Cerwin Vega Speaker Upgade

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shadowfayre

Enthusiast
I have a Cerwin Vega center channel (HT-CTR) speaker... old for todays standards I guess. It is only 4 Ohms and seems that the majority here states I should have 8 ohms. Anyways, I have the Yamaha 2500 on order (should be here tomorrow). The thing that I dont like, is that it does not support banana plugs. The sound seems to be fine, but then again, I am no expert. My thought is just to replace the terminals, but being 4 Ohms, should I replace it instead? CVs at least at the time I purchased this, was good quality.
 
mulester7

mulester7

Audioholic Samurai
.....now that the name Cerwin Vega has been mentioned....I have a friend who had some of the larger Cerwin Vega 3 element speakers 10 or 12 ago....there was magic in them to me....I had a small pair of CV one time that really sounded good for a bedroom system.....real good....if you run across an old pair for sale cheap, you might have a use for them....tell the seller you'll need to hear the speakers, or anything used for that matter, perform....point it out to him if it would only require rca's or wire, and tell him you'll bring whichever if he'll spring for a cup of electricity....signed, got burned once spambot....Mr. Spambot to you sorry tin-eared smelly heatherns....
 
S

shadowfayre

Enthusiast
Ok, that did not really answer the question... Should I be concern with upgrading the speaker since it is only 4 Ohms, or should that be ok? If is ok, where I can purchase a replacement connection so it supports Banana plugs?

Thanks,
 
Takeereasy

Takeereasy

Audioholic General
What other speakers are you using to go with the center? If they are all Cerwins and this center is the one that matches them you are probably better off keeping the cerwin, at least untill you upgrade your speakers, that is if you upgrade. Something you may want to note is that the Yamaha says not to use 4 Ohm speakers. Cerwins are generally pretty efficient, so you most likely won't have a problem, but someone who knows more about impedence and what loads this receiver can handle would be the one to answer this for you. Another thing to note, I don't think you should get hung up on using bananna plugs for the center. They do not provide a better connection than bare wire, they only make it easier and faster to hook up, unhook, the speakers if you have to move them around. If it were me I'd just use bare wire as no work modifying the speaker would be needed, especially considering the fact that there will be no difference in the sound quality if you use banannas or not. Conversely if the Banannas you use give a bad connection due to defect in manufacture or being incorrectly installed, you can get worse sound. That said you can go to radioshack, or look on parts express's website (I can't give you a link because partsexpress is on the outs with audioholics {for good reason} or I'd try to point you in the right direction) or just do a google search for speaker binding posts for that matter. Just be sure that the posts will fit. To reiterate my suggestion is to go bare wire, cheaper, faster, no loss in sound, no fear of damaging your speaker.
 
S

shadowfayre

Enthusiast
Other speakers in the setup... Fronts are JBL 3 way Floor speakers (8" woofer)and rears are B&W. Eventually, I need to the same all around but these do work for now. I do not know rather or not the JBLs are 4ohm or 8ohm, they are the beige speakers and about 5yrs old.
 
mulester7

mulester7

Audioholic Samurai
.....Shadow, a thousand pardons....the name Cerwin Vega always catches my eye and I am reminded of past experiences immediately with the product line....Takeereasy swooped out of the rafters and saved the day....these great surround systems with the speaker adjustments for presence leave me scratching my head....Takeereasy, I looked up the word stalwart and found your picture.....
 
S

shadowfayre

Enthusiast
Does not say a number. That is all it states on the back of the speaker. :confused:
 
Takeereasy

Takeereasy

Audioholic General
Just keep the Cerwin for now and go bare wire in to the back. Trust me it's easier and cheaper like I said earlier. If you are worried because you have speaker wire that is already terminated in Bananna plugs just remove the plug. If you think that there will be some kind of mismatch if you run bananna plugs into the receiver but not into the speaker there won't be, not even if every other connection is finished in Bananna plugs. I think that the best advice would be to hold onto your home theater package untill you are ready to upgarde the front 3 speakers all at once. That way you can enjoy what you have now, and will appreciate even more what you get in the future. Either way replacing the binding posts on the back of the speaker is unnecessary. Take the money you would have been willing to spend on the upgrade and start saving for the new speakers you intend to buy. Every dollar counts in my opinion.
 
2

21Jason

Audiophyte
shadowfayre said:
Does not say a number. That is all it states on the back of the speaker. :confused:
Check out cerwin vega website they have discontinued models maybe you can spot yours and check the specs. It might just be stating it is 4 ohm stable, but is probly running at 8.
 

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