Searching for the ideal vintage bookshelf speakers.

I'm surprised you have the Altec 874A Segovia on your list. It's fairly obscure, but it's also the only one I have direct experience with, though I heard the AR3a plenty back in the day as well.

I bought my first stereo in 1972. It was an Altec package deal--the 911A compact, which had a nice Altec receiver with the Garrard SL95B turntable set into the top, outfitted with a Shure M93E cartridge. The speakers were *supposed* to be the 8" 2-way Altec 887A Capri, but the sales person wrote down 874A instead on my sales ticket. 

I got the whole package for $419. The Segovias were supposed to be $560/pair. I flipped.

So I got to enjoy them for a couple of weeks before she found out her mistake (I thought it might have been a closeout bundle) and asked for them back. I followed my conscience and brought 'em back in exchange for the Capris.

While I had'em, however, at the time, to those 19-yr-old ears, and without benefit of bookshelves *or* speaker stands, they sounded really good to me--effortless, with quality bass and a pretty linear and dynamic presentation.

I consider them Altec's answer to the JBL L100, but I consider them better in general, and for your situation in particular. The midrange is actually an Altec full-range speaker, which enables it to cover a large part of the frequency range without strain. The 12" woofer has a 17-lb. magnetic structure and is in a sealed cabinet, so there's no placement problem. The tweeter is a textile dome. 

In spite of the sealed enclosure, the speakers were easy to drive and the bass was strong but not overpowering, and tight. They were also pretty efficient with a 4-ohm impedance besides, which opens up more wattage from the amp if it has the durrent delivery to allow the amp to do so.

I could see the Segovias for a match for your requirements as well. Bear in mind that the woofer has a foam surround, so either you find a pair that's been recently refoamed, or you'll have to do that (about every 10-20 years). It's not that hard, and most speaker reconing services could do it as well (I think).

Unclechoppy,  I'm with you on all things vintage and you either get it or you don't. You might consider adding ADS to your list, I recently acquired a pristine set of ADS 570/2's and I must say they really shine, I've got them paired with a museum grade Yamaha CR1020 and together they create a clean and wonderful sound. My ADS's are a two way with an 8" woofer and the fantastic ADS soft dome tweeter, the highs on these are so refined and delicate sounding, amazing for a 30 year old speaker. Another thing to consider is they are sealed designs so placing them on a bookcase shouldn't be an issue for your purposes. Anyway, good luck with your endeavor...

^^^ Now ADS is an idea I can really get behind. I had a pair of L1090 ii floorstanders for nine years. They get it all right--dynamics, linearity, smoothness, frequency extension. Like a good vintage anything, the cabinetry and veneer applications are first-rate too.

They have a wide variety of bookshelf configurations from mini's to dual-woofer models. The L710 would probably be a nice choice, but there are some others as well. They use dual 7" woofers instead of a 10" or 12", so the width is narrower. And they're 10" deep so they'll fit comfortably on the shelf. Here's the product sheet.

The ADSs were ahead of their time. They don't suffer from the quirks and shortcomings of other vintage speakers, such as boomy bass, dispersion suckouts at the crossover regions, diffraction distortion, foam rot, etc.

I was just going to suggest the 710's Johnny good call. I have owned many models of ADS & a/d/s/ speakers and for bookshelf's the 710's and the L9e are my two favorites. Of those two the 710's are a bit more efficient. Can't go wrong with any of their speakers.

Bozaks had no "Foam surround" on their drivers [I always hated the phony bass on AR speakers] and I still have a system with 6 Bozak woofers, 4 Bozak mids and 24 Bozak tweeters that will blow you out of the room. Imaging ? Nah --- not much. Bottom end? Definitely. Satisfaction quotient ? Truly enjoyable ! It provides a LOT of fun but not if you are a true "Audiophile". If you are, you will tear the system to shreds with "informed" opinions !  Relax !  If it sounds good ---- it IS good !