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Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ. |
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Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ. |
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In Reply to: Advice on the best listening chair posted by tommytube on August 11, 2003 at 21:20:50:
When I worked in health and safety, seating was one of my areas of interest and I spent a fair amount of time looking for a chair after I retired. I'd been using an armchair until then and had decided on a recliner. I ended up in a copy of the Le Corbusier chaisse which I find very comfortable. Although you can get down to a horizontal back position with elevated legs, I use it at the other extreme which is a fairly reclined position. It will not get you as upright as a normal recliner will, ie into armchair position. The zero gravity chair in the link from lutesk looks as if it uses a fairly similar position for the body, a bit less angle between the thighs and the torso, and moves to a more usual upright armchair position. I think I'd prefer the contour of my chaisse at the angle I sit at, but the contour of the zero gravity chair looks more suitable in the more upright positions it is capable of.I definitely find a reclined position more comfortable for long listening sessions. If you go for a recliner or chaisse of some sort, you will most definitely want a high back to provide support for the head. I would only consider a lower back chair if I was sitting upright. Some people raise problems about reflections from the chair back but I haven't had any problems with that. I wouldn't buy a chair with wrap around 'wings' at ear height, but a flat support behind the head is fine. You can always place a towel folded several times or a soft pillow there if necessary to kill reflections.
Whatever chair you buy, make sure it suits the dimensions of your body. We're all different and some chairs just don't match some body sizes and shapes. Get that wrong and you have a recipe for discomfort every time you sit in it. If you're buying 2 chairs for yourself and your wife, that may mean buying different chairs if you are different sizes, or trying to find a chair that comes in different sizes and buying two different sizes. The size option is available in better office chairs but is rarely offered in arm chairs and recliners which seem to operate on a "one size fits all" approach which rarely works. It's very difficult, for instance, for my wife and I to find a chair that suits both of us due to differences in size.
Recliners in particular are difficult when it comes to body size. They provide support from the lower leg to the head in 3 sections, lower leg, seat and back. The length of the seat is critical. If it's too long, the front of the seat interferes with the lower leg and knee position when your back is resting against the back rest. If you adjust your position to get the knee position right, you lose support at the pelvis and lower back which is even worse. The seat length actually tends to increase in many recliners as they recline, so some chairs that are fine in the upright position become unsuitable at some point as the back is reclined. Chaisses like the one I use and the zero gravity chair have a fixed contour that can be tilted as a whole which avoids the problem of the seat length changing, but you need to make sure that the length the designer chose is not too long for your body.
Don't rush and be prepared for a lot of 'road testing'. I spent a couple of months looking and was surprised how many reasonable looking chairs were uncomfortable or didn't quite match my body.
Searching may not be fun, but listening can be a lot more pleasant once you find the chair that really works for you.David Aiken
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Follow Ups
- Re: Advice on the best listening chair - David Aiken 12:56:04 08/12/03 (1)
- Great advice.....thanks! <nt> - tommytube 13:43:18 08/12/03 (0)
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