# My Butt is Sick & Tired!!



## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

That's it. No more sitting on the floor when a guest or wife watches movies with me. Time to replace the oversize, overstuffed chair in my HT with dual seating! I've been shopping around and found that there are two classes of chairs (to the best of my knowledge): your standard HT seats one one hand, and your basic recliner with cupholder and storage bin on the other.

What I'd like to know is, "What's the difference?" The HT seats I've come across have large rectangular arms and cost a small fortune (upwards of $1k). Pseudo-HT, side-by-side recliners can be had in the $500 to $700 range. Are the bona-fide HT seats that much more comfortable, or are they just made better to withstand a lot of wear and tear?


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## Savjac (Apr 17, 2008)

I am shrugging right now, I am not sure if you can see me do that though.

I think it is kind of important in home theater seating to make sure the back of the chain is a tad lower than your ears so you can clearly hear the back and side surrounds. Just sayin..


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I bought 4 seats like these for my HT... https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/fud/5991016284.html

I found them on CL, then went to a local store, and they matched the price.


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

Savjac said:


> I think it is kind of important in home theater seating to make sure the back of the chain is a tad lower than your ears so you can clearly hear the back and side surrounds.


Sound advice (heh-heh)! I've heard of placing a blanket between your head and seat to help kill reflections.
Bad News: My wife needs full neck support.
Good News: My AVR has Dirac Live to help correct reflections.



ellisr63 said:


> I found them on CL, then went to a local store, and they matched the price.


Now that's a great store with great service!

I've done a lot more research since the original post, and think I should have done more research before asking the question. There's no real distinction between HT recliners and HT seats except in terms of quality, features, and price. After visiting some local retailers to test-drive their inventory, I'm sorry to say I'm not impressed. Call it sticker-shock if you will, as it's been over 10 years since I've bought any furniture. But my goodness, some of these $1k seats have imprecise reclining mechanisms and most I've tried had very poor lumbar support. 
Maybe it's my hump. :rant: Thanks for listening.

I found out the cheaper seats are upholstered in cloth, have no creature-features, and are generally unattractive. No big surprise there. But when I found expensive seats with roughly the same profile, I had to ask myself again: "Why the difference?" Digging a little deeper told the full story. More money will sometimes get you detachable backrests making for easier installation. More money will sometimes get you wall-hugging designs. More money will sometimes get you better quality backed by generously long warranties on the order of 5 years to life. That sounds like a prison sentence and, in a sense, it is. Trying to save a little is okay as long as comfort isn't sacrificed, I always say! And I think most people who shell out that kind of dough expect their seats to last a long, long time. I certainly do. 

So here are a couple of choices I labored over. Please feel free to rip into them. I know that you know that seating can be highly subjective, but anything you may have to add would be highly appreciated.

This cheaper one comes highly rated by a wide consumer cross-section:








And this more expensive one is offered by a very reputable company:


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

This is what we went with. I like the fact that electrical plugins are included when the middle is flipped down. It also has two USB plugins. https://m.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=39980248


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Lou. It's extortion. Lol! Nothing wrong with a pair of nice recliners.(theater seats are awesome too). My problem in that size room is making sure I could fit 3 across, cause no way am I giving up front and center. I'll slide over on the couch, but when it counts,nope. Mine. Minasaurous rex.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

willis7469 said:


> Lou. It's extortion. Lol! Nothing wrong with a pair of nice recliners.(theater seats are awesome too). My problem in that size room is making sure I could fit 3 across, cause no way am I giving up front and center. I'll slide over on the couch, but when it counts,nope. Mine. Minasaurous rex.


 Hahaha that's awesome!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Every so often Costco has some nice home theater seating. Have you been there yet?


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

willis7469 said:


> Lou. It's extortion. Lol! Nothing wrong with a pair of nice recliners.(theater seats are awesome too). My problem in that size room is making sure I could fit 3 across, cause no way am I giving up front and center. I'll slide over on the couch, but when it counts,nope. Mine. Minasaurous rex.


Absolutely (Adrian)! I just found the Berkline 13175 in a love seat configuration (center armrest removed) and thought I could just calibrate for, and sit in, the center. But from the looks of it, the center is on top of a ridge formed by the two seat cushions. Comfy? Probably not so much. So now I'm leaning toward separate chairs. The plan is to plop mine down in the sweet spot, and skew the other off-center.



tonyvdb said:


> Every so often Costco has some nice home theater seating. Have you been there yet?


Not yet, but it's definitely worth a trip. If you're like me then you like to know your options to ward off buyer's remorse!


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

JBrax said:


> This is what we went with. I like the fact that electrical plugins are included when the middle is flipped down. It also has two USB plugins. https://m.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=39980248


Showoff :wink2:


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

Lumen said:


> JBrax said:
> 
> 
> > This is what we went with. I like the fact that electrical plugins are included when the middle is flipped down. It also has two USB plugins. https://m.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=39980248
> ...


 Now now it's not like that. I was like you trying to find something that checked off all of my boxes. That was the only affordable one I could find.


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

You have my apologies. I meant no harm, but I must learn to think before speaking. :R


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

Lumen said:


> You have my apologies. I meant no harm, but I must learn to think before speaking.


 Well I just re-read your original post so I guess you don't want to spend that much. So my apologies to you!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

http://www.bizchair.com/401sc-2-seat-bz.html
And they take up less room as they are children's size :wink2:


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> http://www.bizchair.com/401sc-2-seat-bz.html
> And they take up less room as they are children's size


 22" wide? Seems like that could be a tight fit.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

JBrax said:


> 22" wide? Seems like that could be a tight fit.


Ya, LOL and they are only rated for up to 90lbs:whistling:


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> JBrax said:
> 
> 
> > 22" wide? Seems like that could be a tight fit.
> ...


 Hey, good price though!


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

tonyvdb said:


> http://www.bizchair.com/401sc-2-seat-bz.html
> And they take up less room as they are children's size :wink2:


Or maybe dog size? :surprise:

The trigger-pull happened at 8:36pm this evening for this model. I was told it's the successor to the Berkline Tangiers whose pic and link are included at the bottom of post #4. I'm assuming that the new Seatcraft Trenton is of the same design and uses the same factory tooling. It's hard to say whether it's manufactured in the same careful manner with the same quality materials. Why do I mention all that? Because the new version only carries a 1-year warranty whereas the original had lifetime on the mechanism, 5-year on the cushions, and 1-year on the fabrics and electronics. Hmmm. So that's how I got worried and sprung for the 5-year extended warranty for $59/seat. That's a pretty good deal, IMO! Even better, it was offset by a $100 discount for spending more than $1k.

The wife and I decided to get the 1-row configuration rather than the loveseat. The 1-row has an armrest between the seats while the loveseat does not. That's fairly obvious to some, but what's not obvious is that both configurations are made up of two individual seats. And by "individual" I mean not connected together. That's right, you can locate each independently! That's perfect, because I can put my chair in the sweet spot and locate the wife's... well, you know... not in the sweet spot. :sneeky: The downside is that one chair is missing an armrest when they're not butted-up against each other.

They're shipping tomorrow and should be here in a week or so. Until then, I'll be setting up my new rack, reconnecting equipment, and running trials to determine subwoofer and tube trap performance. You know what else? I really miss coming home after a stressful day to slide a concert video into the player and plop down into the sweet spot. After all this work, it really will be sweet!


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Those look great Lou! Congrats, and good choice. Btw, don't you have a nice mobile sweet spot? I.E.:cans. I know. No matter how nice the headphones are, it's not the same, but all your work will pay off. Doing good buddy.


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## Savjac (Apr 17, 2008)

Congrats Lumen, they look great. I too hope to have a nice pair of those one day, until then a big lazy boy will have to do.


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## Savjac (Apr 17, 2008)

willis7469 said:


> Those look great Lou! Congrats, and good choice. Btw, don't you have a nice mobile sweet spot? I.E.:cans. I know. No matter how nice the headphones are, it's not the same, but all your work will pay off. Doing good buddy.


I really like this thought as trying to do home theater and stereo in the same room on a budget has become a major issue for me. Hmmmm


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

willis7469 said:


> Those look great Lou! Congrats, and good choice.


Thank euww, thank euww verry much-uh! It was not easy for me. I stressed for days researching choices and narrowing them down. The countdown to trigger-pull was (almost) the worst, as I wondered if some other similar model might be better. But that paled by comparison when the phone rep told me my pick was discontinued. I didn't have a backup! I only had a first choice in two very different quality categories. I was caught unprepared:

_"I ran out of gas! I got a flat tire! I didn’t have change for cab fare! I lost my tux at the cleaners! I locked my keys in the car! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! IT WASN’T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!"_ --Jake Blues

So I was instantly and genuinely relieved when they told me a different company picked up the model. In retrospect, I enjoyed learning and shopping. A new day brings a fresh start and the new perspective that buyer's remorse is not on my radar. And of course there's more learning to come as I live with the seats and find out what's to like/not like. 



Savjac said:


> Congrats Lumen, they look great. I too hope to have a nice pair of those one day, until then a big lazy boy will have to do.


And thank you too, Jack! You sound to me as if you're settling. With a La-Z-Boy!? I don't mean to pry, so ignore me if I'm out of line but now I'm curious. Seat back too high? Getting long-in-the-tooth? Just want more of an authentic theater feel?


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## Savjac (Apr 17, 2008)

Lumen said:


> And thank you too, Jack! You sound to me as if you're settling. With a La-Z-Boy!? I don't mean to pry, so ignore me if I'm out of line but now I'm curious. Seat back too high? Getting long-in-the-tooth? Just want more of an authentic theater feel?


Yes the seat back is too high and I would like something with an authentic feel. You of course, are spot on. You sat in the big old chair, and I like it because there is room to lounge sideways if i get cramped, its just there is only one and I shant be able to find its exact mate for a double date. Now havin said that, my wife likes to lay on the sleeper sofa and watch movies and we dont really have others over for the big watch so I guess it is not that important. 

You single handedly solved my problem. I will purchase some invisible chairs for the invisible guests. :T


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

willis7469 said:


> Btw, don't you have a nice mobile sweet spot? I.E.:cans. I know. No matter how nice the headphones are, it's not the same, but all your work will pay off. Doing good buddy.


My Grado SR60's became lawn fertilizer after my dog ate them :unbelievable:

I now have a pair of B&W P5's I got as part of a trade-in deal. They're used with a portable amp/DAC in the office and on-the-go . They're well-balanced, have deep bass, and are extremely comfortable for hours on end. But they're not accurate enough for my recording needs, because I feel they're voiced far to the warm side of neutral. I don't use them for casual listening, but have toyed with the idea of getting a set for serious listening. I've had my eye on the Sennheiser HD800 for a while now, but a man's gotsa eat sometimes!


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

Savjac said:


> ...we dont really have others over for the big watch so I guess it is not that important.


Thanks for sharing and welcome to my boat! :T



Savjac said:


> You single handedly solved my problem. I will purchase some invisible chairs for the invisible guests. :T


:rofl:


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