X-Chair X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair review: The definition of luxury, but is it worth it? (2024)

A good, reliable, ergonomic chair can be extremely expensive, but it's a worthwhile investment for those who need to sit in one place for long periods of time. Proper lumbar and neck support can be invaluable, but it's often not cheap. One of the most luxurious brands for those seeking a new chair is X-Chair, which designs a line of leather and mesh chairs with tons of adjustability, excellent comfort, and even some innovative tech.

X-Chair sent me its top-of-the-line X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair to review, and it replaced my trusty Secretlab Titan Evo (2022) as my primary chair. The X-Tech Ultimate also costs nearly four times that of the Titan Evo from $1,899 at X-Chair, so I had to evaluate if it's really worth paying that price. If you work from home or game for hours on end and have the money to invest, I say it is — but the chair isn't perfect, with some unrefined elements that bely the otherwise premium fit and finish.

X-Tech Ultimate review: Pricing and specifications

Pricing highlights

• The X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair starts at $1,899 and caps out at $2,223 with all the options.
• You have six different patterns from which to choose, as well as options for a built-in massager and upgraded armrests.
• X-Chair also sells several more affordable models, including the downgraded X4 Leather Executive Chair that starts at $1,199.

X-Chair makes a wide variety of different office chairs, and none of them can be considered cheap when prices start from $299 at X-Chair. Even by luxury chair standards, though, the X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair is a pricey piece of furniture. This premium chair combines the best of X-Chair's design, features, and build quality to create the most comfortable and ergonomic experience.

With options like a Memory Foam cushion and more advanced wheels coming standard, it's no wonder the X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair starts from $1,899 at X-Chair, and rises all the way to a staggering $2,223 at X-Chair if you max out all the options. That's a massive investment to make in the wellbeing of your spine, but you at least get to choose from six different patterns and three different wheel colors to make your chair your own.

If you'd still like a very premium executive office chair that's not quite as luxurious as this one, the X-Chair X4 Leather Executive Chair starts from $1,199 at X-Chair and is a lot like the X-Chair X-Tech Executive Chair we reviewed a few years ago. You can also consider the Razer Fujin Pro for $1,049 at Razer for an alternative mesh chair, or the Razer Iskur V2 and its more traditional gaming chair design (with excellent lumbar support) for $649 at Razer. Finally, you can always consider the iconic Secretlab TITAN Evo (2022) from $549 at Secretlab.

• Back to the top ⤴

X-Tech Ultimate review: The good

The pros highlights

• The X-Tech Ultimate is attractive and is built extremely well, giving me confidence it would last for many years.
• It's also a very comfortable chair, with excellent ergonomics, lumbar support, and temperature management.
• The ELEMAX unit can also make an actual difference, cooling, heating, or massaging your lower back.

For around $2,000, you'd expect the X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair to be a phenomenal product. Fortunately, X-Chair delivers here. This is a heavy chair, coming in at around 60lbs when it's all assembled, with a combination of metal, high-quality plastic, leather, mesh fabric, and foam comprising its many parts. It looks like you'd expect an executive office chair to look, rather than a gaming chair, but X-Chair does offer a variety of attractive designs in its configurator.

Setup up for the X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair is almost seamless. Instructions were clear and everything made sense, but it was extremely finicky setting the hydraulics to adjust the seat height. Once everything is set up, you'll have to take some time to configure everything to you; this may take a while, since the X-Tech Ultimate includes adjustable seat height, seat depth, back depth, headrest height, headset angle, armrest height, armrest angle, and rocking strength.

One thing you won't have to adjust is the lumbar support. Once the back is set to the correct height, X-Chair's dynamic lumbar takes over to always ensure your back is properly and comfortably supported. This works well, and combines with the spacious, cool Memory Foam seat to make for a very comfortable seating experience. Say goodbye to sore butts, backs, and necks when you use this seat.

This chair is frankly miles more comfortable and built significantly better than the Secretlab TITAN Evo I used for years before. The X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair also has another trick up its sleeve, though: the ELEMAX add-on. This chunky fabric pad slots behind the lumbar support and features a variety of buttons and a DC charging port. It's an all-in-one unit that can cool, heat, or massage your lower back off a built-in battery pack.

I was skeptical about the usefulness of this at first, but now I'm completely sold. The fans are genuinely nice for preventing my back from getting too hot or sweaty, and the massager (while subtle) does feel great. You'll have to charge the ELEMAX every now and then, which is a bit inconvenient, but this is a worthwhile add-on that is worth the extra $150.

• Back to the top ⤴

X-Tech Ultimate review: The bad

The cons highlights

• The X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair has several minor flaws, like the FS Wheels getting caught every now and then.
• The optional 360-degrees armrests are also too easily moved and have no way to be locked in place.
• Finally, it's far too easy to reset the back height by going a little too far, and it doesn't feel like there's quite enough adjustment here.

It's easy to point to price as being a major con, but the quality and comfort of the X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair justify that price tag. This chair isn't perfect, however, as I have several minor complaints. For one, the FS Wheels do feel very smooth and premium, but can sometimes get stuck when changing directions, requiring extra effort to move. The ELEMAX unit can be a little finicky to use by touch alone, too, with its buttons being hard to press at times.

The optional 360-degrees armrests are indeed highly adjustable, but there's unfortunately no way to lock the armrests in place. That means I regularly abruptly moved the armrests, once even causing my arm to slip off entirely. It's by far the most frustrating aspect of this chair, and it may be worth sticking with the regular armrests instead.

Finally, while the seat is large and spacious, I don't feel as if the back has quite enough adjustment. I'm exactly 6-feet tall, and the highest setting is only just barely large enough to be comfortable. Furthermore, it's far too easy to completely reset the back height — go a centimeter beyond the ten inches of adjustability and the back disconnects and slides down to the bottom, with no way to lock it at a specific height. I even accidentally reset the back height just by adjusting myself in the chair.

• Back to the top ⤴

X-Tech Ultimate review: Final thoughts

You should buy this if ...

✅You work from home or game for hours at a time

If you're sitting down a lot, it's vital that you have good back support to prevent strain and injuries over time. The X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair is expensive, but it's an investment in your health and comfort, and is made for those who need to stay seated for hours at a time.

✅You want a chair that can warm, cool, and massage you

The X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair is unique in that it has an optional add-on that can provide heating when it's cold, cooling when it's warm, and massaging when your lower back is sore. If that's valuable to you, there aren't many chairs that offer such luxury.

You should not buy this if ...

❌You're shopping on a strict budget

A decent chair is always going to be pricey, but the X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair takes that to the next level. You're looking at spending around $2,000 for this chair, when you can get an alternative chair with almost as good ergonomics for half that price. Those on a strict budget have options.

When I bought my Secretlab TITAN Evo for around $600, I never expected that I'd one day use a chair that cost over three times that. The TITAN Evo served me very well for several years, but the X-Chair X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair is built better, is more ergonomic, has greater adjustability, and can help keep me comfortable whether it's hot or freezing in my office.

Not everyone will need to spend so much to get a great chair, though. Companies like Secretlab, Razer, and Vertagear all make excellent products that cost significantly less than the X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair, and many workers and gamers will be very happy with one of the best gaming chairs instead. For those that sit for hours on end day after day, however, an awesome chair with perfect lumbar support is like a great mattress — it's absolutely worth spending more to get the best you can, because it'll pay off in the long run.

The X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair isn't perfect, as I had some minor criticisms, but overall it's still a significant upgrade over the TITAN Evo and has greatly helped me stay comfortable and pain-free no matter how much time I spend at the desk. You can configure your own X-Chair X-Tech Ultimate Executive Chair from $1,899 at X-Chair, or save some cash with the more affordable (and still great) X-Chair X4 Leather Executive Chair from $1,199 at X-Chair.

• Back to the top ⤴