The 4th Annual Top Massage Chair List – 2023

As is tradition on MCTech, we’re here to make another top massage chair list to really highlight and show off some of the massage industry’s leading massage chairs, and what they’re bringing to the table. Last year, we mentioned that some name brands have become synonymous with quality and innovation; this year, we’re absolutely excited to be able to tell you about some of the best massage chairs that we’ve seen in the massage chair industry to date!

But Why Trust Us?

Well, we have been a part of the massage chair industry for over 8 years, and with this being our 4th annual list of the top massage chairs, we believe we have the expertise to inform you about excellent chairs. Our team of experts have spent the last year, in 2021, finding, testing and comparing new modern chairs to older established models, and we are confident that they have a grasp on what they consider to be quality chairs. And so, in the beginning of 2023, we are bringing you a list of the top massage chairs we believe you can enjoy.

Criteria

This year’s list is going to be a bit different. We won’t be showcasing massage chairs that we believe are the best deals. No, we wanted to make a list of the top of the line massage chairs chairs that aficionados claim are the true top contenders of the massage chair industry. So, our team wanted to see what to see what our renowned brands have been cooking up, and to no surprise, they’ve given us interesting and thoughtful insight on massage chairs. So we needed to set some criteria:

Price
We don’t believe price will be as large of a factor as it usually has been because the brands we’ll be covering are definitely on the higher end, where even $5000 may be considered cheap compared to their hefty price tags.

Quality
We believe no massage chair should have poor quality. After all, massage chairs are meant to be enjoyed by the customer for a long time. Everything will be scrutinized if need be because the price people are paying for should be reflected in the quality of the product.

Features
Features. They’re such an interesting part of the chair; they will either make or break a chair because people want the most bang for their buck. Our team has looked into every single chair on this list, and without a doubt, the features on these chairs are interesting enough to showcase them in our list.

The “Why?” Portion

With so many chairs out on the market, what makes this specific chair so unique? We’ve compiled information on what makes this chair different from others, and explain why each chair has its own place on our list. We will, however, breakdown why the massage chair made its spot on the list in our Closing Thoughts.

Without further ado, here is our 2023 list of massage chairs that we believe are a cut above the rest: either exceptionally outstanding or innovators amongst peers.

#5 ] Ogawa Master Drive AI

Photo credit: Ogawa

Brand: Ogawa
Cost: $8999

Why the Master Drive AI?

Coming in at 5th place in our list: the Ogawa Master Drive AI. The entire list is definitely way more expensive than last year, but also the Master Drive AI ranks as the cheapest amongst our list. The Master Drive AI comes as a 4D massage chair. From automatic programs to health tracking, the chair is capable of dishing out absolutely, effective massages. Coming equipped with AI (Artificial Intelligence), the massage chair utilizes an AI called Chair Doctor, which measures your health and develops a massage in order to help your tension and stress. The chair is also capable of measuring heartrate and emotional arousal through PPG and GSR sensors, respectively. It even goes as far as measuring blood level (SpO2), which is probably done through a pulse oximeter.

Through all of its main and quality of life (QoL) features, the Ogawa Master Drive AI is able to produce a symphonic massage that adjusts to your needs on the fly. Because of the usefulness of AI in this chair, we have no doubt that anyone who has this chair will be ecstatic for their next massage session.

#4 ] Luraco i9 Max

Photo credit: Luraco

Brand: Luraco
Cost: $13490

Why the i9 Max?

The Luraco i9 Max is the successor of the Luraco i9 Massage chair. This is easily one of the most expensive massage chairs out in the market, but it has a lot going for it as our 4th place on the list. Firstly, it is completely made in the US, where not many other brands that are based in the US can say that about their chairs. With a patented Split L-Track, the chair is capable of having the stretching aspects of the S-track, while keeping the ergonomic design of the L-track.

However, we believe their best features are in the armrests. In order to get in the chair, the armrests slide back, like physically slide back, to make getting in and out of the chair easier. Not only does the armrest have a sliding function, it has built-in rollers, giving a proper massage to your forearms, wrists, and hands. On top of it all, the i9 Max in corporates the sliding, arm roller, and split L-track functions into their stretch programs, meaning your arms will actually stretch as you go through it.

There is one other thing we would like to mention, but that will have to be saved for the closing thoughts.

#3 ] Synca JP3000

Photo credit: Synca

Brand: Synca
Cost: $10999

Why the JP3000?

Our bronze place goes to the Synca JP3000. But why is it top 3? It seems like a generic massage chair that’s overpriced.

Well to answer that, we have to look at it’s massage mechanism. This is the first massage chair that we know of that utilizes 5 aspects while massaging. Synca calls it 5D massaging, but we’re not too sure about that. Nevertheless, it utilizes depth, width, speed, timing, and power to deliver its massages. By utilizing AI, the massage chair is able to utilize every motion of the massage mechanism to develop massages that adhere to your needs.

So because of its new use of techniques in the massage mechanism, our team is excited for the future. As massage chairs get better and better every year, our team looks for new chairs in the industry, pushing forward the agenda, and that’s what we have here with the Synca JP3000.

#2 ] Human Touch Super Novo X

Photo credit: Human Touch

Brand: Human Touch
Cost: N/A

Why the Super Novo X?

Human Touch: A name widely recognized within the massage chair industry, as they’ve been around for over 40 years. And arguably their flagship product: the Super Novo.

Unveiled at CES 2023, the Super Novo X is the newest massage chair from Human Touch, coming out later in the year 2023. Thanks to the work of Dave Graveline who you can find on Into Tomorrow, a radio program that covers the latest in electronics and technology, we know some crucial facts about the Super Novo X, and what its bringing to the table in terms of innovation.

For starters, we found out that the chair’s armrests lift upwards by simply swinging the armrest upwards for ease of access. However, a major piece of information we found out was that the Super Novo X will have two massage mechanisms. That’s right… TWO Massage mechanisms, so that you could be receiving a massage upstairs and downstairs at the same time. Of course, there are bound to be other innovations for the massage chair, but the details of what we have on the chair are very little so far. But there is just enough info that we could confidently say that the Human Touch Super Novo X is intriguing enough to place it as our 2nd place.

#1 ] Osaki X-Rest

Photo credit: Osaki

Brand: Osaki
Cost: $14999

Why the X-Rest?

Our gold medal has to go to Osaki, another recognizable name brand based in Japan. Thanks to the work of Dr. Alan Weidner, owner of massage-chair-relief.com, we were given a brief introduction to the Osaki X-Rest. And it looks very interesting to say the least.

First and foremost, the massage chair itself looks unique. It comes with a hood, something you don’t see very often, and seems like it would be great for relaxation as a secluded, dim area would be great to fall asleep. As a bonus, the head cushion attaches as a magnet to the side of the chair, if you are wanting a stronger massage.

But the standout feature of the X-Rest is the shoulder massage, as the massage chair has an actual mechanism for massaging the shoulders and trap area. This innovation is the first of its kind that we’ve seen, and the inclusion of shoulder massages gives our team hope for future chairs to also include these. A truly remarkable chair that our team is excited about, as the massage chair industry is still developing new tech and designs to make massage chairs more and more humanlike.

Closing Thoughts

Continuing with the aspects of last year’s list, we decided that 5 massage chairs were a perfect amount for us. By narrowing down the list, we could 1) still give options for people when deciding what massage chairs to buy and 2) give our team the ability to focus on why each massage chair made its spot on our list. The closing thoughts are aimed to wrap up the list and give our team’s opinions as well as breakdown further the “Why” portion.

Firstly, let’s talk about the Ogawa Master Drive AI. An absolutely, amazing chair. With the inclusion of the Chair Doctor, the AI that pilots the programming, the Master Drive AI is able to dish out effective massages. Being able to detect nuances in your hormones and oxygen levels and using those to adjust massage programs is exciting. Introducing a level of complexion with AI allows massages be become that much more elevated. It includes an app to control the massage chair as well as having both Google and Alexa integration built into the chair. With its plethora of convenience factors, and ways to effectively control and monitor your massages, the Master Drive AI definitely deserves to be up here in the top massage chairs list of 2023.

Next, the Luraco i9 Max. Our team had actually started research on this chair first, as we had been aware of the i9, its predecessor, for a while now. The one guarantee about the massage chair is that it is made in the USA most massage chairs are made elsewhere, and there’s a certain stigma about the quality of products made in the US vs overseas. Let’s start off with one of the best features we’ve seen: sliding armrests. With massage chairs aiming to help a variety of older folks, having sliding armrests allows them to easily get in and out of the chair without any hassle. In addition to this, the i9 Max also features arm rollers, which, if you’ve seen our other posts, is great! We hoped more massage chair models would start picking up innovative features, and one of the features we had hoped other chair models would start picking up is the arm rollers. Being able to have both compression and kneading done on your hand simultaneously is great for promoting blood circulation and health. All in all, the features of the Luraco i9 Max are great as both convenience and health factors.

One thing we would like to mention though is that we were reviewing the i9 Max, and not any of the other special editions of the i9 Max. Because we believe that the special editions of the i9 Max had dual massage mechanisms, something the Super Novo X has within its listing features. So that was just to clarify which i9 Max we had been reviewing.

The bronze trophy went to the Synca JP3000. Overall, there isn’t much crazy about it. However, it does have the inclusion of AI, and features what they like to call 5D massages. While we can’t comment on the 5D claim, if this is truly capable of 5D massages, we have just another brilliant innovation in the massage chair industry. Adding another level of depth to the massage mechanism, being able to mimic a massage therapist’s hands is something the entire industry is striving to achieve. Even though there is competition, all the massage chair companies are trying to push the massage chair agenda forward, and come up with new ways to make massage chairs better. So this is just a step in the right direction as far as developing new features to make future massages better.

Human Touch is a renown manufacturer, being established more than 40 years ago. With a flagship model in their Super Novo, we didn’t think they would be ready to change and build upon their favorite model amongst aficionados. And we were proven wrong when they had announced the Super Novo X at CES 2023. Truly innovative in their features, as we see the massage chair has two massage mechanisms, which is like having a 4-hands massage. Not to mention that the Super Novo X has armrests that open up, allowing older and disabled folks an easier time getting in and out of the chair. However, not much information about the chair has been released, so other than the features listed above, we couldn’t really give you an accurate insight about the Human Touch Super Novo X. That being said, it has huge innovations and implications for future massage chair models, so we just had to give it our silver medal.

Now, the Osaki X-Rest. Dr. Alan Weidner is way more informed about the chair compared to our limited knowledge, so go check him out on his website and Youtube channel. But for starters, the chair looks very unique. Right off the bat, we can notice a hood, which we assume is so that the user can feel more calm, and won’t be woken up suddenly by bright lights. So new convenience feature… +1! Another thing you might notice is the shoulder massage. These are ACTUAL shoulder massages, where there are rollers able to work solely on your shoulders and trap area both at the front and back. Because of these innovations in both convenience and health, we couldn’t place it any lower, and it has won our gold medal!

All in all, we can confidently say that all these massage chairs are pushing the massage chair agenda forward. All these chairs feature something interesting or new that might catch on to other massage chair models, and these features can only improve your massage experience.  There's no definitive winner to be quite honest; we think there would be a 3-way tie between the top 3 massage chairs. But alas, we had to give them all a ranking, albeit tough. Anyways, thanks for reading through the whole thing, and leave a comment if you want more of this! Have a great day!