Doctor's Orders-Part Two-The New Listening Room Of Steve Williams

[Steve Williams]

Thanks to you David for finding this chair for me as it checked every box that I desired for my perfect chair.

 

[Folsom]

Any comments on what the chair is?

Sometimes the best things are pretty inconspicuous. (price can be anything, too, for some stuff)

 

[Steve Williams]

The chair is made by Roche-Bobois and found for me by David in their NYC show room.It is all leather and I might add a very thick sturdy leather that does not sag.

It is called "Originel and is actually a discontinued item" . I love the low profile and how inconspicuous it is compared to my other chair. My listening height is virtually the same with this chair although I might need to make a few tiny changes to the upper speaker modules

 

[Elliot G.]

View attachment 67334

Congrats its nice to see someone actually buy the right kind of chair to serious listen in!

 

[dan31]

Nice chair! We have a large Roche-Bobois sectional that has so far weathered the storm of my toddler.

 

[Alrainbow]

So visitors stand or wait outside ...

 

[Steve Williams]

So visitors stand or wait outside ...

Standing room only Al. Once, several years ago when THE Show was in orange County I had a get together at my house and had 18 people in my room

 

[asiufy]

Well, now you can fit a second chair like that one, with all the extra space behind it, no?

 

[Steve Williams]

Well, now you can fit a second chair like that one, with all the extra space behind it, no?

Yes. I can. But remember upper modules are set for a listening distance of 9 feet so a chair behind might be out of focus slightly. Ice looked at the Wilson algorithms and it appears the only change I might need to make is one click on the detente position of the lower midrange module

 

[Steve Williams]

BTW as for a second chair, it’s ironic you mention as this chair is a discontinued item and they had this one and a second one in the same color on the show room floor. I was offered an amazing deal if I bought the second one but the chair is far from inexpensive so I passed even with the great discount offered if I bought the pair

 

[Folsom]

The chair is made by Roche-Bobois and found for me by David in their NYC show room.It is all leather and I might add a very thick sturdy leather that does not sag.

It is called "Originel and is actually a discontinued item" . I love the low profile and how inconspicuous it is compared to my other chair. My listening height is virtually the same with this chair although I might need to make a few tiny changes to the upper speaker modules

Nice! I'm casually keeping an eye out for a new chair. I sat in one, once, one time, that I'll never forget. Sadly I went back a few years later asking about it and they couldn't figure out what it was so I have been SOL since. I've sat in probably every chair in my city and nothing compares... Everyone at the stores keeps directing me towards stressless or whatever and honestly I don't like them. It has to feel good to finally get "The One"!

 

[Tango]

Nice! I'm casually keeping an eye out for a new chair. I sat in one, once, one time, that I'll never forget. Sadly I went back a few years later asking about it and they couldn't figure out what it was so I have been SOL since. I've sat in probably every chair in my city and nothing compares... Everyone at the stores keeps directing me towards stressless or whatever and honestly I don't like them. It has to feel good to finally get "The One"!

Once your ass had that kind of experience it was just unforgettable right?

 

[Steve Williams]

so there is an ending (no pun intended) to this story. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that a chair can make a difference. Boy was I mistaken.My chairs previously have always sat below my ears. My previous chair which was way too big and impractical did come to just below my ears however it was way too wide and(for my height) too deep. When David was here last we talked about chairs and I told him my desires

1.The seat should not be too high off the ground and I wanted to have my feet comfortably planted on the ground just in fronton the seat

2. My back should be sitting at the back of the chair in the upright position

3. The seat should be firm and not going to sag

4. The top of the back of the chair must be below my shoulders

4.The chair must have a narrow profile

David told me that he too had been on the same search recently while in New York. He said that he literally had his ass in every reasonable chair and found the exact chair which proved to be the one I bought.

I also felt that with near field listening the chair I had was just too big

Well searching the R-B catalogue that chair was nowhere we could find and turned out they just discontinued it. Fortunately the RB showroom in NYC had the last two in the USA

I bought it because I've learned that I have yet to make a bad decision when it comes to David making a recommendation to improve my sound I waited 3 1/2 weeks for th/em to get it here but setup position was easy to find. I am now listening between 8-9 feet from speaker to ear and at a listening height of 38"-40"

So what did I hear.........

For the first time in well over 8 years I am extremely comfortable in a chair with my back always where it should be and my feet on th ground. The huge plus is that the back of this chair ends at the base of my scapulae and from the front they are so narrow that the foot print is small. This plus the chair position moved from 11'6" to 8 1/2 feet at the middle of the seat so where I listen in that chair position my ears can be anywhere from 8-9 feet from the speakers


I was totally immersed in the sound and everything was there.What I didn't expect was a feeling of more openness and less reverb off e top of the chair just below my ears. That was gone.This plus the narrow footprint just allowed more music into the room th. I attribute this to the chair which to all intents and purposes felt totally out of the picture.What I was hearing now sounded less blurred and definitely more dynamic. and there were virtually no chair interactions that I could detect. To me this gain in soundstage came both from the chair and its foot print and height. This extra air around the soundstage clearly immersed me totally into what I wa hearing

At the moment I am not changing a thing even though a change in speaker position and toe in is warranted by the WASP. Yet what I am hearing now in my room is nothing I have ever heard since I built this room.

So those looking for a chair, it took me 8 years to find one. I am stunned that when listening it felt as if there was nothing but music around me

So kudos once again to David whose toosthy sat in every chair in New York before he knew "this was the one"

Thank you my friend.

 

[ack]

Enjoy Steve; all of our furniture is from Roche Bobois and I can understand how you feel

 

[Steve Williams]

The other thing about this leather is that it’s a very thick hide and is more absorptive than the last chair which likely was reflective

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

The chair looks awesome Steve.

 

[dan31]

Somebody buy that 2nd chair in NYC before it’s too late.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

Oh and I have come to accept through your room and my OCD I will have "grid" carpet in my room and or if there is hard floor treatments at the front of my room there will be some form of grid pattern in the flooring choice.

 

[ddk]

so there is an ending (no pun intended) to this story. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that a chair can make a difference. Boy was I mistaken.My chairs previously have always sat below my ears. My previous chair which was way too big and impractical did come to just below my ears however it was way too wide and(for my height) too deep. When David was here last we talked about chairs and I told him my desires

1.The seat should not be too high off the ground and I wanted to have my feet comfortably planted on the ground just in fronton the seat

2. My back should be sitting at the back of the chair in the upright position

3. The seat should be firm and not going to sag

4. The top of the back of the chair must be below my shoulders

4.The chair must have a narrow profile

David told me that he too had been on the same search recently while in New York. He said that he literally had his ass in every reasonable chair and found the exact chair which proved to be the one I bought.

I also felt that with near field listening the chair I had was just too big

Well searching the R-B catalogue that chair was nowhere we could find and turned out they just discontinued it. Fortunately the RB showroom in NYC had the last two in the USA

I bought it because I've learned that I have yet to make a bad decision when it comes to David making a recommendation to improve my sound I waited 3 1/2 weeks for th/em to get it here but setup position was easy to find. I am now listening between 8-9 feet from speaker to ear and at a listening height of 38"-40"

So what did I hear.........

For the first time in well over 8 years I am extremely comfortable in a chair with my back always where it should be and my feet on th ground. The huge plus is that the back of this chair ends at the base of my scapulae and from the front they are so narrow that the foot print is small. This plus the chair position moved from 11'6" to 8 1/2 feet at the middle of the seat so where I listen in that chair position my ears can be anywhere from 8-9 feet from the speakers


I was totally immersed in the sound and everything was there.What I didn't expect was a feeling of more openness and less reverb off e top of the chair just below my ears. That was gone.This plus the narrow footprint just allowed more music into the room th. I attribute this to the chair which to all intents and purposes felt totally out of the picture.What I was hearing now sounded less blurred and definitely more dynamic. and there were virtually no chair interactions that I could detect. To me this gain in soundstage came both from the chair and its foot print and height. This extra air around the soundstage clearly immersed me totally into what I wa hearing

At the moment I am not changing a thing even though a change in speaker position and toe in is warranted by the WASP. Yet what I am hearing now in my room is nothing I have ever heard since I built this room.

So those looking for a chair, it took me 8 years to find one. I am stunned that when listening it felt as if there was nothing but music around me

So kudos once again to David whose toosthy sat in every chair in New York before he knew "this was the one"

Thank you my friend.

I guess we have a new category now, not Golden Ear but Golden Butt !

david

 

[PeterA]

Congratulations Steve,

I like the looks of the chair and love the subdued green curtain color in the room. Very soothing. I have a couple of questions. I always see these amps lined up in a row between the speakers. Have you considered either moving them back more towards the front wall, or placed them as a 2 + 2 configuration, two in front of the other two? I don't know if this might affect the sonics, but Jim Smith did something similar with his gear, low and in the center placed in a line moving away from the listening seat. He did it for sonic reasons.

Also, have you though about moving the turntable to that first rack, closest to the new chair position? This might be more convenient, but also it gets the table away from the corner and toward what should be a smooth zone in the middle of the room. With all of your treatments, the corner may not be problematic, but I've always thought corners are the wrong place for a turntable.

Regardless, I think the room looks fantastic and very relaxing. I'm sure you have a list of visitors lining up to hear it. Good luck with the minor speaker adjustments. Your experience is another example of how much of a difference set up can make towards a more enjoyable and natural sound. Just great.