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

A day or two ago Guttenberg posted a video entitled Top 10 Audiophile Speakers And Amplifiers Of The Year (meaning of those he has reviewed this year). One of them is of course the ET LFT-8b, and he again says he found the LFT to outperform every Magnepan he has had in his room, which includes not just the LRS and LRS+, the .7 and 1.7, but also the 3.6 and 3.7i.

That’s right, Steve considers the $3200/pr LFT-8b superior to the $8000/pr 3.7i. Having not heard the 3.7i I can neither agree nor disagree with that opinion. For me that opinion is of value not necessarily just in and of itself, but also for bringing the LFT-8 to the attention of anyone considering the purchase of any Magnepan. Just know that there is another contender in the planar-magnetic loudspeaker field, one very worthy of consideration.

The LFT-8b is around the same price as the 1.7i (I compared the two, and like Steve was very surprised at how different the two sound), and less than half the price of the 3.7i. As I stated in my OP, I consider the LFT-8b the greatest bargain in hi-fi today!

Eminent Technology LFT-8b speakers with modified bracing of the Sound Anchor stands.  Yes I went ahead an did it with extremely positive results.  

After reading about the Mye stands for the LFT-8b speakers I took a look at the Mye website.  He does some very nice bracing on the Magnepan’s.  The description of adding bracing sounded like it would be an excellent idea and addition to the Sound Anchor stands.  I didn’t want to spend another $800 or $900 on all new stands. Then the idea to just get my trusty mug welder out and add some bracing.  The idea is nice for the C-clamp but I felt adding the bracing right to the front metal plates would be much more stable and provide better damping.  Also I didn’t  like the look.  I would need to lengthen the four front hex screws in order to bolt the braces to it.  

After cycling through a few ideas I came up with an idea I liked that would be rock stable and also be easy.  I bought four 3/4” weld steel square tubes and a short piece of 3/4” flat weld steel.  After welding (I’m just adequate at it), grinding and painting I filled the tubes with about 2/3 lead shot and 1/3 fine sand.  Mostly because it’s all the lead shot I had and it’s gotten very expensive!

I used #10 -24 bolts and washers to attach the braces to the rear of the Sound Anchor legs which I painted.  I had to be very careful at tapping the holes there as the leg metal of the Sound Anchor is not super thick.  Figured if it stripped I can put nuts inside and put a little spot weld to hold them in place inside the legs but all is good.  Ordered 1-1/4” long black button hex head screws to attach the braces to the panels.  These replaced the four existing ones. 

Definitely added some extra weight. About 2-3 pounds.  Worked out great.  Could feel right off the panels were way more rigid.  They would flex a bit before when you moved the panel back and forth with your hands.  Now they’re rock solid!

So now to the sound improvements.  Well it was huge!   I know what you’re thinking.  He built something and made a change so he has to hear something.  Well right off I was amazed.  Seriously!  The entire sound is so much more solid and drums are tighter.  The image just has this solidity to it.  That was the word I kept thinking.  Much more stable image and better sound stage.  The highs even actually sound cleaner.  Now that surprised me actually and wasn’t expecting that.  I’ve always felt the tweeter could be improved on the LFT-8b’s and this made a great leap forward in just sounding smoother.  Cymbals come through much cleaner than before.  Everything just appears in space better. 

I remember when I added the Sound Anchor stands and thought Wow!   Nice improvement.  Adding the braces was more like a double Wow!  Really.  One of the biggest improvements I’ve made in a long time.  And I’ve made a lot!  I had upgraded the crossover parts a while back and that was spectacular.  Maybe that’s part of the reason why I noticed so much of an improvement with the bracing. 

It’s really improved my listening enjoyment to a whole new level.  I highly recommend upgrading your stands to something with a brace like this.  It’s literally  hard to stop listening!  

I’ll try to post some pictures here soon.