Eminent Technology LFT-8c Robert Greene review

The preference @nogaps and I share for midrange drivers-in orientation of the LFT-8b may be a consequence of the similarity of the size and shape of our listening rooms. My room is 13’ deep and 14’ 4" wide, which yes sounds rather small for a pair of dipole planar loudspeakers. In spite of that the room is actually about the best sounding one I’ve ever had. It’s on the warm side (see below for why that may be the case), and very "quiet." Plus, when I enter it I become very relaxed, with the outside world seeming to evaporate (and I already live in a very quiet neighborhood. While in the house I rarely hear a sound from any neighbor, and there are plenty of kids in those houses).

I have my LFT-8b’s 5’ away from the wall behind them, each 32" (measured from the outside edge) from their respective side wall, 8’ apart, and 8’ from my listening position. On the left wall, part of the 32" is taken up by 16" deep LP racks (11’ 6" long), on the right the space occupied by 6" deep CD racks (8’ 4" long, the end of the wall closest to the listening position being where the door into the room is located). Both rows of racks are floor-to-ceiling in height.

The two corners behind the LFT’s are each filled with an 11" ASC Tube Trap sitting atop a 16". Next to each stack are two other 11" Traps, on top of which sit two (stacked vertically) Vicoustic DC3 Diffusers (each just shy of 24" square, about 6" deep). In front of each of those two traps is another DC3 Diffuser. The rear wave of each LFT-8 reflects off the LP’s or CD’s on the side walls, that reflection being re-directed to the Tube Traps (with their reflective sides "out") and the Diffusers. The Traps and Diffusers then do their job, scattering the rear waves and sending them back into the room.

On the listening position wall end of the room I placed a 4’ square, 6" deep frame I built and filled with 703 fiberglass (a box of six 2" thick 24" x 48" sheets)---the 703-filled frame then wrapped in grill cloth, the absorber placed atop a row of six 9" Tube Traps, right behind my listening chair  The rest of the rear wall is taken up by two doors, one leading to the bathroom, the other to the walk-in closet. Those two little rooms provide some escape for the bass pressure that builds up in the 13’ x 14’ 4" listening room.

Any questions? 

Finally got these dialed in and I must say I’m glad I was patient. Here is where they landed.

77” to the wall behind them as measured from the back of the woofer enclosure and 104” between them (center to center). A slight toe in, firing just over my shoulder. From Bruce’s recommendation I cut 125 hz by 6 db and set the Q to 1.5. 
 

All this leads me to say I now see what all the fuss is about.

Well..like..Yay!  :)

Nice to hear you’ve sorted them out. There are few speakers out there that have more adjustability than the 8c’s.  Remember, you have three levels of the tweeter also on the rear-top of the box.  I have to say, I’ve done more than a ton of research on the LFTs before & since I picked them up last summer, and your observations about bass and centerstage were outliers to what I’ve read.  There had to be a setup that was clicked into place.

Great news!

@ozzy62 

Would you elaborate a bit more on how you turned things around? What were the steps you took to get from fuzzy center image to dialed in? 
Thanks!

@ledoux1238 

The biggest improvement was bringing them so far out into the room. My initial instinct of 3-5 ft. just wasn’t enough. Then just fine tuning the placement and toe in. I must say I’m not a fan of the “head in a vice”, but I’ve lived with panels before so I know the drill.