Affordable full range sound. Clean bass, clear midrange, and soft detailed high's.

None at this price.

An overall great performer for the price if you're into using them for two channel stereo. The bass sounds clean and tight, the mid's are fine in my opinion (others have found them weak), and the high's are clear, detailed, and soft. I've owned JBL's before and in my taste their bass was a little muddled and their titanium tweeters too bright. I definitely like the cv's better. I own a pair of B&W's dm303's and I can say that even though the CV's dont have that stereophile detail and imaging, they don't fall very far behind. They certainly shine with certain types of recordings, since they are designed in mind for playing best with the rock/r&b/commercial pop crowd. Still, their clean and powerfull sound still manages to bring many well recorded material right to your living room. Many complain about unnatural mid range sound and weak high's. I definitely think you have to drive these speakers with a good high current amplifier to really enjoy them. I drive them with an Onkyo 100 watts x 2 stereo receiver and I have no problems driving them loud, clean, and undistorted (no more than 1/2 way up the volume dial). Don't expect very clean sound from a low current amp or receiver(i.e. Sony, Technics, Yamaha, Pioneer etc.). Again, these speakers will really shine with a high current, high powered, product. The music sounds rich, warm and full overall. The imaging is clear, there is a good ammount of detail and the sound separation is very good (with the right equipment of course). They will deliver tight, detailed, low bass for stereo recordings. Definitely recommended if you have the room for them and if you like your music loud and clear.

Similar Products Used:

JBL

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I just got these speakers and I'm not ready to write a full fledged review just yet, but I want to ask a question of some other people who have used these speakers.

Many people have noted that they are driving the speakers with Yamaha 5450's and 5440's. I am using a Yamaha 5460 to power them. My question to those using other Yamaha receivers and to people using these speakers in general is this: How loud do you have to turn up your receiver to get a good loud sound from the speakers? My Yamaha is rated for 100 watts, and Yamaha's are generally considered to have good, clean power. I have to crank my receiver about 2/3's of the way up on the volume for a good "loud" sound. I know it takes a lot to drive these speakers, but should it take that much? How hard to you guys have to drive you receivers to get a good loud sound from your LS-12's?

Thanks....
charlesfosterkane@yahoo.com

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Yamaha

I picked up the C-V LS-12s from Best Buy yesterday. I'm a big Cerwin-Vega fan, so yes, I like loud music, and these bad buys uphold C-V's standards of excellence in that area. However, I've noticed that the LS-12s pay a lot more attention to minute details than other C-Vs I've tried (RE-30, E-312). The left-right stereo separation is EXCELLENT, even at low volumes, and I can hear minor details in the music that I would have had to BLAST my older C-Vs to hear. All in all, $400 well spent.
My system: Sony STR-DB930 and a pair of CV LS-12s hooked up with 10 ft. of 10-gauge Monster Cable with 24kt gold interconnects.

The LS-12's are very efficient, with strong sound level output with a mid-fi receiver and an almost physical impact with a solid power amplifier. The rated power handling of 300 Watts allows one to use the LS-12's with all but the most extreme amplifiers. Of course, the Cerwin-Vega 12" woofers produce "tight", powerful bass.

Of the pair I purchased, one of the two speakers is slightly "weaker" than the other, requiring a relative boost of about 1 - 2 dB to output the same sound level as the "stronger" speaker. When driven at high sound levels, the midrange and treble is a bit harsh.

One of my highest priorities has always been high sensitivity / efficiency and power handling, because I enjoy very high listening levels. A few months ago I started shopping for some new mains, and nothing even close to the same price range offered the efficiency and power handling of the Cerwin-Vegas. Klipsch Reference RF-7's are a bit more efficient (102 dB sensitivity vs. 98) and rated for 250 Watts continuous power handling, but RF-7's list for $2,200 and a good price for them is about $1600 - four times the selling price for the Cerwin-Vegas. I looked hard at the JBL Studio Series, but the efficiency just isn't there.

Right out of the box, the LS-12's produced "tight" but strong bass. Midrange and treble were clear at moderate volume but a bit harsh when the speakers were driven hard.

Although the LS-12's sounded good when driven by my Sony STR-DE545 receiver (100 X 5), they really came alive when I hooked them up to a high quality 2-channel power amplifier, a B&K Reference 2220 (conservatively rated at 220 X 2 @ 8 Ohms). These speakers will definitely only show their best when driven by a strong power amplifier. I've never had the problem reported by others regarding the fuse blowing - even with the volume 5 dB away from maximum using the B&K amp, the speakers did not seem to have a problem. There does seem to be a resonance in the midrange driver at a very narrow frequency (I've only encountered it on one track of one CD so far).

Even with the midrange resonance, a bit of harshness in midrange and treble at high volume levels, and the slight imbalance in the two speakers, I'd buy these speakers again for $400.

I plan to replace these with Klipsch RF-7's when I can afford it - the Klipsch's will have slightly higher efficiency, enough power handling for my B&K amp, superior imaging due to the horn loaded design, and superior musicality, especially smoother midrange and treble.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch RF-7

TWEETER, SUB

BOX DESIGN COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER BUILT

I PURCHASED THESE THE OTHER WEEK FROM BEST BUY. PAID $375
FOR THE PAIR. I LOOKED INTO THE SIMILAR LS-15, BUT I FIGURED THAT MY SONY STR-725 MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE POWER REQUIREMENTS. I LISTENED TO BOTH AND I WAS VERY SURPRISED WITH THE LS-12. BIG TIME BASS THAT DIDNT DROWN OUT THE TWEETER AND MID RANGE. I OWN THE POLK RT-400'S AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT I REALLY LIKE THE CV'S BETTER. THESE SPEAKERS KICK ASS. LOUD IN EVERY WAY AND INCREDIBLE WITH HOME THEATER, ESPECIALLY DAYLIGHT. GREAT PRODUCT AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Similar Products Used:

POLK TR-400

Really good bass

I have jused this speaker for over 1 a year now and im very happy with the speakers.
It can play very loud,that loud that you can blow your ears almost,so be carefule.
-Recomended-

Low bass. I use them at my dorm and they shake the whole floor and the floors above and below me. I've gotten 6 complaints in the first 3 weeks. Decent mids and the highs could be a little tighter. But great speaker overall.

I had a problem with fuse blowing when I cranked them with very low bass. It's been 2 months since I got them and I think it was just the fact that I hadn't broken them in yet because I haven't blown a fuse for a month

I love HT and these did the trick. I have an adequate receiver (Sony STR-DE935). My next speakers will be B&W 602's which I am looking forward to but I haven't decided on a sub yet. Great speakers overall. I would recommend breaking them in before you really crank them.

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I had some Infinity 2000.4's which didn't have quite the bass that these have (they had no bass).

Great price, VERY loud, sparkeling highs.

OK midrange, front plate can come loose and then the whole cabinet needs replaced.

If you have $400 dollars, but these speakers! You have to replace the fuses from 2 1/2 amps to about 7 to get good power handling, the origional fuses burn out quickly. When you hit them with about 200 watts r.m.s. these puppies really shine. They will handle anything you throw at them, and play it well too, which I sometimes find lacking in other speakers. Also, I recomend replacing the packing in the midrange enclosure with poly-fill to reduce the echo.

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I have the E-712's, but the LS-12 is the same thing with no adjustable crossover/tone controls.
Advent Heritage loudspeakers- very good quality, but blow out easily.

You do need to crank up the mids on your receiver.

It was very difficult to replace the old Pioneers. I listened to many speakers, some that cost alot more than the CV's. I just liked the way they sound. Audio is subjective. I use them for Home Theatre and music. I live on the 2nd floor so, no sub! The CV's more than make up for it. U-571 in DTS will make a believer out of you.

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20 year old 3-way Pioneers that rocked, but just were sent to the grave by Godzilla on DVD. Movie sucked, sounded great!

deep rich clear loud tight bass, clean highs and mids, these things go verry verry loud , good for rap, hard rock, metal, soft rock, any type of music

these baby's go verry loud and give you lots of bass and plenty of highs , the large rear ports on back of the speaker give it more bass 12" woofer rocks for drums and bass. love these speakers great for party's

Similar Products Used:

DCM, Technics, Pioneer