by James Knolan
Our goal is to present a potential massage chair purchaser with an unbiased, thorough and comprehensive review of the Panasonice Real Pro Elite. We have developed a 5 category system to evaluate a massage chair. We give equal weight to each category and give 0 to 20 points rating and then add them up to present an overall score. Our categories include Warranty & Customer Service, Comfort/Ergonomics, Ease of Use, Features and Massage Therapy. This systematic approach forces us to a disciplined method of evaluating a massage chair to help guide anyone looking at massage chairs. The Panasonic Real Pro Elite EP-3222 shiatsu massage chair price is in the Luxury range of $4,000 to $5,000.
Warranty & Customer Service: First is how the manufacturer rates in both warranty coverage and customer service. The manufacturer needs to stand behind its product. Panasonic gives a 1 year labor, 1 year parts and 1 year in-home service as well as 1 year shipping. Panasonic puts a machine life cap of 1,000 hours of use. Panasonic gives a short warranty combined with the 1,000 hour cap (for heavy users), the warranty rates as ok. The electronics company’s such as Panasonic (or Sanyo) like to sell extended warranties. Panasonic offers in-home technician service and will pay for shipping for the first year. Customer service is through your retailer. Service times vary on the service center location. Overall Rating for Panasonic warranty and customer service is 15.
Comfort & Ergonomics: The comfort and fit of a shiatsu massage chair is important. Otherwise, the chair will only be used for massage. The chair back and armrests of the Panasonic Real Pro Elite are comfortable and the upholstery is well padded. The head pillow is soft and the thickness is appropriate. The footrest is comfortable, but cannot be adjusted. If you are 5′ 10″ or more, then your knees must be bent when the footrest is raised. This is the least ergonomic part of the chair. The average person in the US is taller than in Asia, so the footrest can be an issue. Our rating in this category is 17.
Ease of Use: Ease of use is defined as how intuitive the controls and how complicated are they to use without reading the instructions. Panasonic has lead in the development of remote controls using LCDs and other advanced features. The Real Pro Elite EP-3222 has many features and correspondingly many buttons on the control. Most are intuitive, but some take some getting used to, which means lower ease of use. Panasonic tries to compensate for this with its “Voice Guidance” feature. The automatic massage buttons are located across the top of the controls for easy access and they have a “focus” button which allows you to repeat the massage action that occurred. The Real Pro Elite has a side panel with additional manual massage controls for the lower body massages. Overall Rating for the Panasonic Real Pro Elite for ease of use is 17.
Key Features: The most prominent features of the Panasonic EP-3222 are the Lower Body Air System and the Swede-Atsu massage system. The lower body air system has 33 airbags covering your hips, thighs, buttocks, calves and feet. There are 3 lower body massages including Grasp, Auto and Squeeze. The Swede-Atsu replicates the stoking of the palms of the hand, pressing by the heal of the hand, and kneading with the thumbs. The Swede-Atsu has rubber massage heads built into the rollers. These mechanisms can replicate the feeling of the palm, thumbs and heal of the hand. The Swede-Atsu is a good massage system. The Panasonic Real Pro Elite shiatsu massage chair is a 19 in Key Features.
Massage Therapy: The massage functions are included in the Real Pro Elite EP-3222 includes Four 14-minute Pre-Programs, One 5-minute Quick Program and One 14-minute Self Program has 4 full body automatic courses, 5 massage speed settings for a total combination of 14 massage courses. The automatic massage functions include the following: Shiatsu, Gentle, Deep and Refresh. Panasonic equips the EP-3222 its exclusive Swede-Atsu massage system providing a thorough and realistic array of massage therapy choices. The lower body has 33 airbags of coverage and three programs to choose from. This shiatsu massage chair provides good tension relief for the lower body and increased lateral coverage on the back. Overall Rating for the Panasonic EP-3222 massage recliner for massage therapy is 19.
How does Panasonic Real Pro Elite EP-3222 rate? Overall, our rating of the Panasonic Ep-3222 is an 87/100. The remote control is easy to use, intuitive and comes with the Voice Guidance. The back and lower body massages are pretty comprehensive and effective. The warranty is a bit of a concern, since the direct factory warranty is rather short. It is possible to purchase an extended warranty, but this impacts the delivered price. If you are tall, then the footrest is an issue, since it cannot be adjusted. However, the technology used seems reliable and delivers a thorough massage. If you are looking for a shiatsu massage recliner in this category, this is definately one to seriously consider.
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