All through the late 60s, 70s and 80s I bought many of the audiophile darlings, beginning with the Dynaco A-25 in 1968, which had full bass and mids, but gritty highs. My references of the day were Infinity 2001A 'stat hybrids, which was Infinity's second product, bought in 1969 (pretty big for bookshelves, though, and at ~$675, where 5x the cost of A25s, which hit the market at $116/pr.). Most speakers, even expensive, touted models, always seemed too colored and lacked the kind of transparency I found in 'stats. The best small speaker of the era overall to me was the Spica TC-50, IMO. A bit lean overall, but great imaging that at least hinted at what 'stats provided at a very attractive size and cost. I owned Tangent RS4s, which were very enjoyable as well. The Harbeth HL, their first model, though not really a bookshelf speaker, was a breakthrough speaker in its day for a conventional design. That speaker, along with the Inf. 2000A and Apogee Divas, top my "wish I hadn't sold them" list. The Dayton-Wright LCM bookshelf was very good as well- I replaced TC-50s with them, though very rare today. The Fulton 80 was also very good in its' limited range. I owned but never warmed up to the LS3/5a, but I thought the KEF Reference 101, of similar size and using the same KEF drivers, was better balanced and is a very good small speaker which maintains good value today.
