Eminent Technology LFT-8C speakers reviewed by Robert E. Greene of The Absolute Sound

[amadeuswus]

Some forum members have expressed interest in this speaker (or its 8b version). I think it's a thoughtful review, but some passages (on box speaker imaging and the Harman score, for example) may be controversial here.

Eminent Technology LFT-8c Planar Loudspeaker

Somewhere in the midst of reviewing the new Eminent Technology LFT-8c’s, I took it into my head to listen to Marc Aubort’s recording of the Ravel String

www.theabsolutesound.com

(If memory serves, ET prices have gone up a lot recently. The 8b used to be about $2500/pr.)

 

[bigbang]

Too funny. I just saw a used pair for sale pop up. I don't need them by any means. But...

 

[hex168]

I'm a fan. Have not heard them for a long while, but I recall they are among the few planars that do dynamics well. When I heard Diptyques recently they reminded me of the ETs. (Acknowledging limits of auditory memory here - but I an remember my reactions, for what they are worth.) I'd love to have an old pair to try to convert to active; on my eventual retirement project list.

Edited to add: I just read the review. For a review without measurements, it's actually pretty good. He says some quite reasonable things about EQ, for example. Since I enjoy the presentation of line arrays and dipoles, I get what he is saying about liking them even if they have an inferior Harman score. But I bet I would prefer even more a line array with a good Harman score!

 

[Alexander Gödde]

That is the best review I have ever read in TAS. The reviews talks about things that actually matter, like room interactions and EQ, and contains none of the usual audiophile bullshit such as cable and amp synergies. Pity there are no measurements, but this provides actual usable information. Oh, and the product is reasonably priced as well.

 

[amadeuswus]

That is the best review I have ever read in TAS. The reviews talks about things that actually matter, like room interactions and EQ, and contains none of the usual audiophile bullshit such as cable and amp synergies. Pity there are no measurements, but this provides actual usable information. Oh, and the product is reasonably priced as well.

Robert Greene used to have a personal website (regonaudio.com, inactive) where he sometimes posted low-resolution measurements of speakers he reviewed for TAS.

This ASR post and several more after it discussing Greene might be relevant here:

Perceptual Effects of Room Reflections

I became curious about this Robert Greene guy, and searched for his articles on TAS. Indeed, his reviews are some of the best hifi reviews I have read ever. Extremely illuminating. He doesn't content himself with saying if he likes things or not, but tries to explain how things sound, and why...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Beave]

Robert Greene is also the one who reviewed the Philharmonic Audio BMR Tower for The Absolute Sound: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/philharmonic-bmr-tower/

 

[MarcT]

I have a friend in Colorado who has a pair of these, driven by a set of Starkrimson(sp?) power amps. He has them in a dedicated audio room with room treatments and room correction. I visited him last year and we played a wide variety of music on his system and to me, it sounded fantastic throughout the frequency range. I was surprised at the bass impact and extension they produced.

 

[amadeuswus]

I have a pair of the LFT-8bs (in storage because my current room is too small for them). They sounded unusually pure to me, perhaps because of the low distortion mentioned in the review. (So far as I know, the mid/tweeter panel of the 8b is unchanged in the 8c.)

 

[JeffS7444]

I've heard similar ET speakers sounding pretty good when driven by a powerful solid state amplifier, like a QSC.