Planar Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Eminent Technology LFT-VIIIA Speakers by ka7niq

Model:	LFT-VIIIA
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$1500/pair w/o stands
Description:	Hybrid planar magnetic/dynamic speaker
Manufacturer URL:	Eminent Technology
Model Picture:	View

Review by ka7niq ( A ) on July 16, 2005 at 23:58:17
IP Address: 71.101.74.212

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for the LFT-VIIIA

The LFT 8a is a planar magnetic/hybrid speaker speaker.
It uses an 8 inch sealed woofer crossing over to a planar magnetic midrange tweeter array.
The midrange ribbons are called upon to cover a very wide rage.
Presumably, this is to keep the crossover artifacts out of the midrange, albeit at the expense of increased IM distortion.

Asssembly was easily handled by Tunz, an Inmate, friend, and neighbor, and I.
We had em up and running within an hour.

The first thing I noticed, compared to my Magnepa MG3A's, and B&W 801's, was the lack of efficiency.
These suckers flat shut off a Moscode 600!
After Tunz left, I put on some more dynamic material with bass, and the little 8 inch woofers bottomed out frequently!
I played with them for about two more weeks, then sold them.
They were too inefficient and dynamically limited for my room.
I dont think they are awful, but certainly not in the same league as the MG3A's.
Yes, they have their moments, and they are a very forgiving speaker due to their rolled off voicing.
The 8 inch woofer goes deep, but so what ?
Why go down to 20 hz if you cant move much air?
That isnt too bright in my opinion.

Really, I dont understand what all the fuss is about with these speakers.
The imaging was pretty good.
The high end was really rolled off, even in the high setting.
Male voice was a real problem in my room.
The placement for best imaging left male voices sounding thin, and when i moved em closer to the rear wall to help out the puny 8 inch woofer, the soundstage collapsed.
In desperation, I pulled out my big monoblocks, since the wonderful Moscode 600 kept shutting down due to their unusual power demands.
The monoblocks are over 500 watts rms into 8 ohms, and the Eminents activated their clipping indicators far too often.
I have no place in my system for a power hungry, and dynamically limited speaker.
If i wanted that, i would still own Quad 63's.
The quads smoke these speakers.
Female voice was pretty well done.
These are not rock speakers, or big orchestral either.
they are at their best on chamber music, soft Jazz, etc.
Bruce Thigpen was a great guy, and we both agreed that they wouldnt work out for me.
I have a large room, but several speakers have worked in this room.
The Eminents were not one of them.
I would caution anyone that has a medium to large room to not buy them, or you will be sorry.
Perhaps, in a small room, you could live with their dynamic limitations, but why ?
Quads will destroy them in a small room, and so will several other speakers.
I just cannot believe all the good reviews on these speakers.
I think Bruce Thigpen neds to re think this design, and i told him so.
I think he needs to go to better magnets for more efficiency, and to not try and take a puny 8 inch woofer down to 20 hz.
That, in my opinion, is an excercise in futility.
He has sacrificed bass extension for efficiency, a stupid thing in my opinion.
After all, why go down to 20 hz if you cant pressurize a decent sized room ?
This design has much promise, and I consider Bruce one of our hobbys truely great inventive minds.
But, as is, I cannot reccomend this speaker to anyone except a person in a small room.
And even then, they are up against Quads and other better speakers.

Product Weakness: horribly inefficient and dynamically limited, woofer bottoms easily. rolled off top end, dull, lifeless sound.
Product Strengths: smooth, laid back sound will appeal to some, some transparency, deep bass in small rooms, easy load, female voice done well.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Moscode 600
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Dared Line Stage w/NOS Tubes
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	CD using two different DAC's
Speakers:	MG3a's, B&W 801's
Cables/Interconnects:	Home Depot Outdoor Extension Cord 14 guage
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	You Name It ?
Room Size (LxWxH):	20 x 24 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Dipole friendly room
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	PowerVar
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	horribly inefficient and dynamically limited, woofer bottoms easily. rolled off top end, dull, lifeless sound.
Product Strengths:	smooth, laid back sound will appeal to some, some transparency, deep bass in small rooms, easy load, female voice done well.