Relaxonchair MK-IV Massage Chair Review 2024

Are you indifferent to brand names?

Are you in the market for a massage chair with all the bells and whistles of a mid-range or top-end chair but not interested in paying those prices?

We would be pleased if you answered yes to either of those questions!

Off-brand chairs can be a bit hit-or-miss, but Relaxonchair massage chairs are quickly becoming a force in the market.

If you have never heard of them, you’re not alone. Their latest offering, the Relaxonchair MK-IV, deserves your attention and a closer look.

We’ll discuss all its features in the sections below, and we think you’ll be pleased with what you find.

Key Features of the Relaxonchair MK-IV Massage Chair

We couldn’t help but be impressed by the Relaxonchair MK-IV, but there is one important caveat we have to bring to your attention before diving into the details of this model.

As an off-brand, support is a bit of an issue. It’s a great chair—well-priced and filled with features you’ll love—but if something goes wrong, being off-brand means you’ll have to jump through a few hoops to get the chair serviced.

Relaxonchair is better about this than most other off-brand chairs we’ve investigated, but it’s still an issue. If you find that an acceptable risk, read on and prepare to be impressed!

Hybrid S/L -Track design

Relaxonchair’s latest offering uses the same hybrid track that their earlier MK-II chair featured. Unfortunately, it has the same basic drawback: The “L” portion of the track is short and does not extend very far down your thighs.

Nonetheless, this is cutting-edge massage chair technology, and the fact that a hybrid track is present is superior to a standard S-Track and amazing in its own right. You’re going to get an excellent massage from this chair.

The company describes the chair as a standard S-Track, but they go on about the roller balls for the buttocks and glutes at some length.

The action they’re describing is the rollers extending down to the chair’s seat. When you’re getting a massage, there isn’t separate roller action in the area of your glutes and thighs. We can only guess that there’s a language barrier issue here and have attempted to correct it.

3D Body Scan

A great massage starts by ensuring that the rollers contact the pressure points in your back. The Relaxonchair MK-IV automates that process via body scanning technology.

Before your massage begins, the chair scans your body and adjusts the position of the rollers on the fly, ensuring a world-class massage every time.

If the computer gets it wrong and the rollers aren’t quite hitting the spots you need them to, the remote offers manual roller adjustment options so you can fine-tune their position. This includes options to adjust the width of the massage field.

Zero-Gravity Seating

Inspired by NASA, Zero-G seating is a welcome addition to any massage chair that offers it. Normally, if the feature is present, you get two seating positions. Relaxonchair MK-IV offers three, all available at the touch of a button.

Zero-G is such a great feature because it enhances the overall quality of the massage experience.

By reclining the user such that the knees are elevated slightly above the heart, most of the body’s weight is pressed down more firmly onto the back of the chair, allowing the rollers to deliver a deeper, more penetrating, and ultimately more satisfying massage.

Space-Saving

Designed for home users, Relaxonchair MK-IV is built with space-saving technology. When the chair reclines, it pivots on its base, requiring just three inches of clearance between the back of the chair and whatever wall you set it near.

Since space is a premium for most people, this is an excellent addition and a feature we feel should be standard on all home massage chairs. Sadly, relatively few models offer it. Relaxonchair MK-IV is one of these.

Some Options Available

Despite some improvements in this area, pound for pound, the Relaxonchair MK-IV offers fewer massage options than many, if not most, of the mainstream brands it competes with. There are more options in this offering than in the MK-II, so it’s a step in the right direction, but there are still relatively few compared to other chairs in its price range.

Regarding techniques, you get:

This last addresses a complaint we mentioned in our review of Relaxonchair’s MK-II design. It bills itself as a “Shiatsu Massage Chair” without actually offering the Shiatsu technique. We’re very glad to see it in this model!

In addition to these, there are five pre-programmed massages, which are:

The company took some liberties in describing these as pre-programmed massages. They technically meet that definition, but the last two are simply basic massages confined to specific areas. At the same time, “Decompress” is merely a one-touch access button for the body stretch feature we discuss later in this review.

All this to say that there are only two actual “pre-programmed massages,” one separate feature, and two minor variations on the list.

This is more than sufficient, and at this chair’s price point, certainly adequate, but listing them the way they do gives the appearance that you’ve got more options than you do. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s something to be mindful of.

In any case, all of the massages offered, including the ones you design for yourself, can be adjusted via three different speeds and intensity settings, which gives you a high degree of control over the massage experience.

​​​​Air Massage Mode

The Relaxonchair MK-IV features twenty-eight Second Generation airbags. These are not arranged to give a full-body massage, but instead, are focused in the areas of the arms and shoulders, and most of them can be found in the leg massage ports, where they are used to give a world-class calf massage.

We’ll talk about that last bit in its section. The important thing to mention here is that the massage you get from the Relaxonchair MK-IV is excellent and can be controlled via the remote through three different intensity levels.

Memory Function

This is a rare feature, even in chairs offered by mainstream brands, so it’s doubly surprising to see it in the Relaxonchair MK-IV. It provides three memory slots, allowing you to create multiple customized massages and save them, recalling them for later use with the single touch of a button. It’s a fantastic addition.

Adjustable Timer

All of the chair’s massages default to twenty minutes. This can be adjusted up or down in five-minute increments to a maximum of thirty minutes.

Back Heat

While Relaxonchair offered heat in its earlier MK-II model, the Relaxonchair MK-IV ups the ante, utilizing fast-heating carbon fibers to provide heat not just to the lumbar region but all the way up through the mid-back.

Heat combined with massage has tremendous therapeutic value, making this an excellent feature we were pleased to see in the model.

Body Stretch

The Relaxonchair MK-IV improves markedly on the body stretch feature first introduced in the MK-II.

The common complaint about the MK-II’s stretch feature was that it was too mild. In this iteration, they got it right. It’s robust enough to provide reliable therapeutic benefits without extremes.

If you suffer from chronic back pain, it’s probably because the discs in your spinal column have become compressed (the most common cause of back pain). If that’s the case, the body stretch function will provide almost immediate relief, taking pressure off those discs and improving blood flow and circulation.

Calf & Foot Massage

Numerous airbags in the leg massage ports provide calf massage. Of the twenty-eight airbags the chair offers, twenty are in the leg ports (ten for each leg). While the air massage you get for the other parts of your body is acceptable, the leg massage function is superb and should not be missed.

In addition to this, our Relaxonchair MK-IV review would not be complete without drawing particular attention to the foot massage function, which is rendered by Shiatsu rollers. You read that correctly: a soothing Shiatsu-style massage for your feet!

We’re not quite sure why other companies haven’t considered doing this, but this is a real innovation and a feature we look forward to seeing in other chairs. It’s another great addition.

Extendable Ottoman

The ottoman’s extension module expands by a stunning eight inches, allowing the chair to accommodate users up to 6’6” in height. If you’re a taller user, you know that many massage chairs under 3000 bucks weren’t designed with you in mind. Your choices can be quite limited.

This chair is one of the few that cater to extremely tall people, making it a real treasure.

(Fairly) Simple Remote

Despite adding numerous features, including several advanced options, the remote isn’t all that complicated. There’s a mild learning curve, but it’s nothing you can’t master in a single massage session, and you can be reclined back and enjoying your first massage in a matter of minutes.

Relaxonchair MK-IV Massage Chair Pros & Cons

There’s no other way to say it: the MK-IV is an unexpectedly great chair, offered at a steal of a price.

It’s loaded with high-value features that offer tremendous therapeutic benefits, and it’s priced so that even hobbyists and casual users will find it attractive.

We tend to be skeptical of off-brand chairs, but this one shines.

The only two complaints we have about the model are these:

These are minor issues, but their addition would add another layer of polish and shine to an unquestionably solid design.

Relaxonchair MK-IV Massage Chair Review Conclusion

As we said at the start, this chair impressed us, and that’s not easy for an off-brand model to do. It compares favorably with the chairs it is in head-to-head price competition with and can hold its own against chairs costing significantly more money.

If Relaxonchair MK-IV is any indication, then Relaxonchair is a company to watch. They make great products.

Recommended Reading

Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources:

• Relaxonchair Massage Chairs, Official Brand Website. 
• Relaxonchair MK-IV User Manual.
• What is Vibration Therapy?, Healthline.
• Massage therapy—A review, British Columbia Medical Journal.