In a Nutshell:
The Dr.Care XR-923 is a superb model, well-priced, and with a stunning ten-year warranty. This chair is built to last. Recommended for anyone weighing up to 300 pounds who is interested in investing in a top-quality massage chair.
Overall Massage Quality
Customization options
Ease of Use
Value for the Money
Brand Reliability*
Overall Rating
4.3/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone weighing up to 300 pounds who is interested in investing in a top-quality massage chair.
Do you suffer from chronic pain that’s bad enough that you find yourself making regular visits to your local chiropractor? Have you found your search for the right massage chair to be somewhat disheartening because none of the models you’ve looked at so far were built to last, as evidenced by depressingly short warranties?
If you answered yes to the questions above, then you’ll love what you read in this—our Dr.Care XR-923 massage chair review.
Haven’t heard of Dr. Care?
In a market dominated by a few extremely large players, we’d be surprised if you had. They’re a smaller company, and they don’t have a huge footprint in the industry.
What they do have, however, is more than twenty years of design experience and incredible engineering chops, evident in Dr. Care massage chairs. While the big brands build consumer-grade products that last 1-3 years, Dr. Care takes a different approach.
They build world-class machines that are built to last, which is why they can offer a staggering ten-year warranty, which is the best we’ve seen in the industry. If you view the perfect massage chair as an investment designed to serve you for years to come, a Dr. Care massage chair belongs on your short list of options to consider.
In the following sections, we’ll tell you everything this model has to offer, and we won’t be bashful when describing its limitations. That way, you’ll have all the information you need right at your fingertips to make an informed purchasing decision. If that sounds good to you, read on, and let’s take a closer look.
An Overview of the Dr.Care XR-923 Massage Chair
At first glance, the 923 looks like most of the other massage chairs you find on the market today, boasting a slightly futuristic appearance.
The moment you touch the chair or sit down in it. However, you’ll feel the difference. The genuine vegan leather upholstery, the solidity, and the overall level of comfort this chair provides even when it’s not giving you a massage is amazing. Quality is the word that springs to mind, and you’ll see that word appearing again and again over the course of this review.
The next thing you’ll notice is that unlike the vast majority of massage chairs on the market today, the 923 gives you a number of fun color options to choose from that allow you to blend the chair in with your existing home décor scheme.
These color options include:
Again, most of the massage chairs being sold today don’t offer any color options. If you search long enough, you’ll find a few with 2-3 different options, but five? We haven’t seen that many anywhere else, so point for Dr. Care right off the bat.
Another thing to note is that this is a sizable piece of furniture, measuring 30” W x 56” L and 71” long when fully reclined.
If you’re worried about finding a permanent home for something that big, one thing that will help is the fact that the 923’s design team built this model with space-saving technologies.
Recliners built without this require between 12” and 20” of clearance between the seatback and whatever wall you place it near. In this case, you’ll only need about 2”, which is fantastic.
Also, note that the chair weighs a hefty 230 pounds and supports 300 pounds of user weight.
While there’s no set industry standard where user weight is concerned, if you look at a large number of massage chairs currently for sale, you’ll find that 300 pounds is about average. We would love to have seen a higher supported weight limit here, but we can’t really count this as a negative.
All of this is instructive, but looking at surface features will only take us so far. We’ve got to dig deeper in order to really see what this model can do, and that comes next.
The Massage Chair Dr XR 923 is Built Around State-Of-The-Art Technology
We regard this as a very strong component of our Dr.Care XR-923 massage chair review. Given that the company prides itself on innovative design, it’s no surprise that the chairs they design feature the latest massage chair technology.
For starters, Dr. Care’s body scanning technology is top-notch and will almost always put the rollers exactly where they need to be in order to hit your body’s pressure points precisely. In the rare event that the body scan routine gets it wrong, you’ll find controls on the remote that will allow you to manually tweak the position of the rollers.
Taken together, that means that you’ll never get anything but the best massage the 923 has to offer, and that’s awesome.
However, we do have to say something about the remote, and we regard this as a minor negative.
Given that this is such a high-quality chair, we can’t say we’re fond of the remote. Granted, there are other ways of controlling the chair (which we’ll talk about in more detail later on in this review), but the remote is fairly old school. For a chair like this, we would have expected to see a touch screen used as the control panel.
Granted, the fact that this is not the case isn’t a dealbreaker, but we’re going to put this on our wish list for future upgrades.
On the other hand, this model boasts a delightfully long SL track, which allows the 4D quad rollers it is equipped with to give you a massage that starts at the tops of your shoulders and travels down the length of your spine, then turns and continues under the seat, allowing the rollers to massage your glutes and the backs of your thighs.
From there, the leg massage ports take over, rendering an exceptional massage of your calves and feet.
It doesn’t get better than that!
This is a really good set of technologies to design a massage chair around, and it provides an excellent “scaffolding” for the specific features we’ll talk about next.
The Dr Care XR 923 Massage Chair Offers a Wide Range of Massage Options
We’d rate this as another very strong component of our Dr.Care XR-923 massage chair review, although the first thing we’ll discuss in this section is a bit of a negative.
On paper, it appears that the 923 offers quite a number in terms of massage techniques, but in reality, most of these are simple variations on a theme. Here’s what you get:
We have to count the limited number of massage techniques as a negative when comparing this to other models you could select, but the 923 makes up for their absence in other ways.
For starters, in addition to offering five massage speed levels and three intensity levels, the 923 offers three levels of kneading intensity, giving you another massage dimension you can customize to taste.
Beyond that, the Dr.Care XR-923 boasts thirteen different pre-programmed massage techniques, all of which are exceptional. Here’s what you get:
There’s a lot to like here, and you’ll want to spend some time exploring all the options and customizing each until you generate a short list of go-to options you’ll use day to day.
If you suffer from chronic back pain, one of your favorite options will probably be the yoga stretch provided by the chair. In our view, it’s every bit equal to Kahuna’s yoga stretch, and we regard them as having the best-stretching routine in the industry.
It’s a fairly gentle stretch, which, in our view, makes it useful to a wider segment of the market (unlike the generally more aggressive Thai stretch) and has powerful therapeutic benefits. Essentially, this option does an excellent job of replicating the “chiropractic adjustment” you get when you pay a visit to your friendly neighborhood chiropractor.
On top of all of the above, you’ll also find both spot and partial massage modes available here.
Truly a comprehensive package, and you’ll probably barely notice the smaller number of massage techniques.
The Massage Chair Dr-XR 923 Offers a Decent Airbag Massage
We’ll be quick to point out that this isn’t one of the stronger components of our Dr.Care XR-923 massage chair review. The airbag massage you’ll find here feels great and is very relaxing, but our view is that the airbags mostly exist to facilitate the chair’s excellent body stretch. The fact that you can also enjoy an airbag massage is a bonus.
Even so, Dr. Care took some steps to make it even more enjoyable. For instance, you can select from three different intensity levels and activate the airbags in the chair somewhat selectively, opting for full air, upper body, or lower body.
Some chairs are designed with airbag massage at the center of everything. This model will likely leave you unimpressed if you’re specifically looking for a massage chair offering a next-level airbag-based massage.
Our sense of it is that there aren’t very many people looking for that. For the vast majority of the market, the airbag-based massage you’ll find here will be just fine.
The 923 Has Amazing Heat
This is honestly one of our favorite aspects of the design. Dr. Care calls it “Spa Heat,” and it’s essentially heat everywhere. You get back heat, calf heat, and heated footwells.
Massage feels great all by itself, but adding heat to the equation just takes things to the next level.
While we would love to see some means of precisely controlling the temperature of the offered heat, the reality is that we can count on one hand with fingers to spare the number of massage chairs that offer that feature.
As it is, we love that you can activate heat by body region, opting for full heat, upper body, or lower body depending on your needs and preferences. It’s amazing and is another powerful therapeutic feature built into the design.
The Calf and Foot Massage is Next-Level Good
Since we already talked about the extensive heat, you probably already guessed that the calf and foot massage is absolutely heavenly, and it is—with or without heat.
Rendered by airbags in the calf massage ports and a combination of airbags and 3D rollers in the footwells, if you get home after a grueling day spent on your feet, this might just be your favorite aspect of the design.
You have the option of adjusting the foot rollers via three levels of intensity, and of course, the airbags can be selectively activated to focus just on the lower body and adjusted for intensity as well. With the option to add heat, you may never want to get out of the chair again!
Two Zero-G Seating Positions on Offer
This is another fantastic therapeutic benefit offered by the 923. Inspired by NASA, both of the Zero-G seating positions on this chair really do make you feel weightless, but that’s not the reason this is such a great feature.
Research has shown that taking advantage of Zero-G seating every day will help improve circulation and lower your blood pressure. In addition, evidence suggests that it facilitates post-surgical healing, so this chair, particularly these seating positions, could very well be your new best friend.
If that isn’t enough, putting the chair into one of the two offered Zero-G seating options before you begin your favorite massage routine will enhance the overall experience, making it even more relaxing and enjoyable. This is a great feature addition, and we’re thrilled to see it here.
Kudos to the 923’s design team!
The Dr Care XR 923 is Brimming With Extras Too!
Most smaller brands compete on primary features and skimp on extras. That’s not the case here. As we said at the start, Dr. Care makes top-quality massage chairs, and they don’t skimp.
They don’t cut corners. Here are the extras you’ll find incorporated into this design:
There’s a lot to like here.
You’ll love the ability to kick back and enjoy your favorite massage routine while listening to your favorite music or podcasts via the chair’s high-quality speakers and while keeping your phone fully charged to boot!
The massage timer is incredibly convenient, allowing you to select a quick massage if your time is limited or to enjoy something more comprehensive as your schedule allows.
The LED lights provide a cool, soothing ambiance, and the three memory slots represent the ultimate one-touch convenience.
Once you’ve settled on your favorite routines, you can add whatever options most appeal to you (heat, Zero-G, custom speed and intensity levels, etc.) and then save those settings for a one-touch recall later. Set and forget, and you get three slots.
If you live alone or are the only person who uses the chair, you get three of your favorite routines.
Alternatively, if you have a larger household and more than one person winds up using the chair, up to three of you can have a one-touch, customized experience. That’s fantastic.
And then there’s the voice command. Earlier, we griped a bit about the remote, but honestly, you won’t need it very often because the chair understands and accepts the following voice commands:
While this doesn’t allow you to control every aspect of the chair, it covers the basics and is incredibly convenient. We love it, and we think you will too.
Pros & Cons of Dr.Care XR-923 Massage Chair
Honestly, there’s very little to dislike about the XR-923 chair. The biggest potential drawbacks we see are that it doesn’t offer much in the way of massage techniques, and the remote, while okay, is a little disappointing simply because there are better options available. Plus, the offered heat can’t be temperature-controlled.
These are all fairly minor gripes, though. There’s nothing on that list of potential downsides that would be deal-breaking for many people, even if you consider all three together.
On the other hand, this model gets a lot right, from the wonderfully implemented Zero-G seating positions to the extensive heat, the customization options on offer, the broad range of pre-programmed massage options, an excellent body stretch, and an out-of-this-world calf and foot massage.
You’ll find a lot of therapeutic features on offer, and if you suffer from chronic pain, this chair can serve as a powerful tool to make you feel better.
Combine that with easy financing options if you buy directly from the company’s website and that stunning ten-year warranty, and it’s hard not to love this model.
Dr.Care XR-923 Massage Chair Review Conclusion
The Dr Care XR 923 is a masterpiece of design. It’s a great example of the company’s commitment to quality, and we absolutely recommend it. If you invest in this chair, you won’t be disappointed. At the very least, it belongs on your short list of options to consider. An all-around great product.
Other Options to Consider
If you’ve reached the end of this review and have decided that, whatever the reason, this just isn’t the model you’re looking for, here are some other options you may want to consider:
Recommended For: Anyone ranging in height from 5’1” to 6’3”, weighing 350 pounds or less who can afford a high-end massage chair.
We’ll say upfront that this is a more expensive chair, but if you’re patient, you can sometimes find it on sale at a respectable discount.
We love everything about this chair. It’s gigantic, supports a generous amount of user weight, and is filled with state-of-the-art technology and bleeding-edge options. Pricey? Yes. But if your budget can withstand it, it’s worth every penny.
Recommended For: Anyone who can afford it. Exceptional therapeutic chair, made in the USA, packed with high-value features.
For a long time, the i7 was the final word in therapeutic massage chairs; to this day, it’s still very good.
It has since been eclipsed by the newer i9, offered by the same company, and the i9 is arguably even better, but you’ll pay a premium for that model, whereas the i7 offers a comparable experience at a much more affordable price. If you have a specific therapeutic need that the 923 doesn’t meet, the i7 is well worth a look.
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
- Dr. Care, Official Brand Website.
- Dr. Care XR-923 Massage Chair User Manual.
- 8 Surprising Benefits of Getting a Massage, Men’s Health.
- Getting a Massage is a Great Form of Self-Care, Psychreg.
- The Effect of Swedish Massage on Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Science Direct.
