Mavix M9 gaming chair review

The Mavix M9 is so damned close to being my perfect gaming chair. It's hugely expensive at $999.99, but is closer to a Herman Miller-style task chair than the sort of gaming seat that looks like it's been ripped out of a battered old Subaru Impreza. And it's also one of the most supportive chairs I've ever parked my rear in.

If the past year has taught me anything it's that ergonomics is a vital part of my home PC setup. And that shaking hands is just gross, obvs. But if you're going to be sat at your machine for many hours a day then you need to make sure your seat is embodying the spirit of the hippocratic oath: Do no harm.

And there is many a gaming chair available today that cares more for its own aesthetics than your personal well-being. Though there are a bunch of streamers and pro gamers adorning the product page, sitting in cool, non-ergonomic poses around the Mavix M9, this is a chair that actually feels like it's looking after you.

The most obvious thing to say about the M9 is that it is not sporting that played-out racing seat design, and therefore doesn't take up the same amount of space as those hulking great chairs. I mean, seriously, have you seen the AndaSeat Kaiser 2? That looks like a chair that would wear you.

The Mavix M9, however, is a far more slight gaming chair, using tensile fabric, rather than foam padding, to offer support for your spine. It shows that you don't need to be cocooned in a throne of foam to be comfortable when sat at your PC. In fact the seat itself is the only padded section of the chair, and that is relatively thin too. Not that it's uncomfortable at all; it's firm and has just enough give in it that it doesn't feel like you're sinking into it. It's also wide, and doesn't have the bucket seat sides that pressure your legs into squeezing together. 

Although I have made some noises about the importance of ergonomic positioning, I'm not averse to occasionally sitting cross-legged on my chair, and the Mavix M9's broad seat allows me to do that.

But when you are sitting properly, with feet on the ground and the seat setup for your own shape and size, it seems to always offer support in just the right places. 

The lumbar support is probably the most important piece of the puzzle for me, and the one that separates it from my old chair with its floating lumbar cushion. I was forever having to adjust my old lumbar cushion to ensure it was giving the illusion of spinal support in the right place, but with the Mavix design it's always right there where it needs to be.

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It's the same situation with the headrest. I've given up on many a neck pillow because they never seem to sit right with me, but the almost endlessly adjustable headrest on the M9 can be positioned perfectly when you need to lean back.

There's a whole host of other adjustments you can make to tailor the Mavix M9 to your frame, such as the 4D armrests, seat positioning, backrest height, and extended recline.

Sure, you have to set the chair up to get the most out of its supportive design, but that's another place where the Mavix excels. Putting the chair itself together took no time at all, and I was easily able to do it on my lonesome too; the YouTube quickstart guide helped make short work of that. But it's the actual adjustment videos which really worked for me. 

It can often be a case of trial and error, figuring out exactly how you want your chair to be arranged, but the individual recommendations in the adjustment videos were surprisingly helpful in achieving full gaming chair nirvana.

So, why is it only close to being my perfect gaming chair? Because there is one thing that upsets me: Sometimes when I'm reclining in the chair, but not to its fullest extent, the mechanism slips and I'm jerked backwards, jolting me out of my reverie in a most unpleasant way. The first time it happened was a shock, the second time an annoyance, and now it's got to the point where I try not to recline anymore for fear of it happening.

Maybe it's just a fault in this sample, maybe it's the mechanism design itself, or maybe it's just because I'm a portly gentleman (read: fat lad) and the M9 cannot cope with the sheer weight of my presence. It is rated for folk up to 300 lbs, and while I have put on a lot of lockdown weight, I don't think I'm quite there yet. But still, over the past few months of constant use it has taken some of the shine off what is otherwise a beacon of almost gaming chair perfection. 

The good news on that front, however, is that Mavix ships its chairs with an unprecedented 12 year warranty. The moving parts and materials are covered for five years, with the company covering the full costs of shipping and replacement for the first two years, after that the customer has to deal with the shipping costs.

Sure, that pricing is tough to swallow, but it must be said that the Logitech x Herman Miller Aeron chair does cost a touch more. Though Mavix does also make its M7 and M5 chairs too, with lower sticker prices at $777.77 and $555.55 respectively. Creative pricing, eh? 

The cheaper chairs (relatively speaking, of course) use slightly different materials, have less of a pronounced recline, and different wheels too. Though they all share the same basic, smart design, and all those wheels have brakes on them too which are a lifesaver on a hardwood floor.

While the occasional gear slip does frustrate on occasions, that doesn't change the fact that this is still the most comfortable and supportive gaming chair I've used. It looks great in the home, but is also far less obtrusive than the hulking beasts of seats I've had in the past. It's not quite the perfect gaming chair, but it is a really, really, really good one.