[Musky_Don]

Remember the scene from Pretty woman w/Julia Roberts?  A wonderful place to relax - and therapy at the same time.

[jqp]

8thnerve -

Chair number 1 is cool and very interesting - it is hard except for the "slightly pliant seat ". Made for the outdoors! But it might be a good match for the IRD MB-100s (get it MB1 - MB100s)

Chair 2 is really cool. Funny thing is they tell you its made of cheaper materials than the original and then they ask $3500 for "Its thick, upholstered one-piece foam rubber cushion snaps over a molded plastic shell, that has been updated from the original sheet-steel shell". We need someone like nOrh to do this chair for much less  

[DSK]

This is the chair I have always wanted for listening, but at that price it will be a while: http://www.highbrowfurniture.com/seating/products/5569/
Good luck!

Gasp, splutter!!! $3599 for a piece of foam rubber and a thin metal frame ??? Is this a cable manufacturer that has branched out?

I'm no expert but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth FWIW...please filter and/or ignore accordingly. BTW, this applies to 2-channel only.

Someone mentioned that a high back chair was like listening against the back wall and that this was bad. Yes and no. Bass is at its strongest at room boundaries so the two will differ in this respect. They will be the same in terms of a lack of delayed reflection (ambience) from behind though. However, the delay period of reflections off the back of the chair (or back wall if sitting against it) is so tiny (compared to direct sound) that it falls within the critical time window and is perceived as part of the direct sound ....no smearing. You can even drape a rug over the top of the chair to absorb some of the higher frequencies reflecting to your ears. A high back chair can also block nasty reflections from the rear wall in cases where you cannot acoustically treat the back wall (eg. WAF issues). Those of you who have treated the back wall (absorption and/or diffusion) will know that it makes a substantial improvement ....the lack of strong reflections promotes a quieter, more relaxed room and imaging, soundstaging, dynamics and palpability usually improve significantly. And, unless the chair back is so soft that your head sinks into it, you are likely to receive reflections from the side walls at positions a little behind the listener anyway. So, unless your rear wall is properly treated, high back chairs can be a good thing.

Unfortunately (for comfort), my listening is currently done from a (low back) leather couch (WAF issues, formal lounge). I find that I very quickly get a stiff neck and occasionally a headache as a result. Instead, I tend to slide down so that my head rests against the back of the couch and is supported, my ears are just below the top of the couch. In a well setup room I find no significant loss of ambience or involvement. I believe this is because the real ambience of the original performance is largely captured on the recording and delivered to the listener directly from the speakers. Our listening rooms should largely be passive and not impose their own signature onto the original. It is amazing just how much of the recording is lost (masked) by reflections in untreated listening rooms. Aside from issues with tonality, timbre, thinness etc, it tends to reduce the palpability and emotion of the performance. I didn't think I had problems here until I experimented further with room treatments. IME the viewpoint that listening in a high back chair is like listening with ear muffs is simply not true. My speakers are ribbon hybrids (upward firing woofer, 4' long ribbon) so I have no problems with ear-tweeter vertical alignment when altering my ear height. However, owners of some point source speakers may have issues.

I also attended a demonstration several years ago (in a well damped room) where a special processor was used to derive "ambience" from the 2-channel recording for a pair of "ambience" speakers. These speakers were placed at the left and right of the listener, slightly in front of the listener, and driven at a very low volume level ....you would have absolutely sworn they weren't even in use until they were switched off. This was the most convincing performance, in terms of surround ambience, that I have heard and it didn't use speakers behind the listener or reflections/diffusion from behind the listener to achieve it.

FWIW, Audio Physic highly recommends a speaker/listener setup with the listener positioned against the back wall. This is (partly) to eliminate the reflections/delays/smearing issues normally caused from the back wall.

Everyone has different rooms, equipment, ears and taste. The best bet is to try it for yourself. If you currently have a low back couch/chair, try sliding down until your ears are below the top. If you currently have a high back chair/couch, try moving it to the side and try a low back chair from the kitchen ...or simply place it in front of the high back chair to test. Too often we get bogged down, reading every scrap of info on the Internet and trying to decipher who is right and who is wrong, when often a simple no-cost test in our own rooms can be a good indicator of what is best for our ears in our room. It doesn't matter if our individual preference is opposite to general conscensus, if it is what gives us the greatest pleasure then it is right for us. Trust your own ears!

[8thnerve]

Maybe we should make an Eighth Nerve listening chair, eh?  Designed for the best possible listening experience...

[Marbles]

You might want to make it like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2959990802&category=11853#ebayphotohosting



but instead of an ashtray, make it a drink holder  

a more family friendly base would help too.

[Marbles]

and for the whorehouse audiophile

[beat]

If there is no budget constraint...
http://www.poltronafrau.it/residential/classic1/classi1i.htm
anything from classic poltrona frau would rock comfort wise. Serious chairs. There is alot of work in the padding, frame, and leather that warrants the kind of money you pay for these babies. I visited the people who did some of the upholstery..awesome. layers and layers of horsehair, down, different fibers, pirelli webbing. If you ever see a place that has em, try em.

[jqp]

This poltronafrau looks good. Do you know the price range for something like this?

[bluesky]

Further to the issue of people with back problems and to the Eigth Nerve observation that you don't want a high back on the chair to block the sound.  

There is one type of chair that has been mentioned to me on a few occasions by orthopods and occupational therapists, is a chair called a saddle chair.  And yes, it is just like a saddle on a horse.  Testing has shown that this type of seating is best for posture and comfort.  It would certainly also meet the need for best sound.

But............ I can't help but think of that "Rawhide" song every time I see one.  You know, one of those catchy tunes that keep going around in your head, even if you don't really like it.  The best version I ever heard was one done by Billy Connelly, the broad Scottish accent singing a cowboy tune still cracks me up whenever I hear it.

Lastly, I really feel for all the Californian people with their bushfires, something we in Australia know only too well.

Cheers, Bluesky
Brisbane, Australia

[jqp]

Do you have a link or picture of this saddle chair?

[JLM]

A couple of thoughts:

Obviously overpricing wasn't invented by audio equipment companys.

Audio is already a lonely hobby, how about a love seat or small couch (big enough for one extra, not the whole tribe).

You can't buy comfort over the internet (at least in chairs).  You gotta try them out.  I recall shopping for chairs years ago.  Two identical chairs, one comfortable, one not. (?)

For proper chairs for backpain sufferers I'd research via physical therapists (especially if they're attractive).  Typical orthopedic surgeons know surgery, but are not specialists when it comes to how to cope after the surgery.  

Usually short term and long term comfort are two different things.  

I guess is the taller (more upright) you can sit in comfort the better.

[Hantra]

You can't buy comfort over the internet (at least in chairs). You gotta try them out.

I agree with that one!  Some of the most comfortable looking pieces absolutely SUCK when you sit down.  Also, unlike audio, I could never buy a USED chair.  I don't know who's been assed-out in that chair, and I'd just rather not take the risk. .  

[lcrim]

On the opposite side of the coin, I tend to end up on a Shaker arm chair at the PC desk in my listening room and while it doesn't appear to be comfortable, it beats the Aeron, I have in my office.  I built the thing from a kit I found @ http://www.shakerworkshops.com

I have no connection  and gain nothing from this rec but those Shakers stumbled onto the proper geometry for comfortable furniture and I like my chair a lot.  The kit is relatively cheap but may not be for all tastes and bodies.

[jqp]

lcrim -

I have a captains chair (the heavy wood ones with college logos) which is super comfortable, at least for medium term sitting.

I would love to see this shaker arm chair for your PC. the high back leather chairs form Office Depot and Best Buy wear out in a year for me - the chair rocks on the central post.
Do you have a link to your chair?

[lcrim]

http://www.shakerworkshops.com/f263f253.htm#f263f253.jpg

You can choose whatever color tape appeals to you.

[jqp]

thanks - looks a little spindly for me - I can really abuse a computer chair. I would want to put it on wheels. The webbing looks like a really nice feature.

[nathanm]

Huh!? I'd have to respectfully disagree with lcrim here.  The Aeron is by far the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in.  I had an old kitchen chair from my aunt that looked very much like that Shaker dining chair and it was like a torture device I kid you not!  Twenty minutes in that thing meant about 2 days of back pain.  The Aeron is like an indy car for sitting.  It is a finely tuned machine!  Not even in the same league IMO, but to each his own.  

I always thought a dentist chair would be ideal too, but probably quite expensive.  But sitting in dentist chairs might bring up memories of listening to bad Muzak whilst your teeth are being drilled (can't decide which is more annoying), so maybe that's not a good idea!

[beat]

regarding the poltrona frau, I havent seen a price tag for a while and I cant remember what they went for. It is definitely worth an hour of internet searching. You are in the east coast, and I am pretty sure there is a source in DC. Your butt (and back) will thank you and I'm sure your ears won't object.

[beat]

If you are really interested you can contact:  sales@limn.com Or check out limn.com

[smargo]

If you are really interested you can contact:  sales@limn.com Or check out limn.com

Hantra:

Enough with chairs already - stop standing up and go buy something, your legs must be getting tired.

smargo