Vintage Cerwin-Vega - Any Good Ones?

Based on what I have read on the Internet, Vintage Cerwin-Vega is a brand that rarely gets positive reviews. What is it about that brand? Is it their West Coast Sound heritage? Is it poor implementation of good quality drivers or is it just poor quality drivers? Poor cabinets? Bad crossovers? The drivers look well made and similar to many other well regarded brands. Are there any real good vintage 2 or 3-way Cerwin-Vegas? Seems as though they were popular enough over a few decades so were all those buyers disappointed or...just didn't know any better? I sure saw a lot of them many years ago in the military sales rooms and catalogs. Any lovers of Cerwin-Vega out there? Any kindness at all?

i know i enjoy my MX 400s. Not quite vintage of that era you are thinking of. But i enjoy them right along side my 70s tannoys. Different sound and all.

I wouldn't trade my Cerwin Vega model 23 speakers for anything else in the world! In my opinion, nothing else I own comes close to the sheer incredibleness of this speaker. That being said, I have only seen two other pairs in existence (both owned by another ak'er), so they seem to be very rare...

If you like to rock some are very good, the 217r and 211r have great bass and can be driven with little wattage and the rear firing horns create a smoother effect when placed in a corner, not so in your face. The d-9 and dx-9 are regarded by many as rock monsters, if you like bass these will fill any room and have a reputation as being nearly bulletproof. Cerwin Vegas can play loud ! The earlier models had beautiful cabinets and quality construction. I would consider many of the earlier models well made. I had the 211r models in the 70s and they were Beast!! 13lb magnets on those 12s. I would love to find another pair but it is not easy as they are somewhat rare.

The D series really stand out to a lot of people. I had some D1's back in 1986 brand new. That was their approach to a small bookshelf model and the Cerwin Vega speaker to have back then was a pair of D9's.

Really nice and can really rock out.

Shawn

Cerwin Vegas definitely have a rabid fan base. Whether they sound good to you or not, it's strictly a matter of personal preference.

I just picked up a set of 250 se's. Havent hooked them up yet, but my friend has newer line of vegas.

If you can find a pair of D7s you will love them. Guaranteed!

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I'd like to have a pair of D-7s; I have several other D series speakers in use -- see my signature.

There are quite a few good cerwin vega speakers. I enjoy some vs-120's that i purchased new daily. Great for 2 ch and great for mains in ht duty. I had some d-1's for a while. I gave them to my cousin to use in his garage along with a realistic receiver.

I have the dx7s running a couple of tube amps, sounds really good all the tube magic comes through on the vegas.

I ran across some D-8-E's from original owner for $40 and all they needed were new surrounds. I was just gonna part them out as the 15" woofers in my specimens are some sort of rare metal impregnated paper cone and I could have easily quadrupled my money from the woofers alone, but after the refoam I slapped 'em back in the cabinets to give 'em a listen and was very impressed. Sure, the highs and mids were a bit out of control (but not too bad, really), but that bass set a standard to which I now measure all other speakers. I couldn't believe how tight the bass was from the 15" driver. I expected boominess and got punch and tone. I can't bring myself to part them out, now.

I'm using DX-7's through an equalizer (f/control) with a powered 15" sub and love the bass reinforced sound on blues/rock stuff.

Pictures of 2 of the four D-9's I use in my livingroom each one bridged to a single Carver M-500 T. I will say that the couch will massage your ass if I want it two. In total I own 7 pair of Cerwin Vega's

hewlew1 said:

Pictures of 2 of the four D-9's I use in my livingroom each one bridged to a single Carver M-500 T. I will say that the couch will massage your ass if I want it two. In total I own 7 pair of Cerwin Vega's

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NICE Speakers! the audio God's have certainly smiled on you to own 4 X D9's.

thanks for sharing the photo's.

Shawn

My brother will NEVER let his go --- believe me I've waved $$$$ in his face only to get the finger....
He has the U-351.

Again i must chime in on this when i first decided to my vegas with tubes. I did a lot of online research because all vegas donot sound alike i know this because i have owned several models over the years. But back to what i have found at the end of my search. The model dx9 was designed for the digital age but in my opinion suck with any ss amp that i used . but i knew there had to be some use for them . So with that in mind i tried these speakers with three different tube devices a fisher 500 -c , melody onix-sp3, jolida-502-a and of the fisher was the winner. I set the tone controls on the fisher to flat and very impressed the vocals stood out but the over all tone was almost breath taking, because i couldnt understand how this sound could come speakers that so inexspensive and have such a bad rep. And yet i get close to the same sound with other two tube intergrates how ever they the best away from the walls. I have told several freinds and they just didnt believe me until i let hear for themself, it has a lot to do with the way the dx9 was built with just a 15-inch woofer, one large mid on the other d series model i have owned it was two seperate mids this does make difference but i dont know why. And one tweeter and i am not an audio pro by no means i am simply trying to share what i have learned about the dx9 model.

oh yeah i forgot to say mine have been re-capped.:thmbsp:

I just sold a pair of D9's and i thought they were nice sounding speakers, but a little big in size for my tastes.

I traveled the CV road for a few weeks recently, and as I type this they are back up for sale. Not bad sound, per se, but for the amount of cubic space they occupy, just not any better than any of the little speakers I have. Mine are AT-12's.

I wish them well. I hope somebody ends up getting them who will love them, and give them a "forever home". I keep having this feeling that given a MUCH larger room they might give off better, more detailed sound than they do here in my crunched little space.