Cerwin-Vega S2

[Hoodcom]

A couple weeks ago, my new to me, Cerwin-Vega S-2 EE have arrived!

Arrival pictures and testing here at the office:

Then the office cat got curious, to check out the rear port chamber for the mid-range:

I first, hooked them up to my Kenwood KR-9600 here at the office, leaving the tone controls flat on it, and then later flipping the loudness on for additional bass. I'm pretty impressed. Especially when I played some Joe McBride!

Then I brought them home! (The room was cleaned up later, proof: here )

Now, from some research, the midranges on these, I believe were still from Cerwin-Vega, but not the originals to this model. (Correct model is the MF-61, from what I found.)

So my goal is to try to get these in more original condition if possible, otherwise as they are, they still sound pretty good! I'm very impressed still! I can get buy with leaving frequencies above 100Hz flat.

 

[CLS500]

Have not seen that model before. Woofer appears to have been re-foamed (a real plus for sure) and the tweeter looks correct. Don't know about that mid-range unit. The whole thing has a kind of 80's look to it (also a plus IMHO). Should do well with loud rock music. Enjoy and let us know your thoughts on the performance...

 

[Hoodcom]

Have not seen that model before. Woofer appears to have been re-foamed (a real plus for sure) and the tweeter looks correct. Don't know about that mid-range unit. The whole thing has a kind of 80's look to it (also a plus IMHO). Should do well with loud rock music. Enjoy and let us know your thoughts on the performance...

I have absolutely no complaints regarding performance, they really deliver. I find them to sound wonderful for orchestrated and jazz music as much as they do from rock and roll to drum and bass to hip hop. Movie experiences, games all been fantastic. Then can do it from low-volume to high-volume pretty well, I find!

Not that I plan to listen to music at high volumes all the time. I like to save my ears, but when I need the volume I got it. :thmbsp:

 

[CLS500]

Here is another thought--a lot of companies made special models for sale in military PX/BX on post/base retail stores which did a huge stereo business. The reason being that the companies recieved a lot of heat for undercuting outside retail firms. So they got around this problem by making small changes to the speaker and giving it a different model number. This may possibly be the case with your S2's.

 

[dc270]

Smoother than the D9's- I would appreciate them for sure!
DC

 

[btlefn1]

I bought my Cerwin-Vega 212s in late 1977 or early 1978, can't remember for sure now, but I still have the brochure. The S-2 was the TOTL for Cerwin- Vega. They called the series (S-1 and S-2) LOUD. SPEAKERS. The thing that throws me about your's though is the id badge. I don't think they were using that badge in the 70s. I don't know how long they made S-2s, but yours might be a later version. FWIW, here's the brochure, if you can read it.

 

[Hoodcom]

Smoother than the D9's- I would appreciate them for sure!
DC

Unfortunately I never got to hear the D9's, but I did get to hear the D7's which I really love and enjoy!

I bought my Cerwin-Vega 212s in late 1977 or early 1978, can't remember for sure now, but I still have the brochure. The S-2 was the TOTL for Cerwin- Vega. They called the series (S-1 and S-2) LOUD. SPEAKERS. The thing that throws me about your's though is the id badge. I don't think they were using that badge in the 70s. I don't know how long they made S-2s, but yours might be a later version. FWIW, here's the brochure, if you can read it.

Mine are S-2 EE, the European models. Perhaps the badge difference?

 

[btlefn1]

Mine are S-2 EE, the European models. Perhaps the badge difference?

Ah, maybe so. Enjoy them!

 

[TonyRumore]

They kinda look like a squattier version of the D-9 with one mid instead of two.

D9 shown below

 

[Saigo]

I, too, have a pair of S-2EEs that I bought a couple of years ago for $50 from an ex-military man. I had to refoam the mids, but after doing that, their performance has been flawless. Concerning the comparison to D-9s, I also possess a pair of D-9s that I refoamed about a year ago, so I have had the opportunity to compare these models side by side. I can say that the S-2EE is significantly the better speaker. This comes through in cabinet design and construction, driver quality, and most importantly, sound quality. In particular, I find that the midrange is much more full and smooth in the S-2EE, and the high end is less harsh. The S-2EE is my favorite of all of the traditional big box Cerwin-Vega speakers I have heard.

 

[Saigo]

This thread details my experience with the S-2EE:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=247370

There appear to have been a number of changes throughout the production run, based on what I see in your pair and others:
1. Mine are padded with jute inside the mid tube, while yours are not (although the padding could have fallen out).

2. The woofer cone and surround--yours (and all others I have seen) have the smooth cone and foam surround, mine have a ribbed cone and pleated cloth surround (as in the 380 SE). It is possible that the woofers in mine could have been reconed or replaced, but I found no evidence that the driver had ever been removed or that the cone had been replaced.

3. The rear firing tweeter--yours appears to have the earlier Hafler style tweeter, while mine have another CS5 identical to the front firing tweeter.

 

[jcenghusen]

Hi, I know this post is 12 years old but I also have a set of S-2EE’s and I’m curious about the mid range speakers. I was told I have the wrong midrange and it should be the heppner mf-61. However, I’ve been doing some research and Heppner went out of business at least 5 years before the S-2EE’s were made. The original S-2’s were made in the late 1970’s (with my-61’s) but the S-2EE’s were made in mid 1980’s in Denmark by Dali. I have a date on my mid of 10 Dec 1985 (if that is a date?). I have a date on a woofer with a close date.

Also, are the S-2EE’s wired out of phase? Mine are but I’m not sure that’s correct?