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Product Review: Panasonic EP30003 KU Massage Chair Recliner
This is a review of the Real Pro Ultra Panasonic EP 30003 Real Pro Ultra massage chair. Our system of massage chair review is based on 5 categories. We give each category equal weight of up to 20 points. We add them all up to give a possible score of 100 points.
The categories include Warranty & Customer Service, Comfort/Ergonomics, Ease of Use, Features and Massage Therapy. We hope this disciplined method of evaluating a massage chair will help to guide anyone looking at massage chairs. The Panasonic Real Pro Ultra EP 30003 KU shiatsu massage chair price is in the mid range of $2,000 to $3,000.
Warranty & Customer Service: How good is the warranty of a given chair? Do you have to buy an extended warranty? How well does the manufacturer back their product? Panasonic gives you 1 year labor and 3 year parts. Service is obtained through your retailer or via national service centers. Obviously service varies substantially based on the retailer where it was purchased. Panasonic also builds in an machine hour counter. This enables Panasonic to provide 1,000 hours of warranty coverage. Once the counter hits 1,000 hours, then the warranty ends. To match other manufacturers, you may want to purchase an extended warranty. We give a rating of 16 in this category.
Comfort & Ergonomics: The comfort and fit of any chair is important for the use. Panasonic usually makes it chairs pretty ergonomic. The Real Pro Ultra is no exception. The back pad is comfortable and plush. The head pillow can be adjusted to fit different heights of users. The arm rests are padded and are fairly wide. The footrest does not extend, so this can be problematic for taller users. Taller users would have to bend their knees to get a foot massage or extend the footrest horizontal to and put their legs through. Our rating in this category is 17.
Ease of Use: Intuitive and easy to use are some of the hardest elements to get right with today’s electronics. Massage chairs have so many features, that some controllers become an unsightly mess. You have to spend hours over the manual to figure some of them out. This severely detracts from the massage therapy environment. Panasonic has a simple control. They incorporate along the top of the control the automatic massages for one button selection. You can tailor massages fairly easy and the learning of the control is rather fast. We give an 18.
Key Features: The key features for the EP 30003 is the Junetsu massage and the reflexology foot massage. Panasonic has developed an ultra fine kneading technique. Junetsu uses one-second circular thumb-like movements. This helps to loosen knotted or tight muscles. The circular motion penetrates down through the muscle tissue. The foot reflexology massage reflexology nodules built into the foot wells of the foot rest. An air compression system is used to gently squeeze the feet. The reflexology nodules then push up into the pressure points in the feet. The reflexology massage helps to relieve tension throughout the entire body helping you to relax. Our rating of the Panasonic EP30003 KU in this category is an 18.
Massage Therapy: The Panasonic Real Pro Ultra is equipped with customizable self-programs, 5-minute quick refresher massage and 4 other massage programs. The 4 other programs include shiatsu, deep, Swedish and stretch. The lower body air massage includes 14 airbags for calf and foot coverage. The Junetsu or ultra fine kneading is a new feature by Panasonic which is also in this massage recliner. The back rollers give you 132 square inches of coverage. Manual controls include tapping, kneading, rolling and combination. For the price range, the massage therapy is pretty thorough. The ultra fine kneading is a great addition for this price point. Our rating in this category is 19.
What is the overall rating for the Panasonic Real Pro Ultra EP30003 KU? Adding up our scores, we rate the Panasonic EP30003 KU as an 88/100. The best feature is the Junetsu ultra fine kneading massage. Panasonic developed this for its higher end chairs and was able to integrate into the EP 30003 at a much lower price point. The remote control also has the voice guidance system which is nice for new users.
The warranty is OK. You would hope for better protection from Panasonic, so check out an extended warranty. This is a long term investment for your health. If you are tall, then you may want to try this chair to see how well you fit. If you are looking for a mid range shiatsu massage chair recliner then this could be a good choice for you.
Find out why a Panasonic Massage Chair can be a fantastic investment for your massage therapy needs. We carry an excellent library of Massage Chair Reviews where you will find the top brands. Find out more about the Panasonic Massage Chair Reviews. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
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Filed under massage by on Mar 14th, 2010. 
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