Omega Montage Premier vs Elite Massage Chair Review 2024

Omega Montage Premier & Omega Montage Elite Features

S-Track Design & Quad Rollers

Beginning with the most fundamental characteristic, both the Omega Montage Elite massage chair and its counterpart, the Premier are designed around an S-Track, which allows its quad rollers to follow the natural curvature of your body’s spine, resulting in a superior massage experience.

175-Degree Maximum Recline

While this isn’t quite as good as Zero-G seating, it offers many of the same benefits. At maximum recline angle, you’re lying almost flat on your back, and most of your body’s weight is pressing down against the rollers, which allows them to provide a deeper, more penetrating massage.

If the massage you get, even at maximum intensity and from this position still isn’t strong enough, the back pad on both models is removable, which allows you another means of increasing the intensity of the experience.

Full Body Stretch

Taking full advantage of both the chair’s extreme maximum recline angle and the presence of airbags in the calf massage ports, both models offer a full body stretch.

A small percentage of users have noted that the presence of the arm ports on the Omega Montage Premier allows it to deliver a slightly better full body stretch, but there’s no broad consensus on that point.

In both models, the presence of a body stretch function is a huge win, providing tremendous therapeutic value by giving the chair a means to relieve pressure on compressed discs in your spinal column, which provides almost immediate relief from back pain, something chronic pain sufferers are sure to appreciate.

Again, this is not a feature you normally find at all in a chair priced at the mid-range, and when combined with all the other therapeutic features these models have to offer, makes both a tremendously good value for the money.

Roller Adjustment Options

Where roller adjustment is concerned, there are two basic methodologies available: 3D body scanning and manual positioning via remote or touchscreen. Both the Omega Montage Elite massage chair and its sister, the Omega Montage Premier, opt for the latter approach.

Some people have a strong preference for one or the other. Individuals who are looking for optimal convenience will not approve of Omega’s handling of this feature, while people who take a more “hands-on” approach to life will like it very much.

Either way, this feature’s implementation is seldom a deal-breaker, but the reason behind Omega’s decision is simple: Their massage chairs are designed with maximum therapeutic benefit and customization in mind, and sometimes, technology can go wrong.

When that happens, the rollers may not hit the spots you need them to quite right, and your massage experience becomes sub-optimal.

That can never happen with the way Omega has chosen to handle roller adjustment because you know your body and you know where it hurts. Their system isn’t automated, or quite as convenient, but it guarantees that the rollers are always exactly where you want and need them to be.

In addition to allowing for precise roller position adjustment, both chairs also enable the user to adjust the width of the massage field in general so that it conforms to your specific body shape. And as a result of all of these adjustments, you enjoy a superior overall massage experience.

Air Massage Mode

Both the Montage Elite massage chair by Omega, and the Omega Montage Premier make good use of Second Generation Airbag Technology, offering air massage for your hips, calves, and feet. This is also where the sole difference between the two models appears.

The Omega Montage Premier massage chair includes arm cuffs to deliver an airbag arm massage, whereas the Omega Montage Elite leaves the arm cuffs off. Aside from that, the two chairs are identical.

Of course, these being Omega chairs, the intensity of the air massage (with or without the arm cuffs) can be adjusted via the touchpad.

Heat Everywhere

This is one of the hallmarks of Omega products in general and is a great feature on both the Omega Montage Premier massage chair and its sister chair, the Omega Montage Elite. Both offer heat in the lumbar region, glutes and thighs, and calves and feet.

Even better, heat in all three areas can be activated or deactivated independently of each other. Moreover, the intensity of the heat in each region can also be controlled independently, giving you total control.

A minority of chairs on the market today offer heat. Most of those that do only offer it in the lumbar region. A slight minority provides heat in both the lumbar region and the foot and calf ports. Omega chairs are the only ones we’ve found that offer heat in all three areas.

That matters, because heat plus massage is widely regarded as having far more therapeutic benefits than just a massage or heat alone. The fact that both of these models offer heat therapy on so much of the body is remarkable, especially for a chair priced in the mid-range.

Plenty of Customization Options

The Omega Montage Premier and Omega Montage Elite massage chairs offer the same massage options, and there are plenty of them: 4 massage techniques, 5 pre-programmed massages, and 4 back massage courses. 

Massage Techniques

Note that the speed of the tapping massage can be adjusted in both massage techniques it is present in.

Automatic Massage Programs

Back Massage Courses

The automatic massage programs make use of various massage techniques to provide a variety of experiences and benefits as described in the name of each auto-program. But of course, you can stay away from the pre-programmed routines and manually design your perfect massage experience instead. 

Hip Vibration Massage

Many people find that a vibration-style massage, centered on the hips, is more beneficial and helps restore blood flow to the region than the airbag massage offered by most other massage chairs for this area of the body. That is, of course, if the other chair in question offers a massage of the hips at all.

The control panel on both the Omega Montage Premier massage chair and Omega Montage Elite allows you to adjust the vibration speed of the hip massage, allowing for the high degree of customization and control that Omega products are known for.

Calf and Foot Massage

Both the Omega Montage Elite and the Premier offer an outstanding calf and foot massage that is delivered via a combination of airbags and rollers.

Typically, when and where this feature is offered by other companies, you only get one or the other. To our knowledge, Omega is the only company to offer both, with heat, which further maximizes the therapeutic benefit offered by the chair.

If you suffer from chronic leg or foot pain, or if your job has you on your feet for several hours each day, this feature will probably be what you wind up liking best about either of these chairs. The ability to relax into a comfortable chair while listening to your favorite music and have the massage rollers and heat work their magic on your legs and feet is an unforgettable, rejuvenating experience.

Adjustable and Extendable Ottoman

Not only is every aspect of the calf and foot massage adjustable via the touchpad, but the ottoman itself is extendable, which means that even taller users can enjoy an optimal massage on either model.

In fact, both models have longer ottoman extension modules than any other chair we’ve seen, enabling it to accommodate users up to 6’5” tall, which is practically unheard of, and a huge win for taller users who may find it frustrating to find a chair that properly “fits” them.

(Somewhat) Simple to Use Remote

Omega massage chairs tend to be feature-rich, but there’s always a trade-off to be had by offering more features and customization options. The more you add, the more complicated the chair becomes.

While it’s true that you can sit down and start enjoying a basic massage right away, you’ll probably spend several days learning the ins and outs of whichever model you select. And it may take a period of weeks before you feel as though you’ve fully mastered it. Nevertheless, don’t let the learning curve keep you from considering this chair.

The controls are logically and intuitively laid out, and you’ll be able to navigate through the options easily – it’s just that there are so many of them! Omega allows you an unprecedented level of control over your massage experience, and while that requires a bit of a learning curve, it means that once you master the chair, you’ll get superior results, every single time.

In addition to the touchpad, both models also come with a sub-remote, that controls a scaled-down set of features.

MP3 Player Support

While certainly not a crucial feature in any massage chair, this one is always well-received by users. The ability to download your favorite music to a USB flash drive put on the headphones that are included with the chair, and enjoy music while you’re getting your massage enhances the overall experience.

Omega takes things a step further, though, by offering a music sync massage feature, where the speed and movement of the rollers are driven by the beat of whatever music you’re listening to. This is a subtle change to the massage and is almost universally loved by those who have tried it.

Pros & Cons of Omega Montage Premier Massage Chair

As you can see from our extensive Omega Massage Montage Premier & Elite Review, there’s a lot to love about both models. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another model priced in the mid-range that offers so many features, customization options, and therapeutic benefits.

It’s honestly difficult to find anything bad to say about either chair, save for the fact that there’s a learning curve where the touchpad is concerned. This is by no means a deal breaker, however, and once you’ve gained a level of familiarity with the controls, you’ll love the sheer number of customization options you have available.

The only other minor complaint to bring to your attention is that while the USB stick/MP3 player is excellent, some people would prefer a port that enables them to plug in their smartphones directly, just as some would prefer built-in speakers versus the supplied headphones.

Omega Massage Montage Premier Review Conclusion

Regarding value for the money, it’s almost impossible to beat either of these chairs. When choosing between them, ultimately, it’s going to come down to whether or not you’re willing to pay extra for the arm airbag massage, as that’s the single point of differentiation between the two models.

Both models cater to a broad swath of the market. Hobbyist users will be thrilled to get many features in a relatively modestly priced chair. People who suffer from chronic pain will be pleased with the sheer number of therapeutic benefits on offer. Tall users (up to 6’5”!) will be excited to know that there’s a chair big enough for them. People who love to be in control of every aspect of their massage experience will get their wish, and then some!

If you fall into any of these categories, then one of these two models just might be the perfect massage chair for you. They narrowly missed getting a perfect rating, and then, only because of the learning curve involved.

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Official Manufacturer Support

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

• Omega Massage Chairs, Official Brand Website.
• Reflexology, University of Minnesota.
• How Therapeutic Is Massage?, Harvard Health Publications.
• Massage Therapy Can Relieve Stress, American Massage Therapy Association.
• Foot Health and Massage Therapy – It’s Not Just About Reflexology, Institute for Integrative Healthcare.