After for years being an almost lone voice in recommending the Eminent Technology LFT-8b, it’s great to be joined by others.
But that recommendation is dependent on a number of factors, ones that make the recommendation non-universal. Not everyone likes planar loudspeakers, or dipoles. And planars are not appropriate for all rooms, or all systems (ones for instance with very low power amps). So my recommendation of the LFT-8b has always been offered to those who are considering Magnepans, or even electrostatics. One listener who considers the ET LFT-8b (and 8c) superior to all Magnepans and electrostatics he has heard is Steve Guttenberg (The Audiophiliac). Not everyone agrees with him about that, so my recommendation is not to buy a pair of the ET’s, but just to look into them.
The LFT-8b meets a number of the op’s requirements. It’s under $5000, is not a bookshelf speaker, has a non-aggressive tweeter, and images well (in planar/dipole fashion).
