18" Cerwin Vegas

[Monsieur Lebeaux]

Hello!  I'm relatively new here.  I have a few questions regarding the Cerwin Vega 18's in a pair of Vintage Sunn cabinets that I have.  The baskets are definitely original, but I have the suspicion that they have been reconed at some point.  The cones look pretty fresh compared to everything else and have a black surround and black dustcap with the CV logo.  Is this correct?  For some reason I was thinking that they should have aluminum dustcaps.  Is there any other way to tell if they have been reconed via stamps on the back of the cones or anything?  How much are these cabinets worth?  Thanks.

[bigobassman]

I haven't seen any CVs that had aluminum dust caps.  Most rebuilds will have the cap in black with the CV log on it.   

[CLD]

I have three CVs with aluminum dust caps (two original 18s from 1971 and one reconed 15 from later).  I also have two reconed 18s that don't have the dust caps.  Note CV's distinctive red ring on the reconed speaker.

[Monsieur Lebeaux]

update & bump 

I added some photos.  I assume the drivers have been removed at some point whether they were reconed or not.  The dustcap logos have been rotated to some awkward angles.  Now, what do you think?

[CLD]

Those certainly look like they've been reconed, which isn't surprising for 38-year-old speaker cabinets that may have been worked pretty hard. The paper looks new, as do the rubberized rings.

Since your cabinets are from 1971, like mine, the original speakers would have had the silver dust caps.  See photo below.  These cabinets were purchased by the original owner in '71 and WERE NEVER OPENED until I opened them a few months ago to check the speaker codes.  (I felt like one of those Englishmen 100+ years ago who were the first to enter the pharaoh's tombs after so many centuries.)  Pushing the front grills off from the inside was the only way to get them off!

[Monsieur Lebeaux]

Thanks for the insight.  That's exactly what I thought.  I was pretty sure I had seen an aluminum dustcap CV in a picture once.

[CLD]

One thing I've noticed comparing my original Vegas with the reconed Vegas is that the recones are slightly hotter - they produce a little more volume, which tells me the newer materials in the speaker are noticeably more efficient.  FWIW ...

[mckinnon audio]

   Hi there,the "hotter" sound could be because of the "newness" of the recones.You've got brand new stiff cardboard versus 20-30 yr old soggy cardboard,old sub woofers get sloppy with a lot of use,the cardboard gets soft from working so hard,and then there's the storage.Sometimes speakers get damaged from improper storage,dampness,temp.change,etc.Cerwin Vega could have changed the voice coil windings,magnet gap,etc.,to make it hotter,the next time you get one reconed,go over the old one and the new kit with a micrometer and take some measurements to see if there's any difference between the two,good luck.Mel.

[CLD]

Thanks, McKinnon.  Good info.

Hey, Messr. Lebeaux, check out the reconed Vegas on this Coliseum rig in Indianapolis:

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/msg/1411917610.html

It has the same CV-logoed center caps as yours.