The BEST Listening Chair u’ve ever had or saw??




We are building a house and I’ve been looking for the “Perfect” listening chair/recliner etc…

I want something that is;

• very comfortable but “not” too big or too cushiony
• has a head rest but not so wide to block or reflect the music as I’m listening
• reclines
• strong & sturdy
• has arm rests
• leather – steel – teak – mahogany

Maybe I’m crazy but I’ve been looking for several months to find the perfect chair for my listening room. A love-seat could do if it isn’t too big. My listening room will have only 1 or 2 chairs and my music system… that’s it – it’s my sanctuary.

Anyone out there have a particular listening chair they use? I’d really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks
David
dwl
Backsaver, look no further, I have 3 of them and they are good looking, super comfortable and conversation pieces. If you like them contact me and I will get you in touch with the guy I got mine from, he was great to deal with and had great prices - much lower then any where else I saw. Here is what they look like.
I am still digging my Ekornes I bought new in 1991. It was $1,100, but at 15 years of age, it is still perfect and functions beautifully.

Highly recommended.
I have a customer who has something called "The Perfect Chair", and it's the most comfortable place I've ever parked my caboose. Not that I'm a chair connoisseur by any stretch; I'm unfamiliar with the others mentioned here.

Duke
Bought a pair of Ekenos in '97 for a dedicated theater room. Vegas style if I remember correctly. They came with the (needed) ottomans in black leather and rosewood finish, great for a darkened room. I've changed rooms, houses, all equiptment but have the same chairs and wife ;o). Lucky me.
Amen for the Ekornes! I bought a "Stressless Prince" model about 15 years ago, and I still love it. The only "problem" is that it is so comfortable that I often fall asleep while listening to music!
i have three Ekones stressless chairs; fairly comfortable but the backrest is wide and 'cups' the sound which is the opposite of what you want in a listening chair.

i own a chair that is similar to Tireguy's 'Backsaver' (in fact i might have turned Tireguy onto this type of chair 3 or 4 years ago) and is a version of Duke's recommendation, the Perfect Chair. it's called a 'zero-gravity chair' from 'the relax-the-back store'. this type of chair was developed in the 60's by NASA for space vehicles since it distributes your weight along the entire length of your body and was determined safest for the high 'G' forces of liftoff. this type of chair has fixed angles to the leg and back to keep the angle at optimum for support. the whole chair then pivots about one point. doctors even sometimes perscribe this type of chair for patients that cannot sleep laying down.

my chair (see my system thread for pictures) has a narrow top that rolls away from my ears. it also uses 'visco-elastic' foam for the ultimate in form fitting comfort. i've had my chair since 1999 and never found anything even close to it's comfort.

if you do a google search for 'zero gravity chair' 'the perfect chair' and 'relax the back store' you will come up with many examples and choices of this chair. i would turn you on to my exact chair but i'm not sure it is still made.
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Interactive Health makes The Perfect Chair and it is available from several retailers, the Relax the Back store being one of them. Shop around for different options (material,colors,etc.) and prices. This chair made a tremendous improvement in my listening room from both a comfort and sonic standpoint. It was one of the best purchases I made. Thanks to Mike L for making us all aware of this type of chair for several years now. A picture of it is in my system description.
I absolutely love the Eames chair but it is too low and, in my opinion, a perfect "listening chair" cannot have a headrest. It must stay at shoulder height, and it must be positioned so that your hears, when seated, stay aligned horizontally with the tweeters.
found a chair in tucson thats identical to the memorex chair.....its perfect.
Thanks for all the help… I appreciate it. I’ve looked for “the” perfect chair for a long time. We’ve been building this house for 4 years now. The first time hurricane Isabel racked it – so we had to start over… don’t ask about insurance… it’s enough to make a preacher cuss – not a nickel…

Anyway – we’re finally getting close so I’m trying to eye-up my chair for my room. I have drawn and redrawn this house so many times… If anyone has any pointers as for setting up my stereo room – I’d love to hear it….

Here’s what I have…
My dedicated stereo room (not as fancy as most I’ve seen here); this is my sanctuary – as I’m sure most of you can relate. It is the place where I can visit my planet – especially when my wife’s mother and sisters come down for a visit... There is a media closet and small hallway separating the room from the rest of the house. The room sits at the north side of the house facing east. All 2x6 walls (all exterior and most interior walls).

It is 24ft deep by 18ft wide with a 10-foot ceiling – there is a 4ft crawl-space under the house including my stereo room. The floor joists are 24” open wood floor joists. The ceiling has a 2’x1’ bulkhead running around the parameter. We are using Radiant floor heating so we’ll have 1.5 inches of light-weight concrete on the floors. I had the framers cut the sub-floor between the listening room and the remaining house. I’m using spray-foam for all exterior walls, roof, and ceiling in the stereo room. The wall separating the stereo room is actually a double 2x4 wall with a 1” gap – so it’s theoretically a 9” thick wall that will have spray-foam insulation also. There are several large windows on the east wall it is 118”x 96” plus flanking 32x72 casements on each side – west wall is 96”x 96” with flanking 32x72 casements also – the south wall has a 48x60 sliding window…

A separate electrical panel is run from the original 350-amp double panels to the media closet. This panel is dedicated for my stereo room and the media closet for the theater equipment – which will be in our family room when I can afford to do that...

This is only a 2 bedroom house. We don’t have kids but when folks visit they usually stay a few days. The other bedroom has its own bathroom etc…

Anyway - the stereo room will consist of only my stereo and one or two chairs… I have the Pipedreams Model 15s powered by VAC Avatar Super using the Pipedreams Crossover to 2-amps Acoustic Reality eAR 1001’s for the subs (rated at 1200 watts each I think) – Resolution Audio Opus 21 CD Transport & DAC. I want to setup a coffee table with a built-in monitor so I can listen and surf – and because I like to listen to the Satellite music stations.

I guess I could email someone the drawings or 3D renderings of the what it “should” look like.
Thanks again for all the info…

David

PS - sorry about writing such a long post...
my dad left me two "vintage" office chairs from the early 50's- mahogany and leather (with rivet borders). they make you sit up VERY straight, with nice arm-rests. there's nothing behind your head, as the chair only comes up to your shoulder blades.
the chair is very supportive and comfortable for business meetings and employment interviews...
okay, i'm not being totally serious here, but otoh the chair makes you very aware of where your body and ears are in relation to everything in the room. if you need to move your seat as little as an inch, no problem! and if i really wanted to or needed to, i could either saw down the legs or raise the height without worrying about the consequences.
right now i have one dead centre between two guarneri homage speakers, and the imaging is as good as you could want.
now i realize Dwl is looking for something nice, not an old heirloom piece of junk, but the chair i'm describing is really pretty nice; if otoh you place me in a primo recliner, i'm liable to start snoring within 10-15 minutes. i say leave the recliner in front of the tv set, and get a "captain's" chair for the stereo...
Thanks tiregy, I have had a couple of people email me today, one of them purchased a couple of chairs. I appreciate the references. I signed up for membership, but my final email has not come yet. Thanks again--BR
No problem Brent, when someone treats me right I like to spread the word, another one of my local friends will be in touch with you before the end of the month he loves my chairs!
Do you guys know of a sofa similar in design to "Zero Gravity Chair"? I really need more than one seat (married)
Regards
Buy two?

Seriously, contact Brent, I am sure if its out there he will be able make it happen.
I was in an Office Depot or Office Max store and sat in an Ottoman style chair; could have sat in that chair for hours it was so comfortable. Unfortunately my wife didn't think it would match our decor.