Source for replacement CV VS-120 mids

[servion]

Hello all, I'm hoping you can point me in the right direction to get my thrift-store speakers up to original (or better) condition again. I picked up a pair of Cerwin Vega VS-120 speakers and discovered that both of them have blown mids (resistance shows an open circuit on them both). The back of the original mids show them to be "DXM4" speakers.

I'm having quite a time finding a direct replacement after trying all the usual places (ebay, craigslist, Simply Speakers, etc.). Can someone recommend me perhaps another place to source these? Or failing that, perhaps another suitable replacement which will meet or surpass the sound quality of the originals?

Thanks!

 

[xero-D-hero]

First thing I would've done was to give CV a call and see if they had some. You never know if you dont try.
Sometimes speaker companies carry replacement parts a lot longer than one would expect them to.
And when they dont have 'em,they'll often get you pointed in the right direction towards finding an acceptable substitute.

Whenever possible I always try to go directly to source on things like this.

FWIW

Bret P.

 

[teal'c]

Keep an eye on EB and be patient. You just missed a pair a few weeks ago.

 

[xero-D-hero]

Keep an eye on EB and be patient. You just missed a pair a few weeks ago.

That's always my plan B.

It's just that some folks are'nt all that patient,and that's often not what they wanna hear.
Hence why I tend to hesitate saying that sorta thing in threads like this.
Me,I'm patient as can be,it takes however long it takes.

But alas I digress...

Bret P.

 

[servion]

I didn't think to reach out to CV, I'll do that and see what they can do! Also will keep an eye on ebay. I'm fortunately not in a rush to repair these so I can take my time.

I asked Simply Speakers about a potential replacement and they referred me to these: https://www.simplyspeakers.com/replacement-speaker-mid-bass-w-204-8s.html

I'm hesitant to drop in some other speaker without confidence that it's a good match for the setup overall (i.e. mismatched responses, power handling, sensitivity, etc.). If anyone here knows of a good potential replacement (assuming I'm out of luck from CV directly), I'm all ears . Otherwise it sounds like I need to just be patient and scour ebay/cl/etc.

 

[Dudeman7]

I changed mine out last month and went with Dayton Audio PC105-4 from Parts Express. They seem to pair well in this cabinet and are a nice match for the other drivers.

Midrange detail used to leave something to be desired before but the mids from the Daytons are really nice. Clear and detailed without sounding too forward, if that makes sense.

Also, I called CV a few months ago and the rep told me they no longer support that line and don't have parts for them anymore.

Hope this helps.

 

[servion]

I changed mine out last month and went with Dayton Audio PC105-4 from Parts Express. They seem to pair well in this cabinet and are a nice match for the other drivers.

Midrange detail used to leave something to be desired before but the mids from the Daytons are really nice. Clear and detailed without sounding too forward, if that makes sense.

Also, I called CV a few months ago and the rep told me they no longer support that line and don't have parts for them anymore.

Hope this helps.

It turns out that the Simply Speakers folks were offering up are made by Goldwood. I was going to pull the trigger on them as they are affordable, but with your recommendation for the Daytons I think I'll go ahead and order them instead.

A follow up question first though, was there a reason you went with the 4ohm version instead of the 8? My initial googling revealed that the DMX4s would measure ~7 ohms, which I "think" would mean that its an 8ohm speaker (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). I know the VS-120 as a whole is a 4ohm unit, but I was wondering if the speakers within these units are higher resistance than 4 ohms, perhaps for the way the crossover is wired with them. The Goldwood unit that Simply Speakers recommended was the 8 ohm version as well.

 

[Dudeman7]

The rep I spoke with at CV advised me to use 4 ohm replacements. I never measured the old ones.

Also, I had a pair of Goldwood 4" midranges lying around from another project. I tried them out in the VS-120s but thought they weren't a good match. They were quieter than the woofer and tweeter and the mids sounded smeared or blurry to me.

The Daytons are night and day better for my system and preferences.

 

[servion]

Just an update, I finally got around to ordering and installing those same Dayton's installed into the VS120. Just looking at it from the outside, the Dayton has a much larger magnet/driver than the previous DXM4! Thus far, it sounds much better, I need to spend some time with it but so far so good!

Dudeman7, did you end up recapping your crossover in these speakers? I'm thinking that would be next deck for me.

 

[Dudeman7]

Yes, my crossovers have been recapped. To be honest, mine probably didn't need it. Can't say I noticed much difference between the before and after recap sound.

Great news about your mids! They are working great for me.

 

[carls06]

Seems if changing mids you would use a 8 ohm as stock read 7.4 with fluke meter.

 

[Dudeman7]

Seems if changing mids you would use a 8 ohm as stock read 7.4 with fluke meter.

That's interesting and I'd be inclined to agree that 8-ohm replacement mids would make sense.

When I got my VS-120s years ago, the midrange drivers had already been replaced by a previous owner and the replacements were wrecked too. I never had stock midranges in mine since I've owned them.

In total, I have had three different mids in mine: the Orevox something or other that came in them, some Goodwood mids that sounded pretty crappy and a pair of Daytons that are awesome. I don't recall the part number for the Daytons but I'm pretty sure I put 4-ohm versions in there at the recommendation of the C-V rep I spoke with regarding replacing them.

Edit: Apparently I posted the part number in this thread 5 years ago. Haha

I used PC105-4 Daytons.