The Importance of the Chair

Hi folks.

This will be one of my very last topics on this or any of the other hifi forums due to being basically where I want to be with hifi (prefix purchase excepted, though that's almost a given). So, I shall shortly retire from actively posting, and concentrate on other interests - after all, I won't want to re-open any cans of worms...

The journey from the Denon days of the late eighties and early nineties, though the dark Arcam days of the mid-to-late nineties, via my plastic fantastic days with DNM, to my current Naim setup has been fun, if a bit on the expensive side when it's all totalled up. However, I am finally in a place which satisfies me in all regards, and early concerns over high frequency extension and the like have faded as the system has warmed up.

Anyway, the final piece of the musical jigsaw puzzle fell into place at the end of last week - I finally took delivery of my new recliner, which has two roles to play - as a chill-out chair for reading or napping, and as a listening chair. I spent a fair amount of time selecting a suitable place to plonk my ar$e yet didn't really appreciate quite how much of a difference to one's enjoyment of music having a really ergonomic and comfortable listening chair can make.

I wouldn't be surprised if a great many people stall at the cost of a decent chair as it's tempting to spend more money on boxes or music. However, in the days since installing the Peel II I have noticed that I perceive all music as more enjoyable and relaxing, whilst finally achieving something akin to 'closure' on the whole hifi thing.

Why am I posting this? Well, primarily to state for the record that to get the most out of the music, it really pays to pay attention not only to things like the hifi, the setup and the room, but also the environment you're going to be listening in. In my case, I wanted warm and comfortable, tidy and clean, not too dark and not too bright - those sorts of things - coupled with a chair that I could sit in for long periods without feeling sore or stressed, but equally without something so saggy that my posture went (I am mindful of my back these days). I used to sit on everything from a sofa to an Ikea inflatable cushion thing, but nothing really did it for me. I'd either be subconsciously compensating for lack of balance on the cushion or finding myself slouched on the sofa. I'd either find I was sitting too low or too high for the speakers, and bits of me would get over-warm.

What I realised was that my attention and appreciation of the music I was attempting to listen to was being compromised by a number of small, but consequential, niggles in the environment around me. I was forever finding myself sitting with arms clasped behind my head, and elbows out - and the sound was somewhat better that way. I'd find that I couldn't settle and because of that I wasn't able to really immerse myself in the music.

I strongly encourage anyone who is 'making do' with whatever sofa, chair, cushions, etc., to look into how comfortable they are and whether a few pounds spent on a really ergonomic and comfortable chair would be a better investment in that latest box - in my case, I'd say the improvement on Sofa->Recliner is greater than 82/HC to 52/SC, and quite a bit cheaper too. Maybe that won't apply to you but then again maybe it will. I think the very fact we're on this forum in the first place suggests that we all want to take steps to increase our musical enjoyment, so I really would recommend looking beyond the hifi and into your very own comfort.

John