Cerwin Vega XLS Series Speakers Review

Cerwin Vega produces reliably and usually without flash or pomp. Much like the Tim Duncan of the speaker industry, their fans can be found in the local tavern or frat house yelling back loudly into the speaker set assaulting their ear drums. A reputation Cerwin Vega seems to nurture and expect to grow with the introduction of their latest XLS Series Speakers.

While these speakers are obviously marketed to a younger audience with their bold black and red accent that is designed to “give you everything you need to that live concert or cinema experience”, an approach that is surprisingly well-executed.

While your Grandparents won’t find the loud (in design, and sound) speakers to be particularly eye-catching, your best friends surely will and the sound delivered is where the XLS Series really shines.

The XLS is the big brother to the mildly revolutionary CLS series, which introduced a high-sensitivity speaker that offered bass response into the mid-20Hz range, that was also inexpensive. The XLS, in typical big brother fashion, one ups the CLS series by getting a bass response of 38 Hz – 20kHz. Which as a warning to anyone planning to purchase these units, is probably more bass than you or your neighbors can handle.

The XLS series set provides a soundstage with clarity of bass, a feat that is almost never accomplished. Instead of the cliche BOOM you’ll be overjoyed with the ever-deeper GRUMBLE of the series.

The price is right on the XLS Series, with the flagship of the entire unit the 215 being $699. While a snobby audiophile may enter your frat home and snide in the corner, you can rattle that sneer off his face with the impressive bass delivered by this affordable, well-designed, series of speaker from Cerwin Vega.