Archive for the ‘Chair Models’ Category

Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair Review (Part 2)

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

Part 2 of my Review of the Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair

In Part 1 of my review of the very popular Panasonic 30007 massage chair, I discussed price, durability of the Panasonic brand, the roller system, and the airbags of the hips and arms. In Part 2, I delve into many more of the features of this massage chair.

Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair

Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair

The Panasonic 30007 massage chair does not have any heat function. I’m pretty ambivalent about heat. I figure that with a few passes of the rollers over your backside your back is going to heat up anyway from the increased blood flow. Not a biggie to me, but if you love the heat function in a massage chair, the 30007 is not for you.

The chair does not fit a taller person very well. If you are over 6 feet tall, you may feel as though you are a tall person sitting in a small two-seater sports car. Your knees will be up higher than you would find comfortable. With the flexing foot massage component of the ottoman, you can always extend your legs and flatten out the foot massager, but then you have airbags squeezing on your ankles, which may not be optimal for you taller folks. This taller person issue is compounded if you just happen to have long legs. Your torso will be fine, but the legs will not like it too much. The ottoman does have a 5” extension feature but it doesn’t help much for the taller users.

More on the 30007 Massage Chair Rollers…

One thing I always look for in a massage chair is a good roller massage way down the back and even into the top of the buttocks. The Panasonic 30007 has a 30” roller track and it gets down below the belt line and into the sacral area (top of the buttocks). That is a nice feature if you suffer from low, low back pain.

The 30007 massage chair is available only in black. From the start, Panasonic said they would have black and brown models, but the brown has never been introduced to the US market in this model. If you want the brown color I suggest you look at the sister models to the 30007, which are the 30005 and 30006. They both come in the brown and there are very few differences between all three of these models.

The warranty is 1 year full, on-site comprehensive warranty with a 3 year limited warranty. Panasonic is pretty good about warranty work. Just give them a call and they have a local dealer pick up the chair, fix it for you, and then drop it back off at your home.

Next to the Inada Sogno massage chair, which covers over 1200 sq. inches of your body with massage, the Panasonic 30007 is the next highest in square inch coverage at 460+ of any name-brand chair of which we are aware.

Again, a great chair for the dollars spent. I love this chair a lot. It is very usable and functional. Gives a great massage and, if you’re not too tall, will really make you feel like you got a great work-over when your session is done. Oh, and it should last for a lot of years!

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair Review (Part 1)

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

Part 1 of my Review of the Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair

Panasonic introduced the 30007 model as their top of the line massage chair and it’s first chair manufactured in Japan in a long, long time. When it hit the market, it retailed at $5999. As with most Panasonic massage chairs, the price eventually was chopped down to around where it is today…about $4000! Quite a difference. But, that is another story.

Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair

Panasonic 30007 Massage Chair

Today, I will review the main features of the Panasonic 30007 massage chair in this article, along with some personal opinions and observations from having used it in our showroom many, many times over the last number of years.

First of all, I’d like to say that Panasonic makes a very durable massage chair. Whenever someone comes into our showroom looking for a new massage chair to replace their old one, I learn that their old one is usually a Panasonic and they’ve had it for years.

A Little Massage Chair History…

Inada may have been the company to come out with the first massage chair, back in 1962, but I think it is safe to say that Panasonic was the first company to take the idea of a massage chair and mass produce it. They were everywhere in years past. Of course, new companies come along and we have so many manufacturers to choose from today, but Panasonic was the first big player in the massage chair market.

The 30007 model, in my opinion, is a chair that gives a great bang for your buck. At around $4000 you get a Japanese-made chair with a bunch of features that you would typically see on a more expensive chair, i.e. foot and calf massager, hip airbags, seat massage, forearm/hand/wrist airbag massage, body scan technology, among other things. I think the chair is certainly not a $5999 chair, but for $4K it is a great bargain.

The massage rollers offer a very nice, vigorous massage. When the rollers hit the shoulder area they do an interesting thing: they roll forward over a portion of the trapezia muscles (those are the shoulder muscles that get sore when you sit at a computer for too long…you know, the ones you grab with the opposite hand to rub out the tightness). Most other massage chairs will have the rollers go up the low, mid, and upper back before going on to the neck but will just move along the contours of the spine. This shoulder massage feature of the roller actually moves forward somewhat at the shoulder area to give those trap muscles a little attention. It feels fantastic.

The hip air bags are nothing more than a way for the chair to anchor your pelvis in so that the massage rollers get a better traction effect and a deeper massage to the spine. The airbags don’t massage anything, unlike the Inada Sogno massage chair thigh airbags which actually massage the IlioTibial Bands of either leg, but it just compresses the thighs so that your pelvis doesn’t move forward when the rollers come down the back. That is how it anchors your pelvis and you get a deeper massage from the rollers as a result of it.

The arm airbags are actually built into the arm rests. Lift up the top of the armrests and you slide your hands and arms into a space where airbags compress from above and below to give your upper extremities and good work-over.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair – Initial Impressions

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair Finally In Showroom!

Well, we finally got the Osaki 7000 massage chair up and running today. I sat on it for 20 minutes or so. Here are my initial impressions:

1. Very good, vigorous massage rollers. You will find them to be more vigorous than most other massage chairs. The roller feel was reminiscent of the Human Touch massage chair rollers. Plus you can adjust the intensity of the rollers to make them even more intense.

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

2. The airbags on the 7000 seem to be more prominent. The other chair with as many airbags, that I am familiar with is the Inada Sogno massage chair. The airbag massage on the Inada Sogno is more discriminating and gently, whereas the airbags on the 7000 really seem to play a big part of the overall massage experience.

3. Contrary to what I had been led to believe before getting the Osaki 7000, there is no music system or music synch. Bring your own iPod!

4. The head airbag massage is very interesting. I’ve never experienced anything like it before in a massage chair. I think you’d get a kick out of it, particularly if you have one of those throbbing headaches.

5. The 31″ roller track is great. It is the first chair that I have seen that has rollers that go all the way up to the back of the head as well as go all the way down to the buttocks and sacral area. Great vertical roller track.

6. I love the “Pelvic Swing” program which inflates shoulder air bags in the front of the shoulders and inflates one side of the seat at the same time. It really induces a rotation to the low back. I actually thought, for a moment during the massage, that my low back would “pop”, just like a chiropractic adjustment. It is an aggressive airbag program that will really move the low back and pelvis unlike anything you’d find on any other chair. The Osaki 7000 massage chair does not have the Dreamwave technology, which I love about the Inada Sogno, but the Pelvic Swing is the next best thing.

7.  The arms are not full arm airbags, like the Sogno, but they inflate quite aggressively. Not as thorough as the Sogno, either, but a decent airbag compression.

8. The foot and calf massage is OK, but nothing to write home about. It is pretty standard. One thing I noticed about the ottoman is that the foot and calf sections are equal in height. Every other massage chair with foot and calf components have a shorter foot massage and a longer calf massage. The height is equal for both on the Osaki 7000. It felt nice but nothing blatantly different in the feel of the foot and calf massager of the Osaki 7000.

9. The zero gravity feature, which Osaki calls the “Weightless” program on the 7000 is very nice. The seat tilts up and the legs are raised above the heart. You will enjoy that feature.

10. The Osaki 7000 massage chair does not have any neck and trapezia airbags, which is something I love about the Inada Sogno. Osaki has tried to mimic that feature in their Osaki 6000 and 5000 models, but they still don’t compare at all to the neck and shoulder airbags of the Inada Sogno.

The long and short of it is the Osaki 7000 is certainly worth the price. Although the massage is not as sophisticated and discriminating as that of the Inada Sogno, which is now the industry baseline, it is certainly a more aggressive and intense massage than that of the Inada Sogno. A very good bang for the buck.

Hope that helps in some way. I’ll give you more information as I become more familiar with the chair.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

HT-7450 Massage Chair Review – Zero Gravity PLUS More!

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Review of the Zero-Gravity HT-7450 Massage Chair

I believe that the HT-7450 massage chair is the first foray into the zero gravity massage chair market, not only for Human Touch but by any massage chair manufacturer. I think the Sanyo 7700 massage chaircame shortly thereafter, but Human Touch was the first to really make the zero gravity concept a winner in this industry.

HT-7450 Massage Chair

HT-7450 Massage Chair

Human Touch had previously introduced their “Perfect Chairs” series, which was a group of zero gravity, non-massage chairs that offered pain relief and an “anti-gravity” positioning which took pressure off the low back.

The concept of zero gravity entails tilting the seat to a 30 degree angle in the reclined position, thus putting the body in the same anti-gravity positioning that NASA first introduced in it’s space program for astronauts who were in weightless environments for extended periods of time.

Along came the HT-7450 massage chair that was the first introduction of that technology to the massage chair market. And, I might add, it has become quite a catch-phrase in this industry. It seems that every company claims to have a zero gravity massage chair, but very few have a true zero gravity feature. Human Touch has won awards for it’s zero gravity massage chair integration.

Now let’s discuss some other features of the HT-7450 massage chair, aside from the zero gravity feature, which make this chair the popular selling chair that it is today.

HT-7450 Massage Chair  Features

  1. Decent price point of $3499 (at the time of this writing). The Sanyo 7700 sells for $4999 and although it has many more features and is manufactured inJapaninstead ofChina, if it’s the zero gravity feature you are after and it is important to you, it is a lot cheaper to go with the HT-7450.
  2. Buttock and thigh airbag massage. The seat has airbags that push up into the buttock and thigh muscles. This is the same airbag massage that the HT-9500 boasts. It is nothing overwhelming but it contributes to a more full body experience.
  3. 8 automatic programs. The remote is very similar to the remote of the HT-7120, but it has 8 automatic programs instead of the 3 of the HT-7120. Instead of just full body, upper back, and lower back programs, you’ll find programs like Sore Muscle Relief, Sports & Back Therapy, Leg/Foot/Hip Therapy, Neck/Shoulders Relief, After Work Stretch, Morning Energize, Night time Soothing, and Auto Demo. It is a very comprehensive program set that caters to pretty much any body needs.
  4. Body Scan technology. Nowadays, most of the nicer massage chair models have a body scan technology of some sort. What this technology does is do a cursory scan of the user’s spine and body morphology to get an idea of the size, width, and shape of the spine and musculature. The chair will then massage according to those scan findings. Human Touch calls their body scan the “Acupoint Detection System.”
  5. Vigorous massage rollers. Human Touch massage chairs are known for their intense roller massage. The HT-7450 is no different. The intensity can be adjusted if the user finds it a little too intense, but if it is a vigorous massage you are looking for, the HT-7450 can give it to you in spades.
  6. The look of the chair does not scream “Massage Chair” to the user. It looks like an executive-type chair. When the calf massaging ottoman is rotated under, one would be hard pressed to know that it is a massage chair. Human Touch is big on esthetics in their chair models. That is evident in the HT-7450.
  7. Safety Stop on the back of the chair base. One of the features I really like about this chair is the safety stop on the back part of the chair base. If a child is behind the chair when mom or dad go to recline the chair, the chair could crush a little one. When that child sits or puts pressure on the safety stop, the chair will not function. This is a very little known detail about this chair that is fantastic. I have two grandkids who love my massage chairs. If they were to be hurt by one, I would be devastated. Great safety feature from Human Touch.
  8. Low back heat feature. I think that heating elements on massage chairs are a little overrated since the rollers will warm up your muscles within moments of starting a program, but if you are after heat, the HT-7450 has it in the low back. You will definitely feel it when it is on!

Well, that about sums up the primary features that make this massage chair so popular. Just a couple of things worth mentioning for massage chair shoppers: it comes in black and espresso (at the time of this writing), with a 1 year comprehensive on-site warranty, and with a  very easy to follow users manual.

By the way, I should mention here also that Human Touch has a fantastic customer service department. It is a well staffed department and they take care of our clients promptly and kindly. Never had a problem with them and I’ve been selling their chairs for almost 10 years.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

New Osaki 6000 Massage Chair Video – Arm Airbags

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

Osaki 6000 Massage Chair  Airbags

Since we have received the Osaki 6000 massage chair in our showroom, I have been playing quite a bit with it and making a bunch of new videos highlighting certain functions of the chair. It has a pretty extensive air bag system that allows for air compression in various parts of the body, including the arms, which is the subject of this video.

The arm airbag massage is focused primarily on the forearms. There are also some shoulder airbags which compress the outside of the shoulders in the deltoid muscle region, but that will be for another video. Air bag massage is not too terribly sophisticated. It is basically an air bladder that fills with air and compresses on the body part. But, it is better than no therapy at all on that body part. The compression in the arms does encourage lymph and blood circulation as well as massaging the muscle tissue to some degree. It is quite soothing.

On the Osaki 6000 massage chair, you can adjust the intensity of the air bag inflation from the remote control. Here is the video for your education and enjoyment:

Please feel free to visit our youtube channel at www.youtube.com/massagechairrelief to see more videos on the Osaki 6000 massage chair and other models as well.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair vs. Osaki 4000 Massage Chair

Friday, February 17th, 2012

The primary differences between the Osaki 70000 Massage Chair and the Osaki 4000 Massage Chair are as follows:

1. # of Airbags
The Osaki 7000 massage chair has 46, whereas the Osaki 4000 massage chair has only 32 airbags. The extra airbags in the Osaki 7000 are found in the head, hips and thighs, waist area, and seat. These extra airbags contribute to what Osaki calls the “swaying massage” in the 7000. The airbags move the pelvis, seat, and low back in such a way that the low back feels to be gently stretched in a rotation motion. Very soothing feature of the Osaki 7000.
Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

2. Length of Vertical Roller Track
The length of the roller track on the Osaki 4000 is 30″, which is already a good length. The Osaki 7000 goes a bit further down the low back into the buttocks with a 31″ roller track. I believe this is the longest vertical track of any massage chair with which we are familiar.
3. # of Motors
The Osaki 4000 massage chair has 7 motors and the Osaki 7000 has 13 motors. More motors mean less wear and tear on one particular motor. The workload of the chair is distributed throughout more motors for less breakdowns.
4. Heat
The Osaki 4000 has low back heat, but the Osaki 7000 has a more full body heat, including heat in the head, neck, shoulders, back, arms, hips, calves, and feet. More comprehensive heat than in any other chair model that we carry.
Osaki 4000 Massage Chair

Osaki 4000 Massage Chair

5. Stretch Program
Osaki introduces a new Thai style stretching program with the Osaki 7000 massage chair. Stretching on a massage chair is more like a milking motion of the soft tissue. The chair back and ottoman raise up and down to induce a passive motion to the joints and soft tissues of the spine. The Osaki 4000 does not have this stretch function. The stretch function on most massage chairs is almost always a favorite for the user. You will enjoy the stretch function.
6. Zero Gravity
Both chairs boast a zero gravity feature, which is a great feature for low back pain sufferers. It allows for the weight of the body to be more evenly distributed in the reclined position so that less stress is placed on the low back.
7. Price
The price of the Osaki 4000 is $2895. The price of the Osaki 7000 is $3790. We always have a low price match on any of the models we carry. You just need to decide if the differences in the features is worth the difference in price.
Well, that should just about do it for a comparison between the Osaki 7000 and the Osaki 4000 massage chairs. I hope this helps you make your decision. Remember that the warranty on all Osaki massage chairs is 1 year comprehensive in-home. We offer a 90-day money back guarantee and our best price promise.

Inada Sogno Massage Chair Video – Dreamwave Technology

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Video of Inada Sogno Massage Chair Dreamwave Function

I created a short video describing and demonstrating the innovative Dreamwave technology of the Inada Sogno massage chair. It is an airbag system that moves the seat from side to side in a figure-8 motion and up and down. It is a wonderful therapeutic benefit of this chair. All chairs will have rollers that go up and down the spine, some even down into the buttocks, but this is the first massage chair to have this style of airbag motion in the seat.

This feature is ideal for acute low back pain sufferers as it provides a passive way to move that terribly painful area when it has flared up. The gentle swaying motion of the seat gives the muscles a chance to relax and release. As a chiropractor, I used to agonize with my patients who came in with such intense low back pain that they couldn’t even get on the treatment table, let alone allow me to manually treat their spine. It was a very laborious and painful experience to try to adjust the bones or even just apply some soft muscular pressure to the affected muscles.

The dreamwave technology can take care of much of that, once the user is in the chair. I suppose that getting in the chair could be a task for someone in that acute pain stage, but once you are in, the massage chair will take over from there.

Here is the video. I hope you glean something useful from it:

You can check out all of my videos on the Inada Sogno massage chair or any other chair we’ve reviewed on my youtube channel: www.youtube.com/massagechairrelief

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Good Question from a Massage Chair Shopper!

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Another Great Question From A Massage Chair Buyer

I get questions all the time from visitors to my massage chair site. I love that people feel comfortable enough with me to call or write when they have questions or concerns about massage chairs. Here is a great question from someone suffering from neck and upper extremity concerns. His questions about the differences between the Inada Sogno and Osaki 7000 massage chairs are legitimate. I hope you can glean something from his question and my response.

Massage Chair Question:

Originally I had my sights on the Dreamwave, but was somewhat put off by the price. Then the price went up. 
Since reading of the Osaki 7000 it is now the focus of my attention (thanks for your recent blogs describing the similarities/differences!), although with it only having about half of the airbags of the Sogno I’m concerned that the quality of the massage may not be comparable. 
I would like a chair that included a timer to do a massage session at night for 60min to put me to sleep, then automatically wake me up to a massage for about 30min in the morning…..none of the chairs seems to do this though.
Background:
My little finger and half of my ring finger have been numb for years since a car accident in 2003. The numbness subsided quite a bit while I was receiving chiropractic care and rehab on my neck. Yet since being cut off from treatment by the insurance co, after about 1year of treatment the numbness has become increasingly worse, and my left hand seems have weakened over the last year. One morning this past December, I woke up in bed stretching my arms out in front of me and caught a glimpse of the back of my left hand and realized that it has atrophied terribly! There is basically no muscle between my thumb and forefinger, nor on the outside of my hand between my wrist and little finger & the top of my hand is visibly not as meaty as my right. Unfortunately when the ins co cut me off from care, I was not financially able to continue it on my own and considered that the numbness in 1.5fingers (which although always there, I often don’t even notice) was not that big of a deal. However, I now believe that this has led to my hand atrophying at only 31yrs of age! My chiropractor tested my grip and said that it is only a 9# difference between my dominant right hand (within the normal 10# difference), and since I had/have been able to continue to perform all my usual tasks that that is probably why I had not spotted the problem sooner. 
My left hand, although not quite as bad, looks similar this guys http://www.tummytuckformen.com/hand_finger_muscle_atrophy_from_ulnar_nerve_damage.html
David

Massage Chair Answer:

Wow, David, I am very sorry about your predicament. Muscle atrophy is not a good thing. It goes without saying that you would want a chair that has a decent neck massage feature. The good thing about the Inada Sogno and the Osaki 7000 is that both of them have headrests with neck airbag massage (the Inada Sogno neck airbag massage is far more discriminating and superior to that of the Osaki 7000 massage chair) but the headrests can be lifted up and over the back of the chair and you can access the massage rollers on the neck. So, you have two neck massage options for both models.I might also mention that the Inada Sogno has a more intense airbag massage of the top of the shoulders where the trapezia muscles are located. It truly feels like a massage therapist is digging his/her elbows into your traps. This is the traction portion of the Inada  Sogno, which would serve you very well with your cervical (neck) condition. The Osaki 6000 massage chair has a feature similar to the Sogno but not nearly as specific and discriminating as the Sogno airbags. I don’t believe the Osaki 7000 has the shoulder airbags for the trap muscles.

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

The Osaki chairs have timers up to 30 minutes, which is the longest timer of any massage chair of which I am aware. The Inada Sogno only goes up to 15 minutes.
I hope this assists you in your decision-making process.
At your service,
Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Comparing the Osaki 7000 Massage Chair & Inada Sogno Massage Chair (Part 2)

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Review of Osaki 7000 Massage Chair and the Inada Sogno (Part 2)

In Part 2 I discuss the remainder of the differences and then a bunch of similarities between the Inada Sogno and the Osaki 7000 massage chair.
7. Arm Airbag Massage
The Inada Sogno massage chair has hand and finger, wrist, forearm, and arm airbag massage. The Osaki 7000 has forearm massage with a shoulder airbag that compresses the outer area of the shoulder (AKA the deltoid muscles). The shoulder airbag also compresses down on the FRONT of the shoulders thus pulling the shoulders back when the rollers come up the spine. This is a great feature  for posture correction. The Inada Doctor’s Choice 3A massage chair pioneered this feature. I have that chair in my showroom and the postural shoulder airbags are phenomenal. You will certainly feel taller when you get out of the Osaki 7000.
8. Zero Gravity
Zero gravity means that the seat tilts up at 30 degrees when the chair is reclined. The Osaki 7000 has zero gravity positioning in the seat, whereas the Inada Sogno massage chair does not. The zero gravity feature is very comfortable for low back pain sufferers as it takes the strain off the low back when in a seated position. Apparently NASA came up with the idea for the astronauts and massage chair companies have employed the feature in many of their models.
9. Heat
The Inada Sogno has a very subtle heating element located at the back of the seat where your sacrum is located (tailbone area). The Osaki has heating elements located in the head, neck, shoulders, back, arms, hips, calves, and feet. It is very comprehensive coverage.
10. Price
The Inada Sogno Dreamwave massage chair is listed at $7799 while the Osaki 7000 massage chair costs $3790.
Now, here are some things that both chairs have in common that I really like…
Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Similarities Between Inada Sogno Massage Chair & Osaki 7000

1. Long Roller Track
One of the things that I absolutely love about the Inada Sogno massage chair is the way the rollers hit the pelvis and massage the buttocks. That is because of an extended roller track that can go that low. I’ve not sat on the Osaki 7000 but I see that the roller track length is 31″, which is one of the longest we’ve ever seen in a chair (other Osaki massage chairs only have up to 30″ tracks). I suspect that it, too, will hit the buttocks and tailbone area. If you have any kind of muscle tightness down in that area or if you struggle with sciatica, both of these chairs should do wonders for you.
2. Massage Roller Intensity Adjustment
On both chairs you can adjust the intensity of the massage rollers. If you want it more vigorous you can increase that intensity. For most chairs you can also lift the back pad up and over the chair back to increase the roller intensity even more. Of course, if you want to decrease the intensity of the roller massage, the chair’s remote control will allow you to do that as well.
3. Airbag Intensity Adjustment
Airbags are designed to compress your muscles. Sometimes compression (or squeezing) is not that comfortable, particularly if you have damaged or really sore muscles. To be able to adjust the airbag intensity is paramount, in my opinion, and both of these chairs allow you to do that.
4. Extendable Ottoman
To accommodate both taller and shorter body types, both chairs allow for the foot portion of the ottoman to be extended to accommodate the longer legged individual. The Osaki ottoman is adjusted electronically, which sounds fancy, but I prefer the spring-like extension and retraction mechanism in the Inada Sogno.
5. Body Design
The Inada Sogno pioneered the new design that is being imitated by so many chinese manufacturers. The Osaki 3000, 4000, and 6000 models are examples of that look-a-like design. The Osaki 7000 is another twist in the modern design changes that have been going on since the Sogno came to be. I really like the look of the new 7000 and am eager to get one in the showroom to see how it really looks and feels.

Bottom Line…You Just Need To Sit In These Massage Chairs

Now, after having listed all these differences and similarities, there is really nothing like sitting in the chairs. The Inada Sogno has a special something that the other traditional chairs don’t have. It is just a totally different experience when you sit in it and experience the massage programs.
I  hope this helped you in some way. Feel free to contact me anytime by email or phone (801-651-2026) to discuss these or any other models.
At your service,
Dr. Alan Weidner

Inada Sogno Massage Chair vs. Osaki 7000 Massage Chair (Part 1)

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

Compare & Contrast Inada Sogno Massage Chair vs. Osaki 7000

It is amazing to me how many requests I get from shoppers about the difference between the Inada Sogno Dreamwave massage chair and other models that are look-a-like massage chairs. The last review I did compared the Inada Sogno to the Omega Montage Pro. This week I received another review request comparing the Inada  Sogno to the Osaki 7000 massage chair which, by the way, I think is a pretty cool looking chair! In this review I look not only at the differences but the features they have in common.

Here is the question and my response. Since my response is over 1000 words, I took the liberty of breaking up the blog post into 2 parts. Here is part 1:

Massage Chair Question:

I am looking at upgrading massage chairs and was comparing between the Inada Songo Dreamwave and the Osaki 7000. Can you tell me several of the differences between them and also your professional advice on them. I also saw that Osaki is soon coming out with the 7200 model. Is this something I should wait to consider. Also do you offer discount pricing or do you have sales on the chairs. thanks, Chad

Massage Chair Answer:

Hi, Chad

Thanks for your inquiry.
I’ll start off with the easy question. The Osaki 7200 is the same as the Osaki 6000 but with heat and a few extra automatic programs. You can learn all about the Osaki 6000 massage chair on my blog. Here is my 2-part review of that model:

The price of the 7200 will be $3790, same as the 7000. The 6000 costs $3495. Is the heat function and a few extra auto programs worth $300 to you? I guess that would be the question to ask.
I will be writing a review describing the differences between the 6000 and the Inada Sogno next week, but here are the major

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

differences between the Inada Sogno and the Osaki 7000 (remember that I have not sat on an Osaki 7000 massage chair at this point. We will be getting one in our showroom within the next few weeks, but my review is based on my first-hand experience with the Inada Sogno, which I do have in my showroom, and my literature review of the Osaki 7000):

1. Manufacturing Country
The Inada Sogno is made in Japan whilst the Osaki chairs are all made in China. The general reputation of Japanese chairs, regarding innovation and quality, is better than that of their Chinese counterparts. My experience in this business has shown that Japanese chairs, be they Inada, certain Panasonic models. and the Sanyo models, have lest breakdowns than the chinese-made chairs. However, a good name brand massage chair company, like those of which we are speaking, have great customer support whether the chairs are Chinese or Japanese made.

2. Warranty Period
Inada comes with the best standard warranty in the business, which is 3 years parts and labor in-home. All other name brand manufacturer’s, including Osaki, have a 1 year part and labor in-home warranty. You can purchase an extended warranty for either chair.

3. Pelvis, Seat, and Waist Massage
Both chairs utilize airbags that inflate in the hips, seat, and waist. The airbags on both chairs inflate simultaneously and successively to induce compression of the musculature and rotation of the lower back joints. However, the Inada Sogno massage chair additionally has the Dreamwave technology which actually moves the seat up and down and in a figure-8 motion. It is extremely soothing, particularly for someone with acute low back pain.

4. Head Air Massage
The Osaki 7000 massage chair introduces something very unique that I have never seen before in a massage chair and that is the head massage. It comes in the form of an airbag belt that fits over the head like a headband. The airbags inflate and gently compress the circumference of the head, mimicking the palms of a massage therapist’s hands. I’ve never felt it, but I imagine that it could be very soothing. Most patients love the feeling of having their head massaged.

5. Total # of Airbags
The Inada Sogno Dreamwave has over 100 airbags working your body from head to toe. The Osaki 7000 has 46 airbags.

6. Neck Traction
The Inada Sogno has a very unique feature that tractions the neck muscles while at the same time giving an airbag massage that mimicks the elbow massage of a licensed massage therapist on the shoulder muscles (AKA the traps). The airbags inflate from the bottom of the Cervical Traction Device (what I like to call the headpiece) and push down on the trapezius muscles. A very nice therapeutic massage for folks with tight shoulder muscles from sitting at a computer all day. The airbag intensity can be adjusted from Low to Medium to High so that the perfect comfort level can be reached for virtually everyone.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I will discuss a few more differences between these two models and then the similarities…

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com