I own a pair or ls12 powered by a adcom gfa555 an they sound amazing. I thought the the horns were harsh so I replaced them with klh tweets, both 6ohm smoothed out the harshness I also plugged a port these are the only mods I've done. I've always wanted a pair an found some so after these simple mods I can honestly say they will be with me as long as I have room. If you invest right amp they shine. Had a kenwood amp they sound alright but when I added that adcom night an day. Are they refined sound as klipsch no. Do they pound absolutely! Do they sound great without sub yes. I cut subs off a t night an enjoy, during the day cut subs on a weekend an party like I was 15!!!! Even at modest volumes I can sit for hours an listen to every kind of music! I still get goose bumps entering my theather/listening room. It brings enjoyment. Best sound I've found is elevate a foot or 2 off the ground. I know there no d series but don't care!
Which Cerwin Vega's are the most collectible?
- Thread starter guest109
- Start date
Hi guys. Not sure how desirable or collectible, but I recently acquired a pair of D-6E and D-2E Cerwin Vega export speakers in good condition. I re-foamed them and to me they sound pretty great, and they do rock pretty loud! I acquired these from a co-worker who bought them in Germany while in the military.
I still need to clean up the grilles and replace the midrange metal grilles, other than that they are in remarkably good condition considering their origin.
I still need to clean up the grilles and replace the midrange metal grilles, other than that they are in remarkably good condition considering their origin.
I bought some rebuilt D9's. The woofers were re-foamed, new mids, tweeters, crossovers rebuilt, etc. I took them apart, removed the old fill which was in a weird configuration and replaced with new fill. I dynamatted the drivers/tweeters, left the woofers alone. Because of my configuration and my ears, I added some wool to one mid and the tweeter on each speaker which toned down the harshness. Placed them on solid cement 2" pavers. I first ran them with a old school Denon avr that weighs about 75lbs and was 1,200 bucks back in the day. Sounded okay, but they really shined when I hooked them up to a crown amp, a Kenwood basic C pre-amp along with an Audiocontrol old school eq. Like stated, the EQ is key with these speakers. Holy crap, what a difference. But nope, that was not enough, bought a 12" powered sub and that brought it all together. Are these collectable, I think they are to the right person, me. Lets face it, there are not many speakers that draws ones eyes like these do. Pretty much anyone that sees this config, wants to hear them. I can't tell you how many people have said, "holy _uck!" when I crank up Triumph 3/4's high. It amazes me how much power these speakers can take and how much better they sound, LOUD.
dbxtreme
New Member
Some of my rare CVs, the 432Rs are extremely rare, I've only seen pictures of 3 others, each somewhat different than the others. The 12Trs are rare but can be found with patience, and the smaller Q1s seem to be pretty scarce. I also have a pair of S2s with only a few dozen pair, reportedly made.
Nice, I have a pair of S-2's in my pile just waiting!
Hobie1dog
subaholic
My post from 2009 and 12 years later I finally come through with my 1980 Speaker Buyers Guides with the rarest Holy Grail of Cerwin Vegas:
Watersleeps
New Member
Anyone have a set of seft-fets i can get some info from? Already gathered the fe-8/sle20 mids, have the 15s as well. Need crossover and cabinet specs.any SR1 or SR2 info cabinet and crossover specs?? Mid ? Possibly a modified tannoy ? I already have the 189wr 18 inch strokers for them..
Brent Justin
Member
Of all the C-V I have owned I really want to try out a D-2 and an H15 with my old tube amps. Right now I have a restored 311P being pushed be my old 1958 stereo Silvertone. The D-2 and H-15 may or may not be better, but I want to know.
Patrick620
Audio Enthusiast
Wow. Good old thread. I sure miss my d7's. I also have an old Silvertone tube tuner/amp. Not sure of the model right off hand and it has been sitting on my shelf for a while. 6Ca4 quad of 6bq5 and 12ax7 tubes. I have never ran tubes into a CV, but I am sure it would sound really good. My Silvertone had killer tight bass and considering that CV speaker are pretty efficient it should sound great. Can you post a pic of your Silvertone please? Mine came out of a console and has been collecting dust for over 10 years. I will get some pics later.
50nstillhifi
Super Member
Cerwin Vega's line of speakers.. or "Vegas" as they were coined back in the day, was the hallmark of home party speakers, particularly during the "blue light era" (some know what I am talking about 
). I'm thinking the reason they got such a positive reputation for being speakers of choice was most persons then were driving them into harmonic meltdown via an uncontrolled or untapered sound system. There was not much thought put into equalization, room acoustics or proper power management. Most vegas absorbed this punishment without blowing out or transmitting the distortion from "cranking up the volume" 
.
Fast forward, and when they got pretty
(pink surrounds), displaying a pair in your basement or living room.. well gave you "props" (standing) amongst audio heads.
I think the same applies today, particularly among those folk that know the history
of the Cerwin Vega brand.
). I'm thinking the reason they got such a positive reputation for being speakers of choice was most persons then were driving them into harmonic meltdown via an uncontrolled or untapered sound system. There was not much thought put into equalization, room acoustics or proper power management. Most vegas absorbed this punishment without blowing out or transmitting the distortion from "cranking up the volume" . Fast forward, and when they got pretty
(pink surrounds), displaying a pair in your basement or living room.. well gave you "props" (standing) amongst audio heads.I think the same applies today, particularly among those folk that know the history
of the Cerwin Vega brand.
GetBusyLivin
Active Member
OP asked the question in '09 but I see recent activity has bumped this thread back up so I'll chime in.
I have a multitude of vintage speakers... around 150 pairs ... it's a fun hobby
...
For CV I have the following :
417R Hardrocker
A316R (European)
S2
S1 (with NIB Bass Excavator)
OP asked "what is the most collectible". I can't answer that as it means different things to different people. The AT15 and D9 always do well on the secondary market. I, myself, gravitate towards the harder to find models. I simply have the ones I have because they were found local (within 150 miles) at very reasonable prices. All needed new surrounds (I've done 3 of the 4 sets so far).
If I may substitute the word "desirable" for "collectible" than my answer would have been the set on youtube that I saw a few years ago. "1959 Cerwin Vega 500" .... Now, thanks to Hobie1dog, I would say the SUFT-FET-2 ranks right up there. Thanks for posting that information. It was a fun read. I just wonder how many were made and how many are still out there.
I have a multitude of vintage speakers... around 150 pairs ... it's a fun hobby
... For CV I have the following :
417R Hardrocker
A316R (European)
S2
S1 (with NIB Bass Excavator)
OP asked "what is the most collectible". I can't answer that as it means different things to different people. The AT15 and D9 always do well on the secondary market. I, myself, gravitate towards the harder to find models. I simply have the ones I have because they were found local (within 150 miles) at very reasonable prices. All needed new surrounds (I've done 3 of the 4 sets so far).
If I may substitute the word "desirable" for "collectible" than my answer would have been the set on youtube that I saw a few years ago. "1959 Cerwin Vega 500" .... Now, thanks to Hobie1dog, I would say the SUFT-FET-2 ranks right up there. Thanks for posting that information. It was a fun read. I just wonder how many were made and how many are still out there.
I have a pair of HED (High Energy Design) Cerwin Vega UT12R towers that are extremely rare. The woofers did not sport the "red" surrounds, and the cones are a thick non-pressed paper BLUE color in the aluminum frame. The woofers are the 122T2 model. I have yet to find a 122T2 woofer to replace a missing one (was gone when I got these) though I missed out on a pair several years ago needing rebuilt. So instead I rebuilt a pair of 122W2 using a pair of blue CV cones I found, but they aren't quite as thick as the original T2 cones. However they do sound just as good as the 122T2. The UT12R has a Rear firing midrange, rear 6" Bass port, Front firing Mid, tweeter, and woofer. The crossover has pots for mid and highs. These are a "reflective" speaker and need spaced out from the wall (or corner) about 18 inches or so for best reflective "ambience". Bose wasn't the "first" to use reflective types of speakers.OP asked the question in '09 but I see recent activity has bumped this thread back up so I'll chime in.
I have a multitude of vintage speakers... around 150 pairs ... it's a fun hobby
For CV I have the following :
417R Hardrocker
A316R (European)
S2
S1 (with NIB Bass Excavator)
OP asked "what is the most collectible". I can't answer that as it means different things to different people. The AT15 and D9 always do well on the secondary market. I, myself, gravitate towards the harder to find models. I simply have the ones I have because they were found local (within 150 miles) at very reasonable prices. All needed new surrounds (I've done 3 of the 4 sets so far).
If I may substitute the word "desirable" for "collectible" than my answer would have been the set on youtube that I saw a few years ago. "1959 Cerwin Vega 500" .... Now, thanks to Hobie1dog, I would say the SUFT-FET-2 ranks right up there. Thanks for posting that information. It was a fun read. I just wonder how many were made and how many are still out there.
An old Magnavox console I just scrapped out (kept the good stuff) utilized sealed (styrofoam) speaker enclosures with front firing woofer, and side firing horn in each channel. It was probably among the "top best sounding" of the era.
I hate to be the party pooper here, but personally I didn't like the sound quality of any CV speaker, sure they could play so loud your ears would bleed which made them great for parties, but the quality of that sound wasn't not that great, but of course teens and 20 somethings having a party are not remotely concerned with sound quality just loudness.
However, having said that, if I were to rate the best CV speaker I ever heard, which I haven't heard them all obviously, but I did think that the CV D9 from the 70's sounded good enough when played loudly and when vinyl was being played through them, which is what those speakers were made to do. Of the ones I've heard those are the only ones I would consider.
However, having said that, if I were to rate the best CV speaker I ever heard, which I haven't heard them all obviously, but I did think that the CV D9 from the 70's sounded good enough when played loudly and when vinyl was being played through them, which is what those speakers were made to do. Of the ones I've heard those are the only ones I would consider.
Brent Justin
Member
That is my (pic for profile) Silvertone stereo amp/pre combo salvaged from an old console. Circa 1958! The amp is a PP 6V6GT w/ 2-12AX7 and a 5u4GB rectifier. The pre is the one mounted in front with the knobs sticking out. It has 1-12AU7 and a 12AX7. It has been re capped and sounds wonderful pushing my Altec Lansing Model 4's. Have not yet tried it with any of the C-V models I have, but I may.
GetBusyLivin
Active Member
Do you have more pics? I'd like to see the rear... Does it have an 18" downward firing woofer?
