My wife and I were all set on the Berkline 088s, configured in two rows of three. However, when our local dealer went to place the order today he realized that our leather choice had been discontinued :mad:

I can't remember the fabric number, but it was a Grade 2. As we went through their samples, we found quite a few other Grade 2 fabrics that we liked, but they had all been changed to a Grade 3. As our budget really only allows us the Grade 2, we settled on the "Portofino" fabric (don't have the number for it right now) which he told us was recently introduced. The sample was a little too shiny and slick for my taste, wasn't as soft as the others we liked, and was in a horrible color.

I'm really tempted to put my order on hold and have them get a sample in our color choice of Black, but I have a couple questions:

Are these leather grades determined by Berkline themselves?
Could this be due to manufacturing changes that increased the quality?

We just gutted the HT room - no walls, furniture, or carpet. I expect to have the room done in 6 weeks or so and there is an 8 week wait on the Berklines. The longer I hold my order, the longer I have a finished but unusable HT.

Do you find that the leather choice really makes THAT big of a difference in comfort? I'd hate to have 6 brand new chairs that are only comfortable if I'm in pants and a long sleeve shirt!

-Ben

If your not happy I would hold off. Nothing worse than not being happy to begin with. Not sure what price your paying for the grade 2 088's but have you checked out the power buy from rtheaters.com (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1030785). They are offering deals on some berks, but also have some nice deals on a "private collection" which were consulted on by Roman. Built in wireless shakers to boot. Probably worth cheking out.

Are these leather grades determined by Berkline themselves?

Yes, Berkline determines their leather grades. A couple Grade 2 leathers actually went up in grades recently to Grade 3's. This was determined by Berkline and not your local dealer.

Could this be due to manufacturing changes that increased the quality?

A lot of mills have been having trouble in the past couple years and many have shut down. So the supply chain has been disrupted a bit. I think the change has more to do with the pricing than an increase in quality.

Do you find that the leather choice really makes THAT big of a difference in comfort?

Yes, the leather choice can make a big difference in comfort and feel. The Grade 4 leathers are buttery soft while the lower grades are not quite as soft.

If your not happy I would hold off. Nothing worse than not being happy to begin with. Not sure what price your paying for the grade 2 088's but have you checked out the power buy from rtheaters.com (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1030785). They are offering deals on some berks, but also have some nice deals on a "private collection" which were consulted on by Roman. Built in wireless shakers to boot. Probably worth cheking out.

I looked at rtheaters.com as well as several other internet Berkline outlets. While there are some great deals out there, I decided to buy locally for a couple reasons.

First and foremost, the price was fairly competative but was heavily sweetened by the deal they're running now - free power recline when you buy more than 4 chairs (and I'm buying six).

Second, I kinda feel good helping local businesses when I can and they aren't charging an arm and a leg. While I'm all about the internet (buying 10 AWG cable from Blue Jeans rather than the 16 AWG Transparent my audio shop wants to sell me), it's nice to see local shops out here in Boise.

Are these leather grades determined by Berkline themselves?

Yes, Berkline determines their leather grades. A couple Grade 2 leathers actually went up in grades recently to Grade 3's. This was determined by Berkline and not your local dealer.

Could this be due to manufacturing changes that increased the quality?

A lot of mills have been having trouble in the past couple years and many have shut down. So the supply chain has been disrupted a bit. I think the change has more to do with the pricing than an increase in quality.

Do you find that the leather choice really makes THAT big of a difference in comfort?

Yes, the leather choice can make a big difference in comfort and feel. The Grade 4 leathers are buttery soft while the lower grades are not quite as soft.

Thanks, Ken! This is exactly what I was looking for! I called the dealer and asked them to put a hold on my order... too bad my rep had just flown out to watch the US Open!

I found a killer deal on a replacement glass door and window in that room and have a buddy who used to install windows for a living... automatic leather grade upgrade - SWEET!