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Is the "improvement" real or imnagined?

This thread may be of interest to no one, but I was inspired by @inna post to start a thread. I had a recent experience that may touch on broader unresolved (unresolvable?) questions. I'm mostly happy with my system and my room has been professionally treated. I don't have an ideal listening chair-the back comes up to ear level, maybe a little above. Concessions have to be made to old and crumbling neck vertebra that need support.

I know that high back seating can in theory affect the sound through reflections. So, I got the bright idea to try to mitigate that-I'm sure its not original.

I bought a weighted blanket-quite thick and covered the chair. I put an Afghan blanket over that, the last one my mom crocheted, so its magical already. I perceive improved detail and better imaging -certainly not huge, but a subtle improvement that I hear, or at least think I hear.

So, maybe there is some science behind this, makes sense the blanket would reduce reflections. On the other hand, maybe its simply expectation bias, placebo effect, whatever, at work because there is science behind that as well, and its hard to imagine this is a big thing.

So, how do I know if its real or imagined? Its not a big deal, no real investment and only a very subtle perceived change, but it does relate to other issues that are often debated, sometimes heatedly, on this forum. How do you account for, or eliminate expectation bias, other than a proper double blind test which I'm guessing most of us are not going to do when auditioning equipment? 

I found this interesting, maybe no one else does. Thoughts?

 

kerrybh
kerrybh OP
237 posts
 

@carlsbad2 that seems a sound approach. I think confirmation bias is real, and might be particularly consequential in this context because of the nature of auditory memeory. 

baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,498 posts
 

Listening chair is important. Mine has to be clothed and back rest slightly lower than shoulder  blades. Ears at tweeters level. It definitely will make a difference from a high back leather chair by example

 

 

jimofoakcreek
15 posts
 

Leather chairs, low back chairs, short hair….cheeky This thread is complete bullshit.

deep_333
1,736 posts
 

A soundfield propagates in a room just like flow fields (fluids whatever) that engineers in other domains deal with. Talk to any of the CFD sim guys.

You have a lot to learn about what’s bullsh and what’s not.

Pre-requisite: High IQ

Leather chairs, low back chairs, short hair….cheeky This thread is complete bullshit.

immatthewj
2,655 posts
 

As big a deal as room treatments are on this site (and I am not implying that I don't think they make a difference) I don't know why anyone would not think that the reflections or lack of reflections from a high back chair would make.

 

Personally, while sitting in my high back listening hair, I do notice a change when I either push my head forward (as opposed to it laying against the back) or sit straight up.  But doing either of those is uncomfortable, so I basically always recline in my high back chair when listening.  The tubes are warming up as I type and I am heading back there in about 15 minutes and I am going to swap out my high back chair with a low back steel folding chair that I keep in the garage.  This will not be a comfortable three or four hours, but if I feel it is a sonic improvement, I will look into a more comfortable low backed chair.  I did see that IKEA sells something called a Poanga chair and the have a low back model for $99.

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