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
As far as powerful shelf speakers i would say a jbl lancer 99, jbl l100, or a jbl4311 would all be good choices because they will all fit on a sturdy shelf and fit the bill for playing hard rock/heavy metal.
hi imhififan
thanks for advice. seems to me you are probably correct and i can always call panasonic to check. so if you are indeed correct then i need to find shelf speakers that have the same 4 connections as i need active crossover. or do some actives have different connections? are active crossover speakers common? as my system sounds pretty good already should i stop complaining and just enjoy what i have?.
hi tomic
good advice. thank you. no problem with yogi. pointed out error of his ways. job done. move on. i can understand your feelings re slayer. took a fair while for my ears/brain to acclimatise, but they are much more 'musical' than you think. metal unfairly maligned as abundant virtuosity unknown to the masses. i hate mariah carey and celine dion, but appreciate their pipes. my mum says you need to check out devin townsend. cheers. g  
i have manual and says crossover freq 200hz, 8khz. is this a clue or is there somewhere i should look re if crossover is active?
I might be wrong, in page 6 of the manual there are Low and High speaker output connections on the main unit hence a active bi-amp configuration?

http://pdfstream.manualsonline.com/4/492c1423-244d-4176-9d0e-91ffd1ffbdf0.pdf
please do give yogiboy a second chance.

i have been thinking that you should also try to find a UK based forum to ask your ? ( I am assuming UK ) Try NAIM forum and ask for ideas or referral to more appropriate forums.

local knowlege of used market in your home country essential.

Pretty sure my Quad ESL 63 would puke playing slayer

best to you and your go with the flow rocking Mum.

Jim
hi tomic
a novel approach. i will have a think.
thanks for mentioning mum but rather funny as i had a response earlier from yogiboy saying i was terrible for making such a thing up, but apologising if he was wrong! some people...
she lets me smoke indoors, eats whatever i cook, doesn;t drink so my jd is safe and happily sits with earplugs with me watching slayer, jinjer and devin townsend videos at ridiculous volumes. she's a legend! cheers. g

i strongly believe you should wait and find a pair of cerwin vega with the almost indestructible piezo tweeter. As a DIY project, you could start by purchasing Cerwin Vega drivers off ebay UK and use your cabinets…slowly replacing drivers as you can afford and they become available…not the perfect textbook approach but worth a try w constraints you have….

You could do similar w Klipsh horns and drivers loaded into your cabinet..Heresy might work

Finally, you are a saint for caring for your mum. 
hi yogiboy. maybe reread my posts as was some humour and thought i was chatting with nice people, if strangers. i try to think of strangers as friends i just dont know very well yet. also read my reply to you above. what i would say is my post was in a forum for speakers, so you saying you thought i was an internet troll is a very odd and, dare i say, disingenuous thing to say. your post was obviously offensive. i think you are correct to say that a person may well not have been being genuine and honest, but why would you feel that you need to defend the world from someone like that? even if i was the sort of saddo that looked for fake sympathy from total strangers, i would need laughing at and ignoring dont you think? when you doubt someone's sincerity/integrity on their gofundme page, i think you should be doubtful. when person is asking for speaker advice, i think you might be nicer as it's, er... advice for a speaker!!! engage brain, then speak/email/etc. it's for the best. g 
hi oldaudiophile, any response helpful mate, apart from trolls like yogiboy, though i think his post was removed. although i adore seriously aggressive/fast metal i really love all music. i love al jarreau, early elvis costello and tubeway army, incognito jazzfunk era, hip hop and some classical. i therefore need fairly neutral speakers that can handle all. by old i am thinking 2 to 10 years i suppose, though open to anything really. my approach may be all wrong. what i have done with tv, stereo, etc is to be wiling to buy something that is 1 or 2 or more versions old/used/refurbished, so way less money. i have no other requirement other than volume that sounds good. age, look, condition, etc utterly irrelevant.i believe i need 100/120watts rms if that is ever accurately provided by a manufacturer and sensitivity above 90 and horn type tweeters. this forum has kindly taught me that in the last 24 hours. couple more weeks i may have a clue! i think all i may really learn is the exact speakers i need but cannot afford so will need to make do for a while, but at least will give me something to look out for. i'm happy with that if so. cheers. g.
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hi imhififan
i have manual and says crossover freq 200hz, 8khz. is this a clue or is there somewhere i should look re if crossover is active? are you saying i need a speaker with a particular way they are set up? please excuse my ignorance. g
hi yogiboy. thank you so much for sharing. i believe there are ill, poor, abused and miserable people all over the world that would love to hear from you. i mentioned my situation as i was concerned i would be considered a tightass due to my unwillingness to spend money, despite asking the community for help. i mentioned all good, but that i need to be v clever/creative as my options are limited. mum's grandkids also stole all her money before i found out and moved in. anything you would like to say about that? in all honesty, been in lockdown for a year and a half, bored senseless (hence the focus on stereo), bit lonely. maybe i over shared. i am sorry. you are being rather harsh though don't you think? really no need. if you are rich we can make a sizeable bet and i can send you mum's diagnosis report? any chance you are rich?! i hope you never have a loved one afflicted by dementia. it's awful, so thanks so much for ruining my day. you hear about internet trolls who just want to ruin things for normal folk. thanks for exposing me to that. i feel like a real person now as had only ever read about 'people' like you. old saying. if nothing nice to say, say nothing. most of us are just genuine nice decent people looking for a bit of help from time to time. what possible other benefit i would get is beyond me, but if i ever need a course in cynicism, you are my first call. have a lovely day. final thought, if you ever wonder why you struggle with family/friends/work etc please let me know. i think i may have a clue as to where you might possibly be going wrong...  
I believe the eh600 L/R speakers are connect to the main unit with active crossover built in, you can’t simply connect it to any speakers with passive crossover unless you bypassed the crossover in those speakers.
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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. 
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..
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..
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?
probably old: I love vintage, but, use caution regarding the cones: dried out/cracked paper; split or rotted surrounds

I loved my AR-2X that were stolen from me, as a bad example here's a pair of 4X, look at the nasty photo of the drivers

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255098223561?hash=item3b6509fbc9:g:KmsAAOSwXjRhHFix
EFFICIENCY: Sensitivity Rating reveals if they will play loud.

You want 90 db//1m/1w (2.83v) or higher. Horns are more efficient, new or old.

$380. in budget? Klipsch, Horns, 96 sensitivity.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164898282539?epid=8046079482&hash=item2664b41c2b:g:9PgAAOSwOKFgujnu

Note: those have rear ports, Not too close to wall, or not inside a bookcase, UNLESS you simply tape the ports shut with some strong duct tape. I’m using smaller Klipsch like these

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265117011332?epid=9031080949&hash=item3dba348d84:g:grEAAOSwbmJgSYsj

for my 5.1 rear surrounds: ports taped over, behind my sofa, on their backs facing up, using the space between the sofa and wall like a transmission horn.

Loud, without too much bass can be better than loud with too much bass. Tone controls somewhere will be helpful.

what is your ideal max cost?
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thanks for the reply, but unless i am mistaken they are several hundred quid. so, unfortunately, not what i was looking for, unless you know something i don't. g 
Cerwin Vega D9's! Member arcticdeth loves them! They are lethal weapons that will scare the beejeesus out of your neighbors! SLAYER!