Well, I got my Philharmonic 3s and have been listening to them about a week now. The thread title sums up my impression. I'll admit the domain of my speaker experience is limited, but these are
clearly the best speakers I've ever heard! I now realize I've been wrong about so many things that I thought sounded good.
"Direct" mode sounded thin and weak unless the volume was very loud. Wrong.
I set my subs to "LFE + Main" so I still used the subs in Direct mode. Wrong.
The bass with the Phil3s is amazing, and needs no supplement for music. Bass is strong when it's supposed to be strong, and subdued when it's supposed to be subdued. But it always has clarity, punch, and crispness, (if you can use the word "crisp" with bass). I can hear, and even feel the attack of the bass drums and low notes, and the fade is equally distinct with no lingering artifacts. I don't know the correct usage of all the audio terms, but I think this can be explained as a lack of boominess.
Percussion is more lifelike than I knew was possible with speakers. I haven't heard drums like this since I was onstage beside them in high school. I can easily hear if the snare drum is struck in the middle or toward the side. They are crisp and clean, and really add a dimension to my music that I had been missing.
All strings are amazing... guitars, both accoustic and electric, violins, cellos, etc. Now I understand what people mean when they say some speakers can be fatiguing. With my old speakers, as good as I thought they were, I could only listen to violins at high volume in short doses. No more. Violins on the Phil3s are as clean, clear and unobjectionable as a live performance. I could listen for hours... in fact, I have.
Dennis gives you a couple different ways to "tune" the highs, w/ stuffing in the cabinet and some little foamy thingys that stick on front of the tweeters with magnets. I started with his recommended "half" stuffed cabinets, then played with less and more. Ended up sticking with half. The little foam thingys tend to soften the treble to varying degrees depending on whether you use 1 or 2, and where you place them. I ended up leaving them off. Perhaps it sounds better to me like that because of high freq hearing loss due to age and a lifetime of shooting.
Voices are clear and realistic, both in music and TV. Sometimes my wife and I have trouble understanding somebody on TV. Just for giggles, we listened to TV a couple days in Stereo. No center speaker. We never had trouble understanding anything. It may just be coincidence, but I suspect I'll soon be talking to Dennis about a Center to go with the Phil3s.
So my new preference for music is Direct mode, no subwoofers... and it is the best music I've ever heard. Admittedly, I've never heard the speakers currently being discussed in the, "What's the Best Speaker Ever Made?", thread. But I can tell you without reservation the Phil3s are the best speakers I have ever heard! I'm hearing things I have never heard before, even in old stuff like the Beatles. These speakers have rekindled the love I've always had for music, and a new-found admiration for some artists.
Thanks, Dennis. Well done!!! I now have Phil3s in the front, and 4x Aperion Grand Towers for side and rear surrounds, and an Aperion Grand Center. I still use the Rythmik and SVS subs for movies, but they become just furniture for music. Here's what the front looks like. For perspective, that's a 60" TV and the Rythmik FV15HP sub in the picture.
