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I'm A Reviewer, So You Can't Trust What I Say Anyway...

Posted by Doug Schroeder on January 10, 2012 at 12:04:57:
but I'll try. ;)

First, if you have not seen it yet, glance at my review of the LFT-8A to 8B conversion review at Dagogo.com. It should be listed with the speakers reviewed in the past.

Some variables/factors to consider:
1. The equipment/room - you acknowledge that you did hear it in an entirely different setup with an unfamiliar (?) rig. The cables alone can turn a speaker from revealing to smudged and subdued sounding. With a 150wpc amp the speakers will not even get up and dance, much less impress. I recommend a minimum of 250-300wpc for those and other planar speakers. One exception would be a ballsy Class A amp at around 150+ wpc.

If your room is not carpeted that is a huge difference; when a person is not used to hearing speakers in a carpeted room those speakers will sound fairly "dead" no matter what speakers they are. A non-carpeted room will make a speaker sound far more prodigious in terms of utilization of the floor's hard surface. However, it also often contributes to distortion from reflections from the flooring. I prefer a carpeted and well tuned room to reduce unwanted reflections from the floor, ceiling or walls.

2. Positioning and elevation of the speakers - the LFT-8B, as you know, is a hybrid with a sealed 8" woofer cabinet very close to the floor. The supplied legs are problematic for placement on carpeting. Essentially, the sealed woofer box even with spiked stands from ET are probably touching the carpeting, or very close to it. That is far, far from ideal and kills the bass response. The speaker is tighter/more coherent sounding when using aftermarket stands, or in my case when using hockey pucks under the mfgrs. stands. I had the LFT-8B at about 3" off the carpet. The speaker is more tight and less sloppy when the bass is taken out of contact with the carpet.

3. The settings on the tweeter - Again, this alone in conjunction with the particular components is dramatic in impact. Are you aware that there are three tweeter settings available for the LFT-8B? The vitality and vibrancy of the speaker can be kicked up a notch or two with the tweeter setting. If the owner had it on the lowest output in a deadened room then I can see perfectly why you would not be impressed; neither would I. If, again, the cabling was so-so then the sound wouldn't be impressive at all.

4. The difference in width of the Magnepan - yes, the Maggies will be significantly "larger" sounding due to the larger radiating area. However, the positioning is critical as well. If one system was toed in differently than the other the entire experience changes perceptually. I prefer any panel speaker toed in as opposed to parallel to the head wall; the center imaging tightens up significantly when the speakers are toed in, and I cannot accept the splayed imaging of parallel placement, imo.

As you will read in my review, I find the LFT-8B to be a more controlled speaker than the older/mid-line maggies due to the LFT-8B having double sets of magnets. The LFT-8B is tighter and more precise than even the 1.6QR (I owned the 1.6 and the LFT-8B and did comparisons).

Final analysis from where I sit; inconclusive. From the description of your listening session it seems like the strengths of the LFT-8B were not on display.