I have a chance to get a pair of VS-100's, but I have a question: an earlier poster said that the 4 ohm capacity of his VS-100's "fried" his receiver. I had always heard that lower-ohm speakers could be used with receivers with a higher rating. If I get the 4-ohm CV's and use them with my 8-ohm receiver, is it going to damage it?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Fullness and bass response. Goto www.cerwinvega.com and look up the vs series to find out what they were made for.

not good for reproducing fine quality sounds

To start this off, I would like to write a quick prelude to help you understand the situation I'm dealing with. One, I don't know when these speakers came out (audioreview makes me give a year) and two, when I say audiophile, I know little about the crossovers and so on and so forth. What I do know is my ear. My dad was a professional clarinetist and I grew up listening to classical music, and still do hold that tradition. Hearing every nuance of the orchestra, or the slightest register shift of most beautiful sopranos is of greatest importance when it comes to sound reporduction.
ok, so here it goes.
My setup consits of the following:
a Sony str d590 reciever
pair of Henry Kloss Model 6's
and ofcourse a pair of CV VS 100's.

Originally I had both pairs of speakers setup typically, one in the 'A' slot and the other in 'B'. With both A and B on, a problem arose, the power flowing to both pairs was equal, and the power necessary to drive those great cv 10" subs was sufficient enough; infact the model 6's were pumping out a better bass (there are reviews done to show that the model 6's sound good below their marketed 50hz. Humph.... Tried switching the order, making a b and b a. No difference... Ok, well then I tried them solo. Each speaker produced very well... Ofcourse the Model 6's were of a much more profound sound quality, the CV's had a much fuller sound. Unfortuatly the mid's/hi's weren't of great quality. They made voices and instruments alike sound... well fake.. bad reproduction. But I knew if I found a way to mix them that it would work out.

I moved my model 6's to the surround sound inputs... problem pretty much solved..
the combination of the two works out very nice!

Alone, they're not good for reporducing fine quality sound, but if you're looking for fullness, these are just fine, especially for what I picked them up for ($40).

I must say this, VS100 is too damn good. I found someone threw away this pair of speaker. A small repair job was needed on one of the bass speaker damper. I tight it together with Pioneer A400 amplifier, another relic. The bass is good and High frequencies are outstanding. Try on the Norah Jones CD,could pratically hear her screaming "Live" in my hall. After 1 and 1/2 months of torturing on my Pioneer A400 amplifier, the amplifier finally got fried. Friends out there take note that the speaker is 4 ohms friendly although it said to be able to take on 8 ohms. As Compare to B&W speaker PCS8 and FCM8, VS 100 is no where near the Bass performs of the B&W but In the high Frequencies, VS 100 really kick ASS. Therefore, Norah Jones somehow sounds better in VS100 rather than B&W.

VS 100 are very bright and lively (developed during the CD revolution) and were designed for the digital playback medium (VS for Velocity Sensitive) they perform well in a large room however I suggest using a power amp with a high slew rate, they will drive well in the 250-500 Hz range (they tend to be a bit muddy otherwise). Great bass, great bass great bass!!! did I say great bass?!!

Mids are not defined, Highs are harsh and tends to compress, Cabinet design is a bit old, CV could use a jump start in the design of the product (not the pro line however)

I purchased two pairs of these fine (4 total)loudspeakers with the intention of doubling my listening pleasure, you see I have used cv's for over 25 years now and I AM somewhat of a fan, having said this I also apreciate a detailed, defined flat response in a loudspeaker (the audiophile in me) so I had a cabinet custom made that would house the tens in the front (two per cabinet)and a down firing 15" D9 cv woofer (in sepperate chambers) for the Mid/upper frequencies, I housed 2 Focal M/F, 2 Peerless H/F, The sound is incredible!! Deep Deep WHUMP down to 15Hz flat!! detail in the mid and high section without decay and beyond imagination! Awsom! cv VS100 in the front chamber contribute to what is an incredible sound stage! the CV vs100 drivers!!!

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega RE25/ Harbeth LS3/5A Vandersteen Audio Model 1B

VS 100 are very bright and lively (developed during the CD revolution) and were designed for the digital playback medium (VS for Velocity Sensitive) they perform well in a large room however I suggest using a power amp with a high slew rate, they will drive well in the 250-500 Hz range (they tend to be a bit muddy otherwise). Great bass, great bass great bass!!! did I say great bass?!!

Mids are not defined, Highs are harsh and tends to compress, Cabinet design is a bit old, CV could use a jump start in the design of the product (not the pro line however)

I purchased two pairs of these fine (4 total)loudspeakers with the intention of doubling my listening pleasure, you see I have used cv's for over 25 years now and I AM somewhat of a fan, having said this I also apreciate a detailed, defined flat response in a loudspeaker (the audiophile in me) so I had a cabinet custom made that would house the tens in the front (two per cabinet)and a down firing 15" D9 cv woofer (in sepperate chambers) for the Mid/upper frequencies, I housed 2 Focal M/F, 2 Peerless H/F, The sound is incredible!! Deep Deep WHUMP down to 15Hz flat!! detail in the mid and high section without decay and beyond imagination! Awsom! cv VS100 in the front chamber contribute to what is an incredible sound stage! the CV vs100 drivers!!!

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega RE25/ Harbeth LS3/5A Vandersteen Audio Model 1B

I think you are talking about the VS 80 serries I have that set and they pound very hard consittering they are only 150 watts, i have a 200 watt amp pussing them and a 250 watt MTX sub which helps.

I've just recently listened to a pair of VS-100's and I must say I am impressed. I had always thought the AT-10 was a better speaker - on the spec sheet it is, the AT-10 has a lower bass response, a larger midrange, and (IMHO) a better tweeter. However the VS-100's seemed to just outperform the AT-10's. They sounded a little more precise (as precise as Cerwin-Vega speakers can get that is), and much more "punchy" in the bass department.If you can find them at a good price, and you're into demanding "rock 'n roll" speakers, get 'em!
:)

Very ponchy bass

way to bright

I've had my vega's for the 7 years now. At first I loved them then year by year I started disliking them more and more. A couple of years ago I upgraded to my Denon and when I got home it didn't sound anywhere close to as good as it did at the dealer. The vega's had great base but that was it, the highs were to much in your face. Today I finally bought some Paradigm Reference Studio 60's and the difference was night and day. Flat frequency response, not as paunchy but lower bass and the highs don't make my ears bleed. I am now hearing sounds that weren't noticeable with the vega's(at twice the price though). On the movie side the vega's were over powering other speaker. This might not be the case if all 5 speakers are vega's but in my case I all ways had to turn up all the other channels and still could never get a proper balance for all the different levels during a movie. In my opinion the vega's are great for efficiency and bass but not a good sounding speaker.

Strong base and dynamics for quite a medium size box.

not as life like as my B+Ws

I have to be honest I love my VS 100s.
They have spunk and punch and they seem to have the warmish tonal balance that endears them to the user.
Their forte is definitely biased towards dance and rock music but they are ok with classical and quieter styles of music.
They make an excellent choice if used with amps below 60 watts as they are so easy to drive.
I use them with Sony TAF-448e amp and Sony cdp-xe900 cd player wired with m550i monster and kimber 4pr speaker cable.
System goes together rather well in a large room.
These speakers though now superceded represent 5 star value and performance.

Similar Products Used:

Jaycar JC-50s

I bought a pair of vs-100's a year ago, for the wonderful deal of $225, used and in perfect shape. To this day I am amazed about their great sound quality and imaging. Kick drums come from the middle bottom, cymbals are above the kick to the left and right, and Anisa and Rodrick from Sky Cries Mary are to the left and right, exactly where they should be! I have heard amazing stories about cracking walls with these speakers, and I beleve every bit of it.. I have accidently pissed off my neighbors the next block down a few times, with comments such as "my $%*%^# dishes are shaking!" People who have never heard them before are blown away. These speakers are rated to 37Hz, however the port is tuned at 30Hz, giving useful extension to about 30. Crystal Method will blow you away with tight, low bass. They are currently powered with a Rotel RA-1210 int. amp that sounds killer.