The mighty Dreamwave gets compared to just about every other top-end chair on the market, and with good reason. It is widely acknowledged as being the best massage chair in the world.
In every comparison we’ve done so far, it has come out on top. Will it continue?
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Our Winner
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Primary Rating:
5.0
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Primary Rating:
4.4
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Pros:
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Pros:
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Cons:
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Cons:
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Our Verdict:
A top-end massage chair that offers more therapeutic and convenience features than most massage chairs in the market today, offering great value for the price.
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Our Verdict:
Known as the best massage chair on the market today. Packed with the most advanced massage technologies for the ultimate massage experience.
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- Longer, hybrid L/S track
- Two zero-gravity seating positions
- 4D rollers
- Space-saving technology
- Heated foot and calf massage
- MP3 support
- Chromotherapy
- Air ionization.
- Has fewer airbags and offers fewer customization options.
- Can only accommodate users up to 6'3" tall.
- Has 25 more airbags.
- Adds a vibration massage function.
- Offers 1000+ possible manual massage combinations.
- Accommodates users up to 6'5" tall.
- A bit bulky.
- Due to the many different functions and settings it offers, some users find it tricky to customize their massage.
In this head to head comparison, we’ll take a look at the Inada Dreamwave vs Infinity Imperial, making a point by point feature comparison and awarding a point to whichever chair offers the superior implementation.
In the event of a tie, one point will be granted to each chair.
Note that we’re weighting all features equally for our comparison.
You may hold certain aspects of one design or the other of greater importance, so your final score may differ from ours.
That’s fine, but this will give you an excellent starting point in terms of making a decision about which chair is right for you.
Let’s get started!
Inada Dreamwave vs Infinity Imperial Feature Comparison
Track Design
Inada Dreamwave: ★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
Right off the bat, the Imperial scores a point, because it is built around a Hybrid L/S Track design, measuring 49” in length. It extends well below your tailbone and under the seat, where it allows the rollers to massage your glutes and the backs of your thighs.
The Dreamwave utilizes an industry standard S-Track which provides a great back massage but does not continue under the seat like the Imperial’s track does.
Both chairs use quad rollers, which closely mimic the feel of human hands. The massage quality is excellent, but this point gets awarded to the Imperial.
3D Body Scan
Inada Dreamwave: ★ | Infinity Imperial: ★
The two models both feature 3D Body Scanning Technology and an option for manually adjusting the rollers and the width of the massage field. Although the under-the-hood particulars vary slightly, the result is the same. We’re rating this a tie, so no points to either side.
Zero-Gravity Seating
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★★
This is a great feature that enhances the overall massage experience by reclining you such that your knees are above your heart. From this position, most of your body’s weight is pressing against the chair back, allowing the rollers to penetrate more deeply.
The Dreamwave offers one Zero-G seating position, despite being the more expensive chair, and the Imperial offers two. Another point to Infinity’s offering.
4D Rollers
Inada Dreamwave: ★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
This technology places extension arms on the rollers, which allow them to move up to 3” farther away from the massage track than they would be able to otherwise, which is another feature that results in a deeper massage experience. The Imperial has it, Dreamwave doesn’t, so another point to Infinity’s chair.
Space-Saving Technology
Inada Dreamwave: ★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
We genuinely wish that every massage chair on the market incorporated this technology into their designs because its presence makes any model that utilizes it so much more accessible.
By pivoting on its base as the chair reclines, it minimizes the space required between the back of the chair and the wall it’s set near. The Dreamwave does not utilize this technology, and the Imperial does. Another point to Infinity!
Massage Options
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★
We could go into great detail about the number of techniques on offer in this part of our comparison, Infinity Imperial vs Inada Dreamwave, but the long and the short of it is this: Both chairs have the basics covered, and both offer Shiatsu as an advanced technique.
The fundamental difference between the two lies in the total number of massage combinations available.
The Imperial offers slightly more than a hundred, which is about average for a chair in its price range. The Dreamwave has more than ten times that number (yes, you read that correctly – more than a thousand total massage combinations!). This one’s no contest, and the Dreamwave gets a point on the board.
Air Massage Mode
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★
This is the feature that the Dreamwave is known for. It sports a mind-boggling 101 airbags and gives the hands down best air massage in the industry. The Imperial comes closer than any other chair we’ve ever compared with this Colossus, but with 76, it falls well short. Once again, Dreamwave wins the point handily.
Therapeutic Heat
Inada Dreamwave: ★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
The Dreamwave offers lumbar and seat heat, which is impressive, but the Imperial offers heat in the lumbar area and the foot wells and incorporates heated massage rollers, which makes it the superior feature implementation. Point to Infinity.
Vibration Massage Mode
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★
A minor feature with some therapeutic benefits, in that it helps improve blood flow and circulation in the hips, thighs, and glutes. The Dreamwave has it, and the Imperial does not. Point to Inada.
Point and Zone Massage Modes
Inada Dreamwave: ★ | Infinity Imperial: ★
Both chairs offer this feature, which allows you to focus the massage rollers on the problem areas of your back and give them all the attention they need. This is a tie, so each will get a point.
Foot and Calf Massage
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
There’s no doubt that the airbag portion of the Dreamwave’s foot & calf massage is superior. It simply has more airbags and produces a better result. Having said that, the Imperial utilizes massage rollers and airbags for both the calf and foot portion of its massage and has heated foot wells.
Even better, the foot massage is adjustable via the remote, through three different intensity levels, and the foot rollers render a genuine Shiatsu massage.
Infinity always does a good job in this area, but they pulled out all the stops when designing the Imperial, and it wins the point over the Dreamwave.
Extendable Ottoman
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★
The Imperial offers an extendable Ottoman in name only. The maximum height the chair will accommodate is only 6’3” which is the industry standard. The Dreamwave will support users up to 6’5” in height, so we award this point to Inada’s offering.
Music Support
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
Inada’s design focuses on the critical elements of massage, and that doesn’t include music support. The Imperial is loaded with convenience features, and offers the best music support implementation we’ve ever seen, featuring both Bluetooth compatibility and a USB port.
This enables you to either load music onto a jump drive and plug it into the chair, or wirelessly connect your phone to the speakers and use the USB port as a charger. A fantastic implementation and another point to Infinity’s chair.
Adjustable Timer
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★
While both models offer massage time adjustment, the Dreamwave gives its users more granularity and features a maximum message time of a full hour. This is vastly superior to the Imperial’s timer, which has a much more limited range. Point to Inada.
Body Stretching
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
This is an incredibly powerful therapeutic feature, and both chairs offer it. Usually, we’d rate this a tie, but the Imperial goes a step further, offering a waist twist, which is a less aggressive option that provides the same benefits.
In both cases, the feature works by having the airbags in the leg massage ports hold you in place as the chair reclines at an ever-steeper angle, taking pressure off compressed discs in your spine in much the same way that a chiropractic adjustment does.
In this case, the Imperial simply offers more options than the Dreamwave, so we award the point to Infinity.
Control Options
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★★★
While both models do an excellent job on this front, again, the Imperial does it better, by providing three different control methodologies: A remote, in the form of a 7” touchscreen tablet, a built-in control suite in one of the chair arms, and a downloadable app. Infinity gets yet another point.
Support
Inada Dreamwave: ★★★ | Infinity Imperial: ★★
This is something we don’t often talk about, but since a massage chair is a significant investment, you want something that lasts. When there’s a problem, you want to know that the company you bought it from will stand behind their product.
Infinity’s not bad in this department, but Inada is better by a wide margin. This won’t matter until and unless something breaks, but when that day comes, it will matter very much. Point to Inada.
Infinity Imperial vs Inada Dreamwave Conclusion
Inada Dreamwave vs Infinity Imperial |  Inada Dreamwave |  Infinity Imperial |
| Track Design | ★★ | ★★★★ |
| 3D Body Scan | ★ | ★ |
| Zero-Gravity Seating | ★★★ | ★★★★ |
| 4D Rollers | ★ | ★★★★ |
| Space-Saving Technology | ★★ | ★★★★ |
| Massage Options | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Air Massage Mode | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| Therapeutic Heat | ★★ | ★★★★ |
| Vibration Massage Mode | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| Point and Zone Massage Modes | ★ | ★ |
| Foot and Calf Massage | ★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Extendable Ottoman | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| Music Support | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| Adjustable Timer | ★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Body Stretching | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Control Options | ★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Support | ★★★ | ★★ |
At this point in our Infinity Imperial vs Inada Dreamwave comparison, Infinity’s offering has a compelling lead, and we haven’t even gotten to the chair’s finishing touches which include both Air Ionization and Chromotherapy.
Neither of these features adds to the therapeutic value of the model, but bothadd a high degree of polish to the design and would add two points to Imperial’s score since Inada offers neither.
Our final tally then, would be Dreamwave with 48 stars and Imperial with 52, which is a huge upset victory, since the Imperial costs significantly less money.
Bear in mind, however, that while the Dreamwave won in fewer categories, the areas it excels at, it wins by massive proportions, offering far more massage options and a superior air massage mode.
These are core elements of a great massage. The Imperial wins by offering a vast number of features, but many of them are minor or convenience features (Chromotherapy, Air Ionization, multiple control options, etc.).
it comes down to what you’re looking for…
If the sheer number of features and conveniences matter, then the Imperial is the chair for you. If you’re more interested in focusing on the overall quality of your massage and maximizing your number of options, then the Dreamwave is the better choice, even though it costs more.
In our view, while the Dreamwave delivers an excellent massage, the reality is that most people are never going to use much more than a hundred massage combinations, and Inada would be better served by scaling this back and focusing on adding more features to their offering.
In a surprise victory, the Infinity Imperial dethrones the reigning King and represents a better value for the money.
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
- Infinity Massage Chair, Official Brand Website.
- Inada Massage Chair, Official Brand Website.
- 4D Rollers, Kenny Kee.
- What Is an Air Ionizer?, Air Oasis.
- Benefits of Foot Rollers for Feet: Relieve your Tired Feet!, ePain Assist.
- What are the Benefits of Calf Massage?, Live Strong.
- Top 10 Massage Techniques, Care2.
- A Critical Analysis of Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution, US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
