A couple questions if you can't actually hear your top candidates to decide.
1) Have you ever seen anybody, anywhere, say "I like XXX better than the Phil3s for the same money"?
2) Considering #1 above, how long before angst and wonder if you should have gone w/ the Phil3s?
I recently had the same analysis paralysis as you. Budget was not a primary concern, and I could have gone significantly higher than the Phil3s. Not being able to audition my top choices, I went w/ the Phil3s. Here's why, and what I think I learned about speaker shopping.
> All highly rated and widely recommended speakers in this price range, (and up), are very good.
> As the price increases, speaker improvement is mostly in bass capability, cabinet artistry, and volume potential.
> Differences in these top tier speakers really come down to personal preference. (Do you prefer a cornet or a trumpet, a Martin or Taylor guitar, a Ferrari or a Lamborgini?) Until you experience, and become quite familiar with the choices, you cannot say which you prefer.
The second point above does provide some points about which you can make a choice. I have 2 good subwoofers, so the kind of bass that shakes the room during a movie explosion is covered. BUT I came to realize during my research that speaker design is far more complex than I realized. Accurate bass in an explosion is not such a big deal, but I would like it in music. I chose 2 good subs, followed all the advice on setting them up physically and with crossovers. But I have no doubt a good speaker designer will do a better job within his speaker on both hardware selection and crossover design. Back to research, and I have seen nobody, anywhere, give anything but high praise for Dennis Murphy.
Cabinet artistry is not a priority for me. We're just plain country folk. Our furniture is comfortable. And any speaker is subject to cat scratches.
I occasionally play music loud enough that a conversation is not easy, but not loud enough to make my ears bleed.
I will set my front L/R to "Small" and use the subwoofers for TV/Movies, but would like to set them to "Large" for music, and hear music that is as accurate as is reasonably possible.
I have never seen any claim, by anybody, anywhere, that XXX speaker has a design better than one by Dennis Murphy. Plus I found him to be a genuinely nice guy, honest and most helpful.
I knew if I got something less than the Phil3, like the Slims, I would always wonder how much better the Phil3 would sound.
For all these reasons, I went with the Phil3. I'm still a few weeks away from receiving them, so cannot tell you, "WOW!!!! What an amazing speaker!!!". But this was my thought process.
