You guys are too funny! I would guess that high-backed leather chairs are to be avoided because leather has a sonic reflectivity in the higher frequency range that probably cuts off sharply and hence audibly. But a high-backed cloth and foam chair probably absorbs or passes most frequencies, so given that most speakers and recordings are designed to "shoot for the middle" in terms of brightness and room frequency response, your room and system would probably dictate your chair choice. I hate to say it, but once again, all you can do is listen! Anyone tried it? My first guess is that if your room is too live and maybe too small, then you might want a high-backed chair, but if your room is big and spacious then you want your head to be in open air to get the most out of the bass that's reflecting around.
Anyone disagree with my hypotheses? I hate to talk out of my rump like this, but I've never seen any white papers on this topic, and of course, my rump is very much involved in this matter
The chair that I'm sitting in right now is a cheap Ikea Poang lamenated wood-framed chair with a high back and foam 2" cushion. The wood is designed to flex so you kinda bounce to a quick rhythm in these things, and that's why I call them "Capuccino Rockers". The reason I mention it is that this chair's cushion is removeable, meaning that if I fold it down, I can compare with less absorbtion as there is just a taught cloth behind me. I also just tried listening with an extra pillow, and it seems to change the sound some more in the same direction. It's more like nearfield listening. My room is a tad live in the mid-highs due to some uncovered glass and way too live in a few regions of the bass, and on a brief little test using the soundtrack to All About My Mother (Todo Sombre Mi Madre), having the cushion or extra cushions up gives me more defined symbal textures without "brightening" the sound. That's all I can say so far. The position is very good for listening, and it's quite comfortable too, without putting you to sleep.
