INTRO:
So as I am changing my theater around by adding a new
2.35:1 124.5” wide screen, anamorphic lens and new
projector, I said to myself “what the heck, let
me try some new seats as well”. I looked around
at the various options. I had the Berklines, great seats,
but I wanted a different look. I also didn’t want
to spend a ton on chairs as they often entertain my 4
and 7 year old kids (and their friends), who, of course,
tend to climb all over them and spill miscellaneous juice
and soda on them. Enter the Elite Solara Elitaza. For
those who don’t know, Elite is a pretty well known
(but also relatively new) screen manufacturer. What many
don’t know is that they also have a division called
“Solara” which specializes in theater seating.
They actually have several models, ranging from standard
looking theater seats, to more traditional “couch”
looking furniture. I had the first type for a long time,
but I wanted more of the latter, which is exactly what
the Elitaza model looks like. I’m getting ahead
of myself so let’s start from the beginning.
Of course as luck would have it, the trucking company
was delayed so they only could deliver on the day I
had to leave for vacation. Oh joy. Well, I looked on
the bright side…something to actually look forward
to after having to leave Disney World. ? I arrived home
1.5 weeks later and opened the garage door…low
and behold…8 beautiful boxes. I wasted no time
and started to unpack them.
The boxes are decent sized considering they are chairs,
but actually not as big as some others I have dealt
with. I opened the first box, and much to my happiness,
another box. I love double boxing. So I opened the inside
box and there was the backing of the chair (separated
from the base for space saving). I took out the back,
and then unwrapped the foam bag from it. I then unwrapped
the base chair and lifted the chair out of the box.
It was hefty as one might expect, but manageable for
a relatively strong person to handle on their own (although
2 would make it easier). The chairs are tightly put
into the boxes as to minimize shift during shipping,
so that did make removal a bit challenging. FYI I would
NOT recommend using a box cutter for obvious reasons
(tear the tape instead). I repeated this process 7 more
times, and carried all the pieces through the house
and down into the basement theater (yes, I was tired
when I finished).
Assembly was quite simple. Basically the pieces sit
together with 2 metal supports at the bottom of each
piece. There are 2 metal knobs that stick out to the
right side of each chair, and a metal bar with 2 slits
of the left side of each chair to receive them. Once
positioned, you simply push down and forward to lock
them together. The backs then have 2 slides on the lower
part that push down onto the base chair. There are no
screws, but rather a simple locking mechanism that locks
with simple downward pressure.
For my setup, I have 2 rows. The back is in a configuration
of 4 total chairs…2 end pieces (1 on each side),
then 2 angled arm/cup holder setups, and then a loveseat
in the middle. As stated, the arm pieces that divide
the ends from the loveseat have an angle to them such
that the loveseat is straight in the back, and the end
chairs turn in slightly. It is a subtle angle, but I
like that as for only 4 chairs one doesn’t need
a huge amount of inward angle to aid in viewing. The
front row is essentially the same 2 end pieces, with
another angled cup holder/arm divider between them.
Now the nice part is that one can remove any of the
cup holder/arms if they want a straight sofa look. Oh,
I should mention that on this model there are 3 leather
choices (black, burgundy and beige). This particular
model is only manual recline, but that was what I wanted
as my last ones were all motorized and I found safety
concerns when being used with young children (fingers
can easily get injured with the motorized ones). Moving
on… The end-chairs outer arms do not have cup
holders, but rather pillow-type padding like a normal
sofa. The backs of the chairs are also padded in a similar
way. Now, the dividing arms do have padding as well,
but also 2 cup holders each, with a wooden inlay around
them. A nice feature of each divider is that they have
a lift-up compartment on the back of the arm. This is
useful for storage of remotes, movies, candy, etc...
The dividers also have a pouch on the lower front of
them which again can be used for remotes, magazines,
etc… The reclining mechanisms are easy to use.
The outer chairs have the release on the outside of
each arm, where the loveseat has 2 pulls between the
seats. All require a firm pull, but because of this
they feel very durable.
Okay so now I have them all setup, and I have to test
them out. Love them. They are a bit firmer than my older
chairs (which I prefer), but still very comfy. The manual
recline mechanism also works very smoothly and isn’t
too sensitive to shifts in weight (a problem I have
found on other manual recliners---as you move around
slightly while getting comfortable, the recliner and
move up and down). The backs recline a decent amount,
but less than my previous chairs and less than many
others I have used. For me, this is ideal as in the
case of my older chairs, the furthest back position
was essentially useless for watching movies (I was almost
laying down and looking at the ceiling). The leather
is more of an entry to mid-level grain, but more durable
for wear and tear (again, critical for my application).
All in all I am quite pleased with my new purchase if
you haven’t figured it out.
CONCLUSIONS:
As you can see from my pictures and description, these
chairs have a very unique, sofa-like look. What you
cannot see from this is what you have to experience….the
quality and comfort these chairs offer. Best of all,
they can be had for a really reasonable price, so this
makes them a fierce competitor in the extremely diverse
home theater seating market. Thanks for reading!
Jason C. Turk
Sales and Installation Manager
A/V Science, Inc.
877-823-4452
jason@avscience.com
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