CerwinVega

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I listen to mostly hard rock music from the 80's and 80's and 90's music along with bass. Occasionally I'll listen to jazz or rap and hip hop, but basically these speakers are made for those types of music or for people who like bass, big speakers or just want something like a DJ speaker but for a home audio application.

Strengths:
Bass of course and the ability to play at loud volumes clear and real. Can also shake your house if powered correctly (150 RMS continuous would be fine). Can be used to DJ smaller parties but they are mainly used to get that DJ type of sound in a home environment which suits me perfectly. One of the only speaker manufacturers available to the average consumer which targets this area to this day.

Weaknesses:
Not for people who listen to classical, easy listening, or jazz type of music, but can be played through these speakers OK. Not for people who dont like bass, big speakers, or DJing. Big speakers are hard to move around and shouldnt be moved around a lot.

Similar Products Used:
KLH 9912's(like cerwin vega but twice as cheap), Cerwin Vega VS-120, 150 and the newer V-12F's, 1994 Pioneer 15's, DCM KX-212 which had bass that I thought sucked.

Price Paid:  $500.00 from eBay

Summary:
What a wonderful pair of speakers. I've heard quite a few of Cerwin Vega products over the years, but these were the first pair that I've actually owned and it has turned out to be a great purchase. I was attracted to the LS line due to some of the other great reveiws and I will add my own thoughts. The sound has slightly forward character that is completely balanced through the entire frequency range. The clarity and detail is quite good for a speaker less than $1000/pair. The treble is silky smooth, the midrange clear and "alive", and the bass is commanding. One of the great advantages to speakers that have a high efficiency rating is that it doesn't take much power(watts) to drive them properly. The power handling is high, so these speakers can handle very high wattage, but you won't need more than 50 Watts of high current power to make these sing beautifully. One thing to note is that you will have to properly adjust your bass settings, as these can be overpowering in the bass region if your not careful, and if you love bass, then you'll have no problem pounding the floorboards loose. With that said, even at low volumes, the bass is present and blends in nicely without being overpowering. The midrange also blends in with the woofer and tweeter seamlessly, creating breathtakingly clear vocals. Norah Jones is awesome in her live performances and you can hear every detail in her voice, you can even hear her taking breaths in between phrases. I recommend these speakers highly to anyone wanting great reproduction of live music, incredible speakers for Home Theater, and wants to spend less than $1000/pair.

Strengths:
Great Dynamic Range Silky Smooth Treble Crystal Clear Midrange Great Vocal Reproduction Powerful bass Great Imaging and tonal balance

Weaknesses:
Slight Boominess in the bass region, but not overbearing.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity Alpha JBL Northridge Klipsch Synergy

MorePower

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.80 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from ebay

Summary:
I bought these speakers to go with my newer E315 floorspeakers. I was hoping they would have the clear highs and warm mids of the E315, but was very disappointed. The LS-12s do have wonderful bass, and are very loud but do have a very bright and cheap sound, in the mid and high department.

Strengths:
A lot of Bass

Weaknesses:
Way to bright sounding, and poor sounding midranges.

Similar Products Used:
Magnapane MMG, Cerwin Vega E315

PearlJamTenMan

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $160.00 from eBay

Summary:
I used to run 4 RCA 12" 3-way floorstanding speakers in my room. Pretty good sound actually, but they would not hit the low notes I wanted (possibly because of the Sony receiver) and they were too bulky. I had heard of Cerwin Vega before, but kind of foorgot about them, until i went over to my friend's house and saw his brothers LS-12's. I researched them online and say that they were selling for 3-400 a pair so offered him 200, since they were in good condition except for a blown tweeter. He said no, he was keeping them unless I offered 225. That seemed a little steep for my budget so I turned to eBay. For about 2 weeks, I could not find a single pair of the LS-12's. A couple LS-10's and 15's, E-712's, and RE-30's frequently came up, but I preferred the looks of the LS-12's. Finally, I found a pair going for really cheap and proceeded to bid on them. Down to the last minute, I won them at 102.50!! The guy told me that I would have to pick them up or he would deliver to my house for 50 dollars. We discussed this and I told him 160.00 even to deliver them. That's is a steal, even though one is missing a grill. After running them on my Sony "100 watt X 2" reciever, they had a bit more low bass than my 4 X RCA's, but they were not as loud. I figured I got my money worth though becuase the sound quality was so much better. I then sold the RCA's and my Sony receiver, replacing it with an Onkyo TX-8211 high current receiver. Perfect match. The LS-12's run at 4 Ohms and pound the bass out like a powered subwoofer. I can shake stuff off my walls with these speakers. The midrange is clean and present, for those of you saying there is no midrange, I recommend buying a new receiver. The treble is crisp and non sibilant. Perfect balance especially if you adjust the settings just a bit on the receiver. I highly recommend buying a high current receiver and running these speakers on low impedance. Those surround sound receivers that push 700 watts, thats peak. Onkyo's "105 watt" per channel at 4 ohms is an underestimation. These are the best home stereo speakers I have heard, especially for their dollar. I went to Circuit city and listened to some Infinity's with dual 8" woofers. Not even half the bass, along with too much treble. Cerwin Vega lives up to its name, thats for sure.

Strengths:
Bass, clarity, value, runs perfectly with high current.

Weaknesses:
None yet.

Similar Products Used:
RCA 12" 3 way floor speakers, Pioneer 8" 3 ways, many AIWA component system speakers . . .

SteveC

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $440.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
After reading the rave reviews about the CV LS-12's, I felt almost guilty that I had not also sung the praises of this amazing speaker. Mine are nearly two years old now and I love them so much that I have just paid out only a little less than I paid for them to ship them to New Zealand, where I have just moved to. I cannot believe that a company such as CV can afford to sell a speaker for so little when it sounds so damn good! but hey, thank you anyway CV. I, like another reviewer listen to about 65% DVD and 35% CD and could not be happier at the earthquaking bass, crystal clear midrange, and beautiful highs that this speaker can produce. I ordered a pair of custom made stands for mine from ebay of course! they are 8" high, angled back approx 45 deg, and are made of wood and finished in black, cost $65.00 well worth the money, they complement the LS-12's perfectly, I also ordered a pair of grills from CV that fit over the midrange on the E715, the one with the adjustable mid and treble, they look great too. So impressed was I at the bass from these speakers whilst watching movies, that I sold my matching LW-12 CV subwoofer! yes it's true I really did, I absolutely love bass, but just felt that it was a waste of the LS-12's to have the bass directed to the sub when the 12's could easily do the same job, I use LS-5' at the rear and an LS-5C in the centre. I know that CV recently released their new funkified replacements for the LS's and I have to admit this is one time I will not be upgrading! I intend holding onto my LS-12's for a long long time.

Strengths:
All the bass you could want, in a normal sized home They go very very loud with no distortion, when driven properly Exceptional sound even when played at low volumes eg the bass is still there

Weaknesses:
One of the plastic screw down terminals on the rear plate has stripped, an annoyance yes, but a weakness, hell no! these speakers rock

Similar Products Used:
JBL HT's