ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7

Depends on what you are after and whether subwoofers are going to be used and what the space is..

In a small/medium room without subs the LFT 8 is clearer and more dynamic but has a box bass.

In a medium large room with subs the maggie 1.7 is better as its clarity improves with the lack of low freq reproduction. And the midbass is planar so improves on that count.- which is critical to many.

Things are closer in other situations.... tell us what you want and your setup - space amplification etc. and we can give you better ideas.

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 11, 2016 at 19:55:48

Stale
Audiophile

Posts: 3263
Location: So. California
Joined: August 3, 2001

Generally agree with Satie. You can search my posts about LFT-VIII for way lot more details, but some of the mayor considerations:

ETs have a snap and quickness that is hard to find and that MGs are missing
ETs have bass/play deeper, but are box type
ETs are easy to drive, MGs not so
ETs do not mind SS amps but thrive with tubes, MGs not so.
ETs have somewhat better lateral dispersion, but vertically are more limited

I do not have ETs any more due to the across continent move, but I still consider them the best speaker value you can find. I could live with either, but prefer ETs.

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"One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 12, 2016 at 05:53:36

jazzbeat
Audiophile

Posts: 293
Location: Kansas city,MO
Joined: February 18, 2004

Hi I appreciate the advice and tend to agree. I am on my third set of ET-Lft 8's and just don't find the same qualities with the Magnepan. ( IE closer to ESL sound ). I am sure the 1.7 is a great speaker and wanted to see if a change out to this model might be different than in past experience. ( I have owned both the MMG, and 3.5 and enjoyed but find the LFT closer to what I would call a ribbon sound ). Have been tempted to find a pair of Soundline ribbons and give them a try. I was very impressed with the Magnepan ribbon tweeter but could not get the mating of the panel to the tweeter to work for me.

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 12, 2016 at 08:33:37

Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002

The mid section diaphragms of the older maggies and the current models but for the 20.7 are heavier than the LFT 8. Thus the advantage in detail. It also has better clarity because of the open frame magnet support. That also helps in low level dynamics where maggies tend to quiet down too fast. But it has more limited ultimate output than the middle and bigger maggies.

So IF you use subs and brace the 1.7 frame you will cover some of the advantage the LFT8 has in dynamics and narrow the advantage in detail and clarity. Compared to LFT8 + subs you will have about 10 db more output potential from the 1.7 through the mids.

Without subs the 1.7 will distort more heavily and roll off earlier on deep bass notes below 80 hz, where the very good box woofer performs better on extension and dynamic punch. It will also get a bit cloudy and congested relative to the LFT when there is deep bass content along with midband content. But at some point where things get very loud the LFT8 will just stop getting louder in the mids whereas the 1.7 will go on getting louder.

While current demands from the LFT8 may be easier on the amp, the power requirement is actually similar. Just that if you give the maggie even more power it will play louder, while the LFT8 would not do much more.

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 12, 2016 at 14:49:31

Stale
Audiophile

Posts: 3263
Location: So. California
Joined: August 3, 2001

Re. power:

Number and numbers.

My experience is that ETs can work and will pay quite decent levels with only 30 WPC tube power (i.e. Cary Rocket in triode), way louder that I play with 60WPC (Conrad Johnson MV60SE) or Rogue 90. It plays way louder than you would expect by very low sensitivity rating.

What is more interesting is MGs compression. At lower levels both require more or less the same power for the same SPL. However, the louder you want to play, MGs are gobbling up disproportionately more and more power. That is why you can hear that people run hundreds or WPC on MGs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 13, 2016 at 06:22:23

Davey

Numbers don't lie either. All other things being equal, an amplifier rated at 60wpc or 90wpc will limit SPL less than a 30wpc amplifier. Assuming you're needing power at those higher levels.

Compression in the Magnepan drivers is an inherent part (trade-off) of the design. ET speakers also exhibit this characteristic, but less so. This means MG speakers can be "pushed" harder than most speakers and still sound decent while many other speakers will reach a more defined limit.

I do (generally) like the sound of my LFT-8b's better than Maggie's I've listened to, but there are some caveats.

Cheers,

Dave.

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 13, 2016 at 07:25:20
Green Lantern Audiophile Posts: 16952 Location: San Diego, Ca Joined: November 12, 2002 Contributor Since: June 17, 2003	great to see ET's once again in the spot light; I definitely regret having never heard a pair. If anyone in the So Cal area has a set I would love to hear them.

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 13, 2016 at 11:02:44

Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002

Maggies compress because they are single ended (but for MG20.x), whereas the ET are push pull, Thus they play till they don't get any louder with additional power/ Maggies compress but will ultimately play louder. But it will take far more power than a linear calculation would predict so we end up with KW amps driving them. Perception of dynamics is reduced by maggies compressing so we note that the LFT8 is a much more dynamic speaker. It is where Magnepan made their design compromise. ET had the LFT 3 IIRC all planar that really needed subwoofers to work.
http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/eminent_technology_lft-iii_loudspeaker/#lbdfmXAIxq8R6cUK.97

Sensitivity was 81db and max spl 104 requires 200W to reach full output.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/magnepan-magneplanar-mg36r-loudspeaker-measurements#Imr5o6rlkl5vBB7z.97

Sensitivity measured at 84 db (being generous) max output 112db power requirement about 650W for max SPL assuming no compression, about 1KW in reality.

http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=mug&n=168032&highlight=&search_url=

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 13, 2016 at 18:09:14
Utley1 Audiophile Posts: 1609 Location: NYC Joined: July 30, 2010	Satie and all. Might you define 'dynamic' verbally but preferably mathematically as the word is charged with the old sales vocabulary of slew rate etc. If I am a listener -What should I hear or look for to make the contrast meaningful. Thanks

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 14, 2016 at 03:16:31

Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002

Dynamic as a descriptor of sound quality means a linear (or more than linear) relationship of output spl to source signal. The purist would just stick with linear and call it a lack of compression, as more than linear would be a distortion. More than linear would be an overshoot.
However, we don't necessarily have a negative perception of some degree of overshoot as produced by tubes having J shaped IV curves, vs the general perception of compression with SS devices having S shaped IV curves going from more than linear to less than linear. To a degree you can view the overshoot as compensation for compression of loud sharp transients at the tape head and cutting lathe and in the SS amplification during the recording and mastering process. These transients are responsible for most of our spatial perception and for the character of tonal texture of instruments. They occur at the onset of every sound and in the diction of vocalists.
The other more than linear relationship is overhang, as when a driver does not return to the 0 displacement as quickly as the driving signal. It shows well on waterfall plots and in SQ terms is perceived as being "slow" and muddy".

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 14, 2016 at 06:20:41
Davey	"More than linear"??? :) You have a way of over-complicating even basic queries. :) Dave.

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 14, 2016 at 09:55:45

Utley1
Audiophile

Posts: 1609
Location: NYC
Joined: July 30, 2010

Can you direct me to mathematical equation so I can best visualize a pure dynamic form within normal speaker range(vs a live performance vocally or a chamber ensemble), although I do understand what you have expressed. The piece meal covering of ranges with specific crossover points should logically 'pollute' the dynamic into a sort of free for all confusion, just barely held together, by mental habits of musical sound,carried over from our environment, without consistent objectivity. (Feel like a bumbling old fool) But thanks....

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 14, 2016 at 11:04:25

Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002

This might help though there is nothing in particular about what we call "dynamic" as a SQ description.

No equation in there.

http://www.zainea.com/Dynamic%20range.htm

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 14, 2016 at 14:27:50
Utley1 Audiophile Posts: 1609 Location: NYC Joined: July 30, 2010	Most valuable- Thanks.....Will simply have to add sub woofers.I assume they should be powered(But live in an apt.)

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 15, 2016 at 05:01:23

audiofred
Audiophile

Posts: 5
Joined: October 5, 2010

I'm glad to see this discussion. My new home will be completed soon, I'll need new speakers to fit the smaller listening room, and I'm leaning toward dipoles. I'm a former 1.6 and 3.6 owner, and I recently auditioned both the 1.7 in a dealer's demo room and the LFT8 in a friend's media room. The media room was larger and better appointed with acoustic treatment and better electronics, so it's hard to make a valid comparison, but I'll try anyway.

The bottom line is I preferred the ET's to the 1.7's. They sounded more dynamic and the midbass sounded more realistic to my ears. The bass seemed to extend lower. Also, since the speakers will be located in the family room instead of a dedicated listening room, space and aesthetics will both be critical, and I can use the ET's without a klunky looking low-WAF subwoofer intruding into the space. I'll probably be ordering a pair of ET's after the move. This will be a very simple system. Associated electronics will be a Krell KAV-400xi integrated and an Oppo 95 player.

The 1.7 is mediocre IMO! nt, posted on November 15, 2016 at 10:57:19
RealStereo	nt

RE: ET LFT-VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 15, 2016 at 11:03:09
Satie Audiophile Posts: 5426 Joined: July 6, 2002	There are pads for subwoofers to decouple them from the floor so they don't blast your neighbors. Maggies also seem to benefit from placement on top of them as a sink for draining vibrational energy from the frame.

RE: The 1.7 is mediocre IMO! nt, posted on November 16, 2016 at 08:34:56
Davey	That's just a silly comment. The 1.7's are certainly not mediocre. They're one of the finest speakers available for anywhere near that price. Dave.

They lack rich tone! nt, posted on November 16, 2016 at 19:01:38
RealStereo	nt

RE: They lack rich tone! nt, posted on November 16, 2016 at 19:17:40
Davey	That's a good thing! Tone should be neutral, not rich! Dave.

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 17, 2016 at 02:56:08
jazzbeat Audiophile Posts: 293 Location: Kansas city,MO Joined: February 18, 2004	In following up what advantages does the 1.7 have over the LFT VIII ? I am trying to fill a larger area room now ( moving) and wonder if it has a better able to do this ?

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 17, 2016 at 10:43:40
DrChaos Audiophile Posts: 2063 Location: San Diego Joined: July 13, 2009	I think the 1.7's could be better in that circumstance, but only if you use good bass management, room correction & high quality subwoofers. I heard the 0.7's at an audioshow under those conditions, and they were amazingly good. I use my 3.6's and they sound great like that too.

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 17, 2016 at 13:28:35
Satie Audiophile Posts: 5426 Joined: July 6, 2002	In a larger room I would prefer a 1.7 + a pair of subwoofers over the LFT8, but don't expect the same dynamics you experienced with the LFT8. Close, but no cigar. Next option is to use a stacked pair of LFT8, There are a couple of reviews of that setup. Ultimately you would want to turn off one of the tweeters to get better detail and imaging. Doug Schroeder wrote one of the reviews. .

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 20, 2016 at 14:57:00

jazzbeat
Audiophile

Posts: 293
Location: Kansas city,MO
Joined: February 18, 2004

Auditioned a set of these yesterday with a well set up pair of subs and nice tube power and was very impressed. ( IE 1.7.s, Carver tube mono blocks and a nice room with nice subs). Again as most have stated a difference between the VIII and these is there , however each retains it's own qualities. The ET's are close to what I would call more of a near field sound . Have used the LFT VIII in medium rooms with good success and truly love the sound of these ( great with intimate recordings to mild rock , IE jazz, small classical to more). The 1.7;s impressed me by having a much larger sound stage and very clean and open sound as well.( in some cases created a huge soundstage ). The reason I entering this post is the mention of the brightness mentioned by others. I am sure by themselves could be somewhat compromised in the bass , however with a reasonable sub these are very balanced and lack any sign of what is called brightness. I was very taken back. Each have great qualities and just wanted to update with my experience...

Cheers...

RE: ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7, posted on November 20, 2016 at 20:30:48
Satie Audiophile Posts: 5426 Joined: July 6, 2002	The LFT8 should have done better on imaging, perhaps a setup issue or was the amp a SS AB amp vs the tube amps on the 1.7?

YMMV!, posted on November 26, 2016 at 15:43:51

RealStereo

Every audio piece that is described as "neutral", I find sounds cold and unnatural.

I my opinion, only the 6 foot tall (and taller) Magnepans have "natural" sounding tone and realistic imaging.

The shorter ones are for cheapskates.

RE: The 1.7 is mediocre IMO! nt, posted on November 27, 2016 at 15:06:00
paul3 Audiophile Posts: 253 Location: Pacific NW Joined: January 2, 2015	Personally I have found that the use of an exclamation point when someone is making an unfounded and specious claim, causes severe and very unpleasant oscillation across the entire audible spectrum, thus further exacerbating the speciousness of said claim.

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ET LFT VIII or Magnepan 1.7

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