Did anyone see my question above?
Eminent Technology LFT-8c Robert Greene review
A friend of mine forwarded this review to me a couple days ago. I hadn't seen it as it's just a week old at this point.
Why would I be interested? I have a pair of LFT-8b speakers that I picked up about 7 months ago. Wonderful speakers. I always wanted to try a set of panels and, as luck would have it, last summer I found a used pair of 8b's just a short drive from my home..I made the jump. As it turns out, this was one of the best moves I've made in my 50+ year audio hobby.
In the last few months, I was considering picking up the 8b to 8c upgrade components, but put it off as I had a number of other projects going on. Well..the projects got completed and I started a few more projects, though this time around the 8c upgrade is one of them. I ordered the 8c upgrade yesterday and I'm really looking forward to the adventure once it arrives.
One thing I've noticed when reading discussions of the LFT-8(no a, b, c) here on A-gon, is the discussion wanders over the now 36 year history of the LFT-8. Issues identified in this or that review from 10-20-25 years ago are brought up as if they reflect what the LFT-8 is today. LFT-8's had a great sound 30 years ago, with a few flaws, as any 30 year old speaker would, and it sounds better today. Nothing surprising there. Most companies cut ties with models as they age and come out with something new, whether they are really new or repackaged parts..that varies..
What's my point? I just find it interesting that Bruce Thigpen (Eminent Technology) came out with the LFT-8 in about 1990 and has been continually improving the model 8 year after year, decade in and decade out, staying in business with no advertising, though with a few shows here and there. There are very few current speakers(let alone businesses) alive today that have a 30+ year history under largely the same name. (Though the Vandy 2 series comes to mind) Pretty unique in this industry. It's also pretty unique that a decades old pair of LFT-8 speakers can be upgraded to the current model at a very modest cost. And the upgrade is easily done by any owner.
So..the latest review:
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/eminent-technology-lft-8c-planar-loudspeaker/
Robert Greene goes into considerable depth in his review, which is specific to the 8c version, though he's done an 8b review in the past. I'm glad it came out as it pushed me over the edge in ordering the 8c upgrade. I'm not getting any younger..time to give the 8c a spin.
One last note, I've read in a number of older and current reviews that the LFT-8 speaker placement is..finicky. I haven't found that to be the case at all. In the last 7 months I've experimented extensively with placement and they respond well to various setups. My current setup is about 115 inches between the panels (on center) and maybe 30 degrees toe-ed in from facing directly forward. Each speaker is 45 inches off the front wall(on center) and 38 inches from the side walls. I have a great soundstage and and equally great imaging. My tweeter panels are on the inside.
(...and no..I have no affiliation with ET..just a customer owning a used pair of the 2017 model 8b)
- ...
- 123 posts total
..and @bdp24 thank you for chiming into this thread. It's good to have you back from the hacked-hinterlands. Without ledoux's questions, your detailed responses, and ledoux' followup, the above setup info wouldn't have happened. I'm about 4 hrs into a listening session at 24.5 degrees(quite different from the previous 15 degrees). So right. So good. A new track comes on and I continue to say.., oh my.. |
@nogaps: I haven’t heard the MG3.7i’s enough to have a credible opinion of their sound quality, but like you I found the models below it to sound "ghostly"---images appearing as apparitions rather than flesh-and-blood bodies and instruments (like a speaker with out-of-phase drivers)---and "wispy"---a thin spectral balance. They absolutely demand subs. The Magnepan ribbon tweeter (found in the MG3.7i, 20.7i, and 30.7) is a push-pull design, as is I believe the midrange driver in the MG3.7i (I don’t know about the woofer driver). The 1.7i and lower are 100% single-ended, with magnets on only one side of the Mylar diaphragm. Ugh. While the tweeter in my Tympani-T-IVa’s is the excellent Maggie ribbon, the midrange and bass panels are both single-ended. Some Tympani owners have replaced the midrange driver with a row of the no longer available NEO 8 planar/magnetic driver, and Danny Richie employed a row of the NEO 10 midrange driver in his line source planar/magnetic loudspeaker (mated with Neo 3 tweeters and Rythmik Audio/GR Research OB/Dipole Woofers. Fantastic! Audiogon member jaytor shows his pair in his Virtual System).
|
Turning the tweeters to the outside happened less than a month ago. I have been listening to the speakers with tweeters on the inside for over four years. But having done the switch, and with @nogaps extensive calculation on toe-in angles, I much prefer it, as well @nogaps . I don’t know about @bdp24 , maybe he can chime in.
I am 3m from speakers. But I have to say that ‘fuzzy’ and ‘not realistic’ center image is not how the LFT-8b or 8c sound to me. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/planar-speaker-placement
|
- 123 posts total