Last week, I visited the head offices of Human Touch massage chairs in Long Beach, California, to see some old friends and check out their new Super Novo massage chair, the prototype of which was on display in their showroom.

I met with David Wood, Human Touch CEO, and some of his staff including Vicki Lladoc, Cathy Lou, Michelle Guerin, and Suzie Willcox, my oldest friend in the massage chair industry (“oldest” meaning how long I’ve worked with her…not her age!!).

When I began selling massage chairs in 2005, Human Touch was the only major massage chair company in the USA and theirs were the only chairs I originally carried. Suzie was my contact person at Human Touch from the get-go and we have remained good friends through all these years. She and her daughter, Julia, even flew out to my Utah showroom grand opening in 2008! It was so good to see her again after many years and see that she is still working at Human Touch.

David went over the features of the new Super Novo massage chair with me. It looks much like the Novo XT2 which we already carry and have in our showrooms, but with some minor upholstery and body design changes. Here is a list of the other differences discussed during our meeting:

1. Alexa-Enable Virtual Assistant – Human Touch has integrated Alexa with this model. With the use of a plug-in adapter, you can speak through your Alexa device to activate your chair’s functions. You can watch how that is done in the video below. Fascinating and very timely considering the current proliferation of voice command devices.
2. 4D Rollers – You all know what I think about this term, but it means that the Super Novo has a 3D roller track system with a so-called “4th dimension”,referring to the variable speeds or rhythms of the rollers during an auto program. You see, 3D alludes to the 3 dimensions within which the rollers of the chair can operate. Those 3 dimensions are the x,y, and z axes of movement. Non-3D chairs (aka 2D chairs) have rollers that move side-to-side along the x-axis and up-and-down along the y-axis. Every single massage chair does that. The 3D refers to rollers that can also be adjusted forward-and-backward. There really isn’t a 4th dimension in our time and space continuum here on earth, but many massage chair companies use that term, in my opinion, as a marketing ploy to make you, the customer, believe that their 4D chair has something unusually unique and “out-of-this-world” compared to a 3D chair. The thing is, all massage chairs have the ability to adjust the roller speed, whether the chair has 2D or 3D rollers.  Enough of my ranting. But, the Super Novo has 4D.
3. The stretch program of the Super Novo offers two different options…one involving leg extension and one involving knee flexion (bending the knees). I’ve not seen this dual stretch feature outside of the Human Touch Novo chairs.
4. Heated feet and calves – If you love heat in your massage chair, this will only convince you more to seriously look at the Super Novo. Pretty much every massage chair has back heat, but it is not as common to find heated feet, much less heated calves. Nice feature.
5. Optional remote control pedestal – Previous models of the Novo have a pouch on the side of the arm rest into which you can put the remote when not in use. Now, they have an optional pedestal that attaches to the arm rest onto which you can attach the remote control via a magnet. You can even put a magnetic sticker to your phone or device and attach it to the pedestal. It is so easy to remove the remote from the pedestal when it is magnetized. I like this feature. If you don’t want the pedestal, you can just lay down the remote on a “tray” on the right arm rest so it is out of your way you’re getting massaged.
6. Apple and Android apps – You can download apps to your device and operate your chair from your device. That is one of the reasons why the magnetized remote control pedestal is kinda cool. With the technology of this chair and it’s apps, you can memorize up to 100 different user profiles!
7. “Saddle” colored upholstery option – Novo chairs have always had wonderful and plentiful color options. The saddle color is new to this model and it looks great. It is a leather-like color that has a very nice look to it.
8. Quick keys and dial on the arm rest allows you to activate various chair functions without having to handle the remote control. We are seeing more and more of these quick keys in the market. In the video below you can hear Vicki explain how the quick keys and dial work.
9. Improved Altec-Lansing speakers – Altec Lansing speakers were introduced to the Novo XT2 and they are wonderful. The new speakers in the Super Novo are improved even more to make your sound experience second to none.

The Super Novo will be launched in June 2019. I will also be doing an online video interview with David Wood next Monday (March 18th). As the CEO of Human Touch, he can offer a unique perspective on topics not only related to his own company but also to the industry as a whole. I look forward to chatting with him in that format. I will post the interview to our YouTube channel later that same day. If you have any questions that you’d like me to ask him, just email me with those questions.

PRICE TAG: $9999

Dr. Alan Weidner