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Philharmonic Audio - Dennis Murphy

3M views 27K replies 876 participants last post by  Overthinker 
#1 ·
I just wanted to post this in case anyone is looking for speakers they would have another option to look at.


Their prices range from $1,600 to $3,000 which seems to be a very nice price range especially considering who makes them.


James

http://philharmonicaudio.com/
 
#4,901 ·
Please wish Del good luck from me! My cherry Phil3 cabinets will cherish his memory, and are prepared to resonate those waves.

Question: do those Philharmonitors bear listening at close distance? I'm thinking of going quad, adding an amp and 2 speakers to the back of my listening chair, but there's not so much room there (about 1 meter from back of chair to wall).
 
#4,902 ·
Please wish Del good luck from me! My cherry Phil3 cabinets will cherish his memory, and are prepared to resonate those waves.

Question: do those Philharmonitors bear listening at close distance? I'm thinking of going quad, adding an amp and 2 speakers to the back of my listening chair, but there's not so much room there (about 1 meter from back of chair to wall).
I think they would work at one meter, but the larger issue is that the Philharmonitors won't be available for some time. They were being inventoried and shipped out of my business partner's father's business in Taiwan. Ken's father passed away suddenly and the business has been shut down, leaving logistics up in the air for the monitors. I'm not sure when we'll be able to ship them again.
 
#4,904 ·
Since Dennis mentioned my parting, I thought I'd just take a few minutes to thank everybody here for whom I've done cabinets. I never claimed to be the fastest guy given my circumstances, but I've always done my best to put out a good quality cabinet. I truly appreciate all the patience that has been extended to me. It's been a pleasure to work with Dennis and everyone here. I shall miss doing this, but who knows? Maybe I'll return to it later :wink:
 
#4,905 ·
Since Dennis mentioned my parting, I thought I'd just take a few minutes to thank everybody here for whom I've done cabinets. I never claimed to be the fastest guy given my circumstances, but I've always done my best to put out a good quality cabinet. I truly appreciate all the patience that has been extended to me. It's been a pleasure to work with Dennis and everyone here. I shall miss doing this, but who knows? Maybe I'll return to it later :wink:
And a big THANK YOU to Del for basically making Philharmonic Audio possible. I never would have started this operation without the Philharmonic 3, and I could never have offered the 3 at a reasonable price without Del's cabinets and all of the prototype versions he built while I was developing the design. It did mean quite a few harrowing trips down I-95 and across I-66, but some things are worth it. Best of luck on the big Island!
 
#4,906 · (Edited)
Philharmonitor Audition

Speaking of Philharmonitors, if someone is wanting to audition them in the Monterey Bay area (CA), PM me. Even with my modest setup and severe room limitations, they sound great.
Hey Mingus- I see that you PM'd me, but since I'm so challenged when it comes to social media, I didn't realize I needed to be logged in to receive a PM. Just saw yours today. If you're still interested in an audition, PM me your email address and I'll get back to you. Sorry for the delayed response.

Mingus - Don't mean to sound pushy, but did you get my emails? Just want to make sure we're connecting and that my emails are not being junked. If I could, I would've PM'd you, but it seems that I need 15 posts to use that privilege. -DyedBlue
 
#4,907 ·
Since Dennis mentioned my parting, I thought I'd just take a few minutes to thank everybody here for whom I've done cabinets. I never claimed to be the fastest guy given my circumstances, but I've always done my best to put out a good quality cabinet. I truly appreciate all the patience that has been extended to me. It's been a pleasure to work with Dennis and everyone here. I shall miss doing this, but who knows? Maybe I'll return to it later :wink:
Good luck to you!

Hawaii huh.......take me with you!!! :D
 
#4,908 ·
Please wish Del good luck from me! My cherry Phil3 cabinets will cherish his memory, and are prepared to resonate those waves.

Question: do those Philharmonitors bear listening at close distance? I'm thinking of going quad, adding an amp and 2 speakers to the back of my listening chair, but there's not so much room there (about 1 meter from back of chair to wall).
Hey keze. I'd like to add my two cents regarding close distance listening. I have a small room and I intially couldn't get farther than 9'feet from my Philharmonitors. But I noticed that if I could position myself 10 feet or farther, the soundstage opened up and realism increased. Not that these traits were lacking at 9 feet, but in my opinion I think these speakers probably excel in medium to large rooms. I only use a two channel system, so maybe my comment doesn't apply. - DyedBlue
 
#4,909 ·
so maybe my comment doesn't apply. - DyedBlue
I think it does, thanks for your input DyedBlue! I went looking into nearfield monitors, perhaps there's something for my situation there.

Talking about distance, when I sit right next to one of the Phil3's, the sound is even much more wonderful (hardly any soundstage of course, I mean just the quality of the audio that's coming out). But probably that's just a sign that I could improve the acoustics of this room.
 
#4,910 · (Edited)
Psychology and the Art of Hearing

I think it does, thanks for your input DyedBlue! I went looking into nearfield monitors, perhaps there's something for my situation there.

Talking about distance, when I sit right next to one of the Phil3's, the sound is even much more wonderful (hardly any soundstage of course, I mean just the quality of the audio that's coming out). But probably that's just a sign that I could improve the acoustics of this room.
This is probably a good a place as any to speak to how much influence anticipation/expectations may play into what we hear from our speakers/system. My 12+ year old NAD C370 integrated amp "seemed" to be humming louder than usual lately (or maybe I haven't been paying close attention). The humming wasn't coming from the speakers and could not be heard from my listening spot about 9 feet away. I touched the amp and it seemed warm, but not overly so, but i was starting to feel a bit concerned that maybe something internal was going afoul. So, today I decided to open it up for the first time. Not knowing what to look for, everything seemed OK, to my naive eyes - no leakage, charred marks, melted components, etc. It was a bit dusty but, surprisingly, not severely. I proceeded to give it the most thorough vacuuming I could without taking apart the boards or busting connections, then screwed it back together. Then, I turned it on and played a CD to make sure I didn't screw it up. Now, here's the strange thing. It seemed the amp wasn't humming as loudly, in fact I had to strain to hear it. i cued the CD to the last track I listened to the night before and it actually sounded more life-like, like there was more presence (Funny. I see the OPPO ad to the right - "it's like lifting a veil" Ha!). Of course, none of this makes sense and was likely the result of feeling pride and accomplishment at opening and vacuuming the amp - wow, I'm a real electrician, now. NOT! I kind of liken this experience to washing and waxing my truck, then driving it around and feeling like it runs smoother, with less drag. Hogwash! I guess my whole point is that we can tweak here and tweak there for that perfect sound, but sometimes, I think, what we hear is all about what's between the ears.

Update - My ears weren't deceiving me, after all. The hum was significantly reduced, but not because I vacuumed the amp's innards. After all these years, I just discovered that the humming is barely audible during the day but clearly audible during the night. Now, I once read somewhere that appliances used elsewhere in the house could cause humming. Well, the only main difference here at night is that the kitchen flourescent lights are used. After a simple test, I isolated the culprit... the lights! Hmm. I wonder how I could fix that? Now, could the reduction in transformer hum have anything to do with my perceived sound improvement? If so, I feel I could trust my senses, once again. Thoughts on this anyone?
 
#4,912 ·
I think we're way off topic DyedBlue, but the simplest thing I know to improve audio quality electricity-wise is to have a dedicated group and breaker for your audio.
Yeah, way off topic. Thanks for reeling me back in; I tend to go off on tangents, which doesn't work well with dedicated threads. And thanks for the suggestion for cleaning up the electricity. I don't know what a group and breaker are, but I'll look into it. Happy listening.
 
#4,913 ·
Havnt been here in a long while been really injoying my olive burl 3z there simply amazing. Just wanted to thank del and wish him the best it was a pleasure working with you. Dennis these 3z are simply amazing wish I could write but im not that person but just to say omg wow i got real lucky to fall into this forum and for the money get the best speakers money can buy under 10k wish I knew how take a photo and paste it. i just cant fig it out. Been thinkin about 5.1 but everytime im watching a movie im like why.they go deep enough and the stadge depth is fantastic do I really need to here a bullet fly behind my head lol. Maybe someday but for now I live by my music and its just plain amazing. Ty dennis. del it was a pleasure I get so many complements about the cabnets
even from my brother who owns orangutans that cost over 10k and for me there is no comparison the phil 3z crush them. Ty all again
 
#4,914 ·
Havnt been here in a long while been really injoying my olive burl 3z there simply amazing. Just wanted to thank del and wish him the best it was a pleasure working with you. Dennis these 3z are simply amazing wish I could write but im not that person but just to say omg wow i got real lucky to fall into this forum and for the money get the best speakers money can buy under 10k wish I knew how take a photo and paste it. i just cant fig it out. Been thinkin about 5.1 but everytime im watching a movie im like why.they go deep enough and the stadge depth is fantastic do I really need to here a bullet fly behind my head lol. Maybe someday but for now I live by my music and its just plain amazing. Ty dennis. del it was a pleasure I get so many complements about the cabnets
even from my brother who owns orangutans that cost over 10k and for me there is no comparison the phil 3z crush them. Ty all again
^ +1

You know, I don't think any of us can give ever-humble Dennis all the thanks he deserves for bringing us these wonderful speakers...or in fact, everything that he has contributed to our hobby. That the Phils haven't reached wider acclaim is the audio world's loss.

After over 50 years of owning fine audio gear, I have to say that I'm a REALLY proud owner of his speakers and wouldn't trade them for any speaker out there...except maybe more of his design.
 
#4,915 ·
sometimes i wish i would just completely forget that this thread exists...b/c every time i come back and peek around, i wanna buy something. i'm still rocking the original .75 cu ft philharmonitors with the dayton audio curved back gloss back cabinets and still enjoying the heck out of them, but those stinkin' slims towers look so sexy and prob sound sexier...may have to add them to the wish list...or drive down to sunnyvale and "borrow" them from our beta user! =)

del - i am so very envious of your relocation plans. i'm out on the islands as often as i can get out, yet it still doesn't seem enough. enjoy the sun and fun out there!

and lastly, dennis, thanks for your continued pursuit of excellence! you make our ears smile!
 
#4,916 ·
Havnt been here in a long while been really injoying my olive burl 3z there simply amazing. Just wanted to thank del and wish him the best it was a pleasure working with you. Dennis these 3z are simply amazing wish I could write but im not that person but just to say omg wow i got real lucky to fall into this forum and for the money get the best speakers money can buy under 10k wish I knew how take a photo and paste it. i just cant fig it out. Been thinkin about 5.1 but everytime im watching a movie im like why.they go deep enough and the stadge depth is fantastic do I really need to here a bullet fly behind my head lol. Maybe someday but for now I live by my music and its just plain amazing. Ty dennis. del it was a pleasure I get so many complements about the cabnets
even from my brother who owns orangutans that cost over 10k and for me there is no comparison the phil 3z crush them. Ty all again
Thanks so much for the post. Those olive burl cabinets were certainly the nicest Del ever did. I drove down to his house today to say goodbye and pick up a pair of Slims cabinets. He's going to be the executive director of the electric power company on one of the islands. He's a versatile guy.
 
#4,917 ·
sometimes i wish i would just completely forget that this thread exists...b/c every time i come back and peek around, i wanna buy something. i'm still rocking the original .75 cu ft philharmonitors with the dayton audio curved back gloss back cabinets and still enjoying the heck out of them, but those stinkin' slims towers look so sexy and prob sound sexier...may have to add them to the wish list...
I could have written that myself! (Though I would have left out that last "may".)
 
#4,918 ·
Let me correct what Dennis just posted so none of you get the wrong idea :eek: I've accepted the position of Executive Officer of the State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission which regulates the power company. The position serves at the pleasure of the Chairman whom I've known for many years and has full administrative responsibility for the agency. It'll be exciting for sure. I'm going to miss doing speaker cabinets. It's been great especially with customers like the ones I've had here. I'll keep lurking here.
 
#4,919 ·
^ +1

You know, I don't think any of us can give ever-humble Dennis all the thanks he deserves for bringing us these wonderful speakers...or in fact, everything that he has contributed to our hobby. That the Phils haven't reached wider acclaim is the audio world's loss.

After over 50 years of owning fine audio gear, I have to say that I'm a REALLY proud owner of his speakers and wouldn't trade them for any speaker out there...except maybe more of his design.
Mudslide - I couldn't agree with you more about Dennis and his speakers not seeming to get the recognition they deserve. My Philharmonitors (the most recent version) continue to amaze me. The sound is so balanced, open, natural and comfortable. And that bass! I keep coming back to that bass. I was listening to some Jesse Cook and Madeleine Peyroux yesterday and kept thinking "The laws of physics don't seem to apply here. How can those two-ways dig so deep and cleanly?" Well, at least I'm back on track with this thread. -DyedBlue
 
#4,920 ·
These are kind of tricky times for me. I lost my local cabinet maker (he's moving to Hawaii--something about the polar vortex--I didn't quite get it.) So right now I'm completely dependent on Jim Salk for custom cabinets and my own assembly skills(?) using Parts Express cabinets. My best guess is that the PE cabinet versions will be priced below the Ascend Sierra 2, and custom versions with Salk cabinets will come in at about the same price as the Ascends. I hope to have two of the PE versions available in a couple of weeks.
Hei Dennis,
Just curious if you're able to get the PE version out already. I know you've been swamped w/ the challenges you ran into recently, but thought I ask anyway :)
 
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