CUSTOMER EMAIL #1
Hi. The Iyashi has 49″ roller track,buttocks and thighs roller massage. I thought the 8500 also had a 49″ roller all the way down to the buttocks. When I do the compare models on your website I don’t see it listed for the 8500. Yes / No ? The newer Iyashi doesn’t have Neck/Head Airbags like the 8500 ..yes /no ? I also see the 8500 doesn’t have vibration and the new Iyashi does. Where does it vibrate on the Iyashi ? They both have Zero Gravity but I notice the 8500 has 2 stages and the Iyashi has only one. What are the pro and cons having 2 stages VS one stage ? I really like the Inversion feature on the 8500 and notice the Iyashi doesn’t have it. Is this the same as the Power Recline ? My job has me on my feet all day. I work outside here in NYC and walk 5-6 miles a day and have to wlk up 5-6 flights of stairs several times a day up and don. So my calves are in knots and feet on fire at the end of day so the foot rollers for the 8500 /Iyashi is a must. I also carry a backpack that weighs at least 20-25 lbs on a normal day. None of this is helping my back or neck (herniated discs) . I like deep hard massages so the least air bag features for back and legs is best for me. Too bad they don’t have the rollers for the arms or head ..lol What are Quad Style Rollers compared to other rollers ? Alos..Do any machines actually have Grasping/Gripping..I see that lisyed as a spec but haven’t found a model with that feature yet. Also. what is Junetsu ? Thanks for your time ..appreciate it !

IT-8500

MY RESPONSE #1
Hi, Debra
Thank you for your email. By the sounds of your strenuous day’s activities, you need a massage chair every day!! I apologize for taking so long getting back to you. I finally have some moments now to concentrate on and respond to your email questions. I will address them point by point below…

1. The roller track length of the IT-8500 is 30.25″ while that of the Iyashi is 49″ and is the only chair on our site that has a roller track of that length.

2. The IT-8500 has a neck pillow with airbags that inflate on one side of your head and then the other to induce a rotation motion for your neck. The Iyashi has a neck pillow but without the airbags.

3. Vibration is most typically found in the seat and sometimes in the calves. I believe the vibration in the Iyashi is in the seat.

Iyashi – side view reclined

4. Both chairs have true zero gravity positioning, where the seat tilts to a 30 degree angle and the angle between the chair back and the seat is 120 degrees. The IT-8500 has a second “zero gravity” position, which just means that it reclines further back and the seat tilts up a little more. Not a true zero gravity position, but another option depending on what is comfortable for you, the user.

5. Inversion refers to a deeper recline of the chair back. True inversion is past 180 degrees. The IT-8500 only reclines to 178 degrees but when combined with the zero gravity seat tilt, it feels like you are actually upside down. The Iyashi only reclines to 170 degrees so you never quite feel the same in the full recline as you do with the IT-8500.

6. Quad rollers are pretty standard nowadays. The older chairs had just one roller on each side of your spine, making a total of 2 rollers. Quad rollers just means that roller mechanism on each side of your spine has 2 rollers…making a total of 4 (quad) rollers working on your spine.

7. Neither of these models have grasping/gripping. It is a feature seen on Panasonic chairs and the old Sanyo chairs. To be honest, I have no idea what Junetsu massage is. It is something only the Panasonic chairs have and it is just another variation of the massage modes of kneading, tapping, compression, and rolling.

8. Regarding your YouTube question this morning, you can move the ottoman up and down or extend/retract it so that it can fit you for any position you might have the chair in.

CUSTOMER EMAIL #2
What is the chair you referenced in your February 2013 video that will be made in the USA? Is it now available? What do you think of it?

Also, I read pretty universally that the Inada Sogno is considered the “best massage chair” out there. Why is that?

Thanks!
Steve

iRobotics 6S

MY RESPONSE #2
Hi, Steve
Thanks for your inquiry. The US made chair is the Luraco iRobotics 6S. It is about 50% made in China and 50% made in the USA. It is assembled and tested in the Luraco headquarters in Arlington, Texas. It is a very good chair and is on sale right now for $5990. It does not have the same features as the Inada Sogno, but is a good chair for the price and the fact that it is a US-made chair. Their customer support is wonderful as well. Their engineers in Dallas often get involved directly with customer support concerns, which gives you the best support you could ask for.

The Sogno came out in 2009 and revolutionized the whole industry. The features that set it apart from the others are, in my opinion, the following:

Inada Sogno

1. Made in Japan. Inada is the oldest massage chair company and has been perfecting the art of making massage chairs for decades. The Sogno has a 1% or less failure rate, which is phenomenal. Most other chairs have a failure rate of 2-5%. The quality of their workmanship is extraordinary. All they make is massage chairs.

2. Warranty – their warranty is a 3 years parts and labor, in-home warranty. Most other chairs are only 1 year parts and labor. They offer the higher warranty, in part, because of their confidence that it won’t have that many problems with it’s low failure rate.

3. Unique feature set – the Sogno has a few features that are unique to it: IlioTibial Band airbag massage, 3D roller intensity adjustment, FULL arm airbags, Dreamwave technology in the seat which moves the seat from side to side in a figure 8 pattern and up and down (very soothing for low back pain sufferers), a cervical traction device that not only tractions your neck through the use of airbags, but also uses a pressure massage on the trap muscles. This feature-set is very unique to the Sogno and, though others have tried, have never been duplicated.

4. Fantastic customer support, should anything go wrong with your chair.

CUSTOMER EMAIL #3
Hello Dr. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me earlier on the phone. I didn’t want to take any more of your time on a Saturday so I thought I’d email you with my 3 finalists in my chair search, considering my $5000 +/- budget. Johnson J6800, Omega Montage Pro, Osaki OS-3D Pro Cyber. I am 5’10, 275lbs, with a 50″ chest. Obviously I am a bigger guy from years of weight lifting. I tell you this because you mentioned some chairs fit bigger guys better. Important to me are: Functions/features in this price range product quality quality and length of warranty. (If I did go with the Osaki, I would buy the 2yr extended warranty to make it comparable to the other two choices.) What would your recommendation be? Thank you for your help. You have earned by business. Lance

MY RESPONSE #3
Hi, Lance
Thanks for your call this morning and your email. I have not sat in the Omega Montage Pro so I can’t really speak to whether the chair will fit your shoulders or not. I know the warranty is good with this model, but the customer support sometimes is lacking a bit in that they can be a bit hard to get a hold of. But the warranty is a 5 year parts and labor, in-home warranty with that particular model.

OS-3D Pro Cyber

I have the OS-Cyber and the Johnson J6800 in my showroom and can tell you that you would probably fit just fine in both. I had a fellow come to the showroom from Dallas and he was a strong, broad man…especially in the shoulders. He ended up buying the Cyber but mentioned that he fit just fine in the Johnson chair too.

The Johnson chair has a 3 year parts and labor, in-home warranty and a strong 3D roller massage. It is Taiwanese-made, which usually means a bit better quality than the mainland Chinese-made chairs. That is probably why it has a longer warranty. The feel of the Johnson chair is more akin to a Japanese chair massage. You just lack features like zero gravity and foot rollers, if those are important to you. The recommended user weight on the Johnson is 300 lbs, whereas the recommended weight for the Osaki is 265 lbs.

I think you can’t go wrong with either of those latter two. Let me know if you have any other questions or need assistance with your order. I appreciate your willingness to buy your chair from us. FYI, we do price matching and I am always available, before and after the sale, so I will always be at your disposal.

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