I have owned a pair of these beauties since November of '97. I don't need to rehash or repeat the previous comments, let's just say:
1) They are an incredible value for the modest price - yeah, sure, I would love a pair of Apogees or Martin-Logans, but at $$$$? (and frankly I am not convinced that those other brands are worth the extra cost in comparison).

2) Cleanest mid-range I have ever heard - they are especially good with voices, but regardless of the type of music, the EFT-VIII's swoop and soar along with it.

3) Top end is a little rolled off, but at least they never screech at you - I also am considering swapping out the tweeters (probably with a pair of ribbons from Newform Research), but I can happily live with them without tweeter surgery.

4) Bass is a little flabby, but it goes deep enough and with enough power to really irritate my neighbors - Corey Greenberg himself pointed this out, and he also pointed out a great amp to use with these speakers (Aragon 4004 Mk. II, I recently bought one used, no more flab, 200+ watts really makes them sing).

5) They have a very small magnetic field, so they can be put fairly close to a TV or monitor - I had a long e-mail chat with Bruce Thigpen, the owner of Eminent-Tech and the speaker's designer, about this. He does not like to call the EFT-VIII's "shielded", but they practically are. Most of the magnetic flux leakage comes from the woofer, so if your TV is a few feet off of the floor, you won't have a problem with the magnetic field (actual milage may vary).

6) Yes, you do have to assemble them, and yes, the quality control is a little sloppy - but they are not that hard to assemble, and admit it, it is a lot more fun to have to do a little work then merely un-boxing and plugging them in (hobbies are much more engrossing when they are not purely passive, and the speakers probably sound a little better 'cause of the "sweat equity").

In short, I feel the LFT-VIII is a great starting point for a home stereo / theatre. These things are good enough that you probably will hear every extra dollar you spend on your cable, DAC, tuner, etc, and besides, if you buy them, you will probably have some extra cash left over for the better components. I have a feeling that bi-amping would be awesome (tubes for the top end, transistors for the bottom). Yes, there are better speakers, but probably not a better value for a planar speaker. I vote 5 stars in consideration of the price / performance ratio.

One of the most transparents speakers that I have ever heard. Timbres are very natural, you have the feeling that you are in front of the musicians. An expansive and deep soundstage. Bass is good, powerful and well integrated with the planar drivers. Looks very nice and sounds superior. What more can you expect for $1,500 ?

It amazes me that these speakers are not more widely known. For their very reasonable price (less than $2000/pair with the Sound Anchors stands), they offer truly excellent performance. My previous speakers have all been Magneplanars, and I thought that I was hooked for life by the "Maggie sound", but based on 4 months of listening to a wide variety of music (from William Boyce to Skinny Puppy), I far prefer the ET LFT-VIII's. They have the same spacious and "unboxy" sound as the Maggies, but have more air and sparkle, better dynamics, greater midrange clarity, more precise imaging, and tighter and more extended bass. I find the transition from the 8" cone bass driver to the mid and HF panels to be virtually seamless. Overall, the sound of the LFT-VIII's is transparent, clean, and accurate. On the right recordings (Phil Woods on Chesky springs immediately to mind), they can sound spookily real.
Assembly can be a little frustrating, since they are shipped as a semi-kit with the panels, stands, and bass modules in separate cartons, and the screw holes aren't lined up all that precisely. Also, the manual looks like something that would come with an oscilloscope rather than with a consumer audio product. But these minor quibbles aside, I would unreservedly recommend these speakers to anyone who has a large enough listening room and a sufficiently powerful amplifier (150 wpc works fine for me).

Just a quick response to Tom Cunningham's comments about the high-end roll-off of the ET-VIII's. I also became a bit dissatisfied with the extreme top end of the ET's, but found that biwiring with Kimber 8TC made a real difference. These speaker cables initially sounded a bit harsh or strident, but smoothed out after a week or so. Brushed cymbals and subtle sounds like the squeak of fingers on guitar strings are now reproduced much more realistically. Bass control is also markedly improved. I think that biwiring the ET's with Kimber 8TC makes this truly outstanding speaker sound even better.

unbelieveable . MADE THE INFINITY OVERATURES I ALMOST BOUGHT SOUND LIKE JENSEN CAR SPEAKER

This speaker is very nice the midrange and highs are perfect but the bass could be better. Great deal for the money

Clarity, Presence, Low coloration, Horns, Voices.

Sensitivity, placement, HF dispersion, woofer power handling.

Following up on my review of two years ago. I defy anyone to best these speakers for the money. These speakers have only been bested by huge expesive Genesis, and large full range electrostatic panels. Many of the speakers I've hear cost muuuuch more, and I prefer the LFT-8. If you own these speakers take your favorite music and go listen to those fancy, highly touted, B&W designs. Bring along some Pepto, because you'll be sick after you hear what those speakers do to your music. Some pointers for owners: If you can bring the speakers far away from a rear wall, you will get big gains; also my issues with the high end roll off were resolved by some significant toe-in. Now it's smooth sailing. I would like to hear how they compair to Quad electrostatics if anyone has had the chance. (Still much less expensive.)

Similar Products Used:

Have heard near top of the line of Genesis, Accustat, B&W Nautalis, Joseph Audio, Martin Logan.

I have to second the reviews I've read here. I've owned the LFT-VIIIs for almost 6 years now. I'm continually surprised by how good they sound. I would stress that these speakers definitely benefit from good electronics. I recently upgraded from an all Adcom system to an Audio Research Tube Pre-Amp, AR Solid State Amp and a Wadia CD. The difference was immediately audible. Tighter bass, greater definition and a much broader sound field. I have spent the last year looking to upgrade my speakers, but have come to the conclusion that I'd have to spend nearly 4x the price to really "out do" the LFT-VIIIs. I think I'll save my money and just buy the upgrade kit.
P.S. I've moved these things from San Diego to San Francisco and back three times and they are a pain to assemble, but well worth the effort.

These are wonderful. Very sweet, while being very fast and detailed at the same time. The better your electronics, the better these sound. Overall I am very glad to have them. A little soft on top, but very musical. Also, one of the best bargans out there. Amazing bass from an 8" driver. I have the new version, and the bass is nice and fast and tight. Seems to go very deep. 5 stars!

Clarity and timbre of mids and highs.

Quite inefficient requiring lots of clean power

I have enjoyed clearer mid-range and treble since 1977 when I purchased my first Heil Air Motion speaker system from ESS. As I matured I came to realize that the ESS , while great, were a bit sluggish in the low mid-range and bass regions (compared to their quick upper mids and highs). I went on a quest for a speaker that would be closer to the great clarity I had become accoustom to while being articulate and fast in the lower regions.

Electrostatic speakers were what I thought I wanted until I came upon the Eminent Technology VFT-8 speakers. The more I read about these speakers the more I became convinced these must be one of the audio world's best kept secrets. I mean everything I found out about them just made me more convinced I had to hear these speakers! For instance, the company that makes them is pretty much a "mom & pop" type operation that outgrew the garage (so they built a bigger garage)and is making small quantities by hand. And the owner is on the premises, working no less, almost every day unless he is doing trade shows or demos. Also, you can talk to the owner,Bruce Thigpen, who is also the chief designer, by e-mail or phone without an "act-of-congress".
If all of this sounds great it's just a warm up for what the speaker does and the price it does it at!

With enough power, such as 200 or more watts per side, this speaker will amaze you. You'll find out for certain which of your recordings are really great and which are less than listenable. I am having less room effects too than with my previous speker. You may or may not hear parts in music you have never heard before, but one thing is certain: you'll hear your music collection more profoundly than you have ever thought possible-as if someone opened a glazed window to reveal all of the detail in each track. The icing on the cake is the great integrated bass. The lows never get in the way of the 5-star mid-range and treble. Yes the 8" woofer is in all honesty about as amazing as the planar mids and tweeters. This woofer does not deal in the fairly common "mid-bass rise" illusion of bass, which imho just muddies the sound. If you think it sounds lean, well, just keep listening because you will soon be amazed with how low and authoritative it can sound when the recording actually has true low bass.

Is their a downside? Kinda...you see this speaker is a bonafide bargain and rates an unqualified recomendation with one exception. That exception is you need to have big clean amplification and that ups the price of a system, maybe to the point of making the speaker less of a steal if you would not normally have this kind of power. Oh well, I say invest in power amps and Eminent Technology because audio bliss is priceless.

Similar Products Used:

ESS AMT 1B and 1D speakers.