Cerwin Vega DX 5 Floorstanding Speakers
Cerwin Vega DX 5 Floorstanding Speakers
USER REVIEWS
[Mar 21, 2013]
Travis Stringer
AudioPhile
These DX-5s are amazing. I have two of them and two MTX bookshelf speakers that I got from my dad (who has had them for nearly twenty years) as a birthday present last year. Usually I only leave the Vegas on because of their superior sound. These things shake the lights in the basement with no effort. I can turn them up loud, and they still sound perfect. I use a Teac AG-2050 receiver and a Teac PD-D880 cd player. Whatever music I play, whether it be deadmau5, Pearl Jam, or anything else, these speakers reproduce the sound perfectly. I love them so much that I am looking for another pair of speakers on eBay, and am looking specifically vintage Cerwin-Vegas.
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[Aug 11, 2008]
meblkbear35
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
clarity clarity clarity....need I say more?
Weakness:
none...I love them I bought these speakers 14 yrs ago and even today, they never cease to amaze me for the monies paid. The clarity in which these speakers reproduce music is just astounding. I had gone thru several different brands of speakers before these(scott, sansui, bose)and believe that these will be my last pair. The bass is thundering but not booming, the midrange(where music actually lives)is so smooth and accurate that I could hear parts of songs that never existed on the other brands I owned. I have always been a fan of horn tweters because of their warmth, as opposed to the brashness of a dome or ribbon tweeter. These are also the only pair of speakers that I could listen to for hours and never suffer one bit of burnout.
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[Jul 09, 2006]
rodney
AudioPhile
Strength:
strong bass!
Weakness:
ive already replaced the orange suspension od the sub hello everybody, i have a cerwin vega DX-3 with a SW12B sub, would u guys happen to know how much i can sell my CV DX-3?
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[Nov 01, 2005]
VegasSound
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
- Bulletproof, HF driver protection - Efficient design with wide dynamic range - Effortless HF response that defies the relatively low-tech driver behind it. - Classic CW bass response via a cast-framed 12" woofer with a 10lb motor structure!
Weakness:
- Age, woofers likely need re-foamed due to deterioration of foam surround. - Size and weight for non-appreciative housemates - Frequency response was not the smoothest, especially through mid-band. - Cosmetics are straight from mid-1980s. (Note: review is for older CW D5 model) This will be a bit different they my other speaker reviews (posted as ProRecordingGuy and VegasSound). This time we step into the way-back machine... 1987 to be exact. After a year on the road as a sound tech, I joined the US Army as a communications technician. And there I found (besides many life lessons) a wide world of stereo buffs like myself. Many of my roomates came from European stations where they bought up hifi gear: Denon, Technics, Harmon Kardon, Sansui, Nakamichi, and more. And in local Junction City KS I also found dozens of audio retailers selling both new and used gear to eager GIs like myself. So, after months of admiring my good friend's European spec D-9s, I acquired a pair of D-5s. These were the direct ancestor of the DX-5, and as such had a similar configuration. A ported 12", cast frame woofer in about a 2 cubic foot box, a paper coned 5" midrange, and a bullet tweeter with probably a 1" diaphram. They had a robust crossover with thermal protection for the tweeters, and were rated at a conservative 150watts RMS and 99db 1w/1m. Wow! These were powered by Kenwoods top A/V receiver; with a good 100watts per side into 8ohms into the efficient Cerwin Vegas it was a solid, loud piece of kit. Sources included a modded Realistic direct drive turtable with a nice AT cartridge, and an Ultrix cassette deck with external dbx noise reduction. I often recorded from my roomates CD player to dbx encoded metal cassette tapes with suprisingly listenable results (for the time). Night after night the D-5s delivered. While they lacked the finesse of a speaker of higher pedigree, they were surprisingly listenable. Besides the trademark CW bass response, they offered surprising imaging and detail by virtue of the little horn-loaded HF drivers. In fact, we did an all night shootout one night between these and some Polk Monitor 10s. The shootout used both my Kenwood and a great Carver setup, all driven by CD and Vinyl. Material was classic Genesis, Who, Kansas, Marillion, and who knows what else. By the end of the night, my neighbor offered a straight trade of his much pricier Polks for my Cerwins! We both agreed that the D-5s, at least in the sweet spot, offered a smoother, effortless high end compared to the Polks, plus their ability to trump anything in their price range when it came to dynamic range. I still see D-5s on sale locally and on ebay from time to time. It is tempting to get a pair to see if they hold up to my memory of them. But would it be fair, 20 year old speakers, likely with re-foamed or re-coned woofers, against my more mature, refined tastes? I bet ... that I would love them just as much now! As a footnote, I've heard the DX series and they were everything the older D series were, but with a better engineered HF driver with an elliptical horn offering improved dispersion and imaging. Similar Products Used: Yamaha NS-70T, Pioneer CS-99a |
[Feb 24, 2003]
Johnnyd1
AudioPhile
Strength:
clarity, tight base, really high Highs- very realistic in music reproduction
Weakness:
The vegas are so clear, they are in your face and if the music is poor, or poorly recorded, it will show up. My Paradigms are warm and I love them, but my vegas- they are there!!!!- if the music is bad or good, the vegas will tell it as it is and lay it on the line The Cerwin Vega S1's were a "caveman Bookshelf" speaker. Very large and heavy- but heavy is quality- and they do have the magnets and quality. Speakers have not changed much in technology in the past 50 years. Weight almost gives most of the story. I own a couple of Paradigms as well but let me tell you something - It does not matter how you cut the cake- the vegas are 98db efficiency and are extremely clear- the band is in your room Similar Products Used: paradigm, marantz, Harman Kardon, Rotel, Conrad Johnson, Larrivee |
[Sep 27, 2002]
Eisy Nieves
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
The bass, definitely. It kicks ass and really pulls.
Weakness:
Sometimes the bass overpowers the other sounds. These have a really nice sound. My boyfriend was an audiophile. He bought these and had the equalizer set perfectly. He died in April :( Similar Products Used: www.artsophic.com |
[Feb 23, 1999]
Brian
an Audio Enthusiast
I purchased 2 DX-5's about a year ago and now have 4. I am not an audiophile so my ears are not tuned like some. I love the CV's. They have good bass, however, they sometimes seem to flatten out and hit funny, which is most likely due to my horrible receiver. I am upgrading however to DD and will be using them for surrounds as well as music. The mids and highs are clear and never drowned out by the lows, sometimes their is a very slight hiss, only noticable during old analog recordings, I listen to a lot of old rock like Boston or Zeppelin. Overall they fit my listening profile perfectly and always sound clean. I give them a 4 star rating for their good bass, clean mids, and well-matched highs. |
[Oct 19, 2000]
Wade
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Powerfull bass, cranking midrange, solidly built
Weakness:
Tweeter is not as smooth as it could be To all who constantly turn up their noses at Cerwin-Vega speakers I have one thing I would like to say; don't buy CV's, they are obviously not for you! My DX-5's are the best $600.00 speakers I could find. When I bought them in '96 I was using a cheap Yahmaha reciever and the sound was O.K. I have since aquired an Onkyo A-8700 integrated amplifier and now these bad boys rock! I am a big Who fan so I like a speaker that dishes out extended, accurate bass and a midrange sound that is very loud and dynamic. When I crank up "Live at Leeds" or "Live at the Isle of Wight Festival" you can imagine being right there in front of the stage. Entwistle's bass is loud and precise. Moon's drums have an impact that is best described as explosive! Townshend's heavy guitar riffs are loud and very clean sounding without a hint of distortion. Vocals are always strong and natural sounding. I can drive these speakers so hard it is down right frightening! My ears give out long before the speakers do. The only real dissapointment is the tweeter. I wish it had more "tick" on high-hats and it does get a little harsh at freakishly loud levels. They do not produce as much depth as some speakers either. These are small trade offs however when you consider what they can do. If you come across a pair at a garage sale, buy them. If you like Bose, Paradigm, B&W etc., then CV's are not for you. Those are all nice speakers but they do not compare to what the CV's can do for those of us who like our rock and roll loud and powerfull. |