Looking For The Perfect Listening Chair

sbo6

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May 18, 2014
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Tony, here are two photos of my new sofa. I don't remember the brand name. The important thing for me was the one piece seat cushion and the overall length of about 71". It's a small room, so this works well.

View attachment 78671

View attachment 78670
Nice Peter, beautiful. That center spot behind the couch is begging for an artful absorber. :)
 

Ron Resnick

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Very nice, sbo6! Congratulations!

The chair looks a bit similar to a chair I found recently at Scandinavian Designs:

431C1C5A-09E3-4770-88F3-50FA2B668FA2.jpeg


Even though I have been focused on adjustable chairs like the Lifeform mid-back chair this one just happens naturally to feel very comfortable for me, even though it has no adjustments.
 
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hi5harry

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Sep 11, 2011
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I found the greatest seats for my cave and I thought I should pass it on. I bought the front seats out of a Bentley! So comfy. No chair behind your ears and these put my ears at 38 inches, which is mid tweeter. They have all the electronics so I’m going to try to hook up a 12 volt battery and see if
I get seat heaters. 02C43785-2154-445B-A7E3-D0478EA2885B.jpeg
 

Ron Resnick

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Very clever! Not surprisingly from Bentley the leather looks totally gorgeous!

Are you going to fabricate some sort of base to position the seat on?
 

hi5harry

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Sep 11, 2011
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I think it all depends on what functions I get when I power them with 12 volts. They have so many functions to raise,lower, move up and back, seat heaters, etc. I was planning on building an exotic wood base, but now I don’t want them too high.
 
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jsaudio

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Apr 5, 2021
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The Stressless chairs are great, looked at a bunch of them a few months ago. I also looked at several knock-offs, they are pure junk.

Finding one which is low enough in the back is tough for me because I'm short, but should be lower than your ears in the upright position.

You might also want to see what your local Elran dealer has, they make some nice stuff too.
Why low back? I have a Stressless that I’m very happy with. I have switched back and forth with the Stressless and low back below ear level and couldn’t tell the difference.
 
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Ron Resnick

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Why low back? I have a Stressless that I’m very happy with. I have switched back and forth with the Stressless and low back below ear level and couldn’t tell the difference.

That's great! -- for you.

A) Maybe kach22i does hear a difference between the high-back chair and the low-back chair.

B) Maybe no one would hear a difference, but kach22i just doesn't like the idea of something that close to the backs of the ears?

I am just like you – I do not hear a difference. But I don't like the idea of something that close to the backs of my ears.
 

kswanson27

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Nov 21, 2018
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That's great! -- for you.

A) Maybe kach22i does hear a difference between the high-back chair and the low-back chair.

B) Maybe no one would hear a difference, but kach22i just doesn't like the idea of something that close to the backs of the ears?

I am just like you – I do not hear a difference. But I don't like the idea of something that close to the backs of my ears.
Ron, you're missing half the benefit of a Stressless chair: with a low back chair you can't tilt your head back and doze off.
 
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Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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Why low back? I have a Stressless that I’m very happy with. I have switched back and forth with the Stressless and low back below ear level and couldn’t tell the difference.

Paranoia interferes with some people’s listening. The mere thought of an imperfection leaves them awake at night. Nevermind hearing, one could be hearing it and not know it.
 

Ron Resnick

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Ron, you're missing half the benefit of a Stressless chair: with a low back chair you can't tilt your head back and doze off.

I agree with that -- I had four Stressless chairs and a Stressless couch. But that is a totally different point than whether the backseat behind the ears affects the sound.
 

kswanson27

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I agree with that -- I had four Stressless chairs and a Stressless couch. But that is a totally different point than whether the backseat behind the ears affects the sound.
Totally agree--if it does.
 

kswanson27

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pjwd

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Jun 22, 2015
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Totally agree--if it does.
The interesting thing about a high back chair is that most would be soft and rounded so primarily reflect high frequency which would be mainly reflected away from your ear due to curve ... or ar least be very low in level so I dont believe it makes a big difference
If you had a stupendesly quiet room and very well controlled acoustics I could imagine it may be discernable with some listening effort but generally I would expect not
On the other hand if your seat is close to a back wall I think they offer a good shield from rear reflections and can be of benifit

Plus I am slob and like to reeeelax!
Phil
 

StreamFidelity

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Jun 30, 2020
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But that is a totally different point than whether the backseat behind the ears affects the sound.

I agree. I had a very comfortable armchair with a high back. Not good in terms of sound.



And I was able to prove that with measurements. A good measured value is the IACC (Interaural Coherence Coefficient). The IACC values allow conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the stereo image.

In the meantime I changed the listening room and the old chair moved with me. With the high backrest I lost about 10% IACC10 (incoming sound in the first 10ms). The new chair brought more seating comfort despite the lack of a headrest.



With the new chair, the IACC10 achieved a fantastic 95%.

 

Ron Resnick

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Jan 24, 2015
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This is very, very interesting! Thank you for putting a measurement and some evidence around this question!
 

Gregadd

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Apr 20, 2010
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Fully reclines with retractable leg support. Made in China. Around $110 on Amazon. Not excusive.Made in China.
20211219_132322.jpg 20211219_132707.jpg
 
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carl13

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Feb 6, 2020
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I had a Stressless, but I would fall a sleep...not a good thing if you're listening to LPs.

Got this from Pier 1 before they closed their store.
LR Chair.JPG
 

pjwd

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Jun 22, 2015
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I agree. I had a very comfortable armchair with a high back. Not good in terms of sound.



And I was able to prove that with measurements. A good measured value is the IACC (Interaural Coherence Coefficient). The IACC values allow conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the stereo image.

In the meantime I changed the listening room and the old chair moved with me. With the high backrest I lost about 10% IACC10 (incoming sound in the first 10ms). The new chair brought more seating comfort despite the lack of a headrest.



With the new chair, the IACC10 achieved a fantastic 95%.

Thanks for that - I am not familiar with that measurement and I don't really understand how it derives that information from a measurement like that - does it do 2 sweeps - one on each channel - I know the acourate guy has some very clever software ! -- in fact I intend to use his convolutions for a digital crossover for my next project - do you use it for that or just room correction?

I think the first chair is a pretty extreme example of a high reflection high back chair so I would expect an effect from it.
The other point is that the microphone would be reading the full reflection of the chair without a body and head in it. I think there should be a body in the chair when you measure and each sweep and you would need to measure at each ear position.
A body is going to mask a high proportion of these reflections from the chair and with a narrow curved high back I would expect less of an effect.
What are your thoughts?

Phil
 

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