[John Casler]

I have for many years employed a LISTENING CHAMBER to produce a considerable level of sonic isolation.

This means a HUGE reduction in reflected sounds from side walls and ceiling.

This produces an INCREDIBLE clarity, transparency, imaging, and soundstage.  However it is rather obtrusive and not the best looking device.

I may have just found an alternative in this Chair and or Loveseat. 





LOOK HERE

And it is convertible to a conventional chair for HT use, where you want to have sounds from different planes.

Since I am a dealer, I am going to inquire about offering these to my clients after I try them and see if they fill the bill.

[fredgarvin]

It will be a matter of only weeks before someone develops the motorized model and cruises the aisles of Walmart.

[Letitroll98]

Hey John, how's your day?  I have some heavily upholstered antique barrel back chairs that wrap around somewhat like your example and thought they'd be great for taming early reflections.  It sounded Horrible.  All muddy and confused.  I went back to my minimalist recliner, no wings, light padding, and the tone and soundstage were back.  Ymmv.

[John Casler]

Yes, leather and vinyl are "quite" reflective of mids and highs.  So your chair actually "added" immediate reflections, and thus the lousy sound.  This, by itself will have the same (or worse) qualities.


For High Performance Listening I anticipate needing to drape the back and sides with a folded "moving blankets", (or some such) which should take 15 seconds to place, to damp that out.  With the chair version maybe even draped over the top.

This furniture is actually for isolation from distractions and privacy in a non-private setting, and not sound isolation.

I just see the potential, with a far less (girlfriend friendly) intrusive tent like I have now.

I will report, and post photos if I take the plunge.

[Wind Chaser]

I have for many years employed a LISTENING CHAMBER to produce a considerable level of sonic isolation.

This means a HUGE reduction in reflected sounds from side walls and ceiling.

This produces an INCREDIBLE clarity, transparency, imaging, and soundstage.  However it is rather obtrusive and not the best looking device.

I may have just found an alternative in this Chair and or Loveseat. 





LOOK HERE

No thanks, that looks too claustrophobic, not to mention ridiculous and aesthetically unappealing. Room treatments might cost more but I bet they would yield better results than sitting in some hideous solitary confinement isolation chamber.

[Wind Chaser]

Furthermore, the extruding side panels mean your speakers have to be real close together relative to the listening distance, which will produce a tiny narrow soundstage with crappy imaging. 

[Stimpy]

Hey John,

Beautiful furniture.  Very modern industrial design.  I hope they can work for your intended purpose?  You and your cocoons!  It always makes me think of this!   

[John Casler]

Yes,  I have used  LISTENING CHAMBERS of varying types and iterations for over 3 decades, and understand the psycho-acoustics quite well, but it is only valuable (when set up properly) with the goal of "eliminating" most reflections, and improving detail, transparency, imaging and soundstage. 

As I mentioned earlier this particular piece (more the love seat) allows for the "listening chamber" to be formed for High Performance 2 channel listening, with the panels in the UP position and properly damped, or for Home Theater, with the panels DOWN.

Unless one has employed or experienced this technology, it is quite difficult to understand how it works. and even mores so the purity of how it sounds.  A simple descriptive might be the purity of headphones, with a full and complete 3-D soundstage.  And the sound will be ONLY that of what is in the recording, and not that manufactured via room reflections.

I am hoping it a perfect solution to either "taking the room out" or "adding it or surround speakers in", depending on one's needs.

But without taking the dive, I cannot vouch for the full potential.  I am "this close" to ordering and if I do, I will report.

[ohenry]

For a more traditional look... 

[John Casler]

Hey John,

Beautiful furniture.  Very modern industrial design.  I hope they can work for your intended purpose?  You and your cocoons!  It always makes me think of this!   

Yes the old Cone of Silence, which strangely enough was not silent.

[srb]

Yes the old Cone of Silence, which strangely enough was not silent.

Also could never figure out why it was called the Cone of Silence.  Cylinder ... yes, dome ... yes, but no cone in sight.

[Early B.]

Buy it, John! This chair was made just for you. I'm interested in reading your review of it.

The problem is that since there's no peripheral view, someone can walk from behind and scare the bejesus out of you.

[John Casler]

This, is the look when the panels are lowered for normal use and Home Theater/Multi-Channel

[006.9]

Pick your chair carefully if you listen to a lot of 44.1/16.

[John Casler]

Yes, Since I am a Wayfair dealer (on a very small scale) I will likely order this next week.

I hope my projections are correct as to its potential.

If it works as expected, I will be able to DEMO, "normal" listening conditions as well as Extremely HIGH PERFORMANCE conditions.

It also allows me to combine my HT and 2 channel systems which have for many years had to be separate. 

I am going with the love seat, as it has a wider receiving vector, and I need the ability to screen films with my GF 

[John Casler]

Buy it, John! This chair was made just for you. I'm interested in reading your review of it.

The problem is that since there's no peripheral view, someone can walk from behind and scare the bejesus out of you.

On my way.  Will report.

In projects like this, the ears are VERY SENSITIVE to sounds close to them.

Just take your fingers and lightly rub them together an inch from your ears and you can hear your fingerprints going over each other.

So having vinyl or leather that close without the right amount of damping will sound like crap.  Even rather damp materials like various damping means when placed close to the ear reflect considerable sound.

So the challenge will be to find, layer, or combine damping materials that are easy to put in place and remove, that will make the SONICS and Acoustics, what I know is needed.

[JohnR]

John, this raisable back/sides is going to cause acoustic problems that you then have to fix. Woudn't it be more straightforward not to put that surface up in the first place?

[John Casler]

John, this raisable back/sides is going to cause acoustic problems that you then have to fix. Woudn't it be more straightforward not to put that surface up in the first place?

I already use a "CHAMBER" like this, that I constructed, and is not convertible like this "appears" to be.

Acoustic Problems are part of Audio, but the local solution I use now (of which I hope this will duplicate) are far better and cheaper than trying to solve the problems globally (on the walls and ceiling)

That said, I have my fingers crossed as to how easy and effectively I can mimic or approximate my current acoustic chamber with this one.  The current chamber is constructed of basically large stiff cardboard containers with significant layers of various density damping.

In essense, it is an acoustic black hole.  Not anechoic, but VERY WELL damped from most frequencies.

My primary concerns with THIS Loveseat, is if the walls and corners will cause some level of standing waves or bass reflections that the present cardboard does not.  So, please know that I am not touting this as anything close to a good idea, UNLESS the damping I plan to try is used.  Without that, this would sound Awful 

I just ordered this yesterday and HOPE it will allow for the sonic isolation I am looking for, so I can combine my 2 Channel and HT Systems and easily SWITCH from one to the other by simply raising the panels, and throwing on the extra damping.

We'll see.  Until it arrives and I "actually" experiment, I am just performing mind experiments, based on my past efforts.

And I am repainting and remodeling and my significant other would not be amenable to placing huge Acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling, which would not offer the same reduction in reflection anyhow.

In 2 channel listening I just don't want to hear the Room at all.  (Headphones with a Soundstage and Imaging)  For HT, I am far less critical since ALL the sound is post production and engineering.

In any event, if it doesn't work, or I encounter a problem not clearly foreseen, there is always Plan B, which I already have on the mental drawing board.

More to come.

[JohnR]

Plan B?



 

[John Casler]

UPDATE:

Well the LoveSeat has arrived and was finally able to unpack.

Preliminary, Quick and Dirty trial is that it will do the job intended.

The TOP DOWN use allows for the Live End/Dead End employment, and the TOP UP with easily placed Acoustic Damping works exactly as intended.

I am in the middle now of combining my 2 channel system and HT system in a remodel.

Will post pics when it is possible.  Right now I have large furniture cartons and components all over the place.

One downside/upside, is that the LoveSeat IS NOT plush and cushy comfortable.  This will likely keep me from falling asleep whilst listening, but may require some pillows for 2 hour films.