I am still up in the air whether I should have a chair that looks great and somewhat comfortable or one that is ultra comfortable and doesn’t look great. First world problems…
That’s not the issue for me. I have two non-negotiable priorities—sound quality and comfort—and aesthetics only becomes a factor after the first two requirements are met.
Sound quality for me has several aspects:
1. The chair height has to be right since my speakers have a vertical sweet spot; too low and the highs are rolled off, too high and the treble is bright and no longer coherent.
2. The back of the chair can’t extend above my shoulders or else the sound is messed up.
3. Low mass chairs sound better for some reason.
4. Cloth upholstery sounds better than leather. Leather can cause a glare in the highs. At least that’s how I hear it. (This is unfortunate since I really like the look and feel of leather.)
Comfort is personal. I know if a chair is comfortable as soon as I sit in it. And if it’s not comfortable to sit in for an hour or two what’s the point?
Aesthetics? Like many here I like the look of MCM but too often nice looking MCM chairs fail the longterm comfort test.
My current listening chair is an ordinary looking, low-mass, upholstered side chair. Nothing special but it is comfortable and it meets all of my requirements but it’s now past its prime; it looks a little too lived in. (No photo since all our stuff is in storage during a move.). My wife wants to get rid of the chair especially since my new listening room will be more visible than before, but so far I am resisting.
I’m leaning more towards a comfy slim recliner chair if there is such a thing (Costco had one). I like the idea of a couch too (more people to enjoy the sound) but have to move things around to make that happen. Though the couch isn’t as comfy (article leather sofa), but looks cool.
www.1stdibs.com
