Eminent Technology LFT-VIIIa (LFT-8)

By Augie Bettencourt

Introduction

Throughout the years, I have reviewed products from two fundamental types of companies: marking driven and technology driven companies. By marketing driven companies, I mean those companies whose decision makers come from within the marketing and sales departments. The company is driven more by an understanding of market forces than by technical achievement and invests heavily in marketing. A technology driven company is a company whose management believes that technical superiority of their products is the key to their success in the marketplace. In this type of company, the key decision makers are engineers, not marketing or sales types. 

Eminent Technology is certainly a technology driven company. The genius and founder behind Eminent Technology is Bruce Thigpen, who holds nine audio patents. Among Eminent Technology’s accomplishments are: the first captured air bearing tonearm, the first full range push pull planar magnetic speaker, the first flat panel computer multimedia speaker and the world’s most powerful subwoofer, the Thigpen rotary woofer.

Likely the most popular Eminent Technology product is the LFT-VIIIa (LFT-8) loudspeaker. The Eminent Technology LFT-VIIIa is a hybrid, with push-pull, dynamic planar loudspeaker elements for the midrange and tweeter and a conventional cone loudspeaker for bass. LFT-VIIIa speakers have a reported frequency response of 25 Hz – 20,000 kHz, a sensitivity rating of 83 dB and a 8-ohm impedance rating. They stand 60 inches tall, 17 inches deep, 13 inches wide and weigh 65 pounds each. The LFT-VIIIa speakers arrived with a black satin finish, but are also available in light oak or walnut, enabling you to integrate the loudspeakers into a wide variety of decors. They retail for $1,699.00 per pair and have a 3 years parts, 1 year labor warranty. Overall, I found the fit and finish of this loudspeaker to be of acceptable quality in this price range.

Setup

The final placement of any dipole speaker is critical and the LFT-VIIIa is no different. Ideally, as with most dipole speakers, the LFT-VIIIa should be pulled away from the front wall as much as two or three feet and at least one or two feet from the side walls for a starting point for optimal performance. Your sitting position should also be farther than the distance between the speakers if possible. A small amount of toe-in towards the listening area will also change the tonal balance slightly and will affect the speaker’s imaging. Detailed fine-tuning of placement will be required for the best sonic results. Both spikes and metal feet are included and although spikes are recommended, applications on fine flooring could require the metal feet. The speakers were connected to the Sunfire Theater Grand Processor 5, Sunfire TGA 7400 and Pass Labs X350.5 amplifiers and Denon DVD 3910 DVD player. All components were connected with Cardas Golden Reference cables.

Features

The LFT-VIIIa, ETI's uses the Linear Field Planar Magnetic Transducers combined with a 8 inch woofer in a sealed enclosure. The magnetic drive principle developed by Eminent Technology for the LFT speaker series is unique. As the diaphragm of the speaker moves between the magnets following an audio signal, the magnetic field remains constant. In a sense, it is the magnetic equivalent of a push-pull electrostatic loudspeaker, differing in that it requires no step-up transformer or bias voltage and that the audio signal is applied directly to the diaphragm. In order to obtain a uniform driving force over the entire surface area of the diaphragm, a low mass foil/mylar diaphragm is used. The large surface area of the midrange driver gives excellent power handling capacity. A thin lightweight diaphragm is utilized for the high frequency driver. The low frequency 8 inch woofer was designed to blend with the mid-range and high-frequency drivers and the design uses a very low crossover frequency (180Hz) between the woofer and midrange. The panels are attached to a rigid steel frame to prevent resonances and the woofer is mounted in a rigidly braced enclosure. 

Music Sound

I warmed up my listening session with the late, great John Lee Hooker’s Chill Out and the Song “Annie Mae” (Pointblank Records). I was immediately struck by the LFT-VIIIa speaker’s ability to produce a huge soundstage, with depth, clarity and detail that I have never heard from a speaker in this price range. I’ve always been amazed by an electrostatic speaker’s ability to reproduce acoustic string instruments or vocal music with lifelike quality and this speaker comes very close. The sound of the piano had tonal accuracy and piano sized sound. This was largely due to the speaker’s ability to produce a soundstage large enough to do a piano justice. Next I listened to “Serves Me Right” from the same CD. Again, the speakers produced a deep, detailed soundstage that created an excellent ambient experience with midrange and timberal accuracy that was to die for, with tight, authoritive bass response that I have never heard from any comparably priced electrostatic or ribbon speaker.

The next CD I listened to was Dave Matthews Band’s Busted Stuff (RCA Records), choosing the song “Digging a Ditch.” The sound of Matthews’ voice had a very natural, open quality and the speakers imaged so well that I had to double-check to make sure my center speaker wasn’t playing. Dave’s vocals came alive and the speakers created a wide, seamless soundstage. Next, I listened to “Bartender” from the same Dave Matthews CD and was again impressed by the natural timber of Matthews’ guitar strumming and the LFT-VIIIa speaker’s ability to reveal the complexity of this musical number. I could hear complex musical structure with guitars, drums, flute, sax and violin, all with very distinct clarity that lent itself to a very convincing presentation, with bass extension like no other ribbon speaker I’ve heard, including those costing more-than twice as much. 

The last CD I listened to was Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head (Capitol Records) and the song “The Scientist.” This song starts with a beautiful, slow piano solo that the speakers reproduced with all the harmonic texture and realism of some speakers costing three-times more. I heard every nuance of Martin’s voice and even his breath – clearly a strength of this loudspeaker. The next song I listened to was “Warning Sign.” I was again reminded of this speaker’s ability to convey a sense of realism, emotion and the presence of an almost scary convincing soundstage, without the midrange-glare that some hybrid electrostatic speakers produce with certain rock or electronic music. A sign of a good speaker is the ability to sound good when playing any music genre and this speaker sounds good whether listening to Mozart or Metallica. Both the Sunfire TGA 7400 and Pass Labs X350.5 amplifiers did an excellent job of powering the LFT-VIIIa speakers to beyond-sane volume levels, with the Pass Labs X350.5 offering world-class amplifier refinement, midrange bloom and dynamic ability. 

I have never heard another pair of speakers that retail for $1699.00 that can reproduce sound with such detail, soundstage, coherence and bass response as the Eminent Technology LFT-VIIIa speakers can. I consider the LFT-VIIIa speakers in the same league as the Martin Logan Vantage speakers ($4,995.00 retail) and Magnepan 3.6 speakers ($4,500 retail). Each speaker has its set of advantages and drawbacks, but you should audition these speakers before you spend more-than $1,699.00 on a pair of speakers. 

Movie Sound

Next up, I decided to try out the LFT-VIIIa speakers on some movies. I started with “Minority Report” (DreamWorks Home Entertainment), which is an aggressively mixed soundtrack and probably Steven Spielberg’s best work since Saving Private Ryan. All channels were active for most of the movie, which created a 360-degree sound-field that completely drew me in. John Williams’ score was beautifully rendered with a huge, open soundstage. Yes, from every discrete effect to every subtle ambient sound, the LFT-VIIIa speakers performed admirably. I then watched “Gladiator” (DreamWorks Home Entertainment). The epic starring Russell Crowe sounded incredible through the LFT-VIIIa speakers. From the gentle pluck of guitar strings to the dramatic Battle of Carthage in Chapter 15, the LFT-VIIIa speakers had the ability to reproduce unrivaled detail and believable dynamics. I had the sense of being right there in the middle of the battlefield, with the sound of bows twanging and arrows whizzing by overhead. 

Double the Pleasure

Prior to writing this review, I read a review from a reviewer who had “stacked” two pairs of LFT-VIIIa speakers side-by-side with positive results. I consulted with Bruce Thigpin about this and he confirmed that other people had also stacked the LFT-VIIIa speakers with positive results. Bruce was then kind enough to send me a second pair for the experiment. My findings were that sound derived from stacking two pairs side-by-side horizontally with the tweeters facing inward, was an amazing experience. The soundstage became enormous, and dynamics increased substantially. It was a wall of sound on a grand scale and the sound had an effortless quality. An impressive upgrade to say the least. I was fortunate enough to have Bruce at my home for a listening session at the time, and he was also very impressed. We had a great time listening to music and sharing a drink. 

Drawbacks
So far, all I’ve done is rave about these speakers, but as with any gear, they are not perfect. Although they’re easy to assemble, it will still take 20 or 30 minutes to attach the panels to the woofer boxes. Eminent Technology recommends a 75 watt per-channel minimum for amplification to drive the LFT-VIIIa speakers to acceptable volume levels. I agree with the recommendation, but the 400 watt per-channel Sunfire TGA 7400 amplifier and especially the 350 watt per-channel Pass Labs X350.5 amplifier used for this review gave me stunning results. These speakers are ruthlessly revealing, so you’ll also have to be careful when choosing associated electronics. I recommend that you fork-out a few hundred (or thousand) dollars and choose an excellent power amp and AV preamp combination that will complement the LFT-VIIIa speakers. Finally, care should be taken when considering speaker placement to determine optimum performance. These speakers should not be shoved in a corner or up against a wall, or the quality of sound will be adversely affected.

Conclusion

Eminent Technology is certainly a technology driven company. The genius of Bruce Thigpen is evident in the astoundingly good Eminent Technology LFT-VIIIa speakers. The LFT-VIIIa is an excellent product and I found its unique appearance, quality fit and finish very appealing. Whether I listened to John Lee Hooker, the Dave Matthews Band or watched the latest epic, the huge, open soundstage and detailed, lifelike sound of the LFT-VIIIa speakers was intoxicating. The LFT-VIIIa speakers require some assembly, may be a difficult load for an amplifier and require careful setup, but, in my opinion, their strengths far outweigh their weaknesses. Once you’ve had the chance to audition them, they could be very difficult to live without and I challenge you to find a better sounding, $1,699.00 pair of speakers. For more information on these speakers please visit their website at:
http://www.eminent-tech.com