Cerwin Vega HED U-351 Opinions?
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Horn Head
Super Member
Got a set of HED-123 (?) new back in 1980 for $99 each. They were of the same line but with 12" LF and no square platform on bottom....they were 'bookshelf' speakers. At 14 years old, I loved them and truly wish I had them today.
Very sensative (I ran them quite sufficiently with a Pioneer SX-580, 20W per chanel receiver) and they could take relatively large amounts of power too. Some folks put these down as brash, etc... but truth is, they sound good (regardless of music choice...that addage that some speakers are better suited to classical vice rock is a bunch of rubbish - in my opinion).
Given their age, you'll most likely need to refoam those 15"s as the foam surrounds disintegrate after 10-15 years. That's not hard to do well if you're the slightest bit handy. Kits are on-line and most come with good instructions and all materials needed.
Now for $300....I guess that's OK. Most likely better than any $300 set you'll get on the bigbox market today - all those dual 6" MTMs and sub combos in cheap enclosures... Those little speakers just don't speak with same authority as the older CVs despite what some folks say. I have many good small speakers but none can do what those CVs can do - and that's push air accurately when you need them. That's why I rely on my refrigerator sized EV cornerhorns and Altec A-7s. Strongly consider getting them if you have the space and don't mind performing a refoam is necessary. v/r, HH
Very sensative (I ran them quite sufficiently with a Pioneer SX-580, 20W per chanel receiver) and they could take relatively large amounts of power too. Some folks put these down as brash, etc... but truth is, they sound good (regardless of music choice...that addage that some speakers are better suited to classical vice rock is a bunch of rubbish - in my opinion).
Given their age, you'll most likely need to refoam those 15"s as the foam surrounds disintegrate after 10-15 years. That's not hard to do well if you're the slightest bit handy. Kits are on-line and most come with good instructions and all materials needed.
Now for $300....I guess that's OK. Most likely better than any $300 set you'll get on the bigbox market today - all those dual 6" MTMs and sub combos in cheap enclosures... Those little speakers just don't speak with same authority as the older CVs despite what some folks say. I have many good small speakers but none can do what those CVs can do - and that's push air accurately when you need them. That's why I rely on my refrigerator sized EV cornerhorns and Altec A-7s. Strongly consider getting them if you have the space and don't mind performing a refoam is necessary. v/r, HH
Horn Head
Super Member
Brochure
Made scans of the original brochure for the HED series....got it in the mail from CV in AUG 1980...plus other info.
Also, if my memory serves me right, the 2-way (15" + horn) U-15 model ran $150 at the time. Was too rich for my blood then. And my model was the U-123.
Enjoy the pics and good luck if you score those beasts.
Made scans of the original brochure for the HED series....got it in the mail from CV in AUG 1980...plus other info.
Also, if my memory serves me right, the 2-way (15" + horn) U-15 model ran $150 at the time. Was too rich for my blood then. And my model was the U-123.
Enjoy the pics and good luck if you score those beasts.
Attachments
I've fixed up a couple of pairs, and two things stand out -- they vinyl covering material is almost always sticky and oozy -- don't know why, and its not easy to clean up. And the boxes aren't very well built, so running a bead of glue around the inside joints and adding a brace or two would be well worth doing.
I'm not a wild fan of that kind of sound, but if you like it, they have a lot to recommend them.
I'm not a wild fan of that kind of sound, but if you like it, they have a lot to recommend them.
T-Kern
Active Member
Thanks for the info guys, I figure I might as well make the drive and take a look at the speakers. A refoam doesn't scare me at all, I did the woofers on the CV D5s without much of a hitch.
$300!, I don't know what ad you were looking at but I'm seeing a pair for $125.
Would you know if the cabs are of similar construction to the D series? If so, then I'm not TOO worried about the construction quality.
$300!, I don't know what ad you were looking at but I'm seeing a pair for $125.
Would you know if the cabs are of similar construction to the D series? If so, then I'm not TOO worried about the construction quality.
I'm with you -- $300!!. They'd better be the top model -- the lower end ones show up at tag sales for 20 bucks.
As to construction quality, I thought they were worse than the Ds, but I could have had some bum ones. I don't think CVs approach to quality makes a huge amount of sense -- lots of what you would assume were expensive cast baskets in cheap enclosures with miniscule internal wiring and small crossover components. But that's just my experience.
As to construction quality, I thought they were worse than the Ds, but I could have had some bum ones. I don't think CVs approach to quality makes a huge amount of sense -- lots of what you would assume were expensive cast baskets in cheap enclosures with miniscule internal wiring and small crossover components. But that's just my experience.
Horn Head
Super Member
Must have been delerious last night....got so excited about the reference to the HED series that I didn't even respond to your real question......and the answer is: I don't know how they compare to the D series. Only heard a 10" version of the D series way back but never really compared.
Regarding the $300...did a quick Google search on the U-351s and saw some listing with them going for that much. But ya'll are right, see CVs at Goodwill in the $25-$50 range.
Regarding the $300...did a quick Google search on the U-351s and saw some listing with them going for that much. But ya'll are right, see CVs at Goodwill in the $25-$50 range.
memoire101
Member
Sorry for bad english, i am learning cause i talk french habitualy . I have a pair of 3 ways HED since 2 weeks. I did some things about the boxes. 1) Replace suspension of the 2 15 inches woofers 2) Fix the joints with glue and a sealer to control air inside the box. 3) Add some mineral wool in addition of the one isolated stuff in 4) Add a cross (+) to be shure the box dont move and be stabilised 5) Put black dye and varnish ... Result is a wanderful pair of cv hed 15 " with an incredible sound...I want to sale them...how much asking for ? dont know .... want to post a pic of them here to anyone see them ...so nice...how to put pic here ? dont know too lol.........
memoire101
Member
I also have a pair of cv d-5 ......the hed u-321 15" are amazing and sound as day and night with the d serie ... day = hed ....night = d-5 .....my own opinion....
mansourziano
New Member
Cerwin Vega U 15
I started with a pair of Cerwin Vega D9's back in 1983 which I still have(3 times refoamed so far). I have other speakers like B&W, M&K, Vifas, JBL and also dynaudios. My favorite has been my B&W 705s until I got a pair of Cerwin Vega U 15s a while ago. These speakers sounds so good. Very deep base, good mid and highs and only need half of the power B&Ws requier. They sound so much better than the D9s at mid frequencies. The D9 has a very good base but the midrange was never as good. I think the only good Cerwin Vegas are the old ones with 15" paper cone woofers made in Semi Valley, CA. My U 15s are completely rebuild now and I laminated them with high quality black Formica. Now they look good as they sound. The only problem is that they are huge and you want to stay away from apartments and your wife.
I started with a pair of Cerwin Vega D9's back in 1983 which I still have(3 times refoamed so far). I have other speakers like B&W, M&K, Vifas, JBL and also dynaudios. My favorite has been my B&W 705s until I got a pair of Cerwin Vega U 15s a while ago. These speakers sounds so good. Very deep base, good mid and highs and only need half of the power B&Ws requier. They sound so much better than the D9s at mid frequencies. The D9 has a very good base but the midrange was never as good. I think the only good Cerwin Vegas are the old ones with 15" paper cone woofers made in Semi Valley, CA. My U 15s are completely rebuild now and I laminated them with high quality black Formica. Now they look good as they sound. The only problem is that they are huge and you want to stay away from apartments and your wife.
Cv u-321
I picked up a pair of the u321 at a garage sale about 17 years ago. Someone had replaced the 12"sub with an aftermarket. Even so they had always sounded fantastic. A few years ago however, the tweeters started to crackle. Eventually the one side stopped working completely. Just recently I took the tweeters out and tried swapping them. As it turns out both of them work but wth a crackle. Now that's got me thinking crossover problems. Has anyone had success with replacing the original crossovers? The only option I found online was to try a vintage used crossover.
Thanks Horn Head for the brochure scans! I'm sure that info will come in handy.
I picked up a pair of the u321 at a garage sale about 17 years ago. Someone had replaced the 12"sub with an aftermarket. Even so they had always sounded fantastic. A few years ago however, the tweeters started to crackle. Eventually the one side stopped working completely. Just recently I took the tweeters out and tried swapping them. As it turns out both of them work but wth a crackle. Now that's got me thinking crossover problems. Has anyone had success with replacing the original crossovers? The only option I found online was to try a vintage used crossover.
Thanks Horn Head for the brochure scans! I'm sure that info will come in handy.
hunter00
Super Member
owned them way back when,they were used in a electronic component sweat shop in an industrial area near downtown Vancouver.Brought them home,recapped them and was surprised how inaccurate the sound was to what I was used to.....sold them soon after.Not near as good sounding as the d-9's I had owned back in the day.
hunter
hunter
tensleep
Addicted Member
This is an old thread, but since it is back up, I thought I would add that my older brother bought his HED 321 new back in 1980 I think and still runs them today - they are the mains in his home theatre. We made a cab repair with some JB weld and refoamed them - they have been great speakers for him. He also has a bunch of Pioneer fluoriscan gear that he bought at the same time, sitting in his closet. I need to get him to do something with that gear. When he had it set up, we listened to quite a bit of funk and jazz fusion - that setup was killer.
The old composition of paper, used for the cone is very efficient as to reproducing sounds for playback listening. My parents had an an RCA mono, PA system with a 16 - 78 rpm record player that they used for square dance occasions. Mom was the caller, Dad danced with all. They were popular at all gatherings, no problem with sound. I believe that speaker was 18 or 20 inch and the paper cone faithfully reproduced the 78 rpm records ("Darktown Strutters Ball" . . i.e. ). I was the kid in tow at some of those gatherings.
I had all of the big 15” CV’s I find the later ones sounded harsh and the bass is boomy. VS-150 and D9’s were good but not as good as the U351’s the only upgrades I did on the 351’s were more damping material, cleaned those variable pots, new better audio grade capacitors and bracing but it was the better sounding than the later models at 105 lbs they were built like tanks. The highs were much detailed as they are made by Fostex of Japan and the mids and bass just right. I use a counterpoint tube pre and Conrad Johnson mf200 200wpc SS amp, theta digital cd transport and dac, Ariston RD11 tt. I can’t complain they just sound great for a Cerwin Vega.
