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.
whipsaw, sorry but that's not an assertion that's a fact and in fact most stereo salespeople are so dumbo they don't know how to set up a system properly and 99.9% of speakers out there are two-dimensional and flat sounding there's not very many speakers out there that can reproduce all the properties of sound and music. |
The recording has to have the ability to be 3 dimensional. Next speaker placement and room acoustic treatment needs to be dialed in. Amp/speaker/cable/synergy and clean power is need for a 3D effect. Purchasing a Monitor Audio Platinum series speaker will not guarantee a 3 dimensional effect if all the mentioned parameters are not in effect. FWIW I heard the Platinum 3 series(100/200) at Axpona and they were disappointing. The sales rep claimed the room was to small for the 200 model and why were they were using mid-fi electronics Arcam SA 30? My take is the Platinum series is very sensitive with room placement and electronics. At $14k for the 200 is a lot for a Chinese made speaker when the Acoustic Energy AE 520 at $5k outperformed it at Axpona. |
@tablejockey : Agreed! The discussion starts with someone trying to raise awareness about a speaker that may be a good fit for others… aka - trying to be HELPFUL!… and out come the people trying to shoot down something they have zero experience with. I for one am glad that @bdp24 posted this. I’ve owned and loved my Magnepans - several different models - for over three decades, and these speakers (the ET 8bs) have definitely been on my radar. Btw, I did see the Steve G video yesterday, and added his take on them to my mental database. I’d like to hear them and compare them directly with my 3.7s… so I can decide for myself. Maybe it’s time to take the leap…. |
