Jack Ferry

I finally have a few extra dollars that I can use to buy a row of 3 HT recliners. My budget is about $2,500 max, but if I can get good seats for less I'm not committed to spending every last nickel. I'm thinking I want to go with leather (well, leather and vinyl combo is fine) in either red or black, but I'm open to considering other materials and colors. I've sort of been looking for months, but as you probably know there just aren't that many retailers with HT seating displays.

My questions:
Any reason I should go with a material other than leather with vinyl side panels? Problems with leather?

What things should I look for, besides subjective comfort?

Is motorized reclining worth the extra cost and complexity?

Particular brands and styles to consider or avoid?

What color should I go with? My room is dark red, with black ceiling and tan berber carpet. Here's a photo. It's not shown in the photo, but the 4 old seats on the platform (that will stay) are painted black with a sort of peach colored tweed fabric on the back and seat cushions. I may change the fabric once I decide what I'm doing with the front row. (The new seats will be on the floor level and will replace an old sofa.)

Any success or disaster stories on purchasing seats online unseen?

Without your help, I'm likely to agonize over this for weeks or months. I therefore greatly appreciate any guidance you can give me!

Edit: forgot to mention my width requirement - about 100".

John Titan

Jack

I know www.4seating.com has pretty decent price on HT seating. But I would not suggest leather and vinyl. I have a leather living room set that was leather and vinyl and after a couple of years the vinyl starts to crack at all the the seams. The leather held up very good but the vinyl won't. I would suggest a micro-fiber set if you can't get a set with all leather.( it's probably cheaper as well)

BTW- Nice theater.

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Jack Ferry

Anyone have any thoughts on the Berkline 090's?

David Noll

Jack,

I thought the seatbacks were too high on the Berkline's. I don't understand why "theater" seats have to block the surround sound! Also, did you check the width of three of them together? When I was looking for seats, I thought they were too wide. I was in need for three seats for a 120" space. I settled on black La-z-boy rocker/recliners, leather w/ vinyl sides and back. (They weren't available in all leather)

(Not the greatest picture)
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/gall...g2_itemId=1111

I can recommend leather/vinyl combination because you really can't tell the difference and there is no stress on the vinyl seams.

David

The Noll Family Home Theater

mark campbell

Does anyone here have problems with the seats blocking your surround sound as the seat backs are too high? I was just wondering before I purchase my seating. I am low budget and was just going to get 2 rows of sofas, do I have to be careful of back rest height?

Jack Ferry

I ordered 3 Berkline 090s from Ultimate Home Entertainment (www.rtheaters.com) and they came in yesterday. I am thrilled with them. Good price, good quality, good service. And the motorized recline is great - definitely a must have for the HT.

I have not noticed any blocking of surround sound. However, I usually have my seat reclined far enough that there's no barrier between my ears and the surrounds anyway.

Brian Osborne

Usually the seats are reclined in my HTR so this isn't an issue. In my room there is still LOS in all chairs as the surround speakers are high on the wall. The only speaker that does not have LOS is the rear center seat to the center channel, but only if it is reclined and the front row center is not reclined.
I was looking online for seating and stumbled onto a great deal at Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha, NE. Found black leather Theater seats, 3 wide for $999 per row. I've had them set up in my almost finished room for about a month now and I couldn't be happier. Only complaint, until you use them a bit the movement was a little sticky. Once they are reclined a few times the movement loosened up and now they are much easier to work.
Great budget seats for my budget theater

Keaton always said, "I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him." Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze.

My Equipment

Pics - Theater in progress

Kyle McCabe

I think that you'll be selling yourself short by going with a less durable cover (like microfiber). Don't get me wrong, we sell a lot of microfiber theater chairs, but they cost just as much as the leather/vinyl combos do. IMO, they won't put up with as much abuse.



That depends on how lazy you are! j/k... Power Recline is a really neat option. With the Berkline chairs that we sell, the power option allows you stop the mechanism and lock it in any given position. This might be most helpful to those who have injured/bad backs, or for folks who simply love the taste of luxury.



Many of my customers are extremely happy with Berkline, however, I have just as many customers who purchased import chairs (basically Berkline knock-offs) from me in the past that payed less money for comparable satisfaction. However, I'll be the first to admit that Berkline has one hell of a warranty. I can't say that my import chairs have a warranty similiar to Berkline's, although they do offer lifetime guarantees on the reclining mechanisms.



lol! Well, being an online merchant, I've seen and experienced it all. I've had customers that forgot to measure before they ordered... Now their chairs won't fit. Then there are the freight companies, who inevitably, are going to wind up damaging something here and there, but that's the nature of the beast. Just buy from a reputable company, who has a good return policy.

I'd offer my own service, but I don't want to spam this board. However, I will tell you that I sell a lot of Berkline (as well as many other chairs) on eBay. That's not cheating too bad is it?

RomanSH

Re: Time for HT seating, but what to look for?

Jack,

I hope you enjoy your chairs.


Kyle,

With all do respect I'll have to express my opinion regarding several of your comments:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle McCabe I think that you'll be selling yourself short by going with a less durable cover (like microfiber). Don't get me wrong, we sell a lot of microfiber theater chairs, but they cost just as much as the leather/vinyl combos do. IMO, they won't put up with as much abuse.

First of all, The microfiber cost much less than leather/vinyl combo, I know it, and you know it too. I do not understand why you saying different.

Second, a lot of folks prefer microfiber because they build their theaters in the basement where they have no heat. The microfiber feels wormer and more comfortable in conditions like that. While I myself prefer leather, the microfiber could be quite less expensive option.

Third, I have had many customers who bought Berkline seating in microfiber and none of them complained about durability so far, and I have been selling these chairs for quite a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle McCabe Power Recline is a really neat option. With the Berkline chairs that we sell, the power option allows you stop the mechanism and lock it in any given position. This might be most helpful to those who have injured/bad backs, or for folks who simply love the taste of luxury.

IMHO the power recline is not a luxury at all, but a MUST to have option. The manual recliners only stop at three positions, and you cannot hold the chair in between. When you watch a movie for several hours, and want to move a couple of inches, you cannot really do it with the manual recliners... Those with small kids or older people can also appreciate the power recliner option. They do not have to get up and close the chairs for kids or older people who may not have enough strength to do so with manual recliners.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle McCabe I'd offer my own service, but I don't want to spam this board. However, I will tell you that I sell a lot of Berkline (as well as many other chairs) on eBay. That's not cheating too bad is it?

Yes, sure, you do not want to spam this board..., but you are already doing it. You were doing the same thing on AVSForum, and you had to be reminded that it was not allowed...

Roman