Cerwin Vega Cls-215 [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

bubslewis

08-26-2006, 06:25 PM

why do you say that they will sound much worse?????they are a respected speaker in the community...........right???????

Spacedeckman was just giving his opinion that you asked for in your original post.

In my limited experience with Cerwin Vega and Polk speakers, I've always preferred Polk. Cerwin Vega always seems to taut the large size of the drivers in their speakers, but I feel in their case that louder is definitely not better.

spacedeckman

08-26-2006, 08:09 PM

why do you say that they will sound much worse?????they are a respected speaker in the community...........right???????

That all depends on what you mean by "respected". If you want to play loud, yes, CV has few peers, but historically, CV has been a "quantity over quality" speaker company. Their speakers are consistently inaccurate, but very dynamic and very sensitive (what the layman calls "efficient")

Much of this comes from design choices. To make an "efficient" speaker, you need to follow certain rules, to make an accurate speaker, you need to follow other rules. Every speaker company chooses where they want to be on that curve, CV leans heavily towards the "efficient" end of the curve. If you like it, great, buy them tomorrow. However, the Polks will remain the more accurate, and over the long term, more musically satisfying choice. It all depends on what you want at this point in your life. If you want loud rap or country, CV could be a good choice. You are undoubtably much younger than I am, so I will value different things than you. Eventually you will almost certainly end up somewhere close to where I am, but that may not satisfy you now, only you can make that choice. You however asked which was the better speaker, and with standard rules, the Polk would win.

Space

jtgofish

08-27-2006, 05:16 AM

Buy them if you like them.You will probably love them for a while.You will get sick of them though .
A better long term strategy is to buy something that sounds good on all sorts of music.The CVs are great for rock and electronic music but lacking in subtlety for more organic music.
But if you are young why not!
Many of us have owned things like this in our youth and enjoyed them.They are not keepers though.

JoeE SP9

08-27-2006, 07:41 AM

chaos24.
What everyone has been very nice about is not saying how bad CV's are. The truth is most if not all CV's are crappy speakers whose only claim to fame is the ability to play loud with little power. In any kind of comparison between them and your Polk's they will come out second best. However, if you like them better than the Polk's buy them. After all it is your ears that have to be pleased. Just don't invite any of us over for a listening session.:ihih:
PS: CV's are not in the respected category around here.

chaos24

08-27-2006, 08:00 AM

okay, i get the point...thanks for the info guys

audio_dude

08-27-2006, 05:39 PM

CV's are party speakers, LOUD LOUD LOUD, but they sound like crap,

chaos24

08-28-2006, 03:42 PM

what is it about CV that everybody thinks they sound like crap....when i owned my VS-120's i thought they sounded pretty damn good....the subtle clarity is not as good as my polks but i have heard alot worse sounding speakers

Rock789

09-18-2006, 07:50 PM

x2 about CV being party speakers!
I went to EMU for a Halloween weekend back in the '90s...
went from party to party...
herd this one house party slammin hard!
we figured they had some massive subs...
nope, just a pair of CV 3-way 10s on some really big amp...
at the time I had a pair of tecnics 3-way 15s which couldn't come close to what these 10s were doing...

dingus

09-19-2006, 11:11 AM

Rock789

09-19-2006, 11:26 AM

audio_dude

09-19-2006, 03:33 PM

those things are MONTERS!!! w00t!! LONG LIVE PARTY SPEAKERS!!!

Jim85IROC

10-18-2006, 10:38 AM

Like others have said, party speakers.

That being said, I will not call CV's "crappy" or junk, or anything else. They are a well built, good quality speaker that provides exceptional value, but simply has very different objectives than your polks. The CVs do sound lousy at low volumes, but at high volumes, their sound is extremely pleasant and well balanced. In fact, I've used a pair of 12" 3-way CV home speakers as DJ speakers for years when doing smaller venues. They fill a small to medium sized room with MUCH better sound than your typical PA or DJ speaker that uses a huge woofer with no low end and a big horn tweeter. In loud environments, or in large areas where high power speakers are necessary, they sound much better than most alternatives.

However, if your goal to sit back in your living room and listen to some quality music, then stick with your polks. While not my first choice for that application, they're sure more appropriate than the cerwin vegas.

X-Treme-XR

05-08-2007, 08:09 AM

I have to weigh in on this post..

If you are:
OLD
Listen to music at less than half of your systems capacity most of the time
Like the "subtle nuances" of classical music..

Then CV's are NOT FOR YOU!

If you want:
Sound that you can BOTH hear & feel
To be able to wake the neighbors down the block at any time
To know that you are the KING OF SOUND on your block

Then CV's are definitely for you..

The key with CV's is-you must have an amp that has enough power to push them efficiently. An underpowered system can, and normally will, make any speaker both perform and sound poor.

I have previously run a set of Bose 601's (I know-they have a poor reputation as well) and a set of CV AT-15's, and a set of Polk Audios.. Bear in mind I was running 2 NAD 2200's in bridged mode with a set of speakers on each amp. My pre-amp has a volume control that goes to 20. Under "5" was the only place I could even hear any of the other speakers. Even under "5" the highs were higher, and I had a much clearer sound from the CV's than from the Polks, or the Bose 601's. As a comparison, I tried running the Polks against the Bose-and the 601's blew the Polks away.

I found I could not run much power into the Polks. I had to take the amp they were on out of bridged mode. When in bridged mode if I turned the power up, the bass speakers physically hit the dust cover and produced a horrible sound. Even with the dust covers off, the Polks acted like they were being over-driven and the sound distorted when you tried to push them. These were all brand new speakers at the time. For every one of you that dislikes CV's.. Please pick a better competitor than Polk Audio..

I would choose CV over the Polks any day of the week. I know they have a reputation for being a quality speaker.. I think "quality" means different things to different people. I like my music loud! I live in a house on several acres though so I can enjoy it loud any time I like. CV's are obviously not a good choice if you live in close proximity to others who might be offended by your choice of music and/or decibel level.

MikeyBC

05-08-2007, 03:51 PM

Those are the nicest CV's i've ever seen, I bet they're not as "in your face" as most of their other stuff...but i'd still only bet 20 bucks :)

jocko_nc

05-09-2007, 02:09 PM

Those CV's are SWEET. I have two pair, DX-7's and SE250's. (Standard 12 3-ways and Special 10 3-ways, respectively). They rock. Hard. Not for everyone, but they do rock.

SPL's are well over 100 dB at 1 watt, which is sick.

jocko

jocko_nc

05-09-2007, 02:15 PM

Something else...

I have not used them as such, but I suspect the CV woofers are a unique high SPL design that would be suited for high-efficiency horn designs a la Klipsch, Altec, ect. There tons of foam-rotted units out there, one can get them for next to nothing. Eminence, on the other hand, are quite expensive. Those are easy drivers to re-foam. Excellent DIY potential.

The CV mids I have are pro-audio cloth surrounds... The tweets are horns. More DIY potential.

The cabinets are crappy and the crossovers are not the greatest.

I'll take all the CV's I can find (cheaply).

jocko

spacedeckman

05-09-2007, 07:21 PM

Another recycled thread that I had a part in. Unbelievable.

I can tell I'm dealing with a lot of young punks here, and I get to play the part of the "old duffer", but an old duffer with over 25 years of experience messing with this stuff, and some years in the trenches working in the industry in my "formative" years.

The CVs in question, as jocko so accurately mentioned had horrible cabinets. They were too thin, and made from very poor quality particle board to hold the cost down. The crossovers were indeed pretty crappy, as were the tweeters and mids. The woofers were actually built quite well, but designed for playing loud, using a pretty short coil and thin top plate (very poor choice for low bass control) which allowed for high sensitivity (loud volumes) with not a lot of power, which CV was known for. CV was always kind of the "Klipsch for the unemployed". The cabinets on all the big CVs of that era would separate or frequently get broken up in shipping. Especially the dual 15s, since the cabinet was constructed poorly, was essentially unbraced, and made a better shock absorber than launching pad for bass.

CVs were not designed with sound quality in mind, they were meant for guys with bad amplifiers to be able to play loud and rock out. That is fun for a while, but grows tiresome with that level of gear. On the other hand, I got to get my grubby paws on a pair of Bryston 7B monos (600wpc, for real) and feed my little 6", 2-way bookshelf speakers which were not inexpensive, but not stratospheric either. I was hitting lower and harder than those CVs could even dream. One of my favorite demos of that era was to take a pair of JBL L1s ($600/pr 2 way 6" bookshelf speakers that were pretty well designed), and play them against those same CVs....volume matched. The CVs had no place to hide. They were bested on all fronts by a speaker less than 1/12th its size. Yes, they played louder, but they couldn't touch the little JBLs for bass, nor were they in the same county for sound quality.

The old D-series CVs up to the mid-late 80s actually had pretty substantial cabinets, and only failed on the tweeter and crossover front...and bad voicing, but were much better built speakers.

jocko_nc

05-10-2007, 08:30 AM

I'm not going to be a brutal as Spacedeck, they are what they are...

"Klipsch for the Unemployed" is downright funny.

He is correct, the woofers are well made. They are more comparable in performance to pro-audio woofers than typical home stereo, at least in the past 30 years. Same for the tweets and mids, though there seems to be great variance in the selection of these. Different CV models used different tweets and mids, I don't know that much about them other than they are different.

CV went for a mass-market and was highly successful. That is why there are so many foam-rotten units out there to be had for cheap. They had their price-target and they hit it, at the expense of cabinetry and crossover components. There are some "upgraded" models that used real wood and veneers. I have seen pics, however, never seen one in person. That would make a big difference in value.

I am running Klipsch, I guess that means I have a job now. That said, I really dig the CV's, as long as they are bought cheap. Get a set where that gawdy red foam is obviously gone, the owner will give them away. A mere $20.00 and you're back in business!

The low cabinet quality is a real problem with me. I just cannot stand particle board, particularly CHAEP particle board. I may rebuild the DX-7's with real wood cabinets and better crossover components. Not a priority project, rather something I'd like to see. I think the sound quality would benefit greatly.

I think CV's are a lot of fun, especially for all you young punks.

jocko

superdougiefreshness

05-11-2007, 02:53 AM

thoes look cool man!

Dude's - go directly to used record and cd stores to here CV's, big time.......

Those babes look serious with the freaky bass driver way up on the top of the cabinet that way. Kinda creepy huh ! I think cabinets having all those huge beveled surfaces are probably a more accurate approach to no resonance damping. I have never seen a large floor stander with that kind of driver arrangement, usually this is more common with a few two way bookshelf models like "Mission" or "JM Reynaud" speakers. Wonder if the sound is worth the price on those big boys ?

Anyway, if you really are interested in my opinion I say "keep your POLK's and also buy the CV"s" then you have the best of both worlds and have lost nothing at all. Imagine all the great hours of listening you will add to this love affair and with good reason. Buying new speakers is for real the totally coolest thing as an audio geek "speaking for myself here" I personally think your not really into the full aspects of being a stereo buff until you have at least two different kinds of speakers for entirely different types of music. And your listening "critical ear" or "discernment" for equipment can grow stronger as well.

My Current speakers to date are: & run with older NAD Receiver,

" Celestion SL6si " great on all classical and jazz music and acoustical with voice.
" Pioneer HPM-60 " for heavy bass music like rock, soul, R&B, and techno-house.
My latest buy is the " BIC Modified Crossovers - Venturi v52si " and these are under three years old so they sound very forward and very crisp. I have not determined what to play on these yet - probably my rear channel's when I go HT 5.1.

So after my considerable rambling here "thanks for the patience" I say buy the CV's and also keep the POLK's, you will never regret keeping something you love. But you will always wished you had never rid yourself of something you loved .
The poet in my heart, I know "sic" - LOL

Later
SuperDougieFreshNess - San Diego,CA - living in the homeland of dude's.
And dude's, I love the thread's of debate..........:dita:........LOL

CLH69

05-15-2007, 09:39 PM

WOW im new here but just had to jump in and ask a question. Theres some very good
Info in this forum i can tell. I was considering buying some of these CLS 215s. Ive owned a pair of AT-15s for 12 yrs now. Im running a Pioneer SX-1980, and fried alot of other speakers before i got these..the protection circuit in the CVs saved my ass many times, from blowing tweeters and mids. I actually hooked 4 AT-15 speakers up one time, a buddy brought his pair over for a party, and my 1980 didnt even flinch. always wanted a 2nd pair. Im now considering buying the CLS 215s. do they have the same protection circiut in them as the older CVs? and does klipsch and polk have protective circiuts in them?

Rhovas

01-18-2008, 09:49 PM

Instead of asking for an opinion, listen to them yourself - it's really the only way to judge.

I've owned lots of equipment SAE, Soundcraftsman, Phase Linear....and several CV's through the years, in several countries. If I want soundstage detail, I listen to the Polk Signature References I picked up in '86 (you'll find a lot of snobs who hate those, too - but just about everyone who heard mine covets them) but they just don't shake the foundation when I watch movies.

No matter what configuration I run, you can rest assured I'll have at least a pair of CV's in the mix - they are crowd pleasers. Almost 20 years ago, I DJ'd a block party in Germany with a pair of bridged Yamaha M-80's mated to a pair of CV D15-EE's, they sounded GREAT, all day long, at near-maxxed volume. Not once did I have to worry about blowing caps or cones. No way in hell would I subject my SDA-SRS to the abuse of that application.

I recently bought six CLS-215's for home theater use - absolutely no regrets, they dominate with clarity. My subwoofer is a 166 pound monster - a CV SL-36B powered by a bridged TFM-15...not required AT ALL when I have the CLS-215's running off of the Sunfire TGA-7400. The CLS project clear sound with good imaging at horrendous volumes...that's what they do best, anything less would be vaporized >10 db's shy of muster. They are not 'cheaply made', nor are they the designed to sit aside chiffon or dainty doilies - they are physically imposing, brutish, and the steel grills are a plus if you have them situated in vulnerable locations. You will NOT be embarassed by these speakers, especially if you entertain parties, dances, club scenarios, or kick back with a pal or two. For me - the highs are smooth without being shrill and the mids are a bit forward (around 2k-3k), but won't tire your ears. Low frequencies are the CLS-215's forte' - deep, clean and engaging...no muddy 200-300Hz bump at all, no extension from an artificial 60-80Hz frequency hump, very smooth.

I strongly suggest you listen for YOURSELF prior to forming an opinion. I'm an old guy who knows better than to tell you what you should like based on MY opinion.

Good Luck!

johnny p

01-19-2008, 06:36 AM

I had CV RE-30's, paired with the RE-16's for surrounds, the center channel that matched the RE series, and my SUB-150 which was a massive 15" downward firing beast..... I thought they sounded just fine and dandy, and people would tell me how great it sounded while blasting away through Star-Wars, or "Blade" when it first came out, or music that I would rock..... I have since replaced them, and although I don't have anything negative to say about them for their intended purpose, I'm very glad I could afford to make them into a "basement" system for when people come over to shoot pool or play foosball..... They were great in college, but hearing what TRUE precision sound is (I'm not there yet) has opened up my ears, and made me feel foolish for a purchase I made 10 years ago..... go figure!

If you like hard pounding rock, CV's are perfect.

Rhovas

01-20-2008, 11:14 PM

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/cerwinvega_cls215.htm

:5:

robo5555

02-29-2008, 08:24 PM

CV CLS 215's are awesome speakers. You can get a pair for less than a grand!! Check this review http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/cerwinvega_cls215.htm
They sound so good they compare to speakers 5 times their price. I'm so happy with my pair. Read the referenced review.

StianL

05-17-2008, 02:39 PM

here's the TOTL, ultra-rare, CV 1215 mkII. never heard them, but along with the signature CV sound, they supposedly have all the clarity and detail that so many find lacking in the rest of the CV line.

these also have a down-firing woofer in the bottom of the cabinet.

http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20060919/1/3/9/13905e5ae8aa884906ad6518beaa2c650_large.jpg
http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20060919/2/9/e/29e0fc758dc4faa3264017d69b56a84e0_large.jpg

The pictures shows the 1215mkI version.

The new and improved Special Edition MKII version is a quantum leap improved.
CV 1215 series is produced for the European market only.
1215 is engineered and built by DALI in Denmark in the early 90's.
Too bad they stopped producing these, a real predator.

I happen to be a big fan and a lucky owner of several of them :)

My home theater
http://minhjemmekino.no/StianLarsen

regards

Stian of Norway

dingus

06-07-2008, 10:09 AM

interesting. it seems the owner has received inaccurate information regarding his speakers. i wonder if he'll be disappointed to find out that his CV 1215 are not TOTL?

thanks for the clarification.

The pictures shows the 1215mkI version.

The new and improved Special Edition MKII version is a quantum leap improved.
CV 1215 series is produced for the European market only.
1215 is engineered and built by DALI in Denmark in the early 90's.
Too bad they stopped producing these, a real predator.

I happen to be a big fan and a lucky owner of several of them :)

My home theater
http://minhjemmekino.no/StianLarsen

regards

Stian of Norway

danielstillson

09-13-2008, 04:53 PM

I listen to Drum 'N' Bass, Jungle from the UK and I have test a lot of good speakers out there that can't handle the very heavy aggressive bass of dnb so I think Cerwin Vega CLS Series are the only ones that can handle that type of abuse -----I thing? I am looking at Definitive's BP7002 Bipolar SuperTower and I have tested them and they sounded very good but couldn't put out the bass I wanted?

RoadRunner6

09-13-2008, 06:35 PM

Yeah, but do they sound as good as the BOSE Wave Radio that sounds better than systems costing 5 times as much?

RR6 :D :D :D

nofs2003

11-09-2008, 06:16 PM

Hi all,

There are a lot of folks who obviously know their audio well, but I was compelled to add my two cents worth here regarding the CV CIs 215 speakers ... or should I say SHOUTERS! :-)

I have always enjoyed good audio and have owned decent speakers such as Paradigms and Polks, but none were as fun, or have they ever come close to being as all-around enjoyable as the 215's.

These things will tickle your ribs; they are an interactive musical experience. I know that is not what a pure fan of audio will want to hear, but as I said earlier, these things are FUN, and I honestly don't feel that the over-all sound quality is that bad at all.

If you purchase them, you must have a listen to, say, Angel, or perhaps Teardrop, performed by Massive Attack -- but you had best wait until your wife has gone out shopping!http://forums.audioreview.com/images/smilies/nono.gif

You will then see why I say these things are good rib-tickling fun!!

Can you really ask for much more?:-)

I hope this helps. I found all posters comments on the 215s to be very enlightening. Great site.