The Hub: How about a dedicated listening CHAIR

Every audio show has a room that starts a buzz. Sometimes the buzz is unkind: "can you believe how BAD that was?" Sometimes the buzz is kind: "did you believe how GOOD that was?" Sometimes the buzz is a mix of shame and disbelief: "I went in there prepared to hate it, but it was AWESOME!" That last reaction was often heard at Axpona , pertaining to the "Home Theater in a Chair" from i-Fi

It's easy to see how the idea would be a target for abuse. Let's take the biggest, comfiest nerdiest recliner imaginable, and do the nerdiest thing imaginable with it. Let's create a one-person home theater or audio system with a variety of inputs and self-contained speakers that totally take the room out of the listening equation. In the process, let's give even more credence to the idea that audiophiles are anti-social, and want only to be left alone to play with their toys.

That's the set-up, anyway. Reality being what it is, the i-Fi chair confounded expectations and left seasoned reporters lolling in the big chairs, enjoying the music and looking for all the world like puppies waiting to have their bellies rubbed. Think of it as Revenge of the Nerds, for your living room: the unlikely, ungainly lead does good and is loved by all. All the scene needs is Tears For Fears' "Songs From the Big Chair". Really.

If The Chair had been done on the cheap, or by the wrong person, it likely would've been a disaster. Luckily, Jeff Ostler, i-Fi's founder and President, is a serial entrepreneur with serious audiophile cred. Ostler ran a Salt Lake City audio dealership with John Giolas, presently Director of Sales and Marketing at Wilson Audio. Ostler currently reps another speaker line, and has businesses which produce arcade games including racing simulators. From there, it's not a giant conceptual leap to the i-Fi chair, offered by Ostler and General Manager Jamie Beers.

The reason the big chair works as well as it does is that it has a litany of features that would do the late Billy Mays proud: what we have here is NOT just the World's Most Comfortable lounge-chair,covered in Genuine Italian Leather, but an Apple-licensed iPod dock, a wireless receiver, volume and source controls, nearfield monitor speakers, PLUS a subwoofer, PLUS a built-in vibratory transducer for full tactile impact (AKA butt-shaking)! And did we mention the cupholder?

As a catty observer noted, "all you need is a beer cooler and a catheter for audiophile nirvana." It would all be meaningless, of course, if the sound quality wasn't there. Recording engineers have known for years that monitor speakers placed in the nearfield can produce an open window to the soundstage, and that's exactly what the i-Fi brings, with some extra oomph on the bottom end (literally), thanks to the sub and shaker. The sound is smooth, extended, detailed, punchy, and involving. You can actually hear the lack of room coloration in the sound sample we recorded (hit the play button).

The icing on the cake is the elimination of system wiring and set-up hassles, and elimination of the need for acoustical treatment. Bingo: a real-life, decent one-box system. Okay, it'll be a BIG freakin' box, but still, one box. Yours for $3995, in your choice of black, burgundy or chocolate leather, Made in the USA.

The i-Fi could make a lot of folks happy. Really, most listeners/gamers/movie-viewers would be well-satisfied with its performance, and it could eliminate a lot of domestic discord. How many audiophile products can claim that?

What do Audiogoners think?
How should i-Fi market their product?
Will audiophiles be interested?
Will audiophiles recommend it to non-audiophiles?