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Cerwin-Vega! sound

Just received my NAD 1000 preamp and by hooking up with the Crown xls 802 amplifier to power the CV xls215 speakers. Can't really notice any big difference of sound quality between using(bass and treble set flat) and without using the preamp.
By the way i like to comment about the sound of my system with various genres of music.
1) classical, jazz and easy listening
don't have any sound problem with tracks from Amy Winehouse and Shirley Bassey.

2) retro disco, reggae and rap
i personally think the speakers perform very well with these genres except in need of a sub for stronger 20hz - 30 hz playing some rap music.

3) rock, metal and techno
have a good day with all the 90's metallica albums, early black sabbath, lynrd skynrd, dire straits and later albums from Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
but playing something from Judas Iscariot, Arch Enemy, Gamma Ray and most songs from symphonic metal like Epica will bring you into a sound threatening situation - "the bass won't be coming out to slam your soul unless you turn up the volume and let the harsh treble abuse your eardrums"

4) opera
testing out cd from Anna Netrebko save some good impression for my Cerwin Vega after dealing with those frustrating heavy metal sessions.
 
crowzero said:
2) retro disco, reggae and rap
i personally think the speakers perform very well with these genres except in need of a sub for stronger 20hz - 30 hz playing some rap music.
Click to expand...

Cerwin Vegas need stonger 20-30Hz for playing rap/hip hop ? Are you kidding ? What kind of bass are you looking for ? I've never heard a pair of large C-Vs that sounded wanting in the bass department on any kind of popular music.

I've owned D-9s, 380SEs and AT-15s in the past, and with a 30Hz lower limit, they never sounded like they lacked a deep, powerful low end with rap/hip-hop, reggae, R&B, rock, AND pipe organ, which I also listen too. The CLS-215s have a claimed limit of 28-20Hz, lower than the above-mentioned models. With a lot of rap, reggae and pipe organ music, I remember the AT-15s rattling the windows of my home, and anything that was not bolted down.

My current PSB Stratus Gold i's, with a lower limit of 31Hz ±3dB are more refined sounding, but while they sound great with rap/hip hop, they don't come close to the C-Vs low end on pipe organ. My point is, ability to do pipe organ well is usually the ultimate measure of a speaker, and if CV-s do well on that genre, they should be more than adequate on rap music.
 
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Glen B said:
Cerwin Vegas need stonger 20-30Hz for playing rap/hip hop ? Are you kidding ? What kind of bass are you looking for ? I've never heard a pair of large C-Vs that sounded wanting in the bass department on any kind of popular music.
Click to expand...

Try this album 'Battle of The Sexes' from Ludacris.
Also try compare playing it with or without a sub( 12" or bigger ) and you will notice the differences.

The Vegas did produce all the lows but they assumingly roll-off after 30hz and those low freq spl don't really make up with the rest of the upper bass.
 
crowzero said:
...The Vegas did produce all the lows but they assumingly roll-off after 30hz and those low freq spl don't really make up with the rest of the upper bass.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? It's a myth I tell you! I have XLS-215's and I'm running them on 450w each (4ohm). Sure they might not do what you want them to ALL the time, but the slightest bass boost at all will have them knocking things off of the walls. The Vegas have broken one of the buttons on my mixer from knocking things out of the closet at 20Hz. I assure you you won't need a sub. Get a cheap EQ and just boost everything from 63Hz and down by 12dB and see what you have been missing. An XLS-802 shouldn't be anything shy of enough power to take out the whole neighborhood.

Have you been on my YouTube channel and checked out the 20Hz test videos I put up? Who needs a sub with that much bass.
 
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I have never heard a pair, but I've seen (and touched) two pairs. AT-12's and D-7's. The AT-12's were not connected (thrift store, should've bought 'em), and the D-7's were, but the surrounds were gone and I didn't want to mess up the voice coils. I would like to hear (and potentially own) a pair or two since I listen to a lot of classic rock type stuff. I also don't mind equalizers and tone controls (matter of fact, I use tone controls on all my speakers).
 
For low volume listening. 15 inch vegas dont have much bass. At least not equal to the midrange and high range.

In my HT rig. i have 3 15s. Two mx 400 vegas. And a Velodyne dls 5000r. Volume matched with the vegas. And at higher volumes i notice the difference in bass. BUT! Most instances sub just adds rumble effects. And with very low notes the sub just evens things out. As i can feel the extra pressure. Sub is right behind me. Moves the friggin couch.

My sub in my system further flattens out the low end grunt to near 20 hurtz. With aplomb i might add.
 
"Are you kidding? It's a myth I tell you! I have XLS-215's and I'm running them on 450w each (4ohm)"

Yowza! That must be SOMETHING to hear! How do they sound when playing at lower levels with vocals or piano? They sure look impressive!
 
I have two pair dx9 and at-15 both pair runnin tube amps, smooth bass,clear vocals and detail instruments . better sound with tubes than solid state.:music::music::music::thmbsp:
 
I have 2 sets of dx9's stacked and in parallel.The dx9's have a crossover on the 15's for 30hz.They sound more accurate with the bass, not boomy like the cv vs series.I am using a crest v1500 and they sound awsome.
 
I just have a single pair of DX-7's (12" woofers) elevated 15" off the concrete garage floor. Use an ADC equalizer to cut the highs down just a bit (70yr old ears). Sit in my chair about 12" away; put on Dire Straits "Money For Nothing"; close my eyes; hit play and i'm really there !!! I can only imagine what multiple D-9s etc must sound like. I did notice that raising the DX-7s off the floor did improve the overall sound (to me) a bit for some reason.(Driving them with an Onkyo 100wpc amp from the 90's) I had the woofers refoamed and looked around the inside of the cabs; they were pretty well done--couple of hefty cross braces, mid isolated in it's own chamber, lots of deadning batting on the sides etc. not bad at all. The vinyl outer covering is not so hot looking but it's still in good shape.
 
I have CV DX-9's & KLH 1203D's.....I'm trying find the best deal for a receiver to drive them, my Yamaha took a dump! Can you recommend? I know many of the vintage receivers that would definetly work but am really trying to find a "new" receiver that will give me plenty of power & a warranty. Thanks in advance. PS: I had picked up a JVC RX-5020 AV receiver locally, but found that it will not drive my CV's only the bookshelf Infinity speakers that came with it.
 
I have just recently set up a home theatre system consisting of a pair of cls-15 fronts, cls-6 rears, cls-15s subwoofer and a ve-6 centre, and a lot of what has been said in this thread makes sense, harsh high's when cranked, lacking mid range on the fronts, not huge detail, but when watching I am legend I wouldn't have any other speaker! These are driven off a mid range pioneer HT amp, soon to be changed to a slightly better yamaha, but I think I might look at a phase linear 400 for vinyl.

Also when the lion jumps out at the start of I am legend my light fittings fell out, and I thought I was going to need a defibrillator to ever stand again
 
I gotta try i am legend now! For my ht i have mx 400 mains, mx250 surrounds an infinity center channel(poly cell tweet) connected to an cv 12 inch sub. All i can say is good god almighty! Can outright scare any one.
 
pas8 said:
I think I might look at a phase linear 400 for vinyl.
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As a former multiple C-V owner, IMHO something like a Nikko Alpha 450 or Pioneer Spec 2 may be a better choice that would compensate for some of that harshness.
 
would love a spec 2, but rarely if ever see them in Australia, come to think of it, not sure I have ever seen one in Australia!

Phase Linear are a dime a dozen, and can sometimes get them cheap
 
Had a pair V15Es carpet covered and a huge horn. They
would handle Hip-Hop to country without breaking a sweat.
I used them on the road as satellites for barn dances and
small night clubs. I regret selling them after having them
for 8 years and they still honked on for years after. I am using
die cast 12 inch drivers to replace the Altec Model 14
woofs because Altec (Hanoushek) wanted 150 each to
recone and I did not have the ducks and the CV were
sale priced 75 bucks shipped. (for the pair!)
You would notice the CV sign on the center cap with the
grill removed but the sound is nice low tight, feel it in your
chest, efficient bass. Not that sloppy Getto lowrider loose
woofer bobbin bass either.
Yeah, I prefer the factory woofs but these CVs do the job
and that suits me just fine.


Allen
 
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Maybe someone can 'splain something to me. I have often heard folks claiming that a fairly to very efficient speaker like some of the CV or vintage JBL models needs a lot power to come alive. How can this be? Are these particular models ones with gawdawefulcomplex crossovers or something? Impedance plot resemble a giant roller coaster?
 
i think it has to do with the large woofers on the 15 inch models. I dont really find that though with my pair. Usually around 1 watt gets loud with plenty of bass. Butthe more volume behind them the funner it gets.
 
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