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May 21, 2009 - 11:45pm
#1
how important is your listening chair?
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I agree with you about the chair's importance.
I am an avid fan of what I call "chairodynamics."
There is a very old thread here somewhere about the topic.
I like to use those bean bag style chairs full of memory foam.
It should be obvious to most that avoiding a leather or non-porous material for their listening chair will have serious effects on their sound quality. I use a Morris Chair with cloth covering overstuffed foam inserts. A Morris Chair's back has a tilt function that goes from upright to fully back with the adjustment of pegs in the back of the arm extensions. The height of the back is just beneath my ears in the upright position.
If you're unfamiliar with the look of a Morris Chair, here are a few examples though these are all leather covered; http://www.modernbungalow.com/QuickPicks/morrisMenu.html
I will second the call for a big beanbag. It tends to keep your head and ears above the edge of the chair, and it leaves the beanbag in the middle of the room where it does a good job of dampling, it being in a velocity part of the room, rather than a pressure part of the room, at least for the horizontal bass modes.
How big is this bean bag? I've not seen one big enough to put your head at the proper height for most speakers.
It's called "Daddy Sized" and is from a now-dead Store, so I can't help much. It's full of memory foam, and weighs about 75lbs. About 6' in diameter and 3' high when squished right.
IMO chair reflection are very damaging. I grimace every time I see expensive high-back HT seats made out of leather because I know they sound terrible. A few years ago I made a DIY seat cover for my entire couch using very thick soft fabric, stuffed with two inches of batting. You can see my test setup here:
It worked so well I ended up making it into a product:
RealTraps Seat Cover
I link this not for promotional reasons (you can DIY the same thing easily), but because you can clearly see the improved frequency response when the reflecting seat is covered. The sound difference is amazing too.
--Ethan
ohh ethan, what are those horrible looking white things in your corner behind the seat?? (kidding)
I'm reasonably sure that in a lot of cases this question is never considered by 'most' audiophiles, at least from a sonic viewpoint. I would bet looks etc are usually important to them tho!
I've had it in the back of my mind for a while now, but it was only just recently that I actually measured the response with and without the chair there (bit of a pain, cause you gotta remove the chair without bumping the mic/stand at all to avoid other influences), but that was the eye opener.
I might try a few of the aftermarket carseats for comfort, a nice body hugging model. Designed to be sat in for long periods of time, and full support of the back etc but without any of the 'protruding' seat behind you.
All you have to do then is provide a suitable base, tho maybe having no arms might not be a good idea...and where do I put me beer??
it's not. i don't have one.
I too moved from a high back chair to a chair with a much shorter back some time ago. The high back chair was dramatically reducing the detail and making everything sound dry and lifeless. Probably the lower the back the better. Something about shoulder height is probably ideal.
Love Sac makes a six to eight foot diamter memory foam chair that is killer, and Overstock.com has their own version.
We have 13 total between here and there and I love them.
The five footers put me at tweeter axis when sitting back, or slightly above for La Scalas.
I have some old images I'll go dig up.
Hmm. That's quite the name they have, there.
Well, they were going to call them "Goo Listening Systems," but the basic name was taken!
I've mentioned this before, but in Hindu, in India, it is a very common slang word for 'shit'.
So, in India, we are 'Shit Systems'.
OK, now I am pissed. I have to find a new listening chair.
You bastards.
Trey
A much better solution than replacing the chair is to use the Fleshworthy Mark VII AudioHands. These are a pair of cupped palms made out of Sorbothane and designed to look like human hands. These are attached to the back of one's ears with nonmagnetized tape made from .99999% pure nylon fiber arranged in cross-hatched patterns so as to minimize interference with the listening room's power grid. AudioHands are manufactured in a variety of hues to match different racial and ethnic listeners' skin tones. They are on sale right now for only $42,000, not including the cost of custom fitting by an occupational therapist.
P.S. I am not a manufacturer or dealer.
Do I have to buy them in matched pairs? I am half Lithuanian.
Trey
I have 2 of the Aeron (one at the studio, one at the home library)
but I very, very much want THIS for my listening room... the ultimate. One day I will have it, just as soon as my ship comes in.
right now i have a LA-Z-Boy, and it is great, but I always fall asleep as soon as I sit down.
So, your La-Z-Boy is more involving than your stereo?
no, but my Narcolepsy is
These are also very nice chairs.
http://www.ekornes.com/us/stressless/stressless_recliners/
ive given up my listening chair in favor of a listening bed.
Chaise Lounge
http://www.bonluxat.com/a/pininfarina-slonghe-lounger.html
nice
http://www.bonluxat.com/a/roderick-vos-6971-gelderland-easy-chair.html
Ghengis Kahn and his brother Don
Couldn't keep on keepin' on
We'll climb that bridge after it's gone
After, we'll wade past it.
(Bob Zimmerman strikes again)