In a Nutshell:
The Omega Serenity Massage Chair is stylish, but lacks many of the massage features and customization options you’d expect on a chair this price. Some of its positive qualities include Zero Gravity recline, full-body heat, and a built-in MP3 player. However, compared to other similarly priced massage chairs, the Serenity comes up short in many ways.
Overall Massage Quality
Customization options
Ease of Use
Value for the Money
Overall Rating
3/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Stylish, but lacks many of the massage features and customization options you’d expect on a chair this price
Unfortunately, the Omega Serenity & Omega Skyline have been discontinued. We recommend checking out the Osaki OS 3000 massage chair.
It’s true that the Omega Serenity massage chair scores big style points. But you might agree that when shopping for a massage chair, appearance takes a back seat to massage performance. So the question is, is the massage performance of the Omega Serenity on par with its classy looks?
To help you decide for yourself, this review looks at the Omega Serenity inside and out, assessing its features, components, and massage programs. We also present a side-by-side comparison of the Serenity with two other similarly priced models to help you make the best buying decision possible.
| OMEGA SERENITY VS OMEGA SKYLINE VS OSAKI OS 3000 COMPARISON CHART |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roller Massage | âś— | âś— | âś“ |
| Roller Track Length | N/A | N/A | 36” |
| Lumbar Massage Rollers | âś“ | âś“ | âś— |
| Vibration Massage | âś“ | âś“ | âś“ |
| Number of Vibration Massage Motors | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| Air Massage | âś“ | âś“ | âś“ |
| Number of Airbags | 7 | 7 | 16 |
| Zero Gravity Recline | âś“ | âś“ | âś“ |
| Space Saving Recline | âś— | âś— | âś— |
| Heat Therapy | âś“ | âś“ | âś“ |
| Leg and Foot Massage | âś— | âś— | âś“ |
| Foot Rollers | âś— | âś— | âś— |
| Rotating Footrest | âś— | âś— | âś— |
| Motorized Footrest | âś“ | âś“ | âś“ |
| Number of Massage Techniques | N/A | N/A | 6 |
| Number of Automatic Massage Programs | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Number of Manual Massage Programs | 3 | 3 | Manual controls, no programs |
| Swivel Base | âś“ | âś— | âś— |
| Solid Wood Chair Back | âś“ | âś“ | âś— |
| Upholstery Material | Synthetic leather | Synthetic leather | Synthetic leather |
| Built-in MP3 Player | âś“ | âś“ | âś— |
Features and Components of the Omega Serenity Massage Chair
Solid Wood Chair Back
One of the first things you notice when looking at the Omega Serenity is its solid wood back. Very few massage chairs on the market incorporate wood in their designs, which definitely helps the Serenity stand out.
While the rounded wood back of the Serenity doesn’t have any effect on the massage performance of the chair, it certainly adds to its fashionable look. The wood contrasts nicely with the three available colors of synthetic leather upholstery — white, brown, and black — giving the chair a distinctly modern appearance.
Solid Wood Swivel Base
In addition to the solid wood back of the chair, the Serenity also features a solid wood swivel base. This adds to the chic look of the chair and allows the chair to rotate 360 degrees — just like an office chair.
Vibration Massage System
One of the unique aspects of the Omega Serenity regarding massage treatment is its vibration massage system.
Eight vibration motors are positioned throughout the massage chair — two for the buttocks, two for the thighs, two for the calves, and two for the feet. When activated, these massage motors pulsate in rhythmic sequences to stimulate and soothe the muscles.
Zero Gravity Recline
To get into the therapeutic features of the Serenity, let’s start with its Zero Gravity recline functionality.
Zero Gravity is an increasingly popular feature found on massage chairs, and for a good reason. Instead of only reclining back in a Zero Gravity chair, your body is positioned in such a way that the majority of your body weight is evenly distributed across a horizontal plane. The chair back reclines, the seat tilts back, the footrest elevates, and your spine is given a chance to decompress.
This position was initially developed by NASA to help astronauts sustain the increased gravitational forces generated during takeoff. Now with the Omega Serenity, you can utilize the Zero Gravity position to help your spine and all your muscles deeply relax to get the most out of your massage.
Air Massage System
While you can only find the vibration motors in the lower body portion of the chair, the Serenity features an air massage system that provides massage to the upper body.
You’ll see that there are seven airbag massagers located throughout the chair: three in the seat, two in the back, and two in the neck. When activated, the airbags perform what is known as compression massage.
It works like this: When the airbags inflate, the muscles are squeezed and compressed, temporarily limiting blood flow to the area. When the airbags deflate, the muscles are released, and fresh new blood rushes back into the area. This action is very beneficial in promoting proper circulation and can also help reduce swelling in certain areas.
Beyond the therapeutic benefits of air massage, it just feels good.
Lumbar Kneading Massage Rollers
While the Omega Serenity doesn’t feature a full massage roller system like most massage chairs do, it does have a set of massage rollers in the lumbar portion of the chair.
These mechanical rollers provide penetrating massage for the lower back, kneading and rubbing any soreness and tension away. The strength of the rollers can be adjusted three levels, allowing you to increase or decrease the massage pressure to suit your needs.
Full Body Heat Therapy
The Serenity is equipped with a series of heating pads located throughout the chair, providing full-body heat treatment.
Heat therapy can be used on its own, or in conjunction with the other features of the massage chair. The application of heat to the muscles helps reduce tension and stress in the muscle tissues. This aids in relaxation and circulation, resulting in an overall more enhanced massage experience.
Motorized Backrest and Footrest
As an added convenience — and something you’d expect to find on a massage chair costing over $2,000 — the Serenity features a fully motorized backrest and footrest. No levers or dials to fuss with, simply use the remote control to recline or incline the chair automatically.
One interesting aspect of the Serenity’s recline system is that the backrest and footrest are linked. That means that when the backrest reclines, the footrest automatically raises. In other words, you can’t operate the backrest and footrest individually. This can lead to some problems in terms of customizing the chair position.
With the backrest and footrest linked, you are very limited in making adjustments to the chair’s position. Most other massage chairs on the market enable you to make individual adjustments to the backrest and footrest, helping you find the perfect position in which to relax and enjoy your massage. But with the Serenity, you’re stuck with the position of the chair as it is.
If you’re finicky about your body position or have a difficult time getting comfortable, the Omega Serenity might not be the best choice.
Built-In Remote Control
The remote of the Omega Serenity is built into the armrest of the chair. It’s a very simple remote with straightforward controls, and its fixed position means it’s within arm’s reach at all times. It’ll be impossible to lose.
A series of buttons with LED indicator lights control every feature of the chair. And since the Serenity has a limited array of massage features, the remote control inherently has a limited set of controls.
The upside of the Serenity’s sparse remote is that there are very few buttons and commands you need to memorize. The downside, however, is that what you see is what you get, leaving you with very few massage and customization options.
Built-In MP3 Music Player
A major bonus feature of the Omega Serenity is its built-in MP3 music player. It’s not uncommon for a massage chair to have an onboard music system, but the Serenity’s system is unique in that it’s self-contained.
Instead of requiring the use of an external MP3 player, the Serenity allows you to upload music directly into its built-in hard drive. An included USB music stick is used to transfer music files from your computer to the chair, so you can listen to them whenever you sit down to enjoy a massage.
A set of high-fidelity headphones are also included with the chair, and you can plug it into the headphone jack on its remote control. Listening to music during a massage is an excellent way to ease your mind, which in turn helps your body relax, helping you get the most out of your massage.
Massage Programs of the Omega Serenity
Now that we’ve covered all of the massage features of the Omega Serenity, let’s go over how the massage chair uses its components to administer a massage.
Unlike many massage chairs that feature a robust set of automatic massage programs and manual mode controls, the programs on the Serenity are very simplistic. Don’t expect any wellness-expert-designed massage techniques or comprehensive full-body automatic massage programs.
Without painting too drab of a picture of the Serenity’s massage programs, keep in mind that the components do provide effective massage therapy. The chair is only lacking in variety and options regarding massage programs and customization.
Let’s take a look at the massage programs the Omega Serenity does offer.
3 Automatic Vibration Massage Programs
The vibration motors of the Serenity operate using three different automatic massage programs. Each program performs a slightly different vibration massage incorporating different patterns, speeds, and intensities.
With the automatic vibration massage programs, all of the chair’s vibration motors operate at the same time, providing a comprehensive vibration massage for the lower body.
3 Manual Vibration Massage Programs
While the automatic programs perform vibration massage throughout the entire lower body, the three manual programs allow you to choose the location in which the vibration motors operate: buttocks, thighs, or legs and feet.
3 Automatic Air Massage Programs
Like the automatic vibration programs, the three automatic air massage programs conduct three different air massage sequences throughout the entire body. Once you’ve selected a particular air massage program (called a “mode” on the remote), you can change the air massage intensity with three levels of strength adjustment.
That’s all there is! As we mentioned, the massage programs of the Serenity are simplistic, but you still get a few options.
Pros and Cons of the Omega Serenity
Before we move on to discuss how the Omega Serenity compares to other popular massage chairs on the market, let’s go over the chair’s pros and cons.
PROS
CONS
How Does the Omega Serenity Relaxation Massage Chair Compare?
A side-by-side comparison is one of the best ways to fully understand what a particular massage chair offers and whether it’s worthy of your purchase.
First, we’ll compare the Omega Serenity to a similar massage chair made by the same company — the Omega Skyline. You’ve likely come across the Skyline when searching for the Serenity, and the two chairs can seem remarkably similar. We’re here to help you understand the difference and decide which model is best for you.
Second, we’ll show you how the Omega Serenity compares to a similarly priced chair that has a conventional massage chair look and many more massage features — the Osaki OS 3000.
Omega Serenity vs. Omega Skyline
On paper, the Omega Serenity and Omega Skyline seem practically identical. So what’s the difference?
The main difference between the Serenity and Skyline is a matter of aesthetics. The chairs feature very similar massage components only packaged in different physical designs.
Both the Serenity and Skyline have solid wooden backs and synthetic leather upholstery, but the Skyline is lacking the solid wood rotating base found on the Serenity. Instead, the Skyline features four chrome chair legs that look nice, but don’t allow the chair to rotate.
The other key difference between the two chairs is that the Serenity has smaller, rounded side panels, whereas the Skyline has larger side panels with sharper angles.
Besides these aesthetic differences, the two chairs share identical massage components including air massage, vibration massage, lumbar massage rollers, and full body heat therapy.
The only other difference between the Serenity and the Skyline is price — the Serenity is approximately $400 more than the Skyline.
Omega Serenity vs. Osaki OS 3000
Although costing $100 less than the Omega Serenity, the Osaki OS 3000 is completely different in almost every way.
While the emphasis of the Serenity is style and aesthetics, the OS 3000 has a strong focus on delivering high-quality massage therapy.
This quick comparison of the two chairs will help you decide if you want a massage chair that only looks good or one that you can count on for a thorough full-body massage.
Aesthetics
There’s a huge difference in the appearance of the Omega Serenity and the Osaki OS 3000. While the Omega Serenity is like a massage-chair-in-disguise, the OS 3000 has the classic appearance of a robotic massage chair. It’s not the most fashionable piece of furniture, but it isn’t designed to look good. It’s designed to provide high-quality massage.
Massage Components
Roller massage is the core offering of the Osaki OS 3000. It has a 36-inch S-Track that extends from the neck, down the back, and into the seat area. This is one of the longest massage tracks you’ll find on a massage chair, especially in this price range.
The massage rollers of the OS 3000 automatically adjust to the unique shape of your back using computer body scan technology. Thus, providing a more effective custom-fit massage. Additionally, the width of the massage rollers can be adjusted to cover more area on the back.
Something you won’t find in the backrest of the OS 3000 is air massage, which is an essential component of the Omega Serenity. But when you compare the roller massage system of the OS 3000 to the air massage system of the Serenity, the winner is clear. Go with the roller massage and your back will thank you.
Zero Gravity
Both chairs feature Zero Gravity recline with fully powered backrests and footrests. Though, this brings up another slight difference between the two. The backrest and footrest of the OS 3000 operate independently, offering more room for adjustment and body position customization.
Calf and Foot Massage
Another core feature of the Osaki OS 3000 that you cannot find in the Omega Serenity is calf and foot massage. While there are no airbag massagers in the backrest of the OS 3000, there are 16 in the leg ottoman. These provide compression massage for the calves and feet. You can enjoy calf and foot massage simultaneously with your back massage — another win for the OS 3000 over the Serenity.
Omega Serenity Massage Chair Reviews Conclusion
Even though the Omega Serenity massage chair is one of the more attractive designs on the market, its massage performance doesn’t keep pace with its good looks. For the price, you’ll find many other massage chairs like the Osaki OS 3000 that deliver far superior massage quality.
The Winner?
The choice between the Omega Serenity and the Osaki OS 3000 is relatively straightforward: go with the Serenity if you want a chair that looks like an upscale recliner. However, choose the OS 3000 if you want a chair that will deliver high-quality roller back massage and air calf and foot massage.
References and Resources:
- What is Shiatsu Massage, Well Mother.
- Massage Therapy for Lower Back Pain, Spine-Health.
- The effect of compressed air massage on skin blood flow and temperature, US National Library of Medicine.
- Effects of massage on physiological restoration, perceived recovery, and repeated sports performance, National Institutes of Health.
- What Are the Benefits of Calf Massage, Live Strong.