Mail Bag – Sogno vs. Iyashi, WholeBody 2.0 Roller Track, Etc.

December 19, 2013
 By Dr. Alan Weidner
December 19, 2013
 By Dr. Alan Weidner

Mail Bag – Sogno vs. Iyashi, WholeBody 2.0 Roller Track, Etc.

Some more great questions from massage chair shoppers…and my responses:

QUESTION #1 – “Which chair is best for us?”
Good day…I’ve been reviewing your site for the last couple of weeks and have read many of the reviews and Dr. Weider’s articles. The problem, so many chairs, so many brands, so many features. I currently have 2 massage chairs: Fuji OX-575 and a Elite Optima. I have spend over $5000 for these chairs and I am not overly impressed. The Fuji has limited features and I don’t think it’s made anymore; the Elite is a little better, but sometimes it hurts me more than make me feel better. I need help in finding a chair I would be happy with. Going to your showroom in UT is not an option, so what is the best way to do so on-line? Some data: My wife and I are 62 years old; height 5’6″ (wife is 5’3″); weight 164 (wife 123); we particularly like upper shoulder/neck massage and middle of back (end of spine). Firmness should be adjustable since I like my massage a little harder than what the wife likes. Any recommendations to narrow down the search. In addition to giving a good massage, I am looking for reliability, maintainability, and future support in a chair. Thank you.

MY RESPONSE #1
Hi, Fred
Thanks so much for your email. You are obviously a massage chair enthusiast and I am sorry that you are finding your current chairs lacking for your needs. The chairs that came to my mind when you described your needs were:

1. Panasonic MA70 or EP30007 – Panasonic’s top of the line chairs which have a very good neck and shoulder massage. They have a roller system that comes up and over the top of the shoulders a bit before traveling up the neck. The MA70 roller system is more sophisticated than that of the 30007. They has an intensity adjustment that allows you to make the massage more or less intense, although the difference between low and high intensity is not huge. Panasonic chairs are among the most reliable and durable chairs out there….they come with a 3 year parts and labor, in-home warranty.

Pro Dreamer

Pro Dreamer

2. Inada Sogno – Widely known as the best massage chair in the world, the Sogno has many of the features you are looking for including adjustable roller intensity massage, options for airbags or rollers to massage your neck, a gentle default roller massage which can be increased significantly in intensity, plus it is one of the most reliable and durable massage chairs in the market. Like the Panasonic MA70, the Inada Sogno comes with 3 years parts and labor, in-home warranty.

3. Osaki OS-3D Pro Dreamer – This is a new offering from Osaki and I love how you can adjust the intensity of the roller massage with a 3D roller system that makes for a much, much more vigorous massage at their highest intensity (the rollers move 3.15″ forward and back with the 3D intensity adjustment). It does a great job on the neck and upper/mid back. This is a good chair but not of the reputation of the Panasonic or Inada models. The warranty is 2 year parts and labor, in-home with a 3rd and 4th year parts only and a final year for structure/frame. This chair has an instant online discount of $1000.

I hope this helps you somewhat in your search for a better chair. Please feel free to email or call me at 801-651-2026 with any other questions or if you need assistance with your order.

QUESTION #2 – Sogno vs. Iyashi

Inada Sogno

Inada Sogno

Hello Alan,
You have a great and helpful website – thank you! I’m contemplating buying my wife (a diabetic of 50 years) a chair for Christmas and wondered if you’d give me some idea of the key differences between the Inada Sogno and the Infinity Iyashi chairs? I’ve gone through the comparison chart on the 2 chairs on your site and have demo’d the Sogno in Denver, but was wondering if you could summarize the key differentiators for me as you see them? She suffers from carpal tunnel and elbow/hand pain so I’m interested in the best choice for helping with that. I’m also interested in which would help best with circulation in her feet and lower legs.
I’m finding the extra long back massage that goes all the way to the upper thighs to be a pretty attractive sounding feature on the Iyashi – but haven’t been able to actually try it so I’m not sure how big of a difference that represents from the Sogno?
If you have time for some feedback it will be much appreciated. I’m ready to pull the trigger once I get this sorted out. Jeff

MY RESPONSE #2
Hi, Jeff
Thanks so much for your email!. I am glad that you are thinking about a chair. I think your wife (and you, of course) will love having one to sit on any time you want.

Both the Sogno and the Iyashi are great chairs and I have both in my showroom. Here are some salient points to consider between the two chairs…

Infinity Iyashi

Infinity Iyashi

1. Japanese vs. Chinese
Inada has been around for over 50 years perfecting the art of making massage chairs, but the Chinese chairs are getting better and better. Chinese chairs are definitely cheaper but Japanese workmanship still trumps. With both companies offering fantastic customer support, you will be taken care of by either company rather well.

2. Roller Track
The thing that really makes the Iyashi stand out is the 49″ roller track (compared to about 30″ in the Sogno). If you are looking for a great buttocks, pelvis, sacral massage, the Iyashi’s got it. The neck massage is stronger and better in the Sogno, but the long Iyashi roller track makes it tough for ANY other chair to compete.

3. Mechanical Foot Rollers
Iyashi’s got them, Sogno doesn’t. This is a feature that most folks are looking for when shopping for a new massage chair nowadays. The Sogno airbag massage is fantastic and second to none, but if you like the mechanical foot rollers idea, the Iyashi is the way to go. Both foot and calf massaging mechanisms should work well for your wife, but the foot rollers of the Iyashi will be something that may offer more help with the foot and calf circulation.

4. Neck Traction/Trap Massage
As I already mentioned, the Sogno, in my opinion, has a better and more versatile neck massage, It also has airbags that inflate from the head piece down onto the trapezia muscles, making it the only chair that massages the traps. It is a wonderful feature that no other chair really has. These trap airbags also traction the shoulders down so that the neck gets a unique stretch. I really like this feature.

5. Dreamwave Technology
The Sogno has an airbag technology that moves the seat from side to side and up and down, called Dreamwave. It is a therapeutically wonderful feature, especially for acute low back pain. The Iyashi has airbags that push the your pelvis/buttocks across the rollers in a shearing manner, which is very unique to that chair. Both very different features, but both quite therapeutic.

6. Full Arm Massage
The Sogno has upper arm airbags along with forearm, hand, and wrist airbags. The Iyashi has only forearm, wrist, and hand airbags. Both chairs offer great upper extremity airbag massage. Both chairs should do a great job for your wife’s hands and wrists.

7. Space Saving Feature
Both chairs are larger-framed chairs, but the Iyashi is bigger. Infinity has integrated a space-saving feature, called a sliding base, that allows the chair to slide forward before a program begins so that you can position the chair right up against the wall and not have to worry about putting holes in the wall when the chair reclines. Sogno does not have this feature.

8. Warranty
Inada offers 3 years parts and labor, in-home, whereas the Iyashi offers 1 year parts and labor, in-home with a second year of parts only. As I mentioned above, the customer support for both companies is fantastic should you ever need warranty support.

9. Price
The Sogno goes for $7999, the Iyashi for $5295. During this Thanksgiving week, we are offering 5% off both chairs and Infinity is offering an instant $800 discount instead of the usual $600 instant discount, so you will save even more this week.

These are the primary things that make the chairs unique and different. I hope this helps in some way. I may have forgotten something but this should get you thinking!

Let me know if you want me to elaborate more on any of these points or if you just want to chat about the chairs. You can always call me at 801-651-2026. I am always at your disposal.

 

ZeroG 4.0

ZeroG 4.0

QUESTION #3 – WholeBody 2.0 roller track
Hi, does the WholeBody 2.0 (lower end immersion model) have the same roller track range as the other two models? Are their other significant differences I should be aware of? I am mostly concerned with getting a good strong massage, don’t need all of the bells and whistles.

Thanks,

Jason

MY RESPONSE #3
Hi, Jason
Thanks for your inquiry. WholeBody 2.0 has only a 25 inch roller track, whereas the ZeroG 4.0/2.0 have 26 inch roller tracks. The WholeBody 2.0 and ZeroG 2.0 do not have the 3D roller track, where the rollers can be moved forward and back to increase and decrease the massage intensity, respectively. The ZeroG 4.0 does have that feature. Human Touch typically has a strong roller massage on all their chairs. I haven’t sat on the WholeBody 2.0, but I have the ZeroG 4.0 in my showroom and it has a good, vigorous massage.

I hope this helps. Feel free to email or call me (801-651-2026) if you have more questions. I am always at your disposal.

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

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