Cerwin Vega DC 10 Floorstanding Speakers

Cerwin Vega DC 10 Floorstanding Speakers 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-6 of 6  
[Apr 10, 2020]
Leander


Strength:

Power delivery and deep thundering bass is a strength for sure. In other reviews I keep reading that these speakers are not made for jazz or blues, I think this is just not true. If you are unhappy with the way these speakers sound you should really try a different amplifier. My amp of choice is an Onkyo TX-NR5009 and although this is not a stereo amp but surround item, it really brings the DC10's to life. The stereo image is just huge and high notes are crystal clear and the bass is enormous considering the woofers are only 10 inch. Before saying that these are just party speakers with a lot of bass, consider buying a quality amp and you will be surprised.

Weakness:

The only weakness are the red surrounds from the woofers that crack over the years. But you can get new surrounds online and make them look like new again, just like mine.

Price Paid:
120
Purchased:
Used  
Model Year:
1996
OVERALL
RATING
4
[Dec 26, 2003]
Stefan Svensson
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Loud and lots of bass, bi-wire terminal, looks great unlike many other CV speakers and affordable to buy second hand

Weakness:

not the deepest bass, rolls off at about 30Hz, hard to find second hand...

I actually own th DC-15, but there is no review available for these beasts (which really sucks) First of all, I think this Anders guy is all wrong about his review, he said himself that the DC series is one of the best CV speakers and yet only gives it a measly 1 of 5!!! CV was never intended to play (in my opinion) audiophile crap-music, so therefore it´s plain unfair to give them bad reviews just because they can´t do a thing they never were intended for!! It´s like giving bad reviews to an formula one car because it has no luggage room and is ice-cold at winter-driving (you get my point)... But now for my own review, I´ve owned these babies for about 2months now, and can say without a doubt that it´s the best speakers I´ve ever owned, They are not the most detailed or even the deepest going, they work well down to around 30hz, but I almost never listen to music with such deep bas anyways... So what does these speakers so great then, It´s the ability to make the listener want to hear the music at really high volume and just dance like crazy!! They can really make the music swing. It´s as live to a pop or rock cosert you can come in your own home! And that´s what CV is all about, LIVE CONSERT FEELING!! (Not a classical conserts and such though) I´ve heard CV´s newest series v12f and the older at-100, they don´t even come close to the DC series, it´s the most brilliant speaker by CV... And don´t think I just say this because i own a pair, i heard them long before i bought a pair myself.... Well, If you want to have a real party or just love the concert feeling, these are right for you, if you prefer the detail and 100% linear frequency range and can pay 100000$ or more for a complete stereo setup, buy a real live orchestra instead!!!

Similar Products Used:

crosswood 2.10s proson twin 1000 Infinity sm155

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 21, 2002]
Morten-Siersbaek
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

-Bass. Strong, deep, precise, and warm sounding bass. (Of course - that's why I bought them ;o) ) -compatible with all kinds of music with strong dynamics, Rock, Pop, Heavy, House music (they give you some of that club sensation you usually miss when having parties at home ;o) ). -The quality of the units is good, big magnets, and the enclosure is very solid, and unlike cerwin vega it is tall and slim. - They get 4 stars because of the value for money. (I payed about 450-500$ for a new pair here in Denmark, they should be about 200$, or less 2nd hand) The first pair served me for ten years (I sold them to a friend who's enjoying them now) taking alot of beatings, and moving several times being transported all over the place, being abused and played very loud, without complaining :o). They're built to last.

Weakness:

-Jazz and classical is possible, but never buy Cerwin Vega if that's your main thing. I love alot of different kinds of music, but the DC10's aren't made for more quiet music. Still they will be able to play your softer records, but again, put your money where your taste in music is.

I have owned two pairs of DC10. The first pair for almost 10 years. The second pair for about a year. I am by now quite familiar with this model and how it sounds in different setups/ locations. I started out with a Denon pma-480 (2x50w in 8ohms), but upgraded to a Denon pma 920, which delivers more than twice the amount of power. The pma-480 was great I thought, and delivered more than enough power to make me go crazy, but the new amp really straightened up the speakers, and gave them a better, tighter stereo image. The bass is just so very tight with these speakers, eventhough it's a "small" speakers compared to other CV's. Many things have been said about Cerwin Vega, and to sum it up I'll just say that if you're looking for speakers with a very rich detail, then CV speakers aren't the right choice. I've listened to alot speakers in alot of price ranges, and I know what my DC10's aren't capable of, but I also know that if you're budget isn't unlimited, then you'll have to make a choice: do you want 1: Rich details, but a bass that doesn't extend all the way down to somewhere around 20hz, or 2: A deep powerful very strong bass, but a lack of resolution in the higher range of the sound? When I bought my DC10's My main priority was having a good powerful speaker, not lacking anything in the lower spectre. I compared it to alot of other speakers, like JBL, Dali, Snell, and more. I had no problem hearing the strenghts and weaknesses of the different speakers, and the DC10's weren't the best in the midrange and treble, but they were, when comparing them directly to other speakers not far off, remembering my limited budget of course, but all the other speakers in the pricerange had one problem: more or less limited performance in the bass area. I just couldn't accept taking the speakers with less bass. I've always had the impression that alot of speakers/ speaker-manufacturers choose to save money when it comes to getting all the bass covered, and when you listen to crappy stereos it's always one of the first things you'll notice, the bass is more less non-existant. As a performing musician, I also know that one thing speakers have a problem delivering, is the dynamics that you get when playing music yourself. The sound often (not always) seems more flat when listening on various speakers. again it's a question of paying alot of money, or making a compromise. I really had the impression that CV speakers were the speakers in the pricerange, capable of delivering the most true to life dynamics, because of the low amplifier output required to power them, and of course their abilities in the bass area. Compared to other speakers from Cerwin Vega, I think the DC10's are the ones closest delivering a balanced sound, where the bass isn't the only strenght. The Midrange sounds good, and isn't stressing in any way, the treble as well, althought they are like many other speakers very dependant on how you position them. The thing that has always been my only problem with them, is the limited ability to give a precise stereo image. What those other speakers could do instead of punchy bass, was deliver a more precise stereo image. Fortunately, the second pair I bought (I bought them around the same time I bought the pma 920, so I could compare the two amplifiers, and the two set of speakers, in various setups) proved to help me on that point. They were more precise in the sound, and strangely enough, another thing that had bothered me, the somewhat "sealed-up" midrange, was very much more open on the "new" DC10's, as well as being more precise. My advise would therefore be to look for a newer pair of DC10's if you're into this kind of speaker. I might buy a pair of shelve speakers to play all the records that don't require a deep deep bass to give me full satisfaction, but I I'll keep these babies until they wear out, or Cerwin Vega produces some more versatile speakers (which is going to happen soon, according to Cerwin Vega).

Similar Products Used:

Dali 400. Dali 505. Dali 102.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[May 03, 1998]
Anders Rønnebech Jensen
an Audio Enthusiast

Well I had these speakers for about 4 years and I sold them 2 weeks ago. Reason for buying them was that I used to listen too a lot of Heavy Rock, Metallica, Mega Deth, Iron Maiden ect. I must say that the DC 10's really has the ability to play this kind of music very well. Cerwin Vega is a very LOUD - speaker, and it is almost impossible for them to play blues and jazz music. About 2 years ago I started listening a lot too jazz and blues, and ever since the speakers have irritated the living daylights out of me. It makes everything sound like techno. you could say as I used too "You can only get that kind of bass for a CW". But this is simply not true, because you can get a speaker that delivers just as deep bass as the Cerwin, and at the same time is able to play all kinds of music. A good exsample is QLN or for that matter DALI. The DC 10 is in my oppinion on of the best speaker from Cerwin Vega, it is a lot more versatile then other speakers from CW, both the DC 12 and DC 15 are absolutely terrible speakers. The speaker is just too expencive because of its limited ability to play all-round, and that only Cerwin Vega delivers the right kind of bass is simply a myth. The speaker is good if you annoy other people and destroy you hearing!
If were to loud you're too old

I guess I'm way too old!


OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
[Feb 24, 1999]
Nikolaj Borg
a Casual Listener

There are a lot of nice speakers in the same price range as the DC 10. Only problem is, that it is very hard to find an all-round speaker at this price. The speakers are usually sorted in two categories: "Classical" and "Rock" speakers, i.e. speakers with too little or too much bass.
Obviously, the DC 10 is a fine representative of the latter category. It has a nice mid-range/bass, with plenty of woof in the bass. Unfortunately, the DC 10 suffers from the same problem as other rock speakers: lack of detail. I used to like mine because they were quite "fun" to listen to, but in the long run, I realised that I wasn't able to enjoy the full detail of a good production, as it just didn't get through the speaker.

If you're considering buying this speaker, my advice to you is to consider your needs: is it enough for you to listen to the rich, fullbodied sound of the speaker (of which the DC 10 had plenty), or do you expect to "grow up" (no offence intended) in the near future. If not, go ahead and buy the DC 10's and enjoy them - I did. If not, consider a more all-round speaker. My suggestion would be the QLN 166, which has some of the warmth of the DC 10's, but has much more resolution. The 3 stars refer to the fact that although these are excellent "rock" speakers, they lacked some overall qualities to be considered good speakers in general.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
[Oct 28, 1997]
Mika
an Audio Enthusiast

I've had my CV's for three years now, and I am VERY HAPPY with them. For my kinda music (Reggae, Ragga, Soca, Calypso and Rapso) they seem pretty darn perfect IMHO. Good, solid bass that is not slack or boomy but instead deep, punchy and controlled - clear, strong midrange that sits well with the bass - and a nice, not over-hissing (as I've heard on many so-called good HiFi speakers) treable.
The speakers are perhaps more subtle in sound than most fo the CV's, but not in a negative way I think...Just makes them more versatile, I think. Though the smallest of the DC series, I for one have never felt the need to change these 3 ft. tall "small" CV's to bigger ones...Maybe if I owned a club or wanted to play them outside (as the manufacturer says, these are residential speakers)...And one does NOT need to play CV's loud - they sound good also on less volume.

I compared these to the VS-series and there is a difference in sound - I find the VS-10's for instance have a crispier treble and sound much harsher in the mid-range.

I would claim that most people listening to pop/rock/rap/reggae/kaiso - anything but classical music perhaps - should go and give these speakers a try without prejudice. Believe your ears, not other people's ears. They may not be considered HiFi by many, but they sure sound good to me...

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
Showing 1-6 of 6  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com