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Let us take an in-depth look at the Panasonic EP-1273KL shiatsu massage chair. We review its features, warranty and specifications. Panasonic is a Fortune 500 company with multiple product lines in the electronics industry. The EP 1273KL fits into the $2,000 to $3,000 price range or midrange level of massage chairs. We will explain some its advanced features and give our opinion of the Panasonic EP-1273KL shiatsu massage chair.

Massage chair companies are a diverse group. Panasonic obviously has a solid name and reputation. You can buy with confidence and be assured your warranty will be covered. Just a note of precaution if you are considering other brands: Just make sure any chair brand you buy sells to retail clients. If they do not, then be cautious about how they will back their warranty later. Saving a few hundred dollars now may translate into many more times that to fix a chair later.

The warranty of the Panasonic EP-1273KL massage chair provides very basic coverage. The EP 1273 is covered with 1 year parts, 1 year labor, and 1 year in-home service. Also, you get 1 year shipping of parts with Panasonic. Other manufacturers have more extension warranties at no additional cost. Warranty coverage to meet other manufacturers is available by purchasing the extended warranty. This is usually available through the supplier.

The Panasonic EP-1273KL shiatsu massage chair uses interesting design aesthetics. There is a distinct modern, industrial look to their product line. The design comes with comfortable armrests which are pleasant to the touch. The back pads and pillows are well designed and outfitted for long term use. There is a designer touch with some platinum colors front and back of the chair base. The chair is relaxing to rest on.

The EP-1273 comes with 4 auto programs, 3 manual courses and 8 massage techniques. Most massages are timed 15 minutes for your enjoyment. The 4 auto programs have refresh, shiatsu, deep, and gentle. Manual courses cover your back allowing you to cover the whole, upper or lower back. The 8 massage functions consist of rolling, percussion, Hawaiian, kneading, tapping, Swedish, compression, and shiatsu massage therapy.

Air compression technology is advancing and Panasonic has included a calf air massage in the EP-1273. Target both the calf muscle and the feet. Gentle air pressure will squeeze, hold and release those areas. Get stretched out with the automatic leg rest with this massage chair recliner. Lower body muscles can be extended with the leg rest. The stretching function is built into the auto programs.

The EP-1273KL massage chair by Panasonic is a good value for its class. It provides a strong and thorough back massage and has a tension relieving lower body massage. One of the nice features of the Panasonic EP-1273KL is the dual-use ottoman with the built in stretch system. For this price range, there is not a massage chair that will have more than one position of stretch. Only drawback with the ottoman is there is no foot well. The user must bend their knees to position their feet to get a foot massage. Other than that the Panasonic EP-1273KL is a strong contender for shiatsu massage chairs in this mid-range class.

This is a review of the mid range massage chair produced by Sanyo. This model is the SA 5000. There are so many massage chairs on the market and we hope this review will help to guide those looking for a quality massage chair recliner. We will cover some of the salient features and the warranty coverage of the SA 5000 by Sanyo.

Like any purchase of electronic equipment, the warranty is your protection against defects in manufacturing and workmanship. The warranty is especially important on big ticket items. Massage chairs are big ticket items and you as the consumer want sufficient protection. The stronger the warranty, the more peace of mind you will have after your purchase. Sanyo provides a basic warranty of 1 year on the parts, 1 year on labor and 3 years on the roller mechanism. Sanyo has also started in home technician service and covers this for a generous 1 year. Sanyo also has a 24/7 call center which is another good step. The call center is fairly responsive and since it is run by Sanyo, it is more effective than if you had to rely on individual retailers as before.

This mid range Sanyo has a remote control as well as a wired sub remote. The main remote control has 4 automatic programs and a selection of manual programs. It has one button automatic programs which initiate the massage at the touch of a button. The manual massages come with manual massage courses. The manual massage courses enable the user to target particular areas to focus the massage. You can target the upper back and the massage will be confined to this area only. The control takes a little investment in time to get to know, but overall is fairly intuitive to use and learn.

An interesting technology included in the Sanyo SA 5000 is based on lie detector technology. The lie detector technology monitors perspiration and your pulse rate. The sensor then directs the chair to specific stress points based on these readings. The user must grip the wired sub remote for this function to work. So far the chair doesn’t ask you any questions, so don’t despair! This is a feature of the high end Sanyo chair and is an interesting feature. You can also change the position of the leg rest and the chair back from the sub remote. If the massage just hit a critical area, you can hit the repeat button and the massage will be repeated in the area just covered.

There are four massage therapies in the Sanyo SA 5000. They have Stiffness, Recovery, Relax and Fine. Stiffness is a Shiatsu style massage targeting the upper body and legs. Recovery is for easing and loosening stiff and tired muscles. Relax is geared for whole body relaxation and tranquility. Fine is for increasing blood and lymph flow. These automatic massages run the entire chair and provide for full body massages. These are all one-touch controls. There are 3 stretch controls that can also be used in conjunction with the automatic massages.

The SA 5000 has some innovative and unique manual massages. In particular the Grip massage. The grip massage is possible through the GK roller system unique to Sanyo. These rollers are designed to reach out from the chair. The grip massage is effective for the shoulder and neck areas. Additionally, the manual massages are Shiatsu, Kneading, Tapping, and Combination. Shiatsu uses a combination of the chopping and kneading actions. The kneading massage is a pinching action particularly effective in loosening tight back muscles and shoulders. Tapping is a rapidly delivered soft blows at a rate of up to 200 per minute. The Combination runs the kneading and tapping at the same time.

The Sanyo SA-5000 also has an effective lower body massage. The lower body massage is an air compression system which utilizes airbags to give a compression massage. The airbags are located to target the thighs, calves and feet. There are specially designed shiatsu pressure point nodes in some of the airbags to hit your trigger points. These trigger points are based on acupressure massage and help induce full body relaxation. The air bags provide an effective squeeze to loosen and invigorate tight muscles of the thighs, calves and feet. Sanyo has also included a heater element in the foot wells to warm the soles of your feet.

The Sanyo SA 5000 is overall an impressive massage recliner. The massage therapy is well designed and effective. We especially like the Grip massage which is particularly effective for the neck and shoulder areas. This is unique to Sanyo and a positive step forward for massage chair technology. The look of the chair is a little industrial and plain. Sanyo needs to step up in the design arena to match their technology. The warranty coverage is great with the 1 year in home service, but is a bit substandard in other regards. You should consider an extended warranty to match the best manufacturers. Overall, this is definitely a model you want to consider if you are looking for a mid range massage chair recliner.

The high end massage chair recliner from Human Touch is the HT 7450. The HT 7450 is a zero gravity lounger. This product review will point out the key features and functions. We will also walk through the warranty coverage, since this is an important aspect of a large ticket item. Let us now take a look at the HT-7450 massage chair recliner by Human Touch.

If you are just starting your search for a massage chair, then please heed this warning. Go with the top brands and you will be happy for the long term. There are so many imported massage chairs that have a ton of features, but they are prone to breakdown and the generous warranty will not get honored. The top brands have retail distribution, so you can relax and not worry if the company you bought it from will be there next year.

So let us look at the warranty coverage from Human Touch. The high end HT7450 gets the best warranty coverage from Human Touch in its product line. The HT 7450 comes with 5 years on the chair’s structure. There is a 3 year warranty on parts. You get 1 year labor and 90 days in home service. This is the most extensive warranty coverage offered by Human Touch. It is somewhat below average compared to the other name brands. Customer service is pretty good and turnaround is quick.

This massage recliner is what is known as a zero gravity lounger. What is a zero gravity lounger? This is a combination of the chair back and leg rest position that makes it a zero gravity position. This position is where your knees are elevated above your heart. It is supposed to take the direct pressure from the spine and distribute it across the whole back.

This recliner comes with a lot of functionality around the zero gravity feature. There is a one touch button to take you to this reclined position. As you move back, the armrests move independently from the chair back to support the arms and shoulders. This is an ergonomic function to help stress from building up in the neck, shoulders and arms when you get to the final position.

The armrest is also complimented with the seat of the HT-7450. The seat of this massage recliner will tilt down when you are going to the zero gravity position. This is designed to support the lumbar and keeps it in a natural and stress-free position. These two features are to keep tension to a minimum in your body for this position.

Now that you are in a comfortable zero gravity position while still on planet earth, what about the massage? This massage recliner comes with 8 pre-programmed massages, 8 pulsating seat massages, 4 manual massage techniques and the calf massager. There is also dual lumbar heating elements built into the massage recliner. There is even a voice response switch which repeats back your selection.

The automatic massage therapies are fairly well developed in the HT 7450. There is one named the Full Body Sore Muscle Relief massage. This massage starts with a warm up massage for the first three minutes. It the shifts into a high intensity massage for the next 9 minutes. This is to effectively penetrate and soothe sore muscles in the body. It then changes to a warm down treatment for the final 3 minutes.

Overall, the HT 7450 zero gravity massage lounger is a solid contender in the high end luxury massage chair market. It boasts a sleek, modern design and can go in most rooms. It is made with top grain leather, which is a bit of a concern with the built in heaters in the chair back. In the past, these have lead to the leather cracking over time. Hopefully, this is not the case with this lounger. The massage therapy is well designed and effective for targeting relief. You should consider this massage chair if you are looking for a higher end massage chair recliner.

Many traditional forms of medicine are only now starting to be empirically validated by Western Science. Now many of the Eastern forms of healing are starting to go more mainstream in the health care industry. Take acupressure which derived from acupuncture. Acupressure uses the application of firm pressure to help manipulate the energy flow in the body. Now massage chair recliners have built technologies that integrated the use of acupressure.

You may have seen some of the acupressure maps made of the human body. They show various points along certain pathways of how the body is interrelated. These points are known as trigger points. The trigger points help to regulate the energy flow in the body. Sometimes these trigger points can become blocked. Acupressure massage applies a given technique to release the flow for given trigger points. These techniques are know to bring the recipient harmony and wellbeing.

Massage therapist are highly trained to locate and manipulate an individual’s trigger points. Now these methodologies have been integrated into the best massage chairs. The top massage recliner brands like Omega, Panasonic and Sanyo offer acupressure massage therapy. They have developed advanced technologies that can locate and then focus on these areas. These mechanical masseuses can systematically hit your regions in need of attention.

The massage chair performs the scan of the individual and then depending on the acupressure program, the massage will target the trigger points on the back. Some chairs use slow kneading in combination with firm pressure. Other chairs use gentle pressure with light, quick tapping. The programs in different chair models can vary as well as between manufacturers. The best is to try some different massage chairs to find out which ones are right for you.

Just don’t think that massage is the only thing you get with a massage recliner. Many chairs are increasingly brining in more dimension to the massage experience. These dimensions may be the application of heat therapy. Heat is used for warming up the muscles prior to activity. It is also used to reduce swelling for injuries. These chairs provide a more deeply penetrating relief with the addition of heat where you need it.

There are many benefits derived from an acupressure massage therapy. It can help increase circulation to promote greater oxygen carrying capacity. This helpful before and after exercise. Some other benefits also include:

Reduction in blood pressure; Reduction in stress; Increased awareness; Increased energy

Acupressure massage has been used for centuries in many ancient societies. Now technology has made acupressure massage both cost effective and accessible to everyone with massage chairs. Massage chairs are actually a very cost effective means to obtain acupressure massage. The real benefits of acupressure massage come with receiving it on a periodic basis. Just like any health related treatment, it must be performed through time. Having a massage chair recliner in your home provides you with access and a low cost means of obtaining acupressure massage on a routine basis.