2. speakers
  3. 168851-164611

advice re old shelf speakers

hi all. hoping for some guidance. i am after a pair of, probably old, shelf speakers as cost is a major factor. how they look/condition unimportant. just need to be able to handle all sorts of music and be LOUD!  i care for my mother as has dementia, so funds tight. all good though, i just have to be creative and do the research. example, i have a pretty decent old technics midi separates system eh600 which i found on gumtree for £50 in mint condition. perfect. i have run audio to it through a good quality optical out from tv to a fiio k5 pro dac/amp then line out to line in on the technics. now volume nicely boosted and sounds good and clean as also quality leads and upgraded 4 wire type speaker cables. for v little spend it does a decent job, but i love my music so always looking for more and i feel my neighbours really need to listen to more slayer, rush, jinjer, etc. the technics speakers are pretty decent but now struggling a bit with the added oomph i can now get out of my system. had no real idea where to start, then thought there may be some wonderfully helpful people out there with the knowledge and patience to help me. fingers crossed and thanks v much in advance if it's you. apologies for the long post. gerald  
geraldoneill100
geraldoneill100 OP
12 posts
 
thanks for the replies. the speakers that came with the system are 6 ohm and say input 160w music and 80w din. says output sound pressure level is 80db. 17cm woofer, 12cm mid 6cm tweeter. as system cost me 50 quid plus 150 additions and i am not fussy i am trying to find something under 100, maybe 200 if a compelling reason. and i can wait. current set up really quite good, but i would like more. would like same quality as my melomania buds or yamaha p100 plugs. i figure must be some old, possibly cosmetically challenged, kit i can source eventually if willing to bide my time. i will certainly try to bear in mind 'high sensitivity ratings and above average power handling' as per mastering92, but i thought most numbers were made up/not accurate. maybe that is just rms?
geraldoneill100 OP
12 posts
 
the klipsch look nice.in uk they are £500. i am hoping to spend way less. no issue re space behind speakers. i use potplayer as media player on laptop for music videos/concerts as the best sound i have found and have the bass way down as i do on the technics eq. think i might need to remove towels under speakers and put something under the corners as i think will give me more room for manoeuvre re bass. i often run files through an editor to reduce bass on some of stuff i want to play so everything sounds roughly similar. i am a bit ocd..
jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 
Get a job and save up for the good stuff!
geraldoneill100 OP
12 posts
 
hi jason bourne. thanks for your input and you are quite right. sadly, as i made a point of mentioning right at the top in my original post, i have had to make sacrifices as i care for my elderly mother as she has dementia. for last 3 years been in a situation where i cannot afford to just buy stuff i want, so have to research everything and try and find old/refurbished/damaged/ugly stuff. my age means these are also the standard of lady that i can now attract. sticking mum in a home so i can then get work to upgrade my system is not an option, though it was a very close call... would like to hear jeff, dave and the boys do their stuff, but guilt means i don't..
oldaudiophile
302 posts
 
OP, not sure how helpful this will be, if at all. However, for what it's worth, back in the day (i.e. late 60's/early 70's), Cerwin Vega and JBL were two major brands that folks who enjoy the type of music you do would often gravitate to and buy. I could tell you which of the two I preferred but such information would be absolutely useless because speakers, more than virtually any other home audio system component, are a very subjective and personal choice. I have no idea what your definition of "probably old" is. However, I would caution you to beware of "old" speakers with foam surrounds, unless they've been recently re-foamed. 
More to discover