@harryz thanks for the shoutout.
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.
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@harryz: I too wondered if the woofer enclosure of the 8c has the same footprint as does the 8b. The rear of the 8b woofer enclosure is sloped, the 8c not. Perhaps both enclosures have the same bottom dimension, the 8c just having a square shape, for greater internal volume. A call to Thigpen would get the answer to that question. For those who don't want the 8c (with it's digital processing), but like the idea of a dipole woofer, a separate dipole woofer can be used in place of the stock monopole 8b woofer. For those interested and not adverse to a little DIY, look into the OB/Dipole Sub offered by GR Research in conjunction with Rythmik Audio. It's sold as a kit, but is not much harder to build than an IKEA dresser (I assembled one for my sister ;-) . |
@bdp24: No, the 8c is not as long, front to back. The width and height are the same, but the terminal blocks have been moved and one sits where the rear grillcloth frame rests, so I my rear grill sits up about 1/8" higher than with the 8b woofer cabinet. I like the dipole woofer, but don't use the DSP for the mids/highs, as I explained previously - my signal is split into an active crossover (Bryston 10B). Regarding the Sound Anchor stands, I think I've missed why there is an interest in modifying it with additional struts. They are very stable as-is - is there a concern about small vibrations from the woofer box? |
@gktaudio: Thanks for that info on the 8c. Using the DSP for the woofer only is how I too would run the 8c. I have a First Watt B4 x/o, a nice little unit from the mind of Nelson Pass. The rational for the struts of the Mye stand is to brace the planar panel, not specifically from vibrations of the woofer enclosure, but just for any flexing of the wood frame of the panel. The struts secure the planar panel onto the stand's base, to which the bass enclosure is also secured. The Mye stand for Maggies features the same struts, which the Maggies really benefit from (those Maggie MDF frames are not nearly as structurally rigid as are the LFT-8 solid wood frames). As I have described for the benefit of non-LFT owners, the LFT driver has it’s magnets and Mylar diaphragm built into a very stiff metal (aluminum?) frame assembly (which is bolted onto the panel’s wood frame), while Maggies are constructed with the Mylar diaphragm (and magnets?) stapled and glued onto the speaker’s MDF frame, far inferior to the construction of the LFT-8. By the way, though the 8c’s bass system is a dipole, it is of course not an OB. Though an open baffle dipole woofer has it’s own challenges, it also has rewards unique to it. The GR Research/Rythmik Audio OB/Dipole Sub costs a little more than the 8c bass system, but offers those rewards. An interesting alternative, at any rate. |
Bruce had a prototype new reference in Tampa at the Show back in February. Plus, don't forget about his propeller sub and guitar speaker...This video shows a bit of those aspects from the Florida International Audio Expo |
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