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.

Sanyo has made some changes to its warranty for the benefit of the consumer. Sanyo covers the roller mechanism for 3 years, provides 1 year on the other parts and 1 year labor. They have started in home technician service and will cover the first year. This is a great step forward, because before you needed to take your chair to a service center. This was not much fun for anyone who had to do it. Also, Sanyo has a national call center which is open 24/7. This has allowed them to centralize control over parts logistics and improve service levels.

The SA 5000 comes with a full remote control and also comes with wired sub remote. The main remote control has 4 automatic programs. You can turn the chair on and then select the automatic program. Additionally, you can select a particular area of focus for your back. For example, lower back and then the massage therapy will be confined to just this area. It also operates the rest of the chair regardless of the area of focus on your back. Manual massages involve a few more steps that take some getting used to until it is more intuitive. The remote is pretty intuitive to use, but again some investment of time is required to manage the manual massages effectively.

One of the interesting features in the SA-5000 is the sensor contained in the wired sub remote. This sub remote has a pulse and perspiration sensor. It monitors your pulse and perspiration to determine areas that are need of further attention during the massage. For this to work, you must grip the sensor throughout the massage. The chair will actually adjust the massage based on feedback obtained from the sensor. Sanyo has also included some chair controls on the sub remote. You can adjust chair back and the foot rest with the sub remote. They also included a repeat button. This enables you to repeat a massage that just occurred. This is nice if you want further attention in a given area that the chair just covered.

This mid range massage chair has four massage treatments. You can choose from Stiffness, Recovery, Relax and Fine. Stiffness is a Shiatsu style massage for the back, neck, shoulders and legs. Recovery targets stiff and tight muscles. Relax is more tranquil and is focused on full body relaxation. Fine helps to increase circulation of blood and lymph. Each of these massages can be used in conjunction with the 3 stretching functions. These stretching functions work in conjunction with the full body 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.

Are you looking for lower body relief? Sanyo provides an air compression system to provide a great squeeze, hold and release massage. This compression style massage is perfect for loosening up the tight muscles of the thighs, calves and feet. The airbags are designed with shiatsu style nodes to stimulate your acupressure points. These acupressure points help to induce whole body relaxation. If that is not enough, Sanyo has built in heating elements to warm the soles of your feet. This is a very comprehensive and thorough massage chair recliner.

We like the SA 5000 massage recliner from Sanyo. It has some great integrated technology like the pulse and perspiration sensor and the GK roller system. These are innovations you would expect from a large electronics company. We are less impressed with the look of the chair as it is a bit industrial in design. The warranty is fair and the 1 year in home service is an added benefit. You should really look at an extended warranty if it is offered for additional protection. If you are looking for a mid range massage chair, then this one should be on your short list.