ðɪ aɪdˈiə bᵻhˌaɪnd fˈɑːnɑːn stˈɑːɹɾᵻd æɾə kˈeɪdmi tˈuː θˈaʊzənd fˈoːɹ ɪn lˈʌdwɪɡsbˌɜːɡ nˌɪɹ stˈʌtɡɑːɹt dʒˈɜːməni, wˌɛɹ ɐ nˈuː mˌʌltɪmˈiːdiːə ˌeɪpˌiːˈaɪ hædtə biː tʃˈoʊzən tə ɹᵻplˈeɪs ɐ ˌɑːɹtˌiːˈɛs.
The idea behind Phonon started at aKademy 2004 in Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart (Germany), where a new multimedia API had to be chosen to replace aRts.