Speakers ( and the room ) are the most specific of importance, in contributing to the sound one achieves, and it boils down to what you like, and what you want. I have owned Maggies, Apogee Duettas, and ML CLSs, and I understand why people love them. My buddy had a pair of the LF8bs ( for a short time ), and I understand, again, why people like them. A good bubby of mine owns, and loves, his "63s. I will take my Lascalas over any of them, because, for what I WANT, they do more for me, and satisfy my listening, more than anything else....especially at their price point. All of this means, like what you like, but don't knock it, if it is not your cup of tea. And the ridiculous comment " there aren't many speakers that can reproduce all of the properties of sound and music ". Name me ONE speaker that does it all ? Enjoy ! MrD.
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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@mrdecibel I think the comment you found objectionable should be be qualified as follows: " there aren't many speakers that can reproduced all of the properties of sound and music...... with such a high level of competence at a price of $3200". La Scalas' retail for $ 6,500 and up depending on the vintage...just saying. And the 8c at $4200 goes further. It's interesting the tone of this thread expressed by non-ET owner....kinda negative and questioning in general....something about the LFT 8's that just don't get no respect. |
@ledoux1238: It's understandable that a Maggie owner might feel---I don't know, maybe threatened---when a competing and somewhat similar loudspeaker is suggested as an alternative to consider. But if I had just spent $2995 on a pair of MG1.7i's, and then heard the $3200 LFT-8b, I'd be quite pissed off. For those who love their 1.7i's, fantastic, enjoy the music. I went out and listened to a pair, and they didn't give me what I need. As Guttenberg said, the LFT-8b sounds surprisingly different from the "smaller" Maggies (those below the 3.7). To move up the Maggie line, you have to spend $8,000 for a pair of the 3.7i's, and need to have an amp that can drive them. I would try a Sanders amp with them. I can't wait to hear the upcoming LFT-16LS, as well as the Magnepan concept speaker, the "30.7 For Condos", which like the 16LS will have separate dipole woofers and DSP. Like I said above, exciting times. |
FWIW...The LFT8b's are lovely. During 2020, 2021 and 2022 I had alot of time to evaluate my small collection of panel speakers including, Quad 63's, Lft-8b's and ML ESLs. Evaluation was done in a constant rotation, using an upgraded (resistors, caps, transformers) ELEKIT push/pull KT120/KT77/EL34 amp. I found the 40 - 50 wpc to be lots of power for my listening, in a Treated but smallish (11'.5" x 13'.5") room. I still rotate between the LFT 8s and the ML ESL (with Spetz Zeros). I prefer the ET LFT8 but the vast majority people who have heard both, including our Vinyl Club members, like the Logans... I sold the 63s... |
Yes, looking forward to the release of LFT-18LS. The videos links provided by @ricevs really gave a good glimpse of the new speaker. Did I hear correctly? It is a fully powered DSP speaker system, without the need of amps? I wrote to Bruce asking him about the use of DSP. He replied that deploying DSP tech is the lesser of two evils, the other being passive x-over. And digital tech has advanced such that he could do things that he couldn't just ten years ago. I personally find the DSP part of the 8c a quandary. How can a plate amp / DSP digital processor that retails in the $250 range make such an impact? I am in effect putting analog play back through a A-D and D-A conversion every time I use the speaker. And analog still comes out sounding like analog!? I guess my question is if 'cheap' digital tech can be deployed to such good effect in speaker design, then why are we chasing digital playback tech in the $10k + realm. Or is it that Bruce is in fact moving up the digital chain with the LFT-18 for even more superior sound in addition of the neodymium magnets? Sanders Sound System also uses DSP, though a more sophisticated / expensive kind. And Robert Greene in his review of the Sanders speakers claims not to 'hear' the DSP degrading SQ. In fact, he felt it would be the future trend in speaker design. I did not understand that part of his review But having lived with DSP, I can honestly say it woks without degrading SQ, having 8b as a compare. |
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