Introduction
Chairs are nowadays offered by every brand under the guise of ‘gaming chairs’. Surely AKRacing is a fairly well-known one in this market.
In my opinion, the Master Premium is one of the nicer chairs, in this review I go deeper into this chair.
Specifications
Of course, we start with the specifications of the Master Premium:
Materials
Frame Material: Metal
Frame Coating: Anti-corrosive black paint
Chair Cover Material: Premium PU leather on the front and back
Foam Type: High-Density Mould Shaping Foam
Foam Density: 55 kg/m³ (seat) 50 kg/m³ (back)
Base Type: High-tensile aluminum base
Features
Adjustable Armrests: 4D
Mechanism Type: Advanced Mechanism
Adjustable Tilt Angle: 3-18°
Tilt Lock: Yes
Tilt Angle Lock: Yes
Recline angle: 180°
Gas Lift Class: Class 4 gas lift
Adjustable Back Angle: Yes
Adjustable Lumbar Cushion: Yes
Adjustable Headrest: Yes
Meets/Exceeds ANSI/BIFMA Standards: Yes
Warranty Length: 5/10 years
The dimensions are as follows:
Unpacking
From AKRacing I received two chairs:
– AKRacing Core LX Plus
– AKRacing Master Premium
In this review, we will, of course, take a closer look at the Master Premium.
The Master Premium has a carbon look which makes it look a bit tougher. In addition, the fabric finish in the middle is very neat.
The rear is not very exciting. The open holes allow the back cushion to be attached to the chair.
The AKRacing Master Premium has a nice base in my opinion. The steel look with the plastic covers – right where you would put your shoes – gives a nice contrast.
In addition, with the Master Premium, more ‘effort’ has been put into the wheels than what is normally done with such a chair.
AKRacing supplies the following with the Core LX plus;
– manual,
– gloves,
– gas spring and associated covers,
– mechanical system for the seat,
– wheels,
– screws and Allen Key
AKRacing supplies pretty fine gloves with the chair. This ensures that your fingers do not get dirty, for example by grease/lubrication from the gas spring or other parts. The times that my hands got dirty by setting up a chair can also be counted on one hand… 😛
The neck cushion is in my opinion fine in terms of thickness. The back cushion could be a little harder as far as I am concerned.
Should the cushion not be ‘firm’ enough, it can still be padded or reduced. That gives some extra freedom of movement.
What is striking about the PU leather of the chair and backrest is that it feels very soft yet firm. This is much stiffer on the chairs from Noblechairs. AKRacing has in my opinion a better PU leather with which they upholster the seats than the other manufacturers.
As usual with the other chairs, this chair is also set up with a steel frame – for extra strength.
Nowadays AKRacing no longer supplies the 4 screws for the mechanical part separately in a plastic package, but simply screwed into the frame. So, a user has to loosen and tighten the screws himself to tighten the part.
Perhaps a bit of a superfluous addition, but this still saves quite a bit in additional packaging material – and therefore less unnecessary plastic.
The great thing about the AKRacing Master Premium is that it has 3 levers. One to raise/lower the seat (on the right), one to turn the tilt mechanism on/off and even lock it in place if you’re already leaning back, and one to adjust the backrest. It is very nice to have a lever to lock/unlock the chair in a tilting mechanism. I often lock the seat when I play a racing game and lean back – or even now while writing a review.
Previously, AKRacing supplied the extra screws for the base/gas spring mechanism and backrest in separate ‘extra’ plastic packaging. Nowadays, they screw these screws in already a little bit, so you only have to loosen and tighten them yourself (tools are included). I think that’s a great solution – it saves extra plastic/packaging material.
What I find quite extraordinary is that both the Master Premium and the Core LX Plus can lay pretty flat. After all, you are not used to tilting that far back in a chair. I even lay down on the chair in this position, and could … yes! Lifting my legs off the ground. I didn’t fall back – which is quite a scary one.
Folding up the chair also ensures that it takes up ‘little’ space – as far as possible, of course.
One tip, do lock the mechanism. The seat is at 180 degrees and once again not locking that mechanism does cause you to ‘fly’ backward.
I am a huge fan of being able to detach the cushion and move it higher/lower. There are also chairs for sale on which the cushion cannot be removed, and that limits the possibilities.
The 4D armrests can swivel up/down, forward/backward, and inward/outward.
There are no differences in the finish between the AKRacing Master Premium and the AKRacing Core LX Plus. Both chairs are well-finished. The difference between the Core is that it is for the small to medium fit. The LX Plus is for the medium to larger fit.
Even though the Core LX Plus can carry heavier users, the backrest is a bit thinner than that of the Master Premium. And yet the Core LX Plus is very sturdy.
I like the Master Premium better. But… that may be a matter of feeling! 🙂
Use
The AKRacing Master Premium is in my opinion more for the small to medium size. My wife who is a bit shorter than me, about 165cm, fits perfectly in the chair. Her literal words; this is a great chair, I can work on this!
According to AKRacing, it does involve the following characteristics.
Height: 167-200 cm
Weight: 65-125 kg
Still, despite these dimensions and options in terms of weight, the Master Premium is in my opinion for a petite/slender person. Not that I’m a plus-size model, but I noticed that my shoulders were pushed forward a lot in this chair.
As said before, my wife is a huge fan of this chair. She thinks this one is the best of all the chairs I’ve been able to review. And that may well be true. The memory foam cushion molds well to the body – which is also the case with the Core LX Plus.
The pillow for the neck is perfect, so you can recline/relax in the chair. The back cushion is, unfortunately ‘just’ too soft for me. When you hang backward (for example, when gaming/watching a movie) it eventually compresses to such an extent that it has almost no added value for the lower back. A slightly harder cushion could have absorbed this. However, not everyone feels like having a pillow you normally sleep on in his/her lower back.
The seat is very nice. I used to have with the ProX that the seat was a bit harder, but in this case, I am very satisfied. I also don’t tend to get up while working because the seat slightly transforms into a bean bag.
Conclusion
One of the advantages of this chair is that it ‘only’ costs about 330 euros. I don’t think that’s very expensive for such a chair. The chair is sturdy, the material feels good/sturdy and in addition, it can carry quite a bit of weight.
The cushions are ‘nicely’ sprung so you don’t get the feeling at all that you are sitting on a wooden chair.
In addition, I think the material is better than that of the other chairs. The PU leather feels better on this chair than it does on a Noblechairs Epic. It’s much stiffer there. Here it feels a bit more flexible but also thicker.
A good chair is important to me. If it is not just for gaming, but also for a day’s work, for example, then a good investment is recommended. Also for the preservation of your back, because of the position, you sit in all day.
I can work a day in such a chair without any problems, without my back bothering me. The chair dissipates the heat well and is very comfortable. The cushions are also almost perfect, only the back cushion could be ‘just’ a little harder.
Incidentally, it is a big plus that the head cushion can also be adjusted in height (or even removed), whereas many chairs can automatically only have the head cushion in one place because it slopes down, the model of the AKRacing Master Premium is straighter at the top, the cushion can easily be moved in height and also stays put!
The chair can also be easily and properly adjusted and adjusted to your liking. The 4D armrest can be moved forwards/backward, more outwards, or even more inwards. In addition, it can also be rotated inward or outward (obviously also upward and downward).
The lever on the right-hand side under the seat also ensures that the correct height can be selected. The second lever at the height of the seat ensures that the backrest can be adjusted. The third lever (left side under the seat) again secures or loosens the tilting mechanism. And the latter is, in my opinion, a nice addition!
In addition, the chair comes with a 5-year warranty on the components and the PU leather, which is quite remarkable. This shows that they stand behind their quality! And it shows! 🙂
The AKRacing Master Premium is a premium chair for a reasonable basic price. And that deserves the full 5 stars in my opinion, especially considering what you get in return. A beautifully finished and sturdy chair. What more could you want?
