Say no to leather chairs!

[DrWho]

A nice plush high-back chair can help block reflections off the rear wall. Depending on the room that might be a good thing.

 

The plush part helps because it gets your ears way way closer to the reflection point - basically close enough that you're not getting any comb-filtering from the backing of the chair. Since you're taking measurements, rotate the mic 90 degrees and get it resting against the chair to see what I'm talking about. Of course you'll need to convince yourself that it is in fact omnidirectional enough to handle that.

[etc6849]

I guess I left out a key fact somewhere:  I also need the low back so the mid-range of my rear speakers can be pointed right at my head.  A typical plush chair would block too much of my rear channels.  My room has a lot of weird constraints on where I can put the rear channels (some driven by my wife, sloped ceilings/walls I can't easily mount to, etc...).

 

I think I have seen plush high back chairs that contour in at the top (to allow rear channels to hit your ear) and maybe this is the type of chair you are talking about.  It's a good idea.

 

If money was no object (90% of my theater was bought second hand or refurbished), I'd try to find and order some, but it's hard to resist a black Friday deal where these were more than half off (of la-z-boy designer series not the cheaper stuff) and then they throw in free delivery. 

 

I like your thinking though and believe it should improve things.  I'll try to run some tests next time I have my mic and laptop out, and I'll even do some with a pillow on the chair back too.

 

 

 

The plush part helps because it gets your ears way way closer to the reflection point - basically close enough that you're not getting any comb-filtering from the backing of the chair.

Edited December 1, 2015 by etc6849

[etc6849]

Makes sense now!  I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised next time you measure.  I bet it sounds great.

 

The REW measurements were pre-EQ.

[NBPK402]

 

Makes sense now!  I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised next time you measure.  I bet it sounds great.

 

 

 

The REW measurements were pre-EQ.

 

I love the way it sounds...of course i always wonder if it could be tweeked a little more, and even sound better. My setup was also bought either used or new pieces that were very good deals. I hate to buy something and a few months later it has depreciated.

 

I do have some Dirac images, but I don't think they will tell as much as REW does.

[Olorin]

I have dogs; leather furniture is a requirement.

 

Then again, the dogs are coated in absorbent material, so it's probably a wash.

[NBPK402]

I have dogs; leather furniture is a requirement.

 

Then again, the dogs are coated in absorbent material, so it's probably a wash.

Almost all of our furniture is microfiber because we have 4 dogs. I think my wife was worried about the leather getting damaged.

[mark1101]

There must be something wrong with me because I never sit down when I listen to music.  I have an office chair on wheels at my PC and it's usually tucked under the desk.

 

Why do you sit down when you listen to music?  

[Olorin]

Too drunk to stand, usually.

[etc6849]

Updated plots with 4 of the black friday chairs and mains crossed at 40Hz.

 

Looks like freq response dips a few more dB's, but this time the waterfall below 20Hz is much tamer   I wasn't expecting furniture to tame the low end so much.

 

In fact, I'd say the decay down to 20Hz looks very good.  I'll try to remember to take some with Dirac turned off next time. 

 

You can also see how the new row of chairs in the back blocks my door some.  Note the impulse response plot just after 10 ms looks a little better than before (but wouldn't cause an audible difference).

 

EDIT:  forgot to mention this is with my mains crossed at 40 Hz and I think I'm using a different mic with Dirac than I was before.  Previously I was using a calibrated Dayton UMM-6 USB mic, but switched to a Mini DSP UMIK-1 USB mic since it is more sensitive and has less 1kHz noise.   I also reset the XMC-1 after a firmware update.  Maybe these two things somehow improved Dirac's performance, I don't know.  Dirac or the new chairs are doing a much better on the low end...  This is why I should have taken measurements with Dirac turned off so I'd know for sure!   Finally, Dirac's bass performance is on par with Audyssey Pro SubEQ HT that I was using before with my dual subs.

 

Some ringing between 80Hz - 90Hz is also gone.  Maybe this is why it seems to punch my chest a little more than before?

 

Edited December 5, 2015 by etc6849

[etc6849]

Have you tried going to an AA meeting...?  Sounds serious if you are drinking like that every night!  I'm not even 40 and I don't drink like that anymore.

 

Too drunk to stand, usually.