Cerwin-Vega! HT-S15 Subwoofer Review

When it comes to performance, there are basically two kinds of subwoofers: those that go way down with some sacrifice in output, and those that trade deep-bass extension for maximal output. Cerwin-Vega’s HT-S15 powered subwoofer is from the school of maximal output.

A relatively big sub that occupies 2-1/3 square feet of floor space, 4 cubic feet of volume, and weighs 48 pounds, the HT-S15 sports a 15-inch paper-cone driver with a rugged die-cast aluminum frame. The woofer fires from the bottom of the enclosure, which is elevated a couple of inches off the floor by four rubber-tipped feet. The speaker is driven by an internal power amplifier rated to deliver 200 watts maximum, and it has an electronic low-pass crossover that is continuously variable from 50 to 150 Hz, with a nominal 18-dB-per-octave rolloff.

The HT-S15 also contains a “subsonic” filter, which is said to limit its output below 30 Hz at the rate of 18 dB per octave. Such high-pass filters are common in subwoofers and keep the speaker from self-destructing at very low frequencies with high output levels.

All of the HT-S15’s connectors and controls are located in the top left corner of the rear panel, next to the amplifier’s heat sink and above one of two 3-7/8-inch-diameter ports. There is a volume-control knob, a calibrated crossover-control knob, a phase switch, an auto/on/off power switch (which when set to auto will activate the sub whenever an audio signal is present at its inputs), speaker-level inputs and outputs, line-level RCA-jack inputs and outputs, and a 5-foot power cord.

The volume and crossover controls are of the click-stop variety, which makes it very easy to duplicate previous settings — just count the clicks.

Speaker-level connections are handled via five-way binding posts, which accept stripped wire, pins, spade lugs, and single or dual banana plugs.

The HT-S15 has rounded edges and is finished in a handsome black wood-grain vinyl on the top and four sides. Cerwin-Vega backs the entire system (including electronics) with a five-year limited warranty.

In the lab, frequency-response measurements of the Cerwin-Vega HT-S15 revealed an effective low-frequency limit of 44 Hz and response flat within +3.5 dB from that point up to 100 Hz; the response deviation increased to ±6 dB in the range of 44 to 150 Hz, the sub’s rated upper limit.

My lab tests confirmed that the crossover has a 50-Hz hinge point with a slope that varies 12 to 24 dB per octave. As I moved the crossover control up in frequency, the slope became more gradual, so that while the 50-Hz setting produced a steep 24-dB-per-octave rolloff, the 150-Hz setting produced a far milder 12-dB-per-octave slope. Choosing a crossover with these overall characteristics was a good move on Cerwin-Vega’s part because it simplifies setup and adjustment with a variety of satellite speakers.

Next I positioned the HT-S15 in the comer of my 13 x 23-foot listening room (with an 18-foot cathedral ceiling) that delivered the smoothest response and highest output, set the crossover to its maximum 150-Hz setting, and measured response from the prime listening position 2 meters away. It was ±7.2 dB from 42 to 167 Hz. Translating these results to a more typical 12 x 22 x 8-foot room, the Cerwin-Vega sub’s effective low-end limit would improve to around 39 Hz.

Maximum output with a distortion limit of 10 percent produced a stunning 114 dB sound-pressure level (SPL) between 80 and 100 Hz. And the average SPL over the HT-S15’s prime operating range of 40 to 100 Hz was a healthy 107 dB. However, many of the other subwoofers I’ve tested excel in the 25- to 62-Hz range, where the HT-S15’s average SPL drops significantly, to 89 dB.

Once the lab tests were complete, I installed the HT-S15 subwoofer in an eight-channel surround-sound system using its line-level inputs. After adjusting its crossover and volume controls to achieve the flattest and smoothest system response possible, I played a variety of music CDs and movie soundtracks on laserdisc.

The HT-S15 exhibited excellent overload control and sounded loud and vigorous, especially playing recordings with lots of energy in the middle-and upper-bass ranges. With the sub in place, the surround system hit an SPL of 104 dB during the exploding-missile scene in Clear & Present Danger (Dolby Digital laserdisc) and 103 to 106 dB in “Jurassic Lunch” (from Telarc’s CD The Great Fantasy and Adventure Album) and “It’s Live” (from Bass Erotica’s Bass Ecstasy CD). In passages with really low low-frequency content, however, like the 10-Hz cannon shots in the Telarc CD of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, the HT-S15’s maximum output was only 89 dB — loud, but not Herculean.

When I cranked up the sub’s volume control — forgetting for a moment about balanced playback — it punched out a very loud 112 dB in “It’s Live,” 117 dB in “Jurassic Lunch,” and 115 dB in the boom scene from Clear & Present Danger. It pumped away like mad with no annoying overload noises or impending signs of woofer meltdown. What this sub can do is play loud — very loud.

On the other hand, what the HT-S15 cannot do is play really low. With recordings that contain a lot of deep bass, much of the performance seemed to be missing. Pipe-organ works did not have the impact that a 20-Hz-capable sub can deliver. With bass-head recordings like “It’s Live,” which has lots of content at 22 and 60 Hz, the 22-Hz fundamental was clearly missing, but everything else was really cranking. Although the HT-S15 was unable to convey the lowest rumble of the exploding missile in Clear & Present Danger, the scene retained impact, and the volume was impressive.

With good old-fashioned rock-and-roll, acoustic jazz, and plenty of other music recordings and movie soundtracks that aren’t laced with deep bass, the HT-S15 Vega really shined. It sounded solid, firm, and clear. Its lack of extension did, however, produce extra thumping in some especially fat rock recordings.

Although the Cerwin-Vega HT-S15 powered subwoofer will not move the couch or ripple the floor like some more expensive world-class subwoofers, it is a mighty impressive performer in its price class. It’s clean as a whistle and plays as loud at 80 Hz as any subwoofer I know of. If you can live without the deepest of deep bass, it’s definitely worth a listen.

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