Theater seating arrangements

[Blindamood]

Okay, we've decided to add dedicated seating to the home theater, and I'm wondering if anyone has some good recommendations on where/what to buy. I'm thinking of the type with the recliner and cupholders, probably 4 seats across. I stopped by the La-Z-Boy showroom today to check out their "Matinee" line, which comes in just over $3000 for 4 seats in fabric (as opposed to leather). Any other ideas?

[efarstad]

If you have a JC Penney in your area...they also sell the same seats but I think they're much cheaper....I would never had thought JCP's would carry something like that but when I saw them myself I was a believer!

E





The Norwegian A/V Nut!
E-Cinema

[Clive]

Walmart also had some lazy-boys dirt cheap. I don't know if they're in your area but here, last week they were $149.98 cnd !!




CLIVE




HEY!! Why buy movie tickets when you can own a Theater?

[Chris D]

Blindamood, what kind of budget are you looking for? Are you looking for single seats 4 across, or would you prefer two loveseat styles?

Personally, I've chosen to go with the Sensation theater seating from Clark Synthesis with tactile transducers installed. They're some of the best you can get, and Clark gives you a fantastic product and service.

http://www.clarksynthesis.com

Don't know if that would work for you or not.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Blindamood]

Well, after a good deal of shopping (with my wife, of course!), we've decided on the chairs shown below. Arrangement will be exactly as shown. Can't wait 'till they arrive! Should have the room completely painted/redecorated by then, awaiting their arrival (approx. 5 weeks).

[Chris D]

Wow, that looks great! I think you'll be happy with looks at least. Did you get a chance to audition them before you buy? How do they feel?

Curious--do they have a brand name?




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[David Meek]

Brad, congratulations! That's a nice set of chairs - not only do they look good, they look really comfy.
:T




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Blindamood]

Yes, Chris, we actually did get to try them out at the store, and they're quite comfortable. My wife and I are more into the contemporary look than into the big la-z-boy type chair, so they are perfect for us. Leather is also a plus! They also have built-in footstools that pull out manually.

For the life of me, I cannot remember the brand name! We bought them from a large home recreation store (sells pool tables, spas, etc.).

[Jeff Hartford]

Was reading an article in an HT mag about the biggest HT mistakes by an installer. Said recliners and seats with too high a back. The recliner puts your feet in front of the screen and moves your head out of optimum range, and too high a seat blocks sound to your head. Said footrests (like you have) are a much better idea. Set up looks very nice.

Jeff

[Jeff Hartford]

Was reading an article in an HT mag about the biggest HT mistakes by an installer. Said recliners and seats with too high a back. The recliner puts your feet in front of the screen and moves your head out of optimum range, and too high a seat blocks sound to your head. Said footrests (like you have) are a much better idea. Set up looks very nice. BTW, do you have a price on the setup?

Jeff

[Blindamood]

Hey Jeff, I think I just read the same article as you did. These seats actually do recline, however. Sometimes, the 'style' vs. 'functionality' trade-off is a bit difficult. Got the exact configuration as shown for just over $3K (~15% off list).

[David Meek]

The high-headrest argument is a valid one, but you can minimize the effects by mounting your side/rear surrounds higher up on the walls of your room, so that the soundfield source broadcasts above the headrests. That's the set-up I had in our old theater room and the one that I'll have in Cinemeek when it's complete, and it works very well. Now if you are using 5, 6 or 7 floorstanding speakers, that's a whole different ballgame - but I'm a bit of a two-channel purist for music anyway. . . .

I'll be quiet now.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Chris D]

I'm in the camp that believes that seat backs shouldn't be too high. The seats I went with are designed for audio/video use, and the mid-height backs are fully supportive, but end well below the ear level, allowing for unobstructed directional sound.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Burke Strickland]

I have a "high back" recliner and a couple of "medium back" chairs in my home theater. I've tried both types in the "sweet spot" and acknowldege that the high seat back can interfere with the rear surround sound, at least on one side or the other, if the chair is turned at the wrong angle. I have floor standing towers as surrounds but they are quite tall, and the main drivers are well above ear height. (Speaker placement can overcome most of the problem, as David has noted, but if the chair is turned so that its back forms a "wall" blocking the sound from one side, then the surround effect suffers.)

Since I spend most of my time at home in the HT room (my computer is there), I'm inclined to pick the most comfortable chair to sit in for extended periods, HT acoustic theory be damned. :>) The other chairs are quite comfortable for the duration of even a double feature, but the recliner is still the "best seat in the house" for prolonged use. I just try to stay seated with the chair facing forward and the seat tilted back a bit if I'm listening to something with a lot of surround content. Works for me. :>)

Burke

[Blindamood]

Well, for anyone who is interested, I posted some pics of my newly-finished theater room here:

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php?stype=2&si=blindamood

The room is basically an upstairs loft, which we previously didn't use much at all. You can see the theater chairs we got, although the final arrangement is not quite there (waiting on a couple replacement components from the store). The manufacturer of the chairs, BTW, is mobel team, a Swedish manufacturer.