Friday, January 16, 2009

Product Review: Sanyo SR1000 Massage Chair Recliner

By James Knolan

Sanyo has a full range of massage chairs in their product line. We are going to take an in depth view of the entry level model for Sanyo. The model SR 1000K is the subject of this product review. Our reviews are systematic and we judge any massage chair is five critical areas. We give a point rating of up to twenty points per area for a total possible score of 100. This is the SR-1000K massage chair recliner by Sanyo.

Warranty Coverage & Customer Service: We start with the warranty coverage because this is your long term protection. Massage chairs are complex machines and obtaining sufficient warranty coverage is always advised. Sanyo covers the SR-1000K recliner with the following warranty: You get 3 years coverage for the roller mechanism, 1 year labor coverage, 1 year parts coverage and 1 year in home service coverage. This is a great warranty for an entry level massage chair. Sanyo also has moved to a national call center which has also improved customer service. We rate the warranty coverage and customer service a 19.

Comfort & Ergonomics: This is an important element, especially for entry level massage chairs. We have tried many entry level chairs that were not comfortable which defeats the purpose of a massage chair. The SR1000K is pretty comfortable to sit in. It has an adjustable head pillow and a plush back pad. The main power button is located on the left side of the chair and can be reached when seated. The leg massager requires you to bend down to flip the foot massage mechanism out. This is the least ergonomic part of the massage recliner. We rate the comfort and ergonomics of the SR 1000 as a 17.

Ease of Use: The advance of electronics is just simply amazing. However with this amazing advance come other challenges. All the new features that are in massage chairs must be learned and the user must figure out how to use them all. This is where the design becomes of paramount importance. The remote for the SR1000 seems to have more steps than needed to obtain the massage you want. We give this massage chair a 16 for this category.

Key Features: This massage chair comes with the Sanyo stiffness detector. The stiffness detector uses technology borrowed from lie detectors. The stiffness detector in the SR 1000 can sense tightness in the muscles of the body and other points of stress. The user holds the side of the remote and the chair can detect these areas of stiffness. The chair will then target these areas for relief. The other interesting feature is the shape sensor. The shape sensor takes a measurement of the position of the shoulders. The chair then identifies where the shoulders are at and adjusts the massage accordingly. The rollers width will then become less when it gets to your shoulders and for your neck area. These are some advanced electronic features that are unique to Sanyo. We give a rating of 18 for key features.

Massage Therapy: This is the most important category, since this is what a massage chair is all about. The SR 1000K comes with the following manual massage techniques: massage, tapping, combination, stretch 1 and stretch 2. The massages can be used in combination with the stretch 1 and stretch 2 functions. There are 2 automatic programs which are Relax and Recovery. First you choose the massage and then you can select the region of the body to target. You can select neck/shoulder, upper body, or waist. The SR1000K also comes with a calf and foot massager. The leg rest can be used directly for the calves. You must flip the foot massager out to use the foot massager. The leg rest allows you to target the following regions: calves, back of the knees, soles of the feet and the Achilles tendon/heal. The leg rest roller mechanism provides effective massage to the calves and the back of the knees. We rate the massage therapy of the SR-1000 a 17.

The SR-1000 massage chair by Sanyo earns an 87 out of 100 points in our review. The warranty coverage is very good for an entry level model. The massage therapy is done pretty well and is effective. We would like to have seen more automatic programs to enhance the variety of massage treatments. The advanced electronic features are novel, but may have caused some tradeoff in the massages that were designed in to meet the price point. This is a good chair and if you are looking for something in this range, then it is worth considering. - 15438

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