Looking For The Perfect Listening Chair
- Thread starter Steve Williams
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I do not own one, but I have sat in a few Fortress Seating chairs. They are very comfortable and aren't cheap but the company will custom make it for you to your specs.
They have a lot to offer. Take a look at all their options.
http://www.fortresseating.com
I do not own one, but I have sat in a few Fortress Seating chairs. They are very comfortable and aren't cheap but the company will custom make it for you to your specs.
They have a lot to offer. Take a look at all their options.
http://www.fortresseating.com
And if you get the "healthcare seating chair " model that can hold a IV-bag you are prepared for everything, even truely prolonged listening sessions !
That looks like a VERY comfortable chair--you sit straight up and it has nice lumbar support.
That could be very helpful for long listening sessions. Nobody wants their blood glucose to drop so low they lose consciousness and are unable to turn the record over.
I did some serious chair shopping today. Ekornes has low back models: Phase and Wave.
The Relax-The-Back zero gravity chair feels great -- if you want to look at the ceiling and fall asleep.
I still find my Humanscale Freedom Chair naturally comfortable with no little adjustability but no adjustments required.
Then I found a brand I had never heard of before –-Lifeform, from Canada. This thing is adjustable in every dimension, feels very cushiony and comfortable and is very solidly built. It also has a great lumbar area "mound" adjustment:
It is not quite as naturally comfortable as the Freedom Chair, but the Freedom Chair is not cushiony. I think this Lifeform chair is the winner for me.
Is anybody familiar with this brand of chair?
The Relax-The-Back zero gravity chair feels great -- if you want to look at the ceiling and fall asleep.
I still find my Humanscale Freedom Chair naturally comfortable with no little adjustability but no adjustments required.
Then I found a brand I had never heard of before –-Lifeform, from Canada. This thing is adjustable in every dimension, feels very cushiony and comfortable and is very solidly built. It also has a great lumbar area "mound" adjustment:
It is not quite as naturally comfortable as the Freedom Chair, but the Freedom Chair is not cushiony. I think this Lifeform chair is the winner for me.
Is anybody familiar with this brand of chair?
I'm not convinced that lower than head height is really a requirement so long as the back isn't a hard metal. I've sat in several listening chairs with both, and haven't been able to note it really being a concern. Sometimes the back is extremely beneficial however, because the chair absorbs sound where as the wall was something that created bad reflections that were too early due to the size of the space.
Now, what is the subjective preference? Back noise or not? That's another topic.
Right now my chair has no head rest. But I use a neck pillow for support when I want to be absorbing instead of studying the music.
Now, what is the subjective preference? Back noise or not? That's another topic.
Right now my chair has no head rest. But I use a neck pillow for support when I want to be absorbing instead of studying the music.
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No, but I would be interested in a review if you get it. I like what I see and read so far...
Do they offer an ottoman?
Tom
there are '2 hour chairs' and '12+ hour' chairs.
there are many 2 hour chairs. almost every single one of them. some of them allow changes to your position as you fight through a stiff back or 'hard butt' (the mind cannot absorb what the butt cannot endure)......or allow you to lay almost all the way back almost flat. any chair with an ottoman puts the weight on your tailbone unless you lay back almost flat. at the 2 hour point you are ready for a change. and change means moving away from the ideal listening position.
there is only one 12+ hour chair. it's got some variations and different names, 'zero gravity' and 'perfect chair' are 2 of the names. this chair actually is sometimes prescribed by a physician for people who cannot sleep laying down flat. in essence it takes the weight off your tailbone by transferring the weight of your legs away from your tailbone to your upper legs, and has a flat hard back. it does work best when tilted back some, but it does not need to have you looking at the ceiling unless there is no headrest. I can listen in this chair almost indefinitely.....and have done many 10+ hour listening stints in the 18 years I have owned it.
I listen...a lot.
here is a picture of my chair from this thread from almost 7 years ago.
if my body hurts anywhere a few hours in my chair typically is very helpful. for whatever reason it seems to line everything up and make me good again.....to a remarkable degree. I cannot imagine my listening time without it.
the geometry of this chair was first designed by NASA for rocket launches to minimize injuries from the extreme stress; then commercialized.
since it does have a high back I move it out of the way when I have visitors (partly because it's a little fragile and I'm afraid it could get harmed after so many years), and move my very nice 2 hour Cassina K10 DoDo into place for visitors. then when they leave the very first thing I do is move my precious 'perfect chair' back in it's place.
the whole headrest thing is not an issue for me, my particular narrow/tall version of the 'perfect chair' is no longer made; it has a narrow headrest area which is leather and rounds away from my ears, then the headrest is also rounded and leather and so no reflections are aimed at my ears. it does not change tonality......and the listening difference between this chair and my other chair without any headrest is very very slight; however......the comfort over time is many multiples of degrees. I've not seen other chairs like mine for sale for maybe 10 years or so, as most 'perfect chairs' have wide tops that are slightly concave.
you can listen as long as you want in complete comfort if you want to.
my 2 cents, YMMV, and all that.
there are many 2 hour chairs. almost every single one of them. some of them allow changes to your position as you fight through a stiff back or 'hard butt' (the mind cannot absorb what the butt cannot endure)......or allow you to lay almost all the way back almost flat. any chair with an ottoman puts the weight on your tailbone unless you lay back almost flat. at the 2 hour point you are ready for a change. and change means moving away from the ideal listening position.
there is only one 12+ hour chair. it's got some variations and different names, 'zero gravity' and 'perfect chair' are 2 of the names. this chair actually is sometimes prescribed by a physician for people who cannot sleep laying down flat. in essence it takes the weight off your tailbone by transferring the weight of your legs away from your tailbone to your upper legs, and has a flat hard back. it does work best when tilted back some, but it does not need to have you looking at the ceiling unless there is no headrest. I can listen in this chair almost indefinitely.....and have done many 10+ hour listening stints in the 18 years I have owned it.
I listen...a lot.
here is a picture of my chair from this thread from almost 7 years ago.
if my body hurts anywhere a few hours in my chair typically is very helpful. for whatever reason it seems to line everything up and make me good again.....to a remarkable degree. I cannot imagine my listening time without it.
the geometry of this chair was first designed by NASA for rocket launches to minimize injuries from the extreme stress; then commercialized.
since it does have a high back I move it out of the way when I have visitors (partly because it's a little fragile and I'm afraid it could get harmed after so many years), and move my very nice 2 hour Cassina K10 DoDo into place for visitors. then when they leave the very first thing I do is move my precious 'perfect chair' back in it's place.
the whole headrest thing is not an issue for me, my particular narrow/tall version of the 'perfect chair' is no longer made; it has a narrow headrest area which is leather and rounds away from my ears, then the headrest is also rounded and leather and so no reflections are aimed at my ears. it does not change tonality......and the listening difference between this chair and my other chair without any headrest is very very slight; however......the comfort over time is many multiples of degrees. I've not seen other chairs like mine for sale for maybe 10 years or so, as most 'perfect chairs' have wide tops that are slightly concave.
you can listen as long as you want in complete comfort if you want to.
my 2 cents, YMMV, and all that.
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Good point Mike, I can say chairs that have wings or such can cause more change compared to just a tall back that is absorbent. But I couldn't really confirm how often that it's a concern since I only had one chair like that, and I didn't like it for listening.
Tom, yes, Lifeform makes a footrest.
I hear 'ya, Mike.
I personally could not sit still for ten hours if you put me in a bath tub full of marshmallows and you paid me by the hour. I am looking for the most comfortable two hour chair I can find.
I found the zero gravity chair to be not comfortable sitting up (it does not have a lot of lumbar support) as I would be when listening to music. I found it extremely comfortable when I was reclined and looking almost at the ceiling. But by the angle at which I found it comfortable my ears would no longer be pointed at the speakers.
I hear 'ya, Mike.
I personally could not sit still for ten hours if you put me in a bath tub full of marshmallows and you paid me by the hour. I am looking for the most comfortable two hour chair I can find.
I found the zero gravity chair to be not comfortable sitting up (it does not have a lot of lumbar support) as I would be when listening to music. I found it extremely comfortable when I was reclined and looking almost at the ceiling. But by the angle at which I found it comfortable my ears would no longer be pointed at the speakers.
Marshmallow fetish... interesting.
I think my longest listening session was at Mike's. He's such a good host you can't stop enjoying all the music he keeps pulling off the shelves.
I think my longest listening session was at Mike's. He's such a good host you can't stop enjoying all the music he keeps pulling off the shelves.
Ron,
we all like what we like....and chairs are personal.
but I have to question your methodology regarding head angle and a 'perfect chair'. assuming an appropriate head rest, which should be adjustable to allow for various head angles, ear orientation would not be a reason to eliminate the 'Perfect chair'.
not every perfect chair has an adjustable head rest. I can see that with a flat head rest you are limited in head angle choices. but it does not have to be that way. you can get the height and head angle with the right perfect chair. look at my link to the picture of my perfect chair and notice the head rest. it hangs from the top and it's depth can be adjusted and therefore the angle of how your head hits it and the angle. did the one you sit in have one of those?
when you and the lovely Tinka finally do visit here I will show you what I mean. in the meantime enjoy your choice of '2 hour' chairs. with your high end audio investment you ought to have the choice to comfortably sit and listen for however long you want. maybe you get up and need to move because you are not comfortable?
and who's to say that when you finally get your 'dream' system operational that you won't want much longer listening sessions? that is what should happen.
new truth learned today;
dream system + right chair > dream system + bathtub full of marsh mellows.
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Mike, Your chair does look very comfortable. I assume you get up every 20 minutes or so to flip the LP. This will get the blood flowing and be good for long term listening. I doubt your really sit in the chair straight for 10 hours. Personally, I find if the music is good, and the listening experience is engrossing, and I have to get up every so often anyway to flip LPs, I don't really care what kind of a chair I am sitting in. I actually hardly even think about it. My sofa is certainly not great. The seats at the BSO are probably less comfortable than any of the chairs discussed in this thread, and people fall asleep all the time. And there, you can't just stand up and stretch every 20 minutes.
I've found to be quite a good one. It has a couple of benefits. Firstly, for those of us who are a little older, it satisfies doctor's orders to get daily exercise. Secondly, if you turn your system on when you are at the base of the leg, by the time you actually sit down, it is all warmed up.
I've got two of these (Stressless/Ekornes Wing Recliner) and they are extremely comfortable. I can sit for hours in them without even thinking about it.
The "Wings" up near your head can interfere with the sound a little bit but only if your pressing your head all the way back into them which is something I don't do most of the time but even when I do its a very slight change in SQ. During those times I'm not in critical listening mode anyway so no harm no foul. They can recline flat also if the need ever arises to do so.
Downfall is price @ about $2.5K each but after sitting in them you forget all about the price you paid
The "Wings" up near your head can interfere with the sound a little bit but only if your pressing your head all the way back into them which is something I don't do most of the time but even when I do its a very slight change in SQ. During those times I'm not in critical listening mode anyway so no harm no foul. They can recline flat also if the need ever arises to do so.
Downfall is price @ about $2.5K each but after sitting in them you forget all about the price you paid
That looks comfortable and no head interference. I believe our ears are Omni-directional like, therefore objects, headrests directly behind the head do affect sound, ime....so headrest chairs are a non-starter for me. I want height control and seat tilt control with reasonable comfort. It's amazing how much the sound changes just putting your hands behind your ears/head.
Ron,
we all like what we like....and chairs are personal.
but I have to question your methodology regarding head angle and a 'perfect chair'. assuming an appropriate head rest, which should be adjustable to allow for various head angles, ear orientation would not be a reason to eliminate the 'Perfect chair'.
not every perfect chair has an adjustable head rest. I can see that with a flat head rest you are limited in head angle choices. but it does not have to be that way. you can get the height and head angle with the right perfect chair. look at my link to the picture of my perfect chair and notice the head rest. it hangs from the top and it's depth can be adjusted and therefore the angle of how your head hits it and the angle. did the one you sit in have one of those?
when you and the lovely Tinka finally do visit here I will show you what I mean. in the meantime enjoy your choice of '2 hour' chairs. with your high end audio investment you ought to have the choice to comfortably sit and listen for however long you want. maybe you get up and need to move because you are not comfortable?
and who's to say that when you finally get your 'dream' system operational that you won't want much longer listening sessions? that is what should happen.
new truth learned today;
dream system + right chair > dream system + bathtub full of marsh mellows.
Yes, Mike. I really look forward to seeing (and feeling) what you mean when we visit!
Thank you for fixing the photos, Steve. I don't understand why they rotate when I post them.
I've got two of these (Stressless/Ekornes Wing Recliner) and they are extremely comfortable. I can sit for hours in them without even thinking about it.
The "Wings" up near your head can interfere with the sound a little bit but only if your pressing your head all the way back into them which is something I don't do most of the time but even when I do its a very slight change in SQ. During those times I'm not in critical listening mode anyway so no harm no foul. They can recline flat also if the need ever arises to do so.
Downfall is price @ about $2.5K each but after sitting in them you forget all about the price you paid
View attachment 31907
I like listening to both stereo and multichannel music. That chair above looks really cozy and comfy. Would its high back interfere with my ear's positioning?
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