Eminent Technology LFT8B’s reversing woofer polarity

thanks Eric - always appreciate your inputs...
jim
@bd

Likewise, all info is much appreciated, good sir -- really key insight shared here.  Also, fun to find a gathering of fellow LFT-ists :).  I'm off to experiment with positioning again, with less toe in this time, as per your suggestion.  Bruce mentions in the manual that they generally sound flat when on-axis with the listener, so I've been doing that by default, but perhaps this is very room and personal taste dependent.

Amplifiers

In  the past 1 1/2 year three tube amps and three pre-amp / phono stage has passed through the ET’s. I  believe with @bdp24 that tubes in the signal chain mitigate brightness. I started with an all tube combo, vintage MFA Luminescence pre + 100 w push pull triode. Needless to say there was no brightness. However, the Luminescence was giving other problems. The preamp chain then  went solid state with Lightspeed Passive Attenuator and a current mode phono stage, creating a more revealing and transparent sound. No brightness, again. I played with a vintage International Projector Corp am 1026 amp for two months. With only 22 w I have come to realize all the talk about how difficult the ET’s are to drive, minimum 100w..etc. is BS. Right now my main amp is from Japan,  Mactone mh-300 b, with output again in the 20’s. Four 300b’s in push pull class A configuration are playing very well with the ET’s. No brightness to report.

Room Placement

My room is 3.3 x 9 M. The ET’s sit 2.8 m from back wall, almost 1/3 into the room, with 40 cm from side wall and quite a bit of toe in.
I am getting the holographic, image specific, and wide soundstage that I was told only box speakers excel in. I didn’t expect it from the ET’s, but thoroughly enjoyable.


Cartridge

Through a recent change in cartridge I did get a glimpse of ET’s brightness with the Audio Tekne MC 6310. Framer described it as more Lyra- like, i.e. analytical, than Koetsu. Well that is a pretty apt. However, adding a damping pad from Origin Live helped greatly.

@ bdp24 Thanks for the Townsend pod information. My only question is whether removing The the sound anchor stand and simply placing the speaker directly on a Townshend speaker base might not be a even better solution?

Interesting question, @ledoux1238. If I didn't already have the Sound Anchor stands and like them as much as I do, the Townshend Podium option would be worth considering. I'm sure the lead shot-filled Sound Anchors stands are at least as non-resonant as is the plate of the Podium, and of far higher mass. My thinking is that the higher mass may provide a more stable platform for the high vertical center-of-mass of the ET panels. Another thought is that the SA stand bolts directly onto the bass bin of the LFT-8, with the Townshend Podium the latter just sits on the plate. Either choice will do nicely!

@bdp24 
Leaving the SA stands is probably the way to go with a bit more mass, as you say, at the bottom. How is the height of the Townshend pods affecting listening on the vertical axis? Do you need to change your chair / sofa height?  I find the ET’s particularly sensitive on the vertical axis. I sit low on a reclining chair while listening. And I find that tilting the ET’s 1.5 cm forward gives me the best soundstage and imaging. Adding the pods will raise the speakers quite a bit.