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Best seating?

7K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  snowblitzing 
#1 ·
Hello,

I have been doing some research for home theater seating for my new home theater which is almost finished construction.

Basically, I need a row of 4 seats with cupholders for a price that has a 1 in front of it. I cannot decide on a straight row vs. curved. It just seems like the person on the end will be at a weird angle but then maybe that makes seeing the screen easier. I have 14 feet wall to wall and obviously need a few feet on each side to get around since it will be in the middle of a room.

I pretty much had my mind made up on this: http://www.theaterseatstore.com/twilight-black

But am having trouble placing the order due to the fact I have never sat in it, and they will not allow returns if I don't like it. I am hard pressed to find a physical furniture store that specializes in theater furniture where I can try the chairs out. Best Buy had 2 lines of theater furniture from Theater Seat Store that I sat in and am okay with, but it is unknown how those compare with the ones I am looking at buying.

Any ideas?

Thanks.
 
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#2 ·
Guphanti,

The title of your thread is misleading..

If you are looking for best seating, it will definitely not going to be a chair for $399.00

Remember you get what you pay for - usually true 99% of the time.

Now to answer some of your questions:

1. Curved configuration works well when the screen size is less than the width of the configuration, and that allows to place the outside chairs viewers on the angle to the screen pointing them to the center of it.
2. Curved configuration gives you wedges between chairs, and that provides more elbow space to share with someone sitting next to you.
3. Curved configuration is usually wider because of that, so if you have space limitations you may probably end up with the straight sets instead.

I hope this helps.
 
#3 · (Edited)
When I hit the lottery and can afford seating that costs tens of thousands, massages my back, charges my tablet, and has lights built into it to make my home theater look like cirque du soleil, I will make a new thread where we discuss the "best" furniture. But short of striking oil in my backyard or becoming a real estate tycoon, when I say "best" seating, I mean "best" for my criteria. I tried to change the title but it won't let me. Sorry about that.;)

I just spent quite a bit of time measuring the space to figure out what could work. If I spend the money I might as well pay a bit more and do it right. It seems like I will buy at theaterseatstore.com. Have you heard good things about them?

My main concern is that being an e-retailer, I don't get to sit in the chairs before buying, and their return policy pretty much bars returns outside of the order being wrong or some sort of defect. With that being said, I am now opting towards chairs that visually look more comfortably, namely this:

http://www.theaterseatstore.com/paramount-brown-manual

The problem there is I could only fit 3 of those, since I have max 133" to play with. It is not really the price range, but the size--the nicer chairs take up more space. I tried measuring to see if I could do 3 chairs with 1 on the side cocked at an angle, but the reclined length of the 3 seater runs into the reclined length of the side chair. Then there is curved, but I have yet to find a curved piece with 4 seats and a max width of 133" at the widest point.

Unless I am a complete newbie and even the cheap chairs are comfortable? Also, when it comes to power vs. manual, how big of a problem are motors burning out? It seems like the kind of thing that happens 1 day after the warranty expires.
 
#4 ·
Comfort is subjective. What I think is the best option is for you to go around to a bunch of local furniture places or home theater stores that sell the seating and sit in each brand chair and make notes on which you like vs which you don't. Once you do that analysis, you can make a decision.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I would say power recline is the best option you can get in theater seating and motors don't burn out or break. We know this as we have been selling seating online for 15 years. My personal opinion is that you should look around this forum and do some analysis on the best places to buy from and the best seats. You'll find information on all the online stores and there reputation in the theater rooms and accessories area. I guess I would narrow it down to a few places to buy from and then look at options they offer. I would also say no online store has free returns on theater seating so you will not find that online. So it's best to do your homework. If your in chicago area at all we show our label HT Design seats here.

Regards
Alan Hutchinson
HTmarket.com
 
#7 ·
You know your budget and I wouldnt presume to tell you what you can or cant afford however let me give you my perspective on chairs.

We have used our theater chairs daily for the last 4 years. During an NFL Sunday I may be in the chairs the better part of 10 hours. If the chairs weren't comfortable and durable then I would feel like I wasted my money no matter how much I spent. The chairs I went with feel about the same now as the day I unboxed them so I feel great about $600ish per chair. The electric recline is something that you cant appreciate until you have it... We love that feature!

I had a small budget as well but we put the priority on our comfort so that meant a DIY sub , a kit screen from Jamestown, refurbished ARV, EBAY surrounds, and building the room myself. Heck we even dyed the carpet a dark color instead of replacing it.

If I had it to do over again I would still buy good quality chairs and save money elsewhere in the room.
 
#8 · (Edited)
You know your budget and I wouldnt presume to tell you what you can or cant afford however let me give you my perspective on chairs.

We have used our theater chairs daily for the last 4 years. During an NFL Sunday I may be in the chairs the better part of 10 hours. If the chairs weren't comfortable and durable then I would feel like I wasted my money no matter how much I spent. The chairs I went with feel about the same now as the day I unboxed them so I feel great about $600ish per chair. The electric recline is something that you cant appreciate until you have it... We love that feature!

I had a small budget as well but we put the priority on our comfort so that meant a DIY sub , a kit screen from Jamestown, refurbished ARV, EBAY surrounds, and building the room myself. Heck we even dyed the carpet a dark color instead of replacing it.

If I had it to do over again I would still buy good quality chairs and save money elsewhere in the room.
I agree with this, its kind of like buying shoes, I always buy good shoes as you either are on your feet or on your butt so you should put money in the right places. For your butt put in good theater chairs. I might add for 600 with power you'll probably get bonded leather for about 700 a chair you can get leather match. For these prices there lots of options that are real good.

Regards
Alan Hutchinson
HTmarket.com
 
#9 ·
I've owned 4 Berkline 090s with manual recline and bonded leather for over 10 years! I've enjoyed the straight configs and bought 2 with both arms, and 1 left arm and 1 right arm. This config has let me change over the years between just 4 seats or 2 seats and a loveseat. Whatever you decide, buy all the chairs at once; as matching grains and colors later is near impossible.
 
#16 ·
Well I installed my 7 fusion tribute seats 3 weeks ago and couldn't be happier. I went with leather/vinyl match in black. Have had many people over and all have commented on their looks and overall quality. We have done a couple of 4 hour sessions in our theater and were very comfortable the whole time. We have also had several friends pass out cold in the seats because they were so nice. Strongly suggest the fusion line as my experience has been fantastic.
 
#17 ·
Purchased from theatreseatstore

I just picked the octane 700 genuine leather seats. They are what I would think would be middle of the line in price they are around $600 each. Very nice and comfortable seats. My only issue was the with the company getting the order correct. The client service team was always nice and professional, but their follow though was terrible. I will try not to vent too much but my 1st incorrect delivery was delivered too me in under two weeks it took me over a month after that for them to correct the order. My order 2 chairs leather 3 showed up one was leather. I called them over 10 times. I had to beg them to pick up the extra chair they gave me and had no record of( yes I thought about keeping it but it did not match my chairs). Even when they came to pick up the original botched order they did not have instructions to pick up the chair. I told the guy just to put it in his delivery truck and to figure it out with the company. Again nice people and chair, but just execution really was terrible. Oh I still never got a correct invoice for my order and what I should have paid.
 
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