Ootori Nova N900 Massage Chair Review 2024

Do you suffer from chronic back, leg, or foot pain? Do you find that you spend almost as much time with your local chiropractor as you do with members of your own family? Are you looking for some other solution to the chronic pain you’re suffering that you can implement from the comfort of home?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you’re going to like what you read in this review.

About Ootori Brand 

Ootori is a brand you may not have heard of if you live in the United States. The company is based in Japan, where the chairs are designed and manufactured, and they sell direct from the factory, which saves you money since you’re not paying a middle-man markup.

While they don’t have a huge presence in the US at this point, they’re well-respected in Japan, and their chairs belong on your shortlist for consideration because their products are high quality and surprisingly capable and they take customer service very seriously.

In the sections that follow, we’ll tell you all about the Ootori N900 massage chair, which is the company’s flagship model. Even if you opt to go in some other direction, by the time you reach the end of this review, we think you’ll agree: This is a serious massage chair with a lot to offer, and it can definitely help mitigate whatever pain you’re experiencing.

If you’re intrigued to know more, read on, and let’s see what the N900 has to offer!

Overview of the Ootori Nova N900 Massage Chair

The first thing you’ll notice about the Ootori N900 massage chair is that it’s a sizable piece of furniture. Measuring 31.5” x 59.06” x 49.21” and weighing 213.85 pounds, this is a serious piece of furniture that will tend to dominate whatever room you place it in. If you live in a smaller home or apartment, or if space is at a premium at your house, it may be challenging to find a good home for it.

This is helped somewhat by the fact that it’s designed with space-saving technology, which means that when you recline in it, it rotates on its base, which minimizes the amount of wall clearance you’ll need to make effective use of it. In this case, you’ll only need about 3” of clearan​ce between the back of the chair and whatever wall you place it near, which speaks volumes about the design expertise of the Ootori design team. Kudos to the company on that front!

Another thing worth mentioning here is that while some massage chairs take pains to disguise their true natures by hiding the leg massage ports when they’re not in use, the N900 makes no such effort. There’s no mistaking that this big, burly piece of furniture is a massage chair. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you should know that its appearance will make it stand out in the room you decide to place it in.

Other noteworthy basic stats include the seat width, which measures 21.65”, and the maximum supported weight, which is 330 pounds. That’s slightly above average in the world of massage chairs and makes it useful to the vast majority of the market.

According to the company’s specs on the chair, it’s rated for users ranging in height from 5’ to about 6’3.” If you’re taller than that, this chair is almost certain not to give you an optimal massage experience. Again, this fact makes it useful to the vast majority of the market, but if you’re taller than 6’3,” this is definitely not the chair you want.

So, those are the basics. Now, let’s take a look under the hood and see what specific technologies the N900 has on offer and what that means in terms of the kind of massage experience you can expect:

Hybrid L/S-Track & A Six-Roller Array

On the company’s sales page, they tell you that the chair is equipped with quad rollers, but the image they show of the rollers themselves clearly shows a six-roller array. The quad rollers at the base are augmented by additional rollers placed slightly higher, which emulate the thumbs of a human massage therapist.

There are currently only a handful of models on the market today using an array like this, but we’re fairly sure it’s destined to become an industry standard over time, so kudos to Ootori for making use of them here. In our view, that puts them ahead of the curve compared with most massage chair manufacturers.

In general, the more massage rollers a chair makes use of, the better the overall massage experience. All else being equal, quad rollers deliver a better massage experience than dual rollers, and six rollers deliver an even better experience. The roller action itself feels amazing on this chair.

Average Number of Options

The number of rollers present is only one part of the equation. The number of techniques on offer also plays an important role, and here, we were not quite as impressed. The Ootori Nova N900 massage chair has the basics well covered, offering the following techniques:

In addition to the basics, the company offers one advanced massage technique in the form of Shiatsu, which it renders exceptionally well. We were a bit underwhelmed on this front, however. As the company’s flagship model, we would love to have seen at least one additional advanced massage technique, but for most people, the basics plus Shiatsu is more than enough.

These techniques are enhanced by the fact that you can control the massage speed and intensity through five levels (each), which gives you the ability to customize your massage experience to taste. If you select the highest intensity level, the chair comes close to delivering a deep tissue massage, which is fantastic for people who suffer from chronic pain.

In addition to that, the chair also comes with spot and partial massage modes, allowing you to zero the rollers in on a particularly sore spot to give it some extra attention. If you want to focus the rollers on a particular body zone, you can select any of the following options from the remote:

Here, we’re a bit less impressed. We’ve seen plenty of other comparably priced chairs that offer a great deal more flexibility in terms of body zone massage, but this should be sufficient for most people.

In addition to creating your own custom massage routine, you’ll find a total of six pre-programmed options on offer. These are:

Again, this is good but falls short of greatness. We’ve seen plenty of other massage chairs that offer a dozen or more pre-programmed routines, and we feel that as the company’s flagship model, more could have been done on this front. Even so, the six pre-programmed routines are excellent and will allow you to start enjoying the chair mere minutes after it is delivered to your door.

Finally, this section in our Ootori Nova N900 massage chair review wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t say something about the length of the massage track, which is an impressive 59.” That’s not the longest we’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly long enough to give you something close to a full body massage experience that starts at your upper shoulders and extends to the backs of your thighs.

3D Body Scan

The chair also comes equipped with a well-implemented body scanning technology that auto-adjusts the position of the rollers to ensure that they hit the pressure points on your back precisely. In practice, the body scanning routine works about 95% of the time, and if for some reason it’s a little off and not quite to your liking, you’ll find controls on the remote that allow you to manually adjust the roller position to ensure that you’re getting the best possible experience.

Zero-Gravity Seating

Zero-G seating was inspired by NASA, and at first glance, you might think it’s little more than a marketing gimmick. Research has shown, however, that it actually has many therapeutic benefits, especially for people recovering from surgery.

In addition to helping to lower your blood pressure, it’s an extraordinarily relaxing seating position that really does give you a feeling of weightlessness.

An increasing percentage of companies are offering massage chairs with Zero-G seating positions, but most companies only pay lip service to it, offering a single position. The Nova N900 takes things to the next level in this regard, offering three different seating positions, all available at the touch of a button. It’s an excellent therapeutic feature, and we’re glad to see it so well-rendered here.

A Very Good Air Massage

In addition to the roller-based massage,the N900 offers a very good air massage, rendered by a total of 38 well-positioned airbags. Even better, your air massage can be customized via three different intensity levels, which adds to the chair’s flexibility.

Lumbar Heat Offered

The chair comes equipped with lumbar heat, rendered via carbon fibers, which heat quickly and evenly. We’re always thrilled to see heat offered in any massage chair, as it’s another powerful therapeutic benefit that enhances the overall massage experience.

We would have preferred to see more extensive heat on offer here and perhaps even some means to customize the temperature, but honestly, heat in any form is a great addition, and as ever, the company’s implementation is excellent.

Body Stretch

Yet another therapeutic feature on offer with this chair is its Yoga Body Stretch. While we don’t rate it as being quite as good as the body stretching you get on Kahuna chairs, and it’s not as vigorous a stretch as you get on a chair that offers Thai stretching, it is very good, and you’ll be impressed.

When you select this mode, the airbags in the chair will inflate to hold your arms and legs in a stationary position as the chair reclines, giving you an experience that closely resembles the adjustment you get when you visit a chiropractor’s office. If you’re looking for a massage chair that will see you having to visit your local chiropractor less often than you currently do, this may well wind up being one of your favorite features of the N900.

An Out of This World Calf & Foot Massage

In our view, this is one of the strongest features of the N900, which is really saying something, given that all of the features on the chair are very well-implemented. The calf massage is rendered via airbags, while the bottoms of your feet are treated to the rolling action of three rows of foot rollers, providing you with what can best be described as a deep-tissue foot massage. We love it, and if you spend several hours of every day on your feet, we think you’ll love it too.

A Massage Timer, Too!

In addition to all of the above, this chair comes with a massage timer that allows you to customize the duration of your massage. You can select from 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes, as you prefer. Not every chair comes with a massage timer, so we’re always glad when we see it present. Another great choice by Ootori!

Bluetooth Speakers

The chair does offer one feature that both hobbyists and people with therapeutic needs will love and enjoy. Wireless speakers that connect via Bluetooth to your smartphone, allowing you to listen to your favorite music mix while enjoying your massage.

Not Much of a Learning Curve

Given the limited number of massage options and the fact that the remote is well-designed and intuitive, there’s really not much of a learning curve here. Spend ten minutes with the user manual and another five or so fiddling with the controls, and you’ll have pretty well mastered using this chair.

The good thing is that you don’t have to do any of that to start enjoying it. You can access one of the pre-programmed massage routines, sit back and relax. Even if you’re not especially good with high-tech gadgets, you’ll gain mastery over the chair in no time. It’s certainly simpler than most TV remotes!

A Better Than Average Warranty

Another thing worth mentioning here is the fact that Ootori offers a 3-year warranty. While that’s not as good as the warranties offered by the industry’s leaders, many smaller brands only offer a 1-year warranty (or less), so Ootori’s warranty is much better than average, which speaks to the quality of the products they offer.

Pros & Cons of the Ootori N900 Massage Chair

Even though there were a couple of instances where we found ourselves a bit underwhelmed, the simple truth is that every feature the N900 offers is well-implemented. It’s a solid design, but note what’s missing.

There are almost no convenience features that hobbyist users tend to gravitate to. Other than the Bluetooth speakers in the headrest, this chair doesn’t add a lot in the way of convenience features or flourishes (there is a small rainbow LED light on either side of the chair, but this falls short of what most models would call Chromotherapy).

On the other hand, it offers the following therapeutic features:

In other words, if you’re looking for a massage chair for therapeutic reasons, you’ll find a lot to like in this model. If you’re looking for something designed for casual use with lots of convenience features, this model is bound to leave you feeling a bit underwhelmed.

Ootori N900 Massage Chair Review Conclusion

This is a very good therapeutic massage chair for the money. All of its features are deftly implemented, and if you suffer from chronic back pain (especially lower back pain) or pain in your calves and feet, the Ootori N900 massage chair can be a game-changer for you.

On that basis, we highly recommend it for chronic pain sufferers and anyone looking for therapeutic benefits, but we can’t recommend it for casual or hobbyist users.

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Official Manufacturer Support

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

• Ootori, Official Brand Website.
• Ootori N900 Massage Chair User Manual.
• Massage Chairs A-Z: Terms You Need to Know Before You Buy, Med Mart.
• How Much Electricity Does a Massage Chair Use, MassageChairTechnicians.com.