REVIEW – Everyone who sits at a computer day in, day out needs a good chair. Sure, you can go to your local office supply store and get a chair. I’ve done it. I’ve also gone on to Amazon and gotten an inexpensive (relatively speaking), well-reviewed chair. Let me tell you, in my experience, they don’t last long and usually, end up being literally a pain to use when materials start to break down. Back last year, I got to review the Vertagear PL6800 gaming chair, and was really pleased with it, but being a Gadgeteer, I’m always looking to try something new. Enter the DXRacer Master series gaming chair XL. Now, I’m not a PC gamer much anymore. Mostly, I’m a console guy, so my use of this chair is for my work-from-home job. Is it a worthy replacement? Will it be easy on my tired, old body? Let’s find out.
What is it?
The DXRacer Master is a chair. What more do you want? Just kidding. The DXRacer Master Series XL is an ergonomic gaming/office chair designed for exceptional comfort and support for prolonged sitting.
What’s in the box?
- DXRacer backrest
- DXRacer seat with armrests
- Base
- Casters
- Multifunction tilt mechanism
- Hydraulic piston
- Piston covers
- Tilt handles
- Allen wrench
Hardware specs
Design and features
The DXRacer Master series gaming chair Black XL comes loaded with a ton of features that are pretty much expected when it comes to chairs of this caliber.
The integrated lumbar is certainly appreciated. It’s much nicer to be able to dial that into your specific needs rather than have some included pillow that may or not work for you. Those always seem like an afterthought even though they’re listed as a feature. Do yourself a favor and stay away from chairs with them. There’s also the integrated sliding headrest. Typically, these don’t ever really fall in the right spot for me to use. In fact, the included pillow that came with the Vertagear I reviewed was the first ever to feel right. With that said, the DXRacer integrated headrest actually does work for me. Color me surprised. It slides up and down with nice, positive clicks and stays where you put it. The Vertagear pillow had an elastic strap. Take that for what you will.
The reclining backrest is definitely nice to have. I’ve had other chairs where I could never get the angle of the back to a spot where it was truly comfortable, and since it reclines back to 135 degrees, I may or may not have stretched out and dozed off during those neverending Teams calls I have throughout my workday. We’ll just chalk that up to plausible deniability.
The DXRacer Master’s hinges and recliner handle feel sturdy with no slop that I’ve experienced. My son has had a chair in the past where the reclining handle with a lot of play in it and the back didn’t lock into position reliably. Sometimes it would just pop into the next reclined position. Not so here. The backrest locks solidly into place. The 4D armrests are great since you can slide them forward and back, in and out, and angle them to get them into just the right position.
DXRacer states their chairs have a steel frame and here it is on display at the bottom of the seat. And the aluminum base is the beefiest I’ve seen.
The included casters are bigger than most I’ve seen with other chairs,
and wider too.
For a little more information, I’ve included this which comes directly from DXRacer showing what’s used to construct this chair.
Setup
Putting the DXRacer Master series gaming chair XL together was a breeze. They included great instructions and in a large format. No squinting required.
The majority of the chair is already assembled. The most assembling you have to do is on the base and multifunction tilt. DXRacer has done a great job of packing these parts. They’re in their own boxes instead of thrown in the box in a bag. It’s pretty clear this box is for the tilt and hydraulics.
While the casters are here.
Performance
Let me tell you, I was a bit underwhelmed when I first sat in the DXRacer Master chair. Man, it was hard. To be fair, the day it was delivered, we were having pretty cool weather. So, I believe the cold-cure foam was affected by that, kind of like a memory foam pillow. If it gets cold, the pillow gets hard as a rock. Since then, the foam did soften up and become more comfortable. I will not say it’s as soft and squishy as the other chair I reviewed, but I did find that my arthritic hips seem to do much better when using the DXRacer Master series chair. I also think the chair just needed a little break in time because now I love the chair.
One concern I had was with the Microfiber leatherette upholstery. I was worried it would be hot and not breathe very well, but that’s not the case. As you can see, breathability isn’t an issue. I’ve also had no issue with the chair causing me to sweat either.
What I like
- Built like a tank for big guys like me
- Easy to assemble
- Comfortable once the foam warmed up
What I’d change
- Nothing comes to mind
Final thoughts
I didn’t expect to like the DXRacer Master chair more than the previous one I reviewed, but ultimately I do. It is more rigid, but my back and hips appreciate it. The DXRacer Master series gaming chair isn’t cheap, but if you work from home, you need to invest in a good chair. In my opinion, what you spend on this chair is well worth it. I can’t speak to its longevity, I’ve only had it a month, but considering the materials used and how it’s built, I think it’ll last longer than any other chair I’ve used.
Price: $549.00
Where to buy: DXRacer (Save 5% with coupon code: GADGETEER) and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by DXRacer
