I just bought a pair of these Cerwin Vegas and they are the best bang for the buck that i have found. I have had Definitive Technology and Paradigm loudspeakers, but even though $100's more then the RE-30, they couldnt compare! These are the cleanest and hardest hitting speakers that i found for this price. I run them on a technics reciever, only about 85 watts a channel... still they are the best, and recommend them to anyone with the cash...

I picked up a pair of these from a friend upgrading their speakers when theywere 6 months new for cheap. I know this person and also know that he is
not a "speaker abuser" (i.e. they were not in a college frat house being yammed)

Contrary to post regarding response below 40Hz these speakers connected to my
Harman Kardon amp using a test CD managed to produce 30Hz as specified by the
spec sheet and you could begin to literally feel the bass at around 25Hz

Overall these speakers are fine for rock, rap, reggae, etc. but I feel they
could stand having a high quality midrange dropped in as well as a better
tweeter. Those who describe it as "boomy" or having "muddy mids" are not far
off. They seem to work well for for watching movie sound tracks! Point
taken on amp - they sound sick on my cheaper Kenwood receiver but really
perk up with the more capable H/K connected to these 4ohm goliaths.

Just a note on the construction of these cabinets. At loud volume levels the
bass will rattle one cabinet and I can actually hear (horrible) vibrations
which can be quieted by standing behind the speaker at shoving on the back
panel to hold it in. I also noticed that the poor fit on this back panel allows
sound waves to escape between the seams, this can be noticed by a sensitive
pair of nostrils (seriously) being used to "feel" around the mating of this
panel. This flaw only affects one of the units and not the other, perhaps
hinting at a quality control problem? I have been told C-V does an excellent
job at honoring warranties and fixing problems, so we shall see.

Lovers of jazz, symphony, and fine vocalists may want to avoid these speakers
(I keep my Infinity units connected for use on these and similiar sources)

I bought these about 2 years ago from Best Buy. But now I am realizing that they suck hard at HT. I'm dumpin them for Energy Take 5.

Clean and Crisp

Lacks some refinement, Heavy

This is an update to my 1998 review...

I recently moved to a new apartment and switched these bad boys to my Denon AVR-2700 amp w/ Monster Z series cables. The sound improvement over my older Sony was astonishing !!! The imaging was very much improved and I found myself listening to CDs that I haven't played in years.

I think that these speakers need to be paired with a higher powered good quality amp, and if you can afford some good quality cabling you will be surprised at the quality of sound and imaging they will produce. Cheaper amps may make the bass sound overblown esp if you use the bass boost setting... If you're not getting good results try turning down the bass and turning up the volume.

They excel at rock (Dido, Creed, ELO, Led Zep) and rap (Eminem) and also do a good job w/ instrumentals (George Winston, Sinatra) and jazz though I haven't had the chance to test them with classical. I particularly like the way they handle female vocals. I mainly use them in stereo or matrix mode w/o the center speaker when watching movies and tv. They're also built like a rock and are not light -- so if you move a lot they can be a pain. I have no need to use my subwoofer when these baby's are on. Agree w/ a previous reviewer that they sound better with a flat ceiling vis a vis a vaulted one.

These speakers have a crisp clear pleasing sound abeit with some slight muddyness in the midrange but you can't beat them for value (5 stars). Overall 4 stars.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, KLH, JBL

I had a friend who picked up a pair of these for fairly cheap - but not cheap enough. I cannot express how annoyed I felt while listening to these speakers - the highs were grating and the lows were muddy (read: over enthusiastic low mids)... just plain yuck.

I worked at Circuit City for about a year and I have heard most of the speakers that they carry. I have also owned a couple of these mass market low fi speakers but luckily, there are 30 day return policies and I have used them better than anyone else.
The Re-30s--I bought them before I worked at CC but I also heard the DCM KX12s. They sound equally as bad. The mylar tweeter in the Re30 is more etched and "spray can" unlike that the "blast it to me" horn tweeter of the DCMs. Overall, the DCMs are better for rock because of its punchy, overaggerated bass, and its loud, but shouldn't be proud tweeter. No imaging whatsoever (big surprise, huh?) as the source of the noise can be traced to the speakers. I know head banging teenagers in general (unlike I, who is 20 years old and love rock!) would differ my opinion because they like really loud music which can be played with a cheap, ity-gritty receivers because these super sensitive speakers, and the emphasis on treble and bass (or know as the "rock equalizer"). But there are better speakers out then what CC or Best Buys sells you. You just to do some searching.

More points: I did not get true sub 30 Hz bass on these 50+ pound behemoths. True, you can hear something in the 1/3 octave warble tones, but it wasn't a clear, defined note. Also, DON'T call yourself an AUDIOPHILE if you like CV, DCM or Bose. You don't know what it means to be one if you like speakers from these companies. Look it up in a dictionary...

Two stars because you can do worse with Bose. I admire the people who choose CV over a purchase of Bose.

Hits hard like a car crash!!!!! Believe it or not, with the right amp, these CV's will beat a pair of Nautilus 801's in a "bang out contest"!!!!!!

Clarity in the tweeter. (But when has Cerwin Vega been known for highs and clear precise sound.)

First of all, for true audiophiles, these speakers are probably not for you. However for people that don't necessarily care for B&W type sound quality and want a speaker that will shake everything around that's attached to the building structure, these are the best i've come in contact with. I just became a true audiophile and i had a setup that would keep the local police department knocking at your door on a regular. My setup included (4)Cerwin Vega RE-30's in each corner that was pushed by a Sony STR DE 835 that was bridged out to about 4 ohms or less. Basically that means that i was running 2 channel stereo with a pair to the left channel and the other pair to the right channel, double wired. (Yes, i know that doesn't show any love for my amp) Any way if u didn't already know, the amp burn up after about 3 months. Hauled it off and upgraded to a Sony STR DE 935 (110 x 5). No love. It burn up too. So if u don't know what you're doing then don't try this at home. I'm a guy that likes to put my equipment to the test and i burnt up several amps before i got a real amp with some high current that would not fold up on me in the heat of battle. So basically what i'm trying to say is, get you four of these with a really high current amp like a Sony ES or HK and you have definitely got yourself a package that will bang out (not beat out) just about any high end fronts money can buy. As far as the bulky cabinets, if you don't have much money to decorate then these babies can be a nice addition to your furniture. So for the money, you definitely will get your "bang" for your buck!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega LS 12's(That don't hit as hard as the RE's)

Good, clear sound. They really can scream.

for being so heavy, the boxes are really cheaply made.

I love my speakers. I have had them for nearly six years. I push them hard, every single day. I am a drummer, and they can very easily overpower the trapset, but I am also a strangely obsessed musician and grandson of the owner of a huge music store, and i can tell you, they have a remarkable ability to sound extremely delicate at lower powers, then immediately knock a rib loose. If there has ever been a pair of speakers that should have blown out years ago, it's these. but they are soooo tough.
I think it's a sin that some people [sneers and grinding teeth] would steer people away from these speakers! Have you ever heard of a PRICE RANGE? If you have x amount of money, and want your best possible buy, look no further. Period.
If you don't like the sound quality, get a new amp. or maybe a new cd player. or buy an equalizer. I will admit, one of my friend's dads has a pair of these, and with his old kenwood 100x2 amp, they sound like complete trash. it's remarkably reminiscent of bose [more sneers and spitting].
I put the things in my car just to see, you know, and once again, a kenwood amp really ruined them. There is no such thing as a perfect system, but am I the only one who has a concept of MATCHING!?!?
My denon receiver, sony cd player and denon dvd do them justice, very much so in fact, and I couldn't be more pleased with the system I have accumulated. One more thing though . . .
Man, I wish I was a geek. "my five-million dollar titanium invisible home theater fortune is the way to go, as long as you sit in the center of the room and don't move your head at all, concentrating on what could possibly be wrong with the things. one star. no, zero stars." It's called narrowing down your classification. I think it's evil to post faulty reviews to steer people away from a pair of speakers they will never regret buying -- six years from now, or however long these muscle-cones can last. When they do show some wear, I'll be the first to tell you bunch of critical over-enthusiasts. In the meanwhile, try and remember that some people go to the store with only a certain amount of money. I laugh at anyone who would drop enough money for a CAR on a pair of speakers when they really don't sound much better than this $300 pair. You can't get much better than this, regardless of preferences, even if you pay thirty times what these cost.

Similar Products Used:

cv-ls15's, jbl, i forget.

Good for the dollar value

Large, Heavy, Bulky. Require a lot of power.

I think that many of these "self proclaimed" audiophiles need to remember the dollar amount of these speakers! I did a lot of research before purchasing the RE-30 CV's, and I can honestly say that nothing anywhere near that price could begin to come close to the performance of these units! Compared to a Bose system (or the JBL's that I looked at) at twice the price....there is no comparison, the CV stomps it's little flat, tinnie butt! Yes, I admit, the RE-30's are a bit big, and bulky; however, if you do not have the space for them....don't buy them! That is not too hard to figure out now is it? I think it is hillarious to read that some of these Techno-Geeks have rated this speaker so low, because these guys are comparing them to units that are 4-8 times the cost...hell yes a $3000-$4000 speaker damn well better sound much better! Get a grip fellows, you are OBVIOUSLY NOT the authority that you think you are! Bottom line, these speakers rock for the money...they are excellent with my Dolby system watching DVD movies, and I didn't have to go out and purchase a sub. I would buy them again, and have a couple of friends that went out and purchased some after hearing mine.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Bose, Polk

Great bass, very loud if you want them to be.

Very large and heavy.

For the price, these are the best speakers you can buy. With that said, you will need a good reciever to use them effectively because of their 4 ohm impedence. Some people knock these speakers because they're too "boomy". There's a simple way to fix this...turn down the bass on your reciever. I don't know how many people I've seen turn the bass up (or bass boost) on their receiver. When they do so, these things sound horrible. However, they shine when the bass is turned down and the music is turned up. They really perform the better the louder they get. And without the bass turned way up, they produce very awesome, subtle lows, and a decent mid to high range. I turn my treble up just a tad on these because the lows on these things do kick out just a tad (this of course depends on what you're listening to). Because of the way they're designed, it's advisable to not put these against a wall. About a foot clearence from the wall is needed to get these things really sounding their best. They also sound better in different situations. Right now I live in an apartment w/ a vaulted cieling and I notice a lot of sound gets lost, and smaller apartments, the sound isn't allowed to expand. The best place for these is a mid size living room with a flat cieling, placed on either side of the room, 1 foot from each wall. Always angle them in the same direction. You really need to find the right place for these in your room, because there are certain spots with these that will feel dead, while other spots in the room they will feel like absolute heaven. As with anything they sound a lot better with digital recordings as apposed to analogue, so don't expect great sound if you're watching the football game on cable. But with CD's and DVD's I find they really punch, especially when they need it. As said before, classical music and the like aren't as good as some other speakers you could buy, but I find that these are suitable even for that, as I don't listen to a lot of that kind of stuff. Unless you're willing to spend near $1000, these will give you the best bang for the buck, but only if they're set up correctly (like any speaker).

Similar Products Used:

KLH, Bose