Eminent Technology LFT-8b in Harry's system


I recently signed up for the V.P.I. Industries newsletter, and today received my first such. In it, Harry Weisfeld reviews a Grado phono cartridge, but this post concerns one of the speakers he listed as being those he uses to listen to music and evaluate recordings through. All but one are traditional dynamic cones/domes in a box designs, only one being a planar/dipole. That planar is the Eminent Technology LFT-8b. I'm pretty sure Harry could, if he so chose, have instead as his sole planar a pair of $6000 Magneplanar MG 3.7i's, or even $14,000 20.7's. But nope, he instead chose the $2500 ET LFT-8b, imo the greatest value in a loudspeaker on the market. I compared it to the 1.7i, and the difference was dramatic.
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Showing 1 response by tommytom

I first had the LFT8 and the woofer would distort with heavier bass passages so I was going to upgrade ($200) with Bruce's LFT8b woofers but I ended up getting a pair of 8b's (2011 vintage) off Audiogon for $1200. My favorite speakers by far because of all the reasons described here. I had previously; MGIIIA's, MG1.6, Legacy Focus, Dahlquist DQ-20.
The Focus obviously had the greatest dynamics with the 3 12" woofers and at around 98db sensitivity but overall the 8b had greater transparency and naturalness to the sound. The key thing here I believe that led to their great sound for me was running them with a Moscode 600 hybrid amp. At 300wpc and a Mosfet output stage, it gave those panels what they needed.
Fast forward to 2015 I wanted to try something different so I sold the Moscode and bought the Quicksilver V4 monoblock tube amps at 120wpc. As good as they sounded with the 8b's I don't think they had quite the same bass control and overall tighness that the Moscode had.
So then I see a pair of Alon IV for sale and still having the Dahlquist DQ-20, and knowing how good those speakers are, I purchase the Alon IV's.
As good as the bass was with the 8b's/Moscode combo, and even with the 8b/V4 combo, the bass from the Alon's was way deeper and more dynamic, and the mids and high frequencies were very good as well, although not as tall and wide of a soundstage as the 8b's. So now I end up selling the 8b's and am currently using the Alon IV/ Quicksilver V4 combo.
I say all this because as a crazy adiophile, I am thinking about getting another pair of LFT-8b's, selling off the V4 amps and Alon speakers, and buying a high current either hybrid tube/ss or maybe even a class D amplifier like the Rogue Pharaoh or Audio Alchemy amps. My goal is to bring back the overall cohesiveness and transparency that the LFT8b's have, but this time pairing it with and amplifier that can bring out those qualities.
Any suggestions?