If you are looking for a massage chair, then finding relevant information regarding potential shiatsu chair candidates is important. Reviews and evaluations can point out the relevant aspects of each product. To assist potential purchaser researching massage chairs, we evaluate 5 key categories which include Warranty & Customer Service, Comfort/Ergonomics, Ease of Use, Features and Massage Therapy. Each category is worth up to 20 points. All points are added up to give a total score based on the 5 categories. A disciplined, systematic approach takes out bias and presents facts. We review the Luxury range of $4,000 to $5,000 and feature the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K massage chair.

Warranty & Customer Service: It is important that the manufacturer stand behind its product. A good gage of the company’s confidence is its warranty coverage and duration. Sanyo gives a 1 year labor, 1 year parts and 1 year in-home service. It does cover the roller mechanism for 3 years. Sanyo is well below other manufacturers in this category with its parts and labor. Sanyo recently instituted in-home service with the 1 year in-home whereas most are 90 days. Customer service is good. Sanyo has a national hot line with 24/7 service. Turnaround time on service is good. Our Rating in this category is 14.

Comfort & Ergonomics: Massage chair recliners should fit the body and be comfortable to site on. The Sanyo DR7700K is well padded and the chair back comfortable. The detachable head pillow is designed well to support the head. The seat is average to sit in and the armrests are plush. Unfortunately, the footrest cannot be adjusted which limits the chair to shorter individuals. Taller people feel some restriction with the footrest. Overall Rating for Sanyo DR7700K for comfort and ergonomics is 15.

East of Use: Ease of use is defined as how intuitive the controls and how complicated are they to use without reading the instructions. Sanyo is known for its stereos and other electronics with advanced features. The remote control of the HEC-DR7700K is fairly simple and intuitive to use. Select from 4 automatic programs and sit back and relax. One button takes you to the Zero Gravity position. The Sanyo remote contains manual massage controls in a side panel. The sub-remote, unfortunately is tethered by a cable to the chair. Overall Rating for the Sanyo HEC-SR7700K for ease of use is 19.

Key Features: The most prominent features of the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K are the GK Rollers and Zero Gravity. Zero Gravity is a leaned back position where the pressure from your body evenly distributed across your back and your knees are above your heart. The GK Rollers are jointed massage heads that push outward from the chair back and can grip your shoulders. The most impressive feature is the GK rollers as they bring a third dimension into the robotic massage world. The sensation of the rollers coming over the top of your shoulders is an important advance in massage chair technology. The massaging capabilities of the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K are solid. Our rating in this category is 18.

Massage Therapy: The Sanyo HEC-DR7700K has both automatic and manual massage settings. Sanyo incorporates 4 full body automatic courses, 4 manual massage courses, and 5 massage speed settings for a total combination of 83 manual massage courses. The manual massage techniques include Shiatsu, Kneading, Tapping, and Kneading & Tapping. Sanyo has some stretching capabilities for the lower body and has 24 airbags of coverage. The airbags have projections to perform shiatsu acupressure massage. There is a good variety of massage therapy techniques in this massage lounger. The Sanyo HEC-DR7700K is a 19 in Massage Therapy.

How does the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K stack up? Overall, our rating of the Panasonic is an 85/100. Sanyo brings some cutting edge technology with their GK Rollers and Zero Gravity into its massage chairs. The design is fairly modern leaning toward minimalist. The controls are fairly well designed and easy to use. Main drawback is the weaker warranty coverage and added expense for an extended warranty as well as the footrest not being adjustable. Otherwise, the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K has solid technology and is fairly effective in delivering relief. Hopefully, Sanyo will design more for the American market and include more ergonomic chairs in the future, but for now the HEC-DR7700K is a solid choice.