This is a review of the mid range massage chair the SA 5000 by Sanyo. This review covers 5 different categories including Warranty & Customer Service, Comfort/Ergonomics, Ease of Use, Features and Massage Therapy. We give equal weight to each category which can earn up to 20 points. The scores of the individual categories are summed to give an overall rating of a possible 100 points. We have found this system to cover the salient points of the massage chair. Let us take a look at the SA 5000.

Warranty & Customer Service: We first cover the warranty and customer service. These are your long term protections from potential problems with your purchase. This product is has the following warranty coverage: 3 years on the roller mechanism, 1 year parts, 1 year labor and 1 year in home technician service. We like the 3 years on the roller mechanism. The best manufacturers cover parts for a minimum of 3 years, so Sanyo is a bit light here. They do offer 1 year in home technician service which is a plus. Sanyo has a national call center for customer service which is fairly competent. We give an overall rating of 15 in this category.

Comfort & Ergonomics: The SA-5000 comes with a well padded back pad on the chair back. The head support cushion is contoured and adjustable. he armrests have sufficient padding. The leg ottoman cannot be extended which may be a concern for taller users. This massage recliner was originally designed in Japan for that market and later exported to the USA. The main remote has a simple layout with one touch buttons for automatic massages. There is also a wired remote, but it has limited functionality. We give the SA5000 a 15 for ergonomics.

Ease of Use: Massage chairs have evolved to full body massage loungers. This is an excellent development, but on the flip side, manufacturers need to ensure that their product remain simple and easy to use. The SA 5000 remote control is fairly straightforward to use. It has 4 single touch automatic programs. You have a Program Memory button that memorizes the last few minutes of massage and will store it for future use. There is a side panel that contains the manual massage functions. The SA 5000 comes with a wired sub remote. This sub remote has the pulse monitoring system and has the program memory function and enables you to work the foot rest and chair back. This recliners earns an 18 in this category.

Key Features: The prominent features in the Sanyo SA 5000 are the Stiffness Detection Sensor and the GK Rollers. The stiffness detection sensor is based on lie detection technology. This sensor detects stress points throughout your whole back. The stiffness detection gauges fatigue by monitoring changes in your perspiration and pulse rate. This information is then fed into the computer and the software will adjust the massage programs to target areas of stiffness or tight muscles. The GK Rollers are specially designed rollers that have the capability to perform a grip or grasping massage. The GK roller technology ?reaches out? and grabs you. This is especially effective for the neck and shoulder area. These rollers squeeze your shoulders and neck area to emulate the grasping and kneading of a professional masseuse. Our rating in this category is 18.

Massage Therapy: This massage chair comes equipped with 4 full body automatic courses including Stiffness, Relax, Recovery and Fine. There are also 4 programs stored in Memory, 4 manual massage techniques and 4 massage courses. Select from 5 roller width setting and 5 massage speed settings. This model also comes with an air system for the lower body. This system has 24 airbags and covers the feet, calves and thighs. There is also a multi-point shiatsu massage for targeting the lower body for a soothing and relaxing lower body massage. The massage therapy is very effective in the SA 5000 and it scores an 18 in massage therapy.

Overall, we rate the Sanyo SA-5000 an 84/100. The SA 5000 comes with many of the same technologies as Sanyo's high end version the DR7700. The stroke length of the back rollers is 28 inches compared to 31 inches for the DR 7700, but most of the same technology is in the SA 5000. The factory warranty is just ok and you may want to explore an extended warranty to equal other manufacturer's coverage. The GK rollers are a nice feature for neck and shoulder coverage. The leg rest would be more ergonomic for the American market if there was an extension built in. If you are looking for a massage chair recliner in this category, the SA 5000 is one you should check out.