FINALLY Found A Listening Chair I Want

[Argonaut]

Thank you guys for posting both the picture and the name of the chair. That Eames chair looks nice!
The headrest is not too high and the chair is available in acoustically friendly Mohair too. There's a local show room where I can try both the standard and tall size for fit.
Just noticed Herman Miller is offering 25% off thru next Tuesday. I'm going to my local showroom to try one this weekend.
Could this be the end of my search? I hope so.
Thanks again @TheMooN and @komodo for bringing this chair to my attention!

Your welcome , a timeless classic for sure.

 

[marty]

LOL! Since you like the chair the seller has a nice rug to go with it, apparently it has great acoustic and dampening qualities.
david

View attachment 100612

Looks a bit like my room with blood all over the carpet from shooting the last guy who tried to move my speakers a half-inch.

 

[jespera]

Hans Wegner ap19 bamsestol

 

[ACHiPo]

View attachment 100650

... crime scene chic ??

“It really pulls the room together”

 

[F208Frank]

Th

I know there has been debate on multiple forums about a listening chair with multiple people making fun of the "listening chair" concept. Personally, I have always believed the right location, height and proper chair is as much an integral part of a high end audio system as any other component. While I have looked at many other chairs, including some of the low back Ekornes with the back measuring 34" in height with a seat height of 17", I felt that it was still cutting it too close. Below is an example of their Eldorado which I think is a really good choice. I know many believe in the Eames concept, etc, but it is my opinion that (Lobster Chairs claim to the contrary) no chair should extend above the listeners ears when doing serious listening. I get it for those days you want to "lounge" and don't care much about what your system is truly capable of, but for that I use a recliner my MojoPoly and Audeze iLCD4s. First picture is the Eldorado by Ekornes. They have other similar chairs at similar price points.

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Now I have, in my opinion, found the optimal chair, which I recently ordered and can't wait to get. It is the Willy by Poltrona Frau. In my opinion, this represents the optimal chair for multiple reasons. It is comfortable, great ergonomics for the natural flow of one's arms and dimensions couldn't be better, with the back coming up only 26", location on each side coming up 31" with gradual decline of the armrests to 26" with a seat height of 17".

Attached are two pictures, one from their site and another with someone (not me and not my system) sitting in it in their listening room which thankfully I came across in my long arduous search for the perfect chair!

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This post is such money. Love it. I happen to LOVE the chair you bought, and am terrified to look at the price. I am expecting 5k USD? Sigh.

 

[gds7368]

Portofino

www.minotti.com

This is being proposed (nothing ordered yet) by my designer to become the new listening chair.
I've sat in it and it is comfortable. Thoughts?

 

[Ron Resnick]

How close does the top of the head-rest come to the bottom of your ears?

 

[F208Frank]

I have been looking at the stressless options and am surprised I liked the mayfair power versus manual!

 

[gds7368]

How close does the top of the head-rest come to the bottom of your ears?

I'll check!

 

[pjwd]

Portofino

www.minotti.com

This is being proposed (nothing ordered yet) by my designer to become the new listening chair.
I've sat in it and it is comfortable. Thoughts?

gds I would want to sit in that chair before I took the plunge .. it does not look like it has good lumbar support and leans back a little too much.. esp if its fixed ... designer chairs often look great but are not that comfy
If you cant trial it get them to propose one you can.
Audiophiles get exercised by the height of the back.. but if neck and head support are narrow soft and curved I dont believe you will get much of a reflection problem
I like the IMG range of chairs but they are a different look
Good luck
Phil

 

[F208Frank]

gds I would want to sit in that chair before I took the plunge .. it does not look like it has good lumbar support and leans back a little too much.. esp if its fixed ... designer chairs often look great but are not that comfy
If you cant trial it get them to propose one you can.
Audiophiles get exercised by the height of the back.. but if neck and head support are narrow soft and curved I dont believe you will get much of a reflection problem
I like the IMG range of chairs but they are a different look
Good luck
Phil

How would you compare the img chairs to stressless?

 

[F208Frank]

gds I would want to sit in that chair before I took the plunge .. it does not look like it has good lumbar support and leans back a little too much.. esp if its fixed ... designer chairs often look great but are not that comfy
If you cant trial it get them to propose one you can.
Audiophiles get exercised by the height of the back.. but if neck and head support are narrow soft and curved I dont believe you will get much of a reflection problem
I like the IMG range of chairs but they are a different look
Good luck
Phil

How would you compare the img chairs to stressless?

 

[pjwd]

How would you compare the img chairs to stressless?

Never sat in the stressless but they seem to have a similar philosphy .. probably comes down to what chair you can trial

 

[Hilroy48]

I measured from the floor to the center of my tweeters. I made sure that distance matched my ears when sitting in a chair. There was a lot of chairs I passed on till I found the one I have now with correct seat height.

 

[F208Frank]

I have a small dilemma. I really enjoy the comforts of the mayfair stressless power chair but the rear headrest not optimal for serious listening makes me consider the low back tokyo, the low back tokyo also has that slight rocking slight bounce to the base as opposed to the stationary mayfair "power base"

Advice appreciated!

 

[Ron Resnick]

I have a small dilemma. I really enjoy the comforts of the mayfair stressless power chair but the rear headrest not optimal for serious listening makes me consider the low back tokyo, the low back tokyo also has that slight rocking slight bounce to the base as opposed to the stationary mayfair "power base"

Advice appreciated!

I was in exactly the same situation! I have loved Ekornes Stressless chairs for many years and in many locations. I did not want a high backrest. I researched the Stressless with the shortest backrest, and it still came too close to my ears. I think this was the Consul (small) model.

I then began to research the Tokyo, London and Paris (if I remember the names correctly). I declined on them because I did not like the rocking function.

 

[pjwd]

I was in exactly the same situation! I have loved Ekornes Stressless chairs for many years and in many locations. I did not want a high backrest. I researched the Stressless with the shortest backrest, and it still came too close to my ears. I think this was the Consul (small) model.

I then began to research the Tokyo, London and Paris (if I remember the names correctly). I declined on them because I did not like the rocking function.

Ron have you ever A/B tested a high back vs low back in a good acoustic space to determine the advantage of lowback
Just interested
Phil

 

[Ron Resnick]

Ron have you ever A/B tested a high back vs low back in a good acoustic space to determine the advantage of lowback
Just interested
Phil

No, never tested. I am going by theory here.

But, for me, it is one of those things where it seems so intuitively obvious to me that I would not want reflective leather an inch behind my ears, that even if I could not prove the theory with A/B testing I still would be uncomfortable with it and have difficulty relaxing.

 

[Argonaut]

it seems so intuitively obvious to me that I would not want reflective leather an inch behind my ears

Its called your scalp Ron

 

[Keith_W]

I think that Steve Williams agrees with the OP that the ideal listening chair should not extend above the listener's ears:



I wonder if he has one of these at home.