx-750, sansui 7070, all would run hot at moderate volume.

I have since picked up a cheap optimus 125wpc amp with a cooling fan and have used that for several outdoor parties. I haven't really pushed it to keep the neighbors happy but so far it seems to be keeping cool.

All in all they do make great party speakers. They're ungodly loud even with just 100wpc and good luck trying to blow out any of the drivers. Also they seem to sound better outdoors then indoors.

Unless they're a great deal, I would wait for some D9's if you want some huge cerwin vega's....
 
thanks for all the comments guys, i'm thinking that i'm going to steer clear on the at-15's, if they're not sand-able, then i'm not going to buy them as i can see there's paint on one of them in the pic of his sale posting............i do want say that i really like my vs-150's coupled to my au-7700, they really do sound good, was hoping that the at-15's would be worth a try, but i also don't want to break out an appliance dolly every time i want to move them either...........:D
 
I fixed up a pair that a friend had bought a few years back and I thought they were walnut veneer, including under the grille. I could be wrong so don't take my word for it. Ask the seller. [EDIT: saw some specs online, apparently vinyl] They did have a rather complex crossover so if you're going to do a recap be prepared for a job. They did produce that visceral rock and roll experience, which was just what my friend was looking for.

15" cast frame woofer...hard not to admire that...
 
old 2080 said:
thanks for all the comments guys, i'm thinking that i'm going to steer clear on the at-15's, if they're not sand-able, then i'm not going to buy them as i can see there's paint on one of them in the pic of his sale posting............i do want say that i really like my vs-150's coupled to my au-7700, they really do sound good, was hoping that the at-15's would be worth a try, but i also don't want to break out an appliance dolly every time i want to move them either...........:D
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Do not let a little, or a lot of paint be the determining factor while making a choice to get them. The vinyl cabs clean up very well unless they have large dents or gouges out of the vinyl and substrate. If you need some tips I can help you out if you decide to get them.
 
Good point, especially if it's latex paint, it should be removable even from vinyl, with the right techniques.
 
Those are some serious thumpers but I agree with the other posts. Monster speakers are tough to sell these days and they are not very "refined" sound-wise. They can still be quite entertaining given the right circumstances, ie, not living in an apartment or having neighbors within several miles. I have known many folks who really enjoy those old CV monsters so if they make you happy, go for it.
 
well after finding this pic of a restored set in black color might make me change my mind about grabbing these at's, i think they look darn good in black and it wouldn't be hard to do............:yes:
 

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I've had quite a few speakers, and while the AT15/AT100s aren't as nice as the big Infinitys or as refined as some of the smaller speakers I've had, they presented a greater sense of presence than all but a few of the nicest speakers I've had.

Just in the Cerwin Vega line I've had AT100s, AT12s, AT10s, AT8s, DX9s and a couple of others. The largest ones were the best and the difference between them and the next size down was a larger step than between any of the smaller ones.

I'd recommend getting them for personal use if the price isn't too high, and if you don't like them, as I mentioned, you can part them out for a decent profit.
 
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