Cerwin-Vega was founded in Southern California in 1954 by aerospace engineer Gene Czerwinski, first as Vega Associates, and in 1974 its bass horns shook cinemas in Sensurround. We carry Cerwin-Vega towers, centre channels, bookshelf speakers and subwoofers. We’ve had more than 40 Cerwin-Vega listings so far, covering more than 30 different models. Every used Cerwin-Vega here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Don’t see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we’ll email you when one arrives.
The Cerwin-Vega models we’ve sold most often include the AT-12, VS-120 and D-9 towers.
The Cerwin-Vega story
Gene Czerwinski, an aerospace engineer who had worked on sonar amplifiers at Bendix, founded the company in 1954 as Vega Associates. Cerwin-Vega says it built a 125-watt solid-state amplifier in 1957, and in the 1960s it supplied woofers to Fender, Sunn, Vox and other instrument-amplifier makers.
Sensurround. Cerwin-Vega developed the bass horns for Universal’s Earthquake in 1974, and Sensurround and Cerwin-Vega received a technical Academy Award for it. Loud, efficient home speakers followed, such as the D Series from the late 1970s.
Owners. The Czerwinski family owned the company until the early 2000s, when it was sold to the Stanton Group. The car audio side was split off in 2007, Gibson bought the home and pro business in 2011, and in June 2020 Cerwin-Vega Inc. of Los Angeles brought the whole brand back under one owner. Gene Czerwinski died in 2010.
Which Cerwin-Vega is which?
Early home speakers (1960s to 1970s): such as the S-1 and S-2.
D Series (from the late 1970s): big horn-loaded towers such as the D-7 and D-9. The series was made for many years, so date a pair by its label.
AT Series: towers such as the AT-12 and AT-15, which moved to a dome tweeter.
VS Series: later towers such as the VS-120 and VS-150.
E Series 2 (2000): floorstanders from the E-708 to the E-715, the E-705 and E-706 bookshelf speakers, and the E-75C and E-76C centres.
Home theatre packages (2000s on): satellites, centres and powered subwoofers.
Buying used Cerwin-Vega: what to check
Foam surrounds. Owners say the open-cell foam surrounds on D and AT Series woofers need attention with age. Expect re-foaming on any tower that hasn’t had it.
Tweeters. Owners report dead tweeters on D-9s and AT models, and Cerwin-Vega no longer stocks parts for older tweeters, so play every tweeter.
Fuses and breakers. A silent tweeter may only be a tripped protector. The D-9 has a tweeter circuit breaker, and some VS models use a fuse or a self-resetting protector, so check it before judging a driver dead.
How it was used. Many of these speakers spent years at party volume, and owners warn that boosting the bass clips amplifiers and damages tweeters. Ask how they were driven.
Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.
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