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In Reply to: RE: Listening chair. posted by MannyE on June 06, 2016 at 19:23:29
Hey Manny, only because you're a good sport, I'll give you a serious answer. ;)A tall wingback chair is all wrong. It blocks a large percentage of the ambient sound from the sides and back. This will be especially noticeable in a fairly live room because it throws off the directional balance of the received sound, and the brain doesn't like that. It's like being in an unnatural environment. People who have a dead-ish room wouldn't notice it as much, since there's already very little ambient sound (I'm talking about rooms with carpeting, lots of curtains, over-stuffed furniture, etc.
For this reason, a chair (or sofa or love seat) which doesn't come up higher than your neck is preferable. I have a love seat in "the sweet spot". For serious analytical listening, I stand or stand on the stairway 'landing', where I am directly on the tweeter axis (my speakers are tilted back pretty severely, for a better ambient sound).
With regard to chair covering: That leather chair which Slapshot posted on June 6th looks very nice, and could be a serious candidate. The thing I'd watch out for would be specular reflections at upper frequencies - they bounce right off that leather. This may or may not be an issue for you, depending on taste and room ambience. So, you may want to consider a similar chair, but with a cloth fabric. Obviously, you're the only one who can make that decision.
Now, here's an ironic story... There's a "gentlemen's club" in the area, and they have all tall wingback chairs, and... the club manager's name is Manny (Emmanuel).
:)
Edits: 06/08/16Follow Ups:
Out of necessity, my listening room is also our living room & my "listening chair" is one of our wingback armchairs. It is upholstered & the back rises approx. to the top of my head (when seated, of course). It also "wraps" around the sides of my head, flaring out slightly. I have never thought my system sounded exactly right & often wondered if the chair was causing that "ain't quite there" sound. Since I really can't move anything around in the room, I suppose my question, "is this the problem?", is really academic, but I'm curious nonetheless. So now that I've read my post back to myself before posting, my first thought is, Dave, why are you even posting this since you've said there's nothing you can do to change things? Great question. I don't know what I expect to expect (?), other than perhaps an inmate support group that agrees with me which would be ammo for my suggestion to my bride of 43 yrs, to rearrange another room in our home to become "the listening room". I can hear her now, "honey, I'm fine with another area being your listening room, but do you think your speakers will fit between the toilet & the tub"?
Everyone thinks I'm strange except my friends deep inside the earth
Exactly how do upper frequencies "bounce right off that leather?" Unless you are standing in the room while listening, I assume your absorptive non-reflective body is actually sitting in that chair, which is of course, the only purpose of it!
The walls, ceiling and floor reflections overwhelm any minuscule contribution of a small leather chair with yourself in it!
Correctly applied acoustic treatments will lessen any reflections from whatever surface to acceptable levels.
"Exactly how do upper frequencies "bounce right off that leather?""Every object/surface has characteristics which affect the sound which impinges upon them. These characteristics vary with frequency and angle of impingement. They include: absorption, transmission, and reflection. (There is also amplification, but that occurs in rare and special occasions, often intentionally, such as with a violin or piano.) At upper frequencies, the wavelengths are so short, and the energy level is so small, that there is little to no absorption for a piece of leather furniture at those frequencies. A leather-covered piece of furniture, at upper frequencies, is almost like a piece of glass, with regard to sound.
:)
Edits: 06/08/16
You did not specifically address my point, that is, you are sitting in the chair covering most of that otherwise reflective surface with your entire body. Unless you are wearing a leather suit, the effect of the leather that is left exposed on the chair is inconsequential compared to the larger reflective surfaces of the entire room.
"You did not specifically address my point"
I specifically addressed your point:
"Exactly how do upper frequencies "bounce right off that leather?""
Just fyi, read my edited post, since I did make a clarification with regard to glass - I meant it to be a comparison of two HF sonically reflective surfaces.
:)
I do not dispute that leather presents a reflective surface to high frequencies. However, with regard to a chair, the reflective properties are negligible with your body in it.
Well, maybe maybe not. If you are sitting in the chair and you're squishy like I am, the parts you cover will absorb sound. But if the analogy is a piece of glass, AND if leather is just as reflective (let's assume this is true...for now)
I imagine that if I placed two pieces of glass to either side of my head in the way a wing chair wraps around, then regardless of my squishy sound absorbing body, the surfaces right next to my ears are reflecting right into my ears.
I think that's what he is getting at and I tend to agree. Of course, I haven't had time to actually test this out yet.
Hmmm... When I cup my squishy hands around my ears the sound definitely changes. Is that reflection from a relatively soft surface?
Regards,
Steve
I have no experience with a wing back style chair. If you look at the photos in my earlier post you will see the Ekornes swivel type recliner I use. You will also see the acoustic screen panels arranged to either side of my head area.
In any case the reflections that may result from an occupied leather chair are still dwarfed by the majority of those coming from walls, ceiling and the floor.
Rooms must be properly treated unless the preference is to live in a hall of mirrors!
For purposes of this conversation, it doesn't matter if the chair is occupied or not. It's true that a single chair is a small contributor to the ambient sound of the room overall, but, if you're sitting in it, you have surfaces which are very reflective at high frequencies very near your ears. As I wrote previously, this may or may not bother the chair's occupant. Some folks' hearing is down 15-20 dB at 10 KHz, so they might appreciate a little extra reflection. :)With regard to seating in concert halls, you'll often/usually see chairs which are "plush", even on the bottom side of the seat. This is intended to simulate an occupied seat even when it's not occupied, so as to maintain a reasonably consistent reverberant sound field whether the room is 1/4 full or full.
:)
Edits: 06/08/16 06/08/16
... depending on how many listeners (aka human tube traps) are sharing it with you?
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