What are important features in a listening chair


Been wondering what features are important to you in a listening chair. 

(Besides the drink holder and familiar smell...)
perkri

Showing 5 responses by thosb

Good Lord, I have an Ikea Puang and now I have to upgrade that too!?! Work and travel allowing, I listen in the chair 1-3 hours 3-5 times per week, and it is certainly comfy enough to fall asleep in and I like the springiness the frame allows. Is it the head cushion or the materials that make it inferior?  Eames, Erskonne and similar have a "pillow" behind the head like the Puang.  Don't get me wrong, I love these other chairs but my audio $$$ will not be spent this way....yet.

I guess the next obvious question is the need for isolation - 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/isolating-the-listening-chair/post?highlight=isolated%2Blistening%2Bchair&postid=1442590#1442590

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/isolating-the-listening-chair?highlight=isolated%2Blistening%2Bchair
Ok, I have run some trials and so far have some surprising results, at least to me:

Base Case - Poang by Ikea - high comfort, low cost, adequate SQ, at least to me before reading this post (thanks again OP!)

Trial 1 - simple wood bar stool.  Not comfy, low cost, SQ was like moving from 1st level balcony to nose bleed seats - obviously the new ear height relative to the speakers is the cause.  This was trial 1 bc it was the the only other chair I have at my listening pad.

Trial 2 - no chair, sitting on floor.  Not comfy, but much improved SQ, like moving to the main floor of the concert hall.  More detail, resonance, presence.  Hmmm,  

Went on vacation, no listening for 10+ days, upon returning went straight to the neighborhood big box store and bought a zero gravity chair.

Revisited base case.  Nice, nice to come back from vacation and once again realize that my stereo sucks less than 80% of the time.  But geoffkait and the floor listening experience has led to the deep seeded fears of audiophiliac's insecurity - I can and MUST do better!

Trail 3 - zero gravity chair.  Not very comfy (I have never been comfortable in one of these but kinda made sense to me from an acoustic perspective?), SQ was not distinguishable from the Poang.  WTF?

Revisited Trial 2 - same results.  Began pondering the vibe of a chairless listening room......could get a variety of cool floor pillows, some blankets, a classy rug that's easy to clean bc of all the spills I'll have due to resting beverages on the floor....umm wait a minute this is not looking so good.  To pull it off I'd have to stick to a very minimalistic design approach, aka not comfy enough for listening for hours.  Nix that idea.

Hypothesis - the zero gravity chair is made of cheap plasticy material, and has a head cushion, probably padded with foam equivalent in cost/quality to the Poang.  It's this material next to my ears that is the culprit.  So, next trial will be a lowback chair made of wood.  Headed to the local neighborhood thrift/consignment store this weekend.  Once again cursing my sister for stealing the Eames chair my mom found at a garage sale inspired by a nasty divorce...but that's another story.

More to come.
Btw the foam in the Poang cushion does resonate.  Not sure what frequency but can feel it when spls get to about 90dB.  I can feel it with my hand.
New listening chair arrived, it's a reupholstered and spruced up Room and Board rocker, spent ~2 hours in it last night and have yet to do an a/b comparison with the Poang, partly bc the new chair is way too comfy, partly because I feel no vibration, and mostly bc it was a sentimental present from my wife I know I will never go back regardless.