Cannondale put a cartridge bearing hub on their T800 in 2003. Not a bad hub, although I did have a bearing go bad before my 2005 ride. Not a big issue to change it however.
There are other cartridge bearing hubs out there but most of them are going to be priced about the same as the Phils. Look on Fleabay and you might be able to get a deal on the front one. A new front is around $90 which isn't that expensive for a good hub. Not Shimano cheap but it has features the Shimano lacks.
For good, inexpensive wheels, I'd use Shimano XT hubs, DT Alpine III and an
IRD Cadence VSR rims (rear) in 36 hole. The offset rim makes for stronger wheel with less dish. The Cadence rims are kind of hard to find but the offset drilling is worth the effort. I have Ritchey OCR on my touring bike with Alpines and they are bullet proof!
Save your pennies and go with something inexpensive now and dream of Phils in your future. It can happen...I building my second set of Phil wheels now
