Money Seat

By Scott Wilkinson • Posted: Nov 20, 2009

When you think about the components of any audio system, things like speakers, power amps, and source devices undoubtedly come to mind. You might even consider the room as a component. But what about the seat in which you sit to enjoy the music? Most chairs are not designed specifically for that particular endeavor, leaving you with a pain in the neck and/or back after extended periods, and some actually interfere with perceiving the best possible sound. To overcome the limitations of this "forgotten component," a Swedish company called Klutz Design has developed the Ballerina Sweetspot, a prototype chair that is optimized for just one thing—listening.

The Ballerina Sweetspot began as a rough sketch that is said to have resembled a ballerina lifting her ballet skirt. After that sketch inspired the chair's name, the design evolved into its current curvaceous form, which includes a sturdy lumbar support, lockable height adjustment to align your ears with the speakers, and legs cut from thick, high-grade aluminum sheets to reduce the transmission of vibrations from the floor. Truly obsessed audiophiles can even install spikes to further decouple the chair.

The headrest of most comfy chairs is quite wide, which can interfere with your perception of sound, especially from a surround system, but also from a 2-channel rig. Not so with the Ballerina Sweetspot—the adjustable headrest is intentionally narrow, leaving the ears wide open to the sounds all around while comfortably supporting the head in the optimum listening position.

Another critical design element is the chair's hollow armrests, which are intended to store remote controls. In fact, this was the initial idea of inventor Michael Hollensen, who wanted the remotes to be within easy reach without sitting on his lap, the floor, or a coffee table.

The Ballerina Sweetspot is scheduled for production in early 2010, and although the final price has not yet been established, it's expected to be around 5500 Euros (almost $8200 as of this writing). That's a lot for a chair, but not if it brings you closer to musical nirvana in comfort and style.

Comments

Submitted by Robert Charron on November 20, 2009 - 4:15pm.

Yes right, only $8,200! But thanks for the pictures, great ideas to design my own. It just happened to be one of my various hobbies.

Submitted by kelsci on November 20, 2009 - 9:11pm.

Free MacIntosh stereo poweramp with purchase of Ballerina Sweetspot. Well they ought to give you something for the dinero.

Submitted by Shoes on November 21, 2009 - 9:41am.

How about listening shoes that will maximize the listening experience? You can't be listening to music with regular tennis shoes. I think we need some acoustically treated shoes also.

Submitted by alex on November 21, 2009 - 3:05pm.

I'm not interested as long as the chair still has surfaces that reflect sound waves. We need stealth like technology here.

Submitted by sbg on November 21, 2009 - 10:24pm.

How about coating the listner (another "forgotten component") in a Accoustically Callibarated Box or with something people call snake-oil as his phyical presence in the room alter the accoustic("...and some actually interfere with perceiving the best possible sound....")-i mean , compare Undertaker/Mar k Henry(WWE) with Emma Watson sitting in the room. So when Undertaker is in the room, the SPL in the room at the listining position will increase drastically as the room/hall volumn changes.....( well i am not a scientist) Oh boy! Get any chair THAT IS COMFORTABLE.

Submitted by Winston on November 23, 2009 - 1:18am.

I prefer to sit naked when I'm listening to music in the off chance the clothing I'm wearing will cause unwanted reflections or diffuse any part of the audible frequency. My fat body is the ultimate acoustic panel, at least head on.

Submitted by David on November 27, 2009 - 10:01pm.

How does installing spikes "further decouple the chair"? I think this would better couple the chair. Putting the chair on foam pads would decouple it, if that were the goal.