I want new bookshelves, but I don't need them. UGH!

[MalVeauX]

Decisions are never easy ... but I would keep those speakers and the Canton Chrono SL-526.2 on a short list

Indeed, especially without being able to audition them.

These have the very detailed ceramic tweeter, which I've heard and it's the best I've heard + Bass is great. Look up canton and Kew for his review. You won't be disappointed Hopefully you live in the US to get them at this great steal price.

I've seen some high praise for these; I'm in Florida and have shopped A4L a bit for receivers and have had good results from them refurb, the price is great. Just don't know if they would be the right fit without listening. I need a rich friend who has them all to go hand out and audition, hah.

Very best,

 

[afterlife2]

Indeed, especially without being able to audition them.



I've seen some high praise for these; I'm in Florida and have shopped A4L a bit for receivers and have had good results from them refurb, the price is great. Just don't know if they would be the right fit without listening. I need a rich friend who has them all to go hand out and audition, hah.

Very best,

I'm in broward Florida and they are in my wish list too. You can return them at shipping cost and doubt you will. Maybe $30-40 to send back.

 

[MalVeauX]

Anyone know of or have experienced comparing:

Philharmonic AA+ vs Chane A1.5

They come in at same cost; so I'm curious which one is the overall better speaker.

I'm leaning towards Philharmonic AA+, the DIY aspect is attractive, but I love the look of the tweeter on the Chane.

Very best,

 

[Pogre]

Oh, I feel your pain. I want but don't need right now too, lol.

 

[ryanosaur]

Just from a qualitative perspective, regardless of the appearance, the Morel tweeter in the AA+ is a very good little machine and considered a premium Tweeter.

 

[MalVeauX]

Just from a qualitative perspective, regardless of the appearance, the Morel tweeter in the AA+ is a very good little machine and considered a premium Tweeter.

Thanks; I hadn't gotten quite into looking into the individual components to be able to figure things out. I think ultimately I like the idea of the AA+ a bit more. Plus it looks super easy to build and I like the idea of a little DIY and I can paint them up however or leave them as-is.

Very best,

 

[panteragstk]

I don't think you have a wrong decision in front of you. However, we're all waiting to see what you do. It's suspenseful for us too.

 

[MalVeauX]

I've emailed philharmonic to see if some AA+'s can ship to Florida.

I narrowed it down to, in order of preference just based off information and pricing. I really like the idea of the Philharmonics at the end of the day. Just reading Dennis's own posts across two forums and his background, there's just a lot more story behind these speakers and love that they're essentially custom on a budget. Read more about the transition from AA to AA+ and what was going on up to this point in Dennis's life and the approach to the design and purpose. Hard to argue with this story and background. I look forward to auditioning whatever I end up with, and would like to try some measurements in my field and in my listening room and compare things. I'm interested in the Chane's strictly because I had never heard of them and they're not a big box store so it's high on the list for price/curiosity. Finally, barring all that, I'm certain there's no way to go wrong with the 526.2's and they're still within budget. Watch me end up with all three... or at least, two.

1) AA+
2) A1.5
3) Canton SL-526.2

Very best,

 

[MalVeauX]

And just like that, 50 minutes after I emailed Philharmonic, I got a reply from Dennis Murphy and my invoice is being generated and will ship Wednesday. So far, wow for service response and communication. Shipping is flat $20 by the way.



Very best,

 

[zieglj01]

And just like that, 50 minutes after I emailed Philharmonic, I got a reply from Dennis Murphy and my invoice is being generated and will ship Wednesday. So far, wow for service response and communication. Shipping is flat $20 by the way.

enjoy the audio adventure

 

[ryanosaur]

Dennis is truly an outstanding human. He got his "start" in audio as a DIYer. (I think, by profession he was an economist, and is also a trained musician (viola (and may still be sitting with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra)).

Enjoy!

Oh, and when you are ready to order your BMRs, let him know! They really are that good!!!

 

[MalVeauX]

Dennis is truly an outstanding human. He got his "start" in audio as a DIYer. (I think, by profession he was an economist, and is also a trained musician (viola (and may still be sitting with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra)).

Enjoy!

Oh, and when you are ready to order your BMRs, let him know! They really are that good!!!

I love the idea of the BMR's, but that budget isn't happening for me any time soon. Maybe when I'm retired and the kids are out of the house.

At the end of the day I'm not a golden ears type. I mean, I've lived with my current speakers for 10 years and have zero regrets. And 40+ pairs of headphones, I eventually culled them out and kept my top three based on sound, not based on name brand or anything and what just fit like a glove for preference. Granted, this is much easier to do than with speakers since it's extremely prohibitive to purchase speakers, sell speakers, etc, just to audition them and keep a while since shipping is an extraordinary cost. So maybe I'll put another 10 years on these speakers and then go from entry to mid-tier. I don't think I'll ever go beyond $1k per pair at the end of the day for bookshelves as I favor towers with no sub for music usually. And long term, if I can, I'd love to get a pair of Salk towers in their own listening room. But that's no time soon.

Very best,

 

[Swerd]

And just like that, 50 minutes after I emailed Philharmonic, I got a reply from Dennis Murphy and my invoice is being generated and will ship Wednesday. So far, wow for service response and communication. Shipping is flat $20 by the way.

Congratulations on buying the AA kit. From reading what you like in speakers, I'm pretty sure you will be happy with these speakers.

At the end of the day I'm not a golden ears type. I mean, I've lived with my current speakers for 10 years and have zero regrets. And 40+ pairs of headphones, I eventually culled them out and kept my top three based on sound, not based on name brand or anything and what just fit like a glove for preference. Granted, this is much easier to do than with speakers since it's extremely prohibitive to purchase speakers, sell speakers, etc, just to audition them and keep a while since shipping is an extraordinary cost. So maybe I'll put another 10 years on these speakers and then go from entry to mid-tier. I don't think I'll ever go beyond $1k per pair at the end of the day for bookshelves as I favor towers with no sub for music usually. And long term, if I can, I'd love to get a pair of Salk towers in their own listening room. But that's no time soon.

Nothing can be more expensive than chronic Audio Nirvana Nervosa. If you get better speakers at the start, you could avoid the high cost of "purchasing speakers, sell speakers, etc, just to audition them and keep a while". In the long run, you'll be much happier, and spend less money,

All of Dennis Murphy's designs – both Philharmonic Audio and Salk – share a consistent sound quality across the mid-range. They are clear, coherent, and revealing. Nothing is lost, distorted, or exaggerated. And they excel at creating realistic sounding audio images. This is true regardless of cost, which is why I think you'll like the AA+ kit. I think you will be also satisfied by the bass produced by the AA+ speakers. It produces honest bass as low as 48 Hz.

What you do get for extra money is better performance at the high and low frequencies, as well as less distortion. While premium tweeters such as ribbons, are not cheap, honest high-quality sounding bass raises the price by quite a lot. In contrast to the good bass performance of the AA+, the BMR speaker produces honest bass as low as 36 Hz, something rarely seen in bookshelf or stand-mount speakers. If you're interested in listening to music without sub-woofers, these speakers can easily do that. They are not floor standing speakers, but they are large for bookshelf speakers.

However, what the BMR's really excel at is their extremely wide sound dispersion across the mid-range. This feature is important at creating the illusion of musicians who climb out from inside the speaker cabinets and sit in the room as you listen. If you've collected so many headphones, I think you might be aware of that illusion. I know of many much more expensive speakers that cannot achieve this. All of Dennis's designs are known for this sound quality. Some of his speakers do it better than others, but all of them can create that illusion. That's why I was glad to see that you're getting the AA+ speakers.

 

[MalVeauX]

However, what the BMR's really excel at is their extremely wide sound dispersion across the mid-range. This feature is important at creating the illusion of musicians who climb out from inside the speaker cabinets and sit in the room as you listen. I know of many much more expensive speakers that cannot achieve this. All of Dennis's designs are known for this sound quality, and that's why I was glad to see that you're getting the AA+ speakers.

Thanks, sounds great, again it's a more comfortable thing knowing the human side of the designer compared to a big box speaker brand and distribution store, etc. I look forward to auditioning these!

Very best,

 

[MalVeauX]

Hey all,

Anyone know if I need to get adhesive spray or anything for building the Philharmonic AA+ ? The picture on Philharmonic website shows a little different innards than the kit videos on Parts Express. I've not built a speaker, so I'm mainly looking pre-learn where to place the crossover and how to install the dampening foam and what all I would need in addition to a basic screw driver.

Also any tips on cable management and/or placement to avoid them rattling, etc, would be great.

I plan to photo-document the build since I cannot seem to find one out there. Since I've never built a speaker or know anything about assembly, I'll be a good example of "can this truly be done by just anyone?"

Very best,

 

[ryanosaur]

The main difference between what you will be doing and what I did is in the XO Boards. They should fit on the inside bottom of the cabinet.
Hot glue and some coarse-thread wood screws seems a pretty common way to keep it in place.
You can use my photos for reference on the stuffing (photo HERE)... just fold it into a "U" and put it in, leaving a few inches for the woofer to fit. I tried to get the upper corners to fit up into the spaces of the cross brace. Also, don't over-compress the stuffing.
Most likely you don't need to worry about the internal wires, but you can always use a little hot glue on those if you really feel compelled to tack them down... Usually you give yourself just enough wire to be able to connect/disconnect them easily with the drivers just outside the cabinet. I'm guessing Dennis will send wires already cut to length and likely attached to the XO.

 

[Swerd]

Anyone know if I need to get adhesive spray or anything for building the Philharmonic AA+ ? The picture on Philharmonic website shows a little different innards than the kit videos on Parts Express. I've not built a speaker, so I'm mainly looking pre-learn where to place the crossover and how to install the dampening foam and what all I would need in addition to a basic screw driver.

Also any tips on cable management and/or placement to avoid them rattling, etc, would be great.

I plan to photo-document the build since I cannot seem to find one out there. Since I've never built a speaker or know anything about assembly, I'll be a good example of "can this truly be done by just anyone?"

I know you're getting worked up over getting this right. While you're waiting for them to arrive, it's only natural. Don't overthink this.

Looking at the photo here, it looks like there are 3 pairs of wires attached to the crossover board. One pair goes to the terminals on the back of the cabinet, another pair goes to the tweeter, and the 3rd pair goes to the woofer. They're color coded and seem to be long enough to reach their destinations, without being so long they dangle loosely. I doubt if you need to glue them down. If you do want to attach them somewhere, I'd use hot melt glue. I wouldn't want to use spray adhesive inside that cabinet. It's hard to control where it goes.

The crossover boards looks like they have 4 holes, one in each corner. Use short coarse thread screws to attach them to the inside floor of the cabinet before you install the stuffing.

The wires have terminals on them, called quick disconnects (QD). The wires have female QDs and the backs of the woofer, tweeter, and cabinet terminals have male QDs. They should attach without too much fiddling around, but don't expect them to snap together like Legos. Knowing Dennis Murphy, he dislikes those cheap QDs that don't fit well. I suspect he asked the Bennic people in Taiwan to use better quality QDs. There are usually 3 different QD widths, small (0.11"), medium (0.19"), and large 0.25").

Female QD:

Male QD:

Sometimes you'll see 2 different size male QDs on the backs of woofers and tweeters. They distinguish the larger plus terminal from the smaller minus terminal. Or, you may see the plus QD terminal marked with a dab of red paint. See the photo of the woofer in that kit, showing the two male QDs. The QD on the right, the plus terminal, is marked with a red dot.

Here's the tweeter. The plus terminal has a red + sticker. Note that the tweeter has a closed back, so sound from the woofer can't interfere with it.

Installing the stuffing should be easy enough. Use it to line the side & rear walls of the cabinet, but keep it from interfering with the back of the woofer. It's OK if some of it covers the crossover board.

Finally, attach the screws - CAREFULLY. They're probably Phillips head screws. It's easy for the screw driver to slip out of the screw head while you're driving the screw in. Use two hands! One on the handle, and the other on the shaft near where it connects to the screw head. Don't let that screw driver slip out and puncture the woofer cone! (Don't ask how I know so much about this.)

 

[ryanosaur]

I know you're getting worked up over getting this right. While you're waiting for them to arrive, it's only natural. Don't overthink this.

Looking at the photo here, it looks like there are 3 pairs of wires attached to the crossover board. One pair goes to the terminals on the back of the cabinet, another pair goes to the tweeter, and the 3rd pair goes to the woofer. They're color coded and seem to be long enough to reach their destinations, without being so long they dangle loosely. I doubt if you need to glue them down. If you do want to attach them somewhere, I'd use hot melt glue. I wouldn't want to use spray adhesive inside that cabinet. It's hard to control where it goes.

Those wires have terminals on them, called quick disconnects (QD). The wires have female QDs and the backs of the woofer, tweeter, and cabinet terminals have male QDs. They should attach without too much fiddling around, but don't expect them to snap together like Legos. Knowing Dennis Murphy, he dislikes those cheap QDs that don't fit well. I suspect he asked the Bennic people in Taiwan to use better quality QDs. There are usually 3 different QD widths, small, medium, and large. The large QDs are 0.25" wide, mediums are 0.1875", and smalls are 0.11".
Female QD:
View attachment 45886
Male QD:
View attachment 45887

Sometimes you'll see 2 different size male QDs on the backs of woofers and tweeters. They distinguish the plus terminal from the minus terminal. Or, you may see the positive QD terminal marked with a red dab of paint. See the photo of the woofer in that kit, showing the two male QDs. The QD on the right, the plus terminal, is marked with a red dot.
View attachment 45888

Here's the tweeter. The plus terminal has a red + sticker. Note that the tweeter has a closed back, so sound from the woofer can't interfere with it.
View attachment 45889

Installing the stuffing should be easy enough. Use it to line the side & rear walls of the cabinet, but keep it from interfering with the back of the woofer.

Finally, attach the screws - CAREFULLY. They're probably Phillips head screws. It's easy for the screw driver to slip out of the screw head while you're driving the screw in. Use two hands! One on the handle, and the other on the shaft near where it connects to the screw head. Don't let that screw driver slip out and puncture the woofer cone! (Don't ask how I know so much about this.)

Ya! What he said!

The way I installed the EcoCore (one name for recycled Denim insulation) is the way I found it in the older version of the AAs when I first opened them up to strip the parts out prior to modding, just as Dennis installed it.
If that cabinet wasn't such a PITA to work with, lining the cabinet would be great, but there really is not much room in there.
If the DIY bug gets you, I would go all in on recommending lining the cabinet as you build.

I had several different sizes of the female quick disconnects on hand and had to tweak them slightly to get a good tight fit. If you find yourself needing to do this, just gently give them a squeeze with some pliers (needle-nose) starting with the sides to get it snug that way, and then top and bottom to make it hold tight.
Hopefully @Swerd is correct that they may be the right size QD and you won't have to fiddle at all. If you do, don't fret: just make small adjustments until you are happy.

 

[MalVeauX]

Thanks all, good stuff!

Just trying to be prepared so I don't do something irreversible or make a fire hazard with them. I can't imagine the dampening material sitting on the electronics of the crossover is a good thing, so just trying to avoid any major catastrophes. It seems like, from what I was reading/watching, lining each major surface with the dampening material is ideal, without covering the port or the woofer, but it wasn't clear if it went over the cross over or if that was left open to the box, etc. Also, it wasn't clear if the material also went up in the top of the box behind the tweeter (since its a closed volume in the tweeter).

I have hot glue and a screw driver. Should be ok then. Mainly just don't want to glue down some dampening material and it's not in the right place or positioned right. I don't mind having to re-do it a few times to get it just right. But would prefer not to make a mess of it the first go. I do want to learn a bit from this, so that I have a better appreciation for the process because I'm trying to also talk myself into building two Mini-Marty's in the future.

Very best,

 

[ryanosaur]

I'd love to see what instructions you receive.
And I suspect Dennis won't send much more material than I received in mine... it won't be enough to line the cabinets.

As to fire hazard? I'm not a Marshal, but in the speakers I've seen into, the stuffing is all over the XOs, both Dennis' and others.
Ideally, yes, you would likely do things to keep them separate.
@Swerd , thoughts?