Ogawa Smart Sense 3D Lounge Sofa Massage Chair Review 2024

Are you in the market for a top-quality massage chair for general use?  Looking for a superb way to relax and unwind at the end of a long, hectic day?

If you answered yes to either of those questions, then you’re going to love our in-depth Ogawa Smart Sense 3D review.  By almost any measure, this is a superb chair.  We say “almost” because we want to stress right off the bat that this is designed to be more of a general purpose or hobbyist chair. 

While it’s true that all massage chairs have at least some therapeutic value, some are engineered explicitly with certain therapeutic needs in mind.  As such, if you have a particular problem (chronic neck pain, chronic leg pain, etc.), then all else being equal, finding a chair that’s specifically designed with those things in mind will be of more significant benefit to you.

This isn’t one of those kinds of chairs, but that won’t be a deal breaker for most people.

In any case, we’ll detail everything the Ogawa Smart 3D can do in the sections below, so you’ll have all the information you need to determine if it’s a good fit for you.  Let’s get right to it!

An Overview of the Ogawa Smart Sense 3D Massage Chair

First, Some Clarifications

Depending on where you look, you might see this chair listed as the “Ogawa Smart Lounge Sofa Massage Chair.”  Even on the company’s website, you’ll find several instances where they refer to recliners and loungers as “sofas.”

Our best guess is that this is merely a problem in translation.  These chairs are designed in Japan and built in China, so somewhere along the way, the word “sofa” found its way into the mix.  Just to be clear, this isn’t a sofa.

The other thing to point out is that in several places around the web, you’ll find this model referred to as the Smart Sense.  Notably, the one place you won’t find that name is on the company’s website, where it is referred to as the Smart Edge.  They’re the same chair, just so you know.

So, having cleared those things up, let’s get to the meat of our review!

Aesthetics

While there are some massage chairs that take pains to hide what they are by folding the leg massage ports under the chair frame when they’re not in use, the Ogawa Smart Sense isn’t one of these.  It’s obvious what this chair is, which makes it stand out, whatever room you put it in.

The Smart Sense/Smart Edge isn’t a bad looking chair, but aesthetically, it’s probably going to clash, at least a little with the rest of the room it’s in, especially given the fact that it’s also got LED lights built into the design.

A small subset of massage chair users say that the presence of these “Chromotherapy” lights help them relax and further enhance the massage experience.  While that’s not our experience, your mileage may vary.  In any case, they’re not a distraction, but they do give the chair a futuristic look.  Depending on your home’s décor, that will either make the Smart 3D blend in more seamlessly or further clash with the rest of the room.

It’s also a fairly sizeable chair, measuring 50” x 49” x 34” and weighing in at a hefty 290 pounds, which means that if you don’t have much space to work with, finding it a permanent home might be something of a challenge.

There is one saving grace though.  It’s built using space-saving technology, so you’ll only need about 4” of clearance between the back of the chair and whatever wall you set it next to.  While that doesn’t completely offset the size of the thing, it does help.

It should also be noted that the size of the Ogawa Smart Sense 3D, combined with the fact that it also comes with an adjustable Ottoman means that it’s ideal for bigger and taller users, supporting people up to 265 pounds, and 6’5” in height.

L-Track & Quad Rollers

We’ve seen other Ogawa Smart Sense 3D reviews around the internet that refer to this model as being built around an S-Track.  This is inaccurate.  It’s built around an L-Track, which allows its quad rollers to travel the entire distance of your spine and under the seat to massage the backs of your thighs.

Quad rollers are the current industry standard, and deliver an exceptional massage experience, made even better by the addition of two other key technologies this model brings to the table.

The first is Zero-G seating, offered in not one, but two positions.  This is a fantastic option not found in all chairs, but it really does something to enhance the overall experience.  Its main value lies in the fact that it relies on gravity to press you more firmly against the chair back, which allows the rollers to give you a deeper, more satisfying massage.

We were especially pleased to see not one, but two different Zero-G positions on offer here, which allows you to pick and choose.

Ogawa doesn’t stop there though, also incorporating 3D technology.  This allows the rollers to move up and down along the track, left and right along the track, and also “in and out,” moving away from the track to press more deeply into your back.  Put those three ingredients together, and you get a roller-based massage that’s hard to top!

A Tremendous Number of Options

This is a critical component of our Ogawa Smart 3D massage chair review, and one of a number of areas where the model truly shines.  It offers you a fantastic number of massage options, including seventeen different auto-programs, including things like:

And more! 

There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s take a closer look.

In addition to the usual rolling, kneading and tapping, the Smart 3D offers four advanced massage techniques (Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, and Balinese).  The Thai program is a body stretch which we’ll talk about in a later section.

There are chairs on the market today that cost twice as much that don’t offer as many advanced techniques, and this is one of the strongest selling points of the chair.

It gets better though, because it allows you to create and save as many totally custom massage options as you like, so you can experiment with the features the chair has to offer, and combine them in just the way that suits you.

Better still, all the massages on offer can be customized to run for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes, at y our preference.  That’s the kind of finishing touch we like to see in a high-quality massage chair.

On top of that, if, for whatever reason, none of the auto-programs are to your liking, and you don’t want to bother programming one, you can, of course, just use the chair in manual mode.

An Air Massage That Will Blow Your Mind

This is another critical component of our Ogawa Smart Sense 3D review, and as with the massage options, there’s a lot to like here, starting with the fact that the chair utilizes 64 second-generation airbags to render its air massage.

It puts them to good use, too.  You can lie back and enjoy a soothing head and neck massage, or dial into any other body zone you like, or, put the chair in one of the two Zero-G positions and get the full body treatment, which feels like you’re being wrapped up in a cloud. 

In addition to being able to pick and choose which airbags activate, you can also set the massage intensity to your taste.  The Smart 3D does just about everything!

While it’s true that there are a few chairs on the market today that can beat the Smart 3D’s air massage, you could count them on one hand with fingers to spare, and they all cost significantly more.  For the money then, this is the best air massage experience on the market today.  You’ll love it.

Lumbar Heat

In the last section, we mentioned that the Smart 3D does “just about” everything – well, this is one of the features that left us a bit underwhelmed.

While heat in any form is always a welcome addition, given how often the Smart 3D’s designers went above and beyond, we were expecting more extensive heat (perhaps whole back, or in the leg massage ports).  Alas, neither of those are present.  Heat is offered in the lumbar area only, and there’s no way to adjust the temperature to taste.

This is hardly a deal breaker, but again, given how many other incredibly strong feature implementations this model offers, we have to admit that we were a little disappointed.  Still, if you suffer from chronic lower back pain, the combination of heat and massage will definitely help you, and this stands out as one of the Smart 3D’s two major therapeutic features.

Body Stretch

This is the second of the Smart 3D’s therapeutic features, and it’s an excellent one.  The chair utilizes Thai body stretching, which, in our opinion is second only to Kahuna’s “Yoga Stretch” technology.

The reason we prefer Kahuna’s stretch is that it’s somewhat less aggressive.  Even on the mildest setting, Thai stretching may be too much for some users, but if you can tolerate it, it will do wonders for your back!

Calf & Foot Massage

This is another feature implementation that left us a little underwhelmed.  The calf and foot massage is rendered entirely via airbags.  The air massage is exceptional, but we were also hoping to see rollers for the soles of the feet, and in a perfect world, offer some type of intensity adjustment for the rollers, but sadly, those things just aren’t on offer.

If you suffer from chronic leg pain, this model is probably going to leave you wanting in spite of the quality of the air massage.  You’re much better off getting a chair that incorporates both heat and rollers in the leg ports.  On the other hand, if you’re just looking for a soothing foot massage after a long day on your feet, this one will get the job done just fine.

An Entire Entertainment Suite!

With this feature, we’re back to talking about superb implementations again.  The Ogawa Smart Sense 3D massage chair doesn’t have a remote.  In its place, it utilizes a full-sized Android tablet, with its own app.

That, combined with the chair’s Bluetooth speakers and USB charging port gives you much more than just a convenient way to listen to your favorite music while enjoying a massage.  You can surf the web, watch movies or TV, or play games.  It’s fantastic, and we regard Ogawa as being ahead of the curve.  Ultimately, this is sure to become the industry standard, but right now, there are very few chairs that offer this kind of capability.

The Ogawa app is well designed and easy to use.  Yes, given the sheer number of features the chair offers, there is a bit of a learning curve, but it’s not excessive, and the app helps by being pretty intuitive.

Even better, there’s a separate section in the app dedicated to diagnostics, which will help you solve a wide range of problems you might encounter with the chair.  Of course, if you encounter a problem the app can’t help you solve, customer service is always just a phone call away, and Ogawa’s post-sales support is excellent, so you’ll always feel like you’re in good hands.

Pros & Cons of Ogawa Smart Lounge Sofa Massage Chair

The Ogawa Smart 3D massage chair has so many strong feature implementations we almost don’t even know where to start.  In no particular order, our favorites are:

The few negatives we mentioned elsewhere in this review aren’t deal breakers, but given how many outstanding feature implementations the chair has, the design did leave us underwhelmed in a couple of areas.

Primarily, we had hoped to see foot rollers and heat in the leg massage ports, both of which would have improved the quality of the leg massage, and added another powerful therapeutic benefit to the chair.

Also, given how much customizability the Smart 3D offers, it would have been magnificent if the designers had allowed for temperature adjustment where heat was offered.

Ogawa Smart Sense 3D Review Conclusion

And that brings us to the end of our Ogawa Smart Sense 3D review.  It’s a remarkable design with a lot going for it.  That said, it’s only got two features we’d regard as therapeutic:  the amazing body stretching, and lumbar heat plus massage for people who suffer from chronic lower back pain.

As such, we see this as more of a general use/hobbyist chair than a therapeutic one, although if you suffer from chronic lower back pain, it will serve you well as a therapeutic model.

Ultimately, what we like best about this chair can’t be isolated to one particular feature, but rather lies in the synergy among them.  This model is proof that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  The Smart 3D is a top-end chair with a surprisingly modest price tag, given when it can do.

A great way to get a feel for the overall quality of a massage chair is to look at its warranty.

Cheaply made chairs that aren’t designed to last will typically offer a one-year warranty or less.

The industry average is two years.

A few companies offer an impressive five-year warranty, and Ogawa is one of those companies. With proper care, this chair will serve you well for years to come, making it well worth spending extra money on.  We recommend it highly to anyone unless you have a therapeutic need that’s not met by its feature set.  A great design.

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Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources

• Ogawa Massage Chair, Official Brand Website.
• Therapeutic Massage, Physio Works.
• Massage Therapy, Draxe.
• 9 Unexpected Benefits Of Foot Massage That Make You Want To Have One Now, Life Hack.