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This massage chair review is of the Sanyo SA 5000. We will review the key features, warranty coverage and other relevant items of this shiatsu recliner. Sanyo has integrated some interesting technology to provide effective massage therapy. This review is designed to help those looking for a mid range massage chair recliner. Let us take a look at this state of the art massage chair 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.

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.

This Sanyo mid range model delivers 5 manual massage treatments. The five manual massage treatments are Grip, Shiatsu, Kneading, Tapping, and Combination. Grip is a unique massage function from Sanyo. The Grip uses what Sanyo calls its GK rollers. The GK rollers are specially designed to reach out around the shoulder and neck areas. This brings the gripping sensation that provides effective relief in this area. The other manual massages include Shiatsu, Kneading, Tapping, and Combination. Shiatsu is for loosening tight muscles. The kneading massage is great for getting knots out of your back. Tapping targets loosening up tight muscles with a rapid target blows. The Combination massage consists of both the kneading and tapping.

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.