Your listening chair

With the ottoman, my bet is that the relaxation you get from propping your feet up will give you far more listening pleasure than any theoretical degradation of the sound from the ottoman. A recliner is a different matter, as it will lower your ear height and will put reflective/absorptive material around your ears, so that you may not be listening at the proper height for your speakers. Just my unscientific guess.

My set up resembles his , except that my chair and footstool are much bigger and leather. I have tried moving the footstool around , and out , and have not noticed much if any difference . Comfort rules !

Mitch, I think you REALLY need one of these in that studio space of yours:

http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=8100

I agree with Rcprince that the relaxation benefits of an ottoman will outweigh any sonic compromises. Especially from 15 feet away.

For listening I use a Herman Miller Aeron which is also my work chair at home. It's ultra-adjustable, comfortable enough to sit in for 12 hours a day and I can roll it forward if I want to listen nearfield.

Gunbei, LOL...excellent recommendation, I ordered 2 in case I have company!

gunbei - too cool !!!

...cool chair....but it's out of my price range

I'm getting an ottoman.

I agree - Comfort rules . . . I have an ottoman and have never noticed a concern with acoustics.

Nothing at all wrong with an ottoman so long as it's not leather which reflects rather than absorbs.

-IMO

GUys, our friend and fellow A'Goner Marco [Jax2] has that very chaisse lounge in his listening room. Another A'Goner in Toronto, Canada has one as well.

Here are some cheaper knock offs, Mitch:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Corbusier-3-Color-Chaise-Lounge-Rohe-Art-Deco-Bauhaus_W0QQitemZ4456771810QQcategoryZ3198QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/LE-CORBUSIER-100-ITALIAN-LEATHER-CHAISE-LOUNGE-CHAIR_W0QQitemZ4455118076QQcategoryZ3198QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Le-Corbusier-Style-LC4-Leather-Chaise-Lounge-Cowhide_W0QQitemZ4456329560QQcategoryZ20491QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I use a classic Eames Lounge Chair, a rosewood base for both chair and ottoman covered with soft leather. Lushious superb comfort with negligable effect of acoustics. Unfortunately, rosewood is no longer available, so used chairs often sell for more than new ones, and both are pricier than the chaise. The Herman Miller Aeron also seems like a winner. A chaise is really uncomfortable except for napping.

If you're into clasic chairs, there are many cheaper knock-offs of the Mies Van der Rohe Pavillion Chair, as well as the Eames Lounge Chair -- the Eames is the more comfy.

db

Gunbei.....I called the chair folks in your last post. They are sending me leather samples. They will make me one in the color of my choice for no extra charge.

This chair will be wicked in my room.

....thank you very much for this tip......and the laughs in my other posts.

mitch

I have a nearfield listening position almost identical to the one in the picture link you provided. I even have the same chair and footrest! It's an Ikea Poang chair, with matching footrest, by the way. Very cheap and very comfortable.

I notice no difference at all if the footrest is moved.

If your ears have a clear line of sight to the speaker drivers, especially the tweeters, then there is no reason why the footrest should make a difference for the direct sound waves.

For the indirect sound waves, the closest sound reflections come from the floor in front of the speaker. Performance is generally enchanced if these reflected waves are minimized, by a carpet in front of the spekers for example. The soft surface of the footrest can perform the same function. So as long as the thing is not blocking direct waves, the footrest could actually be a helpful room treatment to the extent that it takes away some of the reflected waves that would otherwise come up from the floor.

So go for it.

can the pillars be filled and spikes added ?

Mark, my ex-girlfriend has an Ikea Poang, and yes it is very comfortable. A bargain too. Plus, they have multiple wood/cushion combos available.

Mitch, you called DWR for leather samples or one of the Ebay links? There are lot's of DWR stores in LA, but they sell all the popular stuff at full retail.

As DP suggests, I think I'd be happy with one of the knock-off Mies Van Der Rohes instead. A fake Pavillion Chair with ottoman ain't bad either. Probably one third to one fourth the cost of an original Mies.

You better get your boy his own listening chair too, heheh.

Don't forget to don your listening suit , as it helps mitigate the reflective effects of leather.

If I had the dosh, it would be the Karuselli chair and matching ottoman:

http://www.avarte.fi/english/products/karuselli.html

Since I don't, it's the Ikea Poang.

Boa2,

That suit looks like a mid-fi listening suit.

A high-end hi-fi suit would have cut-outs for the ear holes.

And when choosing a listening suit, make sure it has a cool slogan like these:

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=worm-puppy.jpg&category=Clothing&date=2005-08-12

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=elvis-sinatra.jpg&category=Clothing&date=2006-04-12

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=on-the-verge.jpg&category=Clothing&date=2006-01-12

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=tweety.jpg&category=Clothing&date=2006-03-20

Mitch4t,
You are so right. How could I have ever considered using a listening suit as a tone control?!

For a real cheap and comfortable alternative check out the LaFuma recliners.

wow any closer in that system pic and he will be wearing headphones!

An idea: Get a subwoofer and use it as the ottoman. Two birds, one stone.

A Velodyne DD18 Ottoman? Whoa.

I have to say, I already know what that system sounds like "without" hearing and the word is "unencumbered".

At that close of a listening distance, you get some incredibly accurate sound transfer.

I am in the NF club and if you wish to hear more of the recording and less of your room distortions, it is one of the cheapest and best ways to elevate your system's perfromance.

The Karuselli chair looks like the ottoman option might be gynecologist stirrups? Gunbei thanx for the Ebay links, as for those prices the quality of the lounges looks like a a really good deal! I searched for about one year till I found the most comfortable Non-Fatiguing listening chair. A leather Recliner made by a company called Calia their Monda model. It has a multitude of listening positions & looks really kewl with it's brushed aluminum accents. My sister worked for a furniture store that carried the line at the time that I was looking.

http://www.caliamaddalena.it/_Monda.JPG

I also have Eames lounge chairs in my room- they suffer two drawbacks, sonically. First, they have a headrest, so that's got to affect what you hear (or don't hear). Also, they are a little low- something that you may be able to account for in speaker set-up. I have not tested the sonic merits of rosewood vs. other materials :-), but I will note that since you can get a substantial discount from an authorized Herman Miller dealer, you are not going to pay much more for the real thing than for a good knock-off. (There are admittedly some cheap knock-offs, but what's the point?). Also, note that DWR, which until recently sold a good quality knock-off of the Barcelona Chair (aka the Pavilion Chair) is now only selling the real deal from Knoll. (FWIW, there is a resale market for the real ones, and not a meaningful one on the copies).

"The Karuselli chair looks like the ottoman option might be gynecologist stirrups?"

Hahhhhh! Oh my god. My stomach hurts!

Say, I looked at that Calia Mondel Chair. Very nice. But which side does your head go on?

The wife and I were searching for patio furniture a few weeks ago and I ran across a lounge chair at Wal-Mart that was one of the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in (mabe I wsa tired). It looked to have the same sitting position as the chair Gunbei recommended but cost less than $100. I'm getting one and will put it on the porch if it doesn't work out.

I'm thinking I ought to get an Ab-Lounge as my listening chair.

Good info Whart. For years, I had no idea the previous Pavillion/Barcelona Chair DWR was selling was a knock off. Although I suspected such when the price for a DWR Barcelona went from $1995 to $3495, and that doesn't include the ottoman.

I'm thinking I ought to get an Ab-Lounge as my listening chair.

I can offer you my 7-minute listening session as a package deal for only $9.95 if you act before midnight tonight.

"I'm thinking I ought to get an Ab-Lounge as my listening chair."

Did the exact opposite. I installed a stainless steel Beer fridge behind my listening chair. Works great and has a reverse effect of the Ab-Lounge!

Chris

6 Minute Abs? Wha, huh? Nooo! You can't get a good workout in 6 minutes! 7 Minute Abs!

Great thread; just what I needed before going off to work. When us audiophiles get going, nothing is sacred including the age-old black leather chair. Tweak....tweak....tweak....

nothing is sacred including the age-old black leather chair

Just stay away from the Benny Hill edition. Squeaks worse than Ned Beatty.

And Gunbei, you stay away of the rest stops, OK?

I knew you'd catch that one, Howard.

just dont use a chair that is as high as your ears use a chair that comes to your shoulders..yes the foot rest can efect crtical listening but not casual when you are reading or whatever you may doing in your chair