Mavix premium chair compare — The M4, M9, and the surprising similarities therein

Mavix has become one of my go-to companies for high quality and comfortable chairs. Sure, most of their chairs don’t have the “gamer” look, but frankly, very few companies are able to offer much on that front anyway. Entirely too many companies make chairs that have the gamer look, but there aren’t many offering actual comfort features instead of merely aesthetics. The question that lingers, no matter who you choose for a chair, is what differentiates the top tier from the entry level? Surely it’s not just fancy lights and colors, right? We challenged Mavix to answer that question, and surprisingly they answered. Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the Mavix M4, their entry level chair, and the M9, their top of the line flagship model. We’ll also take a brief look at some of the Mavix chairs in between these two to further highlight the incremental differences, but for now let’s get the M4 and M9 in the ring so they can duke it out – ding ding!

As of 2024, Mavix is focusing on four chairs — the M4, M5, M7, and M9. (We’re not sure what happened to the M6 and M8 but we hope they’re ok, wherever they ended up). They also make a number of stationary and sit/stand desks, along with monitor mounts, filing cabinets, and accessories for the same. They also make the Elemax add-on for their chairs, adding air circulation, massage, heating, and cooling for their chair models, but we’ll get back to that in a bit. The point being, Mavix focuses almost exclusively on desks, chairs, and the accessories that make all of them comfortable and functional. As such, they don’t have 50 products – just a handful that they try to do well. As such, based on my previous reviews of Mavix chairs, and my understanding of their technology, I was expecting that the differences across the entire M chair line would be distinct enough to explain the difference between prices. Normally I hit pricing and warranty last, but this time we’re starting out with price and working backwards. The M9 will cost you $999, and the M4 is $444. Let’s dig into why.

Assembly:
Before we get rolling, I have a deep appreciation for the packaging method Mavix chooses for their chairs. It’s not new, as we saw it in previous Mavix chairs we’ve reviewed, but both the M4 and the M9 use a well-marked blister pack for their bolts and the included Allen wrench (with a T-style handle, which I also appreciate). It makes it very easy to see which part goes where, tucked neatly next to the assembly instructions.

The M4 and the M9 are very similar in their assembly, and both are incredibly easy to put together. These are chairs, not the engine on the F35, so you should have it ready to use about 15 minutes after you free it from the cardboard. You’ll want to get your reps in, though – the M4 weighs in at 37 pounds, and the M9 is 60 pounds. We’ll touch on the why as we go, but already there’s obviously a difference.

Start by unpacking all of your items from the box, separating them out so you can start assembly. Flipping over the base, you’ll put in the included wheels. The M4 has the traditional all-plastic ones that I’ve recommended you replace in literally every chair review I’ve ever done. The M9 on the hand has a rubber caster wheel that looks very much like the ones I’d recommend from Amazon. Here, they are keyed to the color you’ve selected for the finish on your chair, so they also serve as a great accent piece. These wheels will work on any surface, so if you have carpet in your office space, you’ll be set to roll. Both have the ability to lock, though the locks on the M9 are far heavier duty than the lil guys on the M4.

With the wheels pushed into the base, you’ll flip it over and push in the gas lift cylinder. Thankfully the base of the chair doesn’t require any assembly, so you’ll merely flip the base over and drop it into the obvious port. Flip it right side up, and you’ll be able to attach the back. There’s a bracket on the base of the chair, and you’ll put the backrest bracket into it, dropping a handful of heavy duty screws in to secure it. It’s easy enough to do it without any help. You’ll attach the headrest in a similar fashion. It took me longer to write these paragraphs than it will to do the assembly work.

Chair Material:
Each one of the chairs Mavix makes uses a different material, and each of them have progressively more impressive features. I’ve had the opportunity to sample previous versions of most of the line Mavix has made, but I’m focused on the two 2024 versions in front of me. That said, let’s at least look at the whole spectrum.

The M4 has a 19.5” seat. The fabric under it is a flexible and breathable mesh that Mavix calls Advanced Tensile Recovery (A.T.R.) Fabric. How confident is Mavix in it? So much so that they declared “Say goodbye to swamp-ass”, so that’s a thing. The surface has pinholes throughout which allows your “swamp-ass” to breathe through to the material below it. Also called “spacer mesh”, this is similar to the seat covers you’d find on a car, albeit with a lot more air circulation. The lumbar, upper back, and head rest on the M4 are all this A.T.R. mesh material as well, though without the cushion. Thankfully it has a solid amount of give to it, conforming to your back, no matter what sort of pretzel you twist yourself into while you sit.

The M5 expands out the seat a bit, moving to a 20.5” seat size for a bit more room. Like the M4, the remainder of the chair is the flexible A.T.R. mesh.

Bumping up to the M7, Mavix continues to provide just a bit more space for your tail, moving up to a 21” seat, but with a bit more width to it. We also see our first change in material as the lumbar cushion and headrest is now wrapped in a thermoplastic polymer (commonly called “PU leather” or “faux leather”). It looks, and for the most part, feels like real leather, though on a long enough timeline it can crack and split. Protip: Mink oil rubbed on once every six months prevents this issue, in my experience. The same cooling foam lies underneath the PU leather cushions to ensure they stay cool, despite being more sealed than the mesh solution.

The M9 is the flagship chair for Mavix. It has every advanced feature they’ve built, with all the bells and whistles. The seat is 22” and almost again as wide. The lumbar uses Mavix A.T.R. Mesh to keep air flowing to where you’ll likely be warmest, but all of the other surfaces are covered in a new material called M-Breeze. This material is a gel polymer with venting throughout from a company called Brisa. I could leave it at that but this material is way too cool not to dig in a little deeper. Softer than standard PU leather, this stuff is made from recycled polyester fibers that allows air to flow through. It doesn’t contain any added PFAS, PVC, plasticizers, or formaldehyde as you might find in some PU leathers, but does utilize upwards of nine recycled plastic bottles per yard. In terms of durability it can resist liquids pooled directly on it for over 16 WEEKS, and anything that does manage to get on it and stick, can be cleaned with bleach in a 1:5 bleach to water solution. In short, it’s more durable than cloth, PU leather, leather, or anything else a manufacturer might want to use to make a chair, and somehow despite all this, comes out soft to the touch. So, yes, it’ll repel your nasty Cheeto fingers.

Underneath this new M-Breeze skin lies woven tensile that is effectively braided multiple ways to maximize strength and durability. Under that is contoured cooling gel memory foam, segmented in small squares to ensure it won’t crack or split as it shifts under your butt. I have a pillow that I use for my migraines that has similar technologies in it, and it’s downright cold to the touch, conforms to my head, and has lasted for years. It was also mighty expensive, so I can at least understand where some of the price difference between the M4 and the M9 comes from. Having that through nearly every surface on this chair makes it insanely comfortable – far more than I expected.

Let’s Talk Adjustments
I was surprised to see that lumbar support is a standard feature. On both the M4 and M9 you’ll find a “Dynamic Variable Lumbar” adjustment bar, or DVL. This device allows the lumbar support to automatically adjust to your lower back. Instead of just locking into position, it can move forward or back on a pivot, riding on your back to ensure you’ve always got support.

When I first started using the DVL, I wasn’t sure if I’d actually like it. I felt like it was always going to be out of position as I expected it to move when I stood up. It took some getting used to, as my brain kept expecting it to be tucked away for my back to meet as I sat down. Once I adapted to essentially “pushing” the support with my lower back, I really appreciated the constant pressure. After a long day, that push on my lower back was like putting on a new pair of socks.

Obviously not everyone is the same height, so adjusting for height is important. Nearly every chair has an adjustment lever to raise and lower the chair to ensure your feet can stay flat on the ground, and the M4 and M9 are no exception. Both have levers to adjust the chair up and down, but the M9 also has a paddle to adjust the seat forward and backward. If you’ve ever sat in a chair and felt your legs get tingly, it’s possible that you’ve got too much contact with the front of the seat. This bar will allow you to slide the seat forward or backward so it doesn’t push on the back of your legs – something I’ve rarely seen on a chair.

The M4 and M9 can both recline, with the latter being able to go far further than I anticipated. I don’t have a compass to tell me how far the M4 can recline, but it’s a solid amount, comparable with most chairs. Enough to tilt back, if not relax and unwind completely. The M9 on the other hand is full on stretch-out-and-take-a-nap level of recline. Dubbed “Revolve Extended Recline Technology” (I’m gonna call it RERT for fun), this mechanism allows the chair to recline all the way out to 127 degrees. I’ve seen the more traditional “gaming chairs” recline all the way out to nearly 180 degrees, but I’ve never seen a more ergonomic chair pull off that trick, making the M9 unique among its peers. I imagine a great deal of engineering goes into controlling the center of gravity so you don’t tip over, but yes – you can tilt this back and take a nap without flipping it over. I tested this by tilting it back and then actively trying to flip it backwards. Despite fairly aggressive efforts, the wheels never left the ground – it’s stable.

Both chairs feature adjustable headrests. They can slide up or down to help you get it aligned (some folks prefer it behind their neck, others prefer their head rests squarely in the center), and you can pivot it forward or backward for comfort. In the case of the M9 it’s covered with the aforementioned M-Breeze skin, whereas the M4 is the mesh used throughout. Both are comfortable, though the M9’s cooling tech inside keeps your head cool as an added bonus.

FS360 – Arm Rests Transformed
Adjustable armrests are important for the same reason as the chair height adjustment. Your arms should be able to rest at the elbow comfortably. The M4 allows for this with an oversized height adjustment button on the arms of the chair. The M9 ups the ante with four-way armrests. Frequently called “4D armrests” despite being unable to do anything with space and time, the armrests can turn left and right, move up and down, and slide forward and backward. These are also a bit longer, so they provide more support under your forearms, with a bit of a contour to account for how your arms will naturally rest. That isn’t to say that the M4 is in any way uncomfortable, it just means you’ll need to be ok with where they sit, or you’ll need to pick up the upgraded armrests a la carte – something Mavix offers on their accessories page. There you can pick up the FS360 arm rests which can swivel literally all the way around, something I’ve never seen on any chair! Who cares if you can spin around the arm rest piece, right? Well, not so fast – these can do way more than that one trick.

The arms on any other chair are stationary, with the pillar portion staying directly in line with the chair where it’s attached. These on the other hand can “wing” out in a half circle, suddenly becoming a LOT wider. I thought that just might be useful for folks who may be on the heavier side, but after using it for a bit, I found that I liked having them flared like you see below. It’s comfortable, allowing me to lean off my hip on one side or the other and still remain comfortably on the arm rests. This wasn’t something I expected to like as much as I do, but they were a welcome surprise.

Weight:
Both chairs can hold 275 pounds comfortably, but the differences in materials is huge. The M4 weighs in at 37 pounds, fully assembled, where the M9 is a full 60 pounds. The skate wheel style casters make moving the chair a breeze, but I’m not going to be hauling the M9 up and down stairs frequently, that’s for sure.

All about that Elemax:
No matter what Mavix chair you choose, there’s an optional device called Elemax that you might want to look into. Swapping into your lumbar position, you can drop in an Elemax lumbar support add-on. This device has two internal fans to cool you with, a heater to raise the temperature if you are sore or need to loosen up (up to 131 degrees Fahrenheit, in fact), two massage modes with two intensities, and can either provide a steady pulse, or a consistent vibration. This thing is absolutely magical.

On the device rear are three buttons with indicator lights, and a cannon plug, with the latter being used for charging. The button that looks like a target is used to turn on the device, as well as switching between constant or variable pulse vibrations to help loosen sore muscles. The button that looks like a set of stairs is your intensity button, effectively being low and high, despite the icon having three levels. The final button looks like wavy lines and that’s going to be used for toggling between heat and cooling.

Installing the Elemax is a breeze. Taking it out of the box I saw the two straps that seemingly would be obstructing airflow, but when in position, those straps aren’t in the way. The Elemax sits inside the aforementioned Dynamic Lumbar Support system, which is likely why that portion of the M9, for example, isn’t covered with the M-Breeze fabric. Once in place, an included plate goes over the unit, with small holes to ensure it can heat or cool as appropriate.

In practice, I really liked the heat from the Elemax. My lower back is, in a word, trashed. This extra bit of heat helped loosen it up a bit. When summer is here in full force, I have no doubt that the cooling function will come in handy as well. It’s a bit of an expense at $129, but the way it folds perfectly into every chair Mavix makes is just good design. The fact that it had any positive effect on my otherwise-busted lower back is a miracle, making it a must-have for me going forward.

Competitors, Warranty, and Price:
It’d be disingenuous not to point out that there are other chairs out there to consider. Secret Lab makes a ton of them, as does Herman Miller, Razer with their Iskur, and then a laundry list of others. Other than the Herman Miller Embody (which, by the way, is $1995 MSRP) and the Razer Iskur, all of them have a common design aesthetic. They almost all look, and feel, like “gaming chairs”. Secret Labs has done a fantastic job of licensing the biggest and brightest IPs out there, and their chairs are solid. The Razer Iskur is certainly the top of the common design group as they use premium materials, but it is, at the end of the day, still the same design. Only a handful of folks out there are starting from something akin to a high end office chair as a starting point.
The warranty on both the M4 and M9 is a full five years for all of the moving parts and materials. For non-moving parts (e.g. the chair frame), the remainder of the chair carries a whopping twelve years of coverage. Time and again I’m impressed with companies like Mavix who stand behind their products in a big way. Cheap chairs have a 90 day warranty, a year, or with some outliers a three year warranty. Mavix is saying their stuff is built to last, and if something happens, they’ve got your back. I appreciate that.

Naturally, all of this quality comes at a price. The M4’s MSRP is $444 and the M9 is $999 (I see what you did there, Mavix). The Elemax is another $129. You can swap out the arm rests for the 360 versions for another $164. Suddenly, you are into either of these chairs for a good amount of money. Admittedly, I work from home, and I game at home, so I spend a great deal of time in my chair. As such, I can justify the expense as it helps with my back and leg pain. I didn’t expect to find the FS360 arm rests as comfortable as they are, but after a few weeks of use, I absolutely can justify the extra expense. Depending on your situation, you might not have the same thought. No matter which one you choose, however, I do highly recommend the Elemax – it’s magnificent no matter which chair you use. It’s just great that all of these options can be added after the fact, so you don’t have to make a final decision before you’ve even sat in the chair.

Comparison Conclusions
When you hit up a company and ask to compare their least and most expensive chairs, I’m sure there are a lot of nervous folks on the other end. Mavix didn’t bat an eye at my request. What I was surprised to find was that despite the price differential, there were so many main elements in common that the additions felt more like options on a brand new car rather than a completely different chair. Sure, there are a lot of similarities, especially from a distance, but that just speaks to the solid foundations on which both are built. Both chairs are remarkably comfortable, but the premium materials makes the M9 that much more durable and temperature regulating The wider seat on the M9 certainly made for comfortable seating when I folded my legs on my lap, half lotus style, but the average person will probably just cross one leg over the other, and the M4 does that just fine. I appreciate the skate wheels on the M9, but I’ve been swapping out wheels on chairs for as long as I’ve been reviewing them – it’s a $20 dollar add-on.

Lumbar support and the ability to integrate the Elemax on both is a welcome engineering choice. It means you can bump the M4’s comfort up a notch with a simple addition, or make the M9 even better.

There are a few elements that are unique to the M9 – namely the cooling memory gel seat and the Brisa cloth. Those are truly premium, and they are a massive step up from the M4. The mesh on the M4 is flexible and keeps the “swamp ass” (to use Mavix’s own vernacular) at bay pretty well. The reclining functions on the M9 are also unique, though it’s entirely up to you whether that’s a feature you need or not.

We’ve had the chance to review Mavix chairs for a few years now, and they consistently have come out on top. This comparison did nothing to dissuade me from that position. Even their lowest cost chair is better than many chairs at nearly twice the price. The M9 takes that excellent foundation and pushes the quality and comfort to the absolute top. I’ve been maining a Mavix chair for years at this point, but it’s time for a change…to another Mavix chair!

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