Steve Guttenberg finally reviews the Eminent Technology LFT-8b loudspeaker.


 

Over the past few years I and a number of other owners of the Eminent Technology LFT-8b have on this site extolled the virtues of this under-acknowledged loudspeaker. I myself have encouraged those interested in Magnepans to try and hear the LFT-8 before buying. That is not easy, as ET has only five U.S.A. dealers.

I am a long-time fan of Maggies, having bought my first pair (Tympani T-I) in 1973, my last (Tympani T-IVa) a few years ago. But the Tympani’s need a LOT of room (each 3-panel speaker is slightly over 4’ wide!), which I currently don’t have. So I gave a listen to the MG 1.7i, and didn’t much care for it. As I recounted in a thread here awhile back, I found the 1.7 to sound rather "wispy", lacking in body and tonal density (thank you Art Dudley ;-).

Brooks Berdan was (RIP) a longtime ET dealer, installing a lot the company’s linear-tracking air-bearing arm on Oracle, VPI, and SOTA tables. After Brooks’ passing his wife Sheila took over management of the shop, continuing on as an ET dealer. I knew Brooks was a fan of the LFT-8, and he had very high standards in loudspeakers (his main lines were Vandersteen, Wilson, and Quad). The shop had a used pair of LFT-8’s, so I gave them a listen. They sounded good enough to me to warrant investigate further, so I had Sheila order me a pair, along with the optional (though nearly mandatory) Sound Anchor bases.

I wouldn’t waste your time if I didn’t consider the ET LFT-8b to be just as I have on numerous occasions (too many times for some here) described it: the current best value in all of hi-fi. Hyperbole? Well, you no longer have to take it from just me and the other owners here: Steve Guttenberg finally got around to getting in for review a pair (the LFT-8 has been in production for 33 years!), and here is what he has to say about it. After watching the video, you can read other reviews (in a number of UK mags, and in TAS by Robert E. Greene) on the ET website.

https://youtu.be/Uc5O5T1UHkE

 

 

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Years before Steve Guttenberg had a listen to the LFT-8b, Robert E.Greene gave the speaker a very interesting review in TAS (in 2014).

TAS reviews are the worst on the planet. They love everything and do no equipment comparisons because it makes their lives much easier and the ability to crank out reviews because they do none of the hard work that would constitute a real review.  They’re total hacks.  Ok, maybe hifi+ is worse.

ALL equipment reviews are specious and designed to sell product to the naive.

There is now an LFT-8c. It has a new woofer and a price jump to $4800 pair.

First off, this is the speaker value of the century. It is a Line Source Dipole (for the most part) with a force over area drive. All points of the diaphragm are controlled by the signal unlike regular dynamic speakers. It creates way less room interaction than a regular dynamic speaker.  It will create a much more life like image. The width of the drivers was properly chosen to create even horizontal dispersion. It's transient response is excellent. 

Like every loudspeaker out there, it is not perfect. When you stand up the high frequencies disappear as soon as your head gets above the tweeter. The vast majority of us listen seated so it is a quasi problem. But, the same thing happens if you are on the floor having fun with the wife listening to Sade.

The woofer is not a line source. It is a point source radiator. It is going to loose acoustic power with distance much faster than the rest of the speaker which is line source. Consequently, the balance is going to be right only at one distance. For most rooms this is a trivial problem because you can not get that far away from the speaker. The driver is actually a subwoofer driver and is capable of very long excursions vibrating the heck out of the rest of the speaker. The woofer set up was a compromise ET had to make to keep the price down and the morphology of the speaker more acceptable to most people. You have to be able to sell speakers. Ideally there should be four subwoofers spread across the front wall creating a line source and isolating the rest of the speaker from direct involvement with the woofer driver. 

As suggested by ET I would definitely biamp this speaker. It is not very efficient and two lower powered amps are probably less expensive than one very high powered one. You also get to lose an analog crossover that is probably limiting efficiency to some extent.

Mr Guttenberg has not heard 8 foot ESLs with a line source subwoofer array. But, that speaker system costs $100,000.  The ET  LFT 8c is accessible to just about all audiophiles at a very reasonable price. I hate the tonearm but I love the speakers!

@ieales , As a former Tympany user myself just what are you doing now? The system you described above? 

@ledoux1238: I myself am opposed to the proposition of subjecting the output of analogue sources (phono, reel-to-reel and cassette tapes, FM tuner) to digital conversion, so won’t be getting the 18LS.

However, for those wanting one of the other advances of the LFT-8c and upcoming 18LS---that of dipole woofers in place of the 8b’s monopole woofer, there is another route available: just use separate dipole woofers, leaving the LFT-8’s woofer disconnected.

A dipole woofer system has been in development at Magnepan for quite a while now, and is reportedly about to be introduced (price not yet known). And then there is the Rythmik Audio/GR Research OB/Dipole Sub, which is two or three (your choice) 12" free-air woofers installed in an open baffle "frame" (@ricevs mounted them on a flat open baffle---3 layers of MDF!), the woofers powered by a servo-feedback plate amp. The plate amp controls include those for phase/time-alignment for woofer/loudspeaker mating, and of course output level (again for mating with the speaker), x/o frequency and slope, 1-band EQ, etc,., but accomplishes those jobs electronically, not digitally. It’s a great bass system, but is available only as a kit. You can get a CNC-cut flat pack that is a breeze to build (just wood glue and clamps, finishing of your choice) from a Canadian woodworker connected with GRR, and he will even build and finish the frames if you pay him.

And if you have the room, you can use the two bass panels of the Magnepan Tympani’s as woofers for the LFT-8b. They won’t play as low as the OB/Dipole Sub, but with enough power (and bracing) will get down to the low-30’s. Harry Pearson’s favorite bass reproducers!