It seems that most everyone here has or is ordering Berklines. I haven't been able to do a comparisson live sitting in the chairs, so I don't have anything to compare to. Are these really that superior of a chair? I've seen some for about half of the price. I can see that they are very nice, but are they really that much better than some of the knock offs you can find online?

It seems that most everyone here has or is oredring Berklines. I haven't been able to do a comparisson live sitting in the chairs, so I don't have anything to compare to. Are these really that superior of a chair? I've seen some for about half of the price. I can see that they are very nice, but are they really that much better than some of the knock offs you can find online?


Many of those chairs for half the price will wear in a lot quicker. i can't speak for any of them specifically, but I can say that the berklines are made very, very well and i see them holding up a long time.

It seems that most everyone here has or is oredring Berklines.

Why Berklines? Variety, comfort, style and price.

I have a (4) 090's in black leather that I love. Easily one of the best investments in my HT room.:D

I'm sure there are several other companies that make nice chairs, however, Berklines seems to have great distribution with internet dealers.

I looked at all kinds of different chairs before going with the Berk 45004's. We consisently get comments on how comfortable they are from our guests. I couldn't find anything that matched them in terms of comfort - at least for me. I'm fairly tall (6'3") and they are the only ones that "fit". And the WAF is off the charts on those babies. I doubt you'll find many people who will say they are dissatisfied. You can't go wrong, put it that way.

It seems that most everyone here has or is ordering Berklines. I haven't been able to do a comparisson live sitting in the chairs, so I don't have anything to compare to. Are these really that superior of a chair? I've seen some for about half of the price. I can see that they are very nice, but are they really that much better than some of the knock offs you can find online?

I think Berklines are really great value, bang for the buck. This pertains when ordering via Roman or one of the other AVS members in the forums. They are more than twice as much at our local Jordan's Furniture.

I don't think the quality of the chairs is impeccable, at least when not compared to other furniture. We had factory defects with 2 out of the 6 chairs. However, they are very comfortable, and at least half as much as equivalent theater chair products at local retailers in our area.

All that being said, I would recommend them 100% and if you do, go through Roman or one of the other AVSForum retailers because their service is impeccable, and price is unmatched.

I ended up going with Berkline's for a couple of reasons... The first was flexibility... many of the other chairs are single chairs in a line whereas I wanted to custom build my row and essentially have two loveseats in the back and a couch in the front, but each chair have its own footrest and recline control. Also, where I'm at, I could only find a Berkline dealer to sit in the chair before I bought it. I wouldn't buy any furniture without sitting in it and so between the flexibility, being able to sit in an 090 and the good prices from the dealers here at AVS, I definately chose Berklines.

We looked at several alternatives. Most of the chairs at the Home Theater Show rooms were out of my price range. We also look at vendors like la-z-boy also very expensive. I wanted to just put in some sofas. But my wife insisted that if we spent that much time and money on building the theater we were going to get some nice chairs. So she bought the Berkline's.

They were the correct size and had the features we wanted at a reasonable price.

I ordered the Coasters from Serge at HTAuthority and they are great. I've had them for 2 years now. Very comfortable and less than the Berks. Just my $.02.

Which model Coaster? That's the alternative I was considering. Any complaints on the comfort?

The answer is simple. Let's say that you have a budget of $2K and would like to purchase four leather HT seats. The only brands you can find at this price point are Coasters, Ashley and Berklines. Ashley is garbage and therefore your choice is down to two.

Likewise, many folks have said that there are other brands out there that are cheaper in terms of both price and quality but haven't posted links to any online retailers. I believe this is urban legend.

The only reason they are so popular is that they are readily available to DIYers over the internet and they are cheap. Thats it. If Berkline ever decided to stop internet sales, they would get the same grief as every other manufacturer that doesn't sell on the internet. Local stores sell Berkline too, but I bet they don't stock them. They know too that as soon as someone googles Berkline that their sale is gone.

ID stores don't have any overhead. They can sell stuff at just above cost and make money. Some provide better service than others. But, that doesn't change the fact that they have virtually no costs save bandwidth and that is cheap. Many times the cheapness has no "cost" associated with it for the purchaser. Many times it does. If you are comfortable taking the chance that everything will work out then have at it. But no complaining if things go wrong. :)

And ok, Berklines are pretty decent chairs FOR THE MONEY. But they are not even close to the better chairs in comfort, durability, design etc.

But some Berklines on a D-Box system and see what I mean.

Best thing about Berkline 090's is their comfort. Or maybe that's not a good thing. I seem to sleep through a lot of movies :) Even though I have two (that's two) Buttkickers mounted to each chair :eek:

I ordered the 45012's over the 45013's b/c the seat back is 4 inches taller (29" vs 25") even though I really wanted the lights... Since I'm 6'4", this will make a big difference.

There are multiple comments for the comfort and against the comfort. Comfort is a very important point for me in seating. When I purchased my reading chair I sat in dozens of chairs at various stores before ordering the style that fit me best. When I purchase my HT seats, I will do the same until I find one that fits *me*. Some Berklines will probably be comfortable to you, and some will not. And for some people, a different manufacturer's model will be more comfortable. The only way to know is to sit in them.

Agreed. Same as buying a bed.

Many good points above. Bottom line is you need to try out the chairs before you buy. I almost went Berkline in large part because they were so soft and comfortable, and then I realized that this wasn't necessarily good if you're sitting through a long movie. You need something with good support, especailly in the lower lumbar area, so I ended up going with Palliser. The Palliser's look a lot better too, especially from the back. We have a rear entrance to our theater so the first thing you see is the back of the chairs, and I found a lot them look really bad from the back, and develop stretchmarks and creases over tiime. And some of those Berlines look downright tacky!

Because I chose them and I never make bad decisions!!!!

(Oh wait, I have an HD DVD player and a ReplayTV...)

I chose Berklines because I was able to find a vendor in my area that I could actually sit in the chair and see the fabrics before ordering. I sat in many models and as people have said previously some were comfortable some were not. It all depends on your size and what you consider comfortable. I found the 090s very comfortable especially with the microfiber fabric.

I cannot wait for mine to arrive. In fact every night I go into my theater and sit on my couch. I then look at my wife and say "I can't wait for my chairs to come!" At which point she says "Yeah! Me too!!"