Company & Product Overview

Ekornes, a Norwegian furniture company, was founded in 1934 by Jens Ekornes, one of the first movers in the spring furniture industry and who has built Ekornes into having a reputation as one of the most well-built and comfortable furniture manufacturers. Their product lines range from dining sets to sofas, but are most well known for their chairs; specifically, their Stressless recliner. The Stressless recliner was introduced in 1971 as a dedicated TV chair with an ottoman.

In 1991, Ekornes added another feature to make this product even better, the patented Plus™ System. The system allows the lounger to recline while maintaining neck and lumbar support. Despite the addition of a few new models and minor upgrades, the Stressless recliner’s core design and outstanding reputation has remained the same over these 40 years.

A chair is almost as important to an audio or video experience as the equipment is, because in order to fully immerse yourself, you have to be free of distractions and comfortable in the environment. Audio Advice has been in search of a living room/listening chair with the quality and reputation to match our other products. We decided on Stressless chairs because of their comfort, quality, and great reputation. Today, we would like to showcase one of our favorite Stressless recliners, the Mayfair.

Build Quality

One of the many reasons we love Stressless chairs is for their solid build quality. You may see a chair that looks similar to a Stressless, but the build quality won’t be close to equivalent. In fact, the Stressless design is one of the most commonly attempted copied chairs, but every piece of the recliner is patented and will last longer than any imitated chair. From the cold, bent tubular steel frame, to the hand-stitched genuine Italian leather, these chairs are built for perfection. Ekornes is so sure of their product, they give the frame a ten-year warranty.

Attached to the frame are three layers of foam and cushioning:

1. Perforated foam that is directly molded to the frame. The molded foam features “Comfort-zone” technology that allows to you sink deeper and gives a more embraced feeling.
2. A liquid filled “space age” foam that adds an additional pad for comfort.
3. A super soft polyester fiber that adds even more cushion and gives the chair its form.

The Stressless recliner comes in 104 colors and a multitude of covering materials, but our favorite is the Paloma, a slightly corrected leather with a calmed grain. It’s soft to the touch, comfortable to sit on, and long-lasting when taken care of. Ekornes’ chairs and included ottomans are hand sewn with single hide leather, ensuring every part of the chair and ottoman match.

The Ekornes Stressless series varies in looks, but all feature the patented reclining system. The Stressless reclining system has two pivot points, one of which guides up and down a rail to easily lean back. The tension can be set with the two side knobs to adjust the force needed to recline.

One of our employees brought in his 30-year-old Ekornes Stressless recliner and we compared the overall quality and functionality to one straight out of the box. We found that the motion and comfort are equivalent to our current models: in fact, the only sign of wear that we found was on the aged leather, and even that hadn’t ripped.

Comfort

Comfort is obviously the most important aspect of a chair you plan to spend long periods of time sitting in. So, the biggest question is, “What makes this chair any better than my usual chair?” Well, quite a few things actually.

When we first sat in the chair, it was different than we anticipated. We expected the Stressless Mayfair to sit similar to a normal recliner you would buy at most furniture stores, but it has a much different feel. Instead of being plush and sinking deep into the chair, the Stressless Mayfair supports all parts of your body. This support is what makes the Stressless Mayfair recliner so astounding. Research shows that in a typical recliner, most people reposition themselves over 100 times, but in Stressless recliners, the added support doesn’t make you feel the need to reposition.

The Plus™ System does something that we think is very unique and better than any we’ve seen. As you recline, the headrest inclines and the lumbar support forms to your back. Ekornes says this is to ensure constant blood flow and eliminate any pinch points… we can’t analyze blood flow, but there’s one thing we can say, this recliner is comfortable no matter the reclining position. Also, if you want to go to sleep and not have your head propped up, a simple tug on the headrest releases the mechanism and it adjusts down to a level position.

For best comfort, you want the lower portion of the back of your head against the headrest. They have 3 different sizes so that you can choose the size that best fits your size.

This all may sound too good to be true, but this isn’t only our opinion. If you go to any online forum looking for the best listening chairs, you’ll see the Ekornes Stressless time and time again. What makes the Stressless so iconic as a listening chair is (of course) the comfort and the fact that most of the chairs don’t block lateral sound waves, altering the sound stage. Some HiFi listeners prefer a chair with no head rest, so Stressless also offers chairs with adjustable headrests in case you want to lower the headrest even more

High Notes Unpacked

Overall Recommendation

Whether you’re sitting in front of your TV or stereo, the Ekornes Stressless recliner is our top pick for a chair you plan to spend hours sitting in. The build quality of the Stressless chair will have it lasting for countless movies and songs. If you want a chair that’s as important to you as your setup, this chair is for you.

If you want to feel the support of the Ekornes Stressless recliners yourself, stop by our Charlotte, Raleigh, or Wilmington, NC locations. Call or Chat in if we can help put you in your favorite chair!