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Crap, my listening room just got better! (long)

50.134.127.141

My nephew is going to live with us for about a month while he transitions to a new position. My wife was intially panicked as she was not real keen on having a guest for one month but "we" came up with a great solution :{ -- he could live in the listening room which is above a detached garage and is actually a studio apt. with bath and kitchenette. We had thrown out the sleeper sofa that had been there, so I got a futon (pretty nice for about $600). My wife spent a good day cleaning up the place and I got nothing but sh-t for 3 days for having lived "like a pig". In any case, the futon is now in the listening position and my chair is moved over.
Now for the bad news (no, not being able to listen to music for the next month is just a minor setback) -- things sound incredibly better sitting on the futon than in the chair. The sound stage, imaging and presence is mind-boggling. It balances out because the chair is incredibly more comfortable than the futon. So now for the hard decision - when my nephew moves out do I use the futon or the chair for listening?
Here's a picture of the chair and futon

and the room from the listening position

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Edits: 10/06/14

Follow Ups:

RE: Crap, my listening room just got better! (long) - JBen 11:36:48 10/08/14 (1)
Well, Neo, now that I have scanned the thread, I feel ashamed of myself for being so damn shy about mentioning it earlier. Not long after I got the MMGs, I began to notice the effect, years ago.

In short, overall SQ with the cloth sofa beat the crap out of plastic & leather furniture pieces. I also sold a tall -- and very comfy -- leather seat for being the worst offender. (Imaging was a major victim with it but so was tonal balance.)

OTOH, the SQ impact of any other stuff in the room I have alluded to in the past. In my place, I have to be careful of even what is behind my listening position. In a few weeks, for example, the Christmas tree (and the pileup of cloth luggage brought by our holiday visitors) will impose a nice SQ change in my apartment.

Therefore, at other times and taking advantage of these known Maggie behaviors, I tend to bring a not insignificant amorphous "pile of stuff" behind my listening spot. This is just for long listening sessions, when my wife is away.

Afterwards, I have to hide it before she arrives. Survival instincts : - ))
- RE: Crap, my listening room just got better! (long) - Norman M 08:58:32 10/12/14 (0)
  Holiday visitors, and with luggage! How much serious listening can you expect to do? In your position my primary audio related concern would be to keep them away from my system, (particularly if they brought young children).
Better, or just different? nt - Dman 06:38:16 10/08/14 (0)
nt

Dman
Analog Junkie
The back of your chair is too high - Markeneret 01:51:44 10/07/14 (1)
I agree with some other posters: your comfy chair is too high. You really don't want anything behind your ears while listening. It's amazing how much imaging, stage width and depth are affected by the acoustics behind you. I use a comfortable adjustable office chair. The height that you sit also affects what you hear, as bass nodes are formed vertically in a room as well as horizontally.
"I see sound waves"
- RE: The back of your chair is too high - Norman M 10:12:40 10/08/14 (0)
  The back of my chair is not too high:
RE: Crap, my listening room just got better! (long) - Satie 20:42:02 10/06/14 (2)
If you do want to use a tall back chair then get one with a fabric upholstry rather than leather so it absorbs rather than reflects in the midrange and treble. In my listening positions near the wall I prefer the chair's tall back and have a heavy brocade throw I picked after experimenting with a few other fabrics.
- For once... - Mark Man 09:58:08 10/07/14 (1)
  I can say been there done that...even using different materials, (upholstery, Pillow, towels...)they all dampened range and in my room, a gap in the emersion/sound-stage...
  
  Still want to find someone to cut off the chair back...
  thanks again Sadie...
  Mark
  - RE: For once... - Satie 20:14:11 10/07/14 (0)
    My Barkalounger's back reaches to just above ear height. If I am listening intently I will sit up and not lean my head back and I have the immersion field mostly intact since the height of the back is less than ear height when you sit up but the back is reclined. I have a sofa for no coverage of the back of the head but I have not resorted to it in years.
RE: Crap, my listening room just got better! (long) - Mike D 12:46:45 10/06/14 (7)
Hopefully when you test the chair again, you will find that it is "better". If not, you can look for an excuse to buy a big, non-leather chair to help with the absorption the futon is providing. If you can't get a new cloth chair, a big comfy blanket may help.

I had a reflective chair once and my experience was similar to yours... minus the nephew and wife.
- RE: Crap, my listening room just got better! (long) - PMC7027@comcast.net 12:53:54 10/06/14 (6)
  Try a chair without such a high back. The high back certainly influences what you hear.
  - RE: Crap, my listening room just got better! (long) - neolith 18:02:07 10/06/14 (4)
    Yeah, I figured that was why things got so much better but that chair is really comfy. The other bad news is that the wife came up to the room and nestled up to me to share the sweet spot and then she said -- wait for it --
    
    "Dear, Could you turn it down a bit?"
    �
    
    �
    - Neo...Did you turn it down??? - Mark Man 19:52:20 10/06/14 (3)
      Neo...
      
      I bought a new "listening" chair with a high back, 6+ months ago...
      the love seat is my actual listening chair...SOOOOO much better for all the reasons you have stated...for many years my listening chair was similar to the "Maxell" commercial chair...but I wore that bad boy out...replaced with the one in the photo...liked the chair, hated the sound...it did not take long to figure that one out...
      
      My sweet spot has a hall-way to my right and a foyer to left...so basically an alcove that expands the width of the room, outside the walls of the HK/Limage set-up...working with Sadie early on speaker placement within my room...he thought these alcoves on either side were going to be advantageous to my listening position...and they are...much more expansive sound presentation than any other place in my room...really nice...
      
      Get yourself a foot-stool, slouch, chill, and enjoy...still very comfortable...
      
      I am happy with your discovery...Love those "free" upgrades...
      thanks
      Mark
      - RE: Neo...Did you turn it down??? - neolith 05:50:46 10/07/14 (2)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Neo...Did you turn it down??? posted by Mark Man on October 06, 2014 at 19:52:20
        
        Of course I did. I know a rhetorical question when I hear one and I haven't survived 33 years of marriage without developing some "street smarts". :) Oops, got to go, the wife just asked me to jump (I already know how high).
        �
        
        �
        
        Yes...dear... - Mark Man 09:36:53 10/07/14 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Neo...Did you turn it down??? posted by neolith on October 07, 2014 at 05:50:46
        
        Preach...
        
        I am single for a reason...have GF...
        "Are you really going to leave those things in the middle of the room?"
        Yes...Yes I am..."Why are they so big?"...
        
        Then explain how they work for 10 minutes....they look at you like a confused dog...no offense to either species...
        
        Yeah...I turn it down...
        thanks
        Mark...
        
        Ps...Chair...I want to cut a foot off the back of my listening chair...
        
        RE: Neo...Did you turn it down??? - Norman M 09:00:38 10/07/14 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Neo...Did you turn it down??? posted by neolith on October 07, 2014 at 05:50:46
        
        Nonetheless, it should be a 'two-way street'.
  - Bingo! Correct Answer! :) nt - Doug Schroeder 17:36:01 10/06/14 (0)
    no text
    
    The greatest impediment to advancing an audiophile system is the audiophile.

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