Looking For The Perfect Listening Chair

Steve Williams

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Steve Williams

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Restuffing your old cushions didn't quite cut it, eh buddy?

Lee

Not even close Lee. Just couldn't find the perfect stuffing. Still looking however as it is a whole lot less expensive than buying a new chair
 

kach22i

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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.
 

Mike Lavigne

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with the height of the chair below the height of my ears

i have a different take on this issue. below is a picture of my current chair in my old room (i'm at work and don't have access to a better current pic). notice that the head pillow moves your head away from the backrest, and that all the surfaces curve away from where your ears are. there is no 'cupping' of the sound and so there is no tonal changes in the sound. in use listening while sitting in this chair is very close to a chair with no head rest, and it's waaaay more comfortable.

the chair has a narrow back rest and uses visco-elastic foam so the heat from your body form fits the chair to you. it's now 10 years old and still looks like it was new.

more comfort means more listening, and that's what counts!



added note; beware of any Ekones Stressless chair for listening....i've owned three of them. their back rests 'cup' the sound.....which is why i sold mine. if you do use a back/head rest it needs to be at worst flat or.....hopefully curve away from your ears. there may be newer Stressless chairs with a different design.
 
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kach22i

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I sat in some lounge chairs which had a similar headrest, but did not think about the possibilities you raised Mike.

I give up, what brand/model chair is that?

Does the leg part come up?

My favorite chair does nothing but look good, keeping your eyes on that crack/plane change between the ceiling and wall (15 degrees up - daydreaming position).

Here it is exploded at a recent exhibit: Eames lounge chair
 

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Mike Lavigne

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I sat in some lounge chairs which had a similar headrest, but did not think about the possibilities you raised Mike.

I give up, what brand/model chair is that?

Does the leg part come up?

My favorite chair does nothing but look good, keeping your eyes on that crack/plane change between the ceiling and wall (15 degrees up - daydreaming position).

Here it is exploded at a recent exhibit: Eames lounge chair

the Eames is a good choice as it's got good shoulder support but no head rest.

as far as i know; the exact model of my chair is no longer made. it's one of the 'perfect chairs' from the Relax-The-Back store. all the angles are fixed but it does rotate around so you can be at any angle. it does take most of the stress off your tailbone and distribute your weight along your thighs, and the lower back support is phenominal. Doctors perscibe this for patients who cannot sleep laying down. it was developed by NASA for rocket launches.

i custom ordered mine on-line in a 'long-back', narrow back', 'visco-elastic foam', and upgraded leather. that was in 1999.
 
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Mike Lavigne

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You have a terrific chair Mike. My concern is that it is so comfortable I would probably fall asleep listening to music

as i'm now 58 years old, i have started to fall asleep sometimes late at night if i listen with the lights dimmed. i then wake up after an hour or so and go in to bed. then i wake up a little earlier in the morning and have more time to listen then. so no big deal. when i'm listening to vinyl and fall asleep it really does not hurt anything. and digital is no issue and the tapes shut themselves off.

i do remember how my back felt after a long listening day with the Ekones Stressless chair; it was very comfortable for an hour or two but after that my back got stiff. never on the 'perfect chair'.

i much prefer occasionally falling asleep.
 
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audioguy

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You have a terrific chair Mike. My concern is that it is so comfortable I would probably fall asleep listening to music

My listening chair happens to be a Theater chair that reclines. And normally I do most listening in the evening. So falling asleep becomes more regular the later I listen and the older I get. It is not a great chair but since it is a dual purpose room it will suffice until I purchase some better HT chairs (which I have my eye on).

My HT chairs are probably 10 to 15 years old that I bought from Acoustic Innovations !! Great improvements have been made since then.
 

Gregadd

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kach22i

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FYI: the best and only Ekornes/Stressless knock off worth considering is ChairWorks made in Taiwan, sat in one at Almas Hi-Fi in Royal Oak yesterday - nice.

Slightly lower back than a Ekornes/Stressless and not quite as enveloping, but it fooled an original Stressless owner (my audio buddy Bruce) until we flipped it over and saw the tag.
 

Satch

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I love my Ekornes Stressless "Ambassador". I was checking out the Theater group sets, but they would cost almost as much as my speakers. yikes!

Ray
 

kach22i

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The audio dealer did not seem to be selling the chairs, he joked that he found them in the trash.

Looking on-line they seem to be $600-$700 or about 1/3 the cost of the real thing.

I've sat in three or four other knock offs, all junk. These ChairWorks were not trash at all, I'd own them. However the fees on my architecture projects are 1/4 what they were four years ago so I'm not getting anything.
 

Gregadd

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Mike Lavigne;2510]as I'm now 58 years old, I have started to fall asleep sometimes late at night if i listen with the lights dimmed. i then wake up after an hour or so and go in to bed.
I use the couch with down pillows.When I fall asleep I just keel over and pull a blanket over me.
 

RBFC

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You could take a trip to High Point, NC. They have an incredible amount of furniture places there. You could even arrange for them to custom-make a chair to your specifications, after you sat in something similar, etc.

Lee
 

Gregadd

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:)You mean they still make furniture in America?
 

es347

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:cool:
Mike Lavigne;2510]as I'm now 58 years old, I have started to fall asleep sometimes late at night if i listen with the lights dimmed. i then wake up after an hour or so and go in to bed.
I use the couch with down pillows.When I fall asleep I just keel over and pull a blanket over me.

This must play havoc with your love life
 

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