In the world of office chairs, there are tons, and tons, and tons of options these days, and Sihoo, a brand that has quite a few options itself, now offers the M56C, which we’ve had the pleasure of testing out these past 10-12 days to see how it stacks up to the rigors of daily work sitting in front of a computer. Sihoo might not be a brand you’re familiar with, and if that’s the case, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you learn about this brand and the chairs it offers. Sihoo is a fast-growing ergonomic furniture brand focused on delivering comfort, support, and affordability for office and home workers alike. Most of Sihoo’s office chairs (it also offers two gaming chair options) are fairly affordable, and that’s part of the company’s appeal. It offers affordable chairs that are ergonomic and designed to keep you comfortable throughout the day. All without making your wallet hate you.
The Sihoo M56C is one of the more budget-friendly ergonomic chairs the company offers, and it’s potentially the one you want to be looking at if your main concern is cost, but you also don’t want to sacrifice your comfort for it. I’ve been sitting in this chair for several hours a day, every day for the past 10 days or so, for work to see how it performs on a daily basis. This also included some game time after work. Normally, the M56C is priced at $219.99, so already it’s set at a pretty good price point. However, Sihoo is offering a special discount for Android Headlines readers, and you can bring the price down to $169.99 if you enter the code M56CDL at checkout. That’s lower than the company’s current Independence Day sale, which takes the price down to $189.99. Is the M56C worth your money? Let’s dive into this review and take a closer look at the chair and all of its features, so you can better decide if this is a chair you want to invest in.
Sihoo M56C Ultimate Review: Hardware and Design
Design-wise, the Sihoo M56C looks like a stylish, ergonomic office chair that any company would be proud to use in their offices. On the same token, if you work from home and are looking for an economical chair option that still looks nice, the Sihoo M56C might be what you’re looking for. I’ve always enjoyed the look of office chairs that were designed to be more ergonomic because they simply look a little cooler. Of course, these designs aren’t just all form; they serve a functional purpose. It’s no different for the Sihoo M56C.
When it comes to the design, the Sihoo M56C features a mesh back and headrest. It uses the same mesh material for the adaptive lumbar support system that sits just below the main backrest. The seat is not mesh, and is instead a cotton seat cushion with a wide W shape that allows for comfortable seating that doesn’t make you feel constricted. It’s less breathable than mesh, but it seems to regulate heat well, and it feels pretty comfortable to the touch.
The chair features two arms that you can adjust the height of. It also has a lever on the side for adjusting the height, and there’s a single lock position for leaning back at a maximum tilt angle of 125 degrees. The chair is mostly made of polypropylene, specifically the back and headrest frames. Meanwhile, the base is made of stainless steel and premium nylon. The chair also comes with metal hardware for construction. The Sihoo M56C does not come fully assembled, which means you have to put it together. That being said, it comes with everything you need for assembly, including the tools. It also comes in a relatively small box, so it doesn’t take up a lot of space, and everything was well-packed. Overall, the Sihoo M56C feels well-made, especially for its price, and it’s designed well so it looks as stylish as it is comfortable.
Sihoo M56C Ultimate Review: Features
The Sihoo M56C has quite a few features worth mentioning, but I want to focus on my two favorite features first: The headrest and the adaptive lumbar support. I was particularly fond of the headrest because my normal everyday chair doesn’t have a headrest, and I have missed having one for when I lean back. This has made using the M56C more enjoyable because I can comfortably lean back when watching videos or just taking a quick break, and it’s really nice to have that support for my head and neck. As for the adaptive lumbar support, it helps to ensure my lower back is properly supported during longer sessions where I’m sitting at my desk, whether it’s for work or play. The mesh on both parts of the chair is quite comfortable and a lot more breathable than I was anticipating. Seeing as we’re going into the Summer, more breathability is a good thing, and the mesh has kept me from sweating, even during the low to mid-90s temperatures we had for a couple of days in the past two weeks.
In addition to the headrest and lumbar support, the back has a nice breathability as well because it uses the same mesh. While the M56C doesn’t have a range of locking tilt angles, it does have a single tilt angle for leaning back. I mostly used this when I wanted to take a quick 5-minute break, and it’s a locked recline, so it’s not based on tension. You may or may not prefer this, but I’ve always liked having a locking tilt.
As for the arms, you can adjust these up or down so they meet the right height for you and the desk you’re using. The arms don’t allow for adjustment of the width, and you can’t adjust them forward or backward. Sihoo does offer chairs that have these features, however, and they’re all relatively affordable, just like the M56C. I was pleasantly surprised by how the chair arms aren’t completely stiff like some chairs, so there was a little bit of cushioning for my arms during use. This helped a lot with comfort during longer days where I spent more time in the chair, and helped me avoid discomfort. There’s a little bit of give in the arms, too. This, paired with the soft-touch material that Sihoo used for the surface of the arm, is what really made them more comfortable. The arms also adjust to a maximum height of 8.5cm.
Sihoo M56C Ultimate Review: Comfort
When it comes to a chair you’ll be sitting in for several hours a day, several days a week, comfort is the absolute most important factor. I’ve used several different chairs over the years for work as well as my gaming habits, and they all have provided varying levels of comfort when being used for longer periods of time in a single sitting. The Sihoo M56C strikes a good balance between affordability and features without compromising on comfort, allowing me to sit in it for nearly 12 hours a day or more, several days a week.
Granted, I am getting up from time to time to walk around and stretch my arms and legs, but I think this is important to do, no matter what chair you use. As mentioned earlier, I think the most comfortable parts of the chair are the headrest and the dual-panel back. The headrest is very wide, and Sihoo has actually done a great job designing the headrest so that the top and bottom edges curve backward enough that your neck isn’t brushing up against hard plastic. The mesh is also wrapped around those edges almost entirely, so your head is always resting against the softer mesh. In addition to this, the ultra-wide nature of the headrest means full coverage even if your head and neck are a bit wider.
You can adjust the headrest tilt angle as well, and I definitely recommend doing this before you start to use the chair on a daily basis. This way, you might not have to ever adjust it again. However, this may depend on what you find comfortable when sitting upright and when leaning back. In my personal experience, I didn’t have to adjust the headrest at all once I found a good position for it. It was perfectly suitable both while sitting up straight and while leaning back. Your mileage may vary based on your height, though, so again, I highly recommend playing with this adjustment to find what works best for you.
Lumbar support that moves with you
Wondering about the lumbar support? Well, wonder no more. The lumbar support in this chair is dynamic and adaptive, moving with you to help keep your lower back supported throughout the work day. Or play day if you’re looking at this chair for your gaming setup.
In my experience, the elastic mesh on the lumbar support was great for that breathability, but also for maintaining a supportive layer for my lower back, so I didn’t feel strained and sore after 9 hours in this chair. What’s neat about the lumbar support system on the Sihoo M56C is that it not only tilts up and down, but from side to side as well. Unlike standard fixed lumbar systems, the M56C’s support tilts both vertically and horizontally, dynamically adjusting to your movements throughout the day.
So it truly does move with you every which way. I think that’s an important factor because our bodies aren’t rigid and they don’t move in strict up and down, left or right motions. They can twist and contort in various ways, and this lumbar support has done a good job of ensuring my lower back has something to lean against as I move throughout the day.
Ultrawide coverage really helps with the comfort level
Out of all the chairs I’ve sat in and tested over the past 5 years, not many have had great coverage with the lumbar and headrest. This is generally because they weren’t as wide, which left part of my back or neck unsupported if I shifted too much a certain way. I didn’t have that problem at all with the Sihoo M56C because all parts of this chair are designed to be ultrawide for enhanced comfort. This also helps with compatibility and should fit bigger people nicely as well.
For me, the ultrawide back, seat, lumbar support, and headrest allowed me to sit comfortably all day without feeling constricted. I sometimes like to sit where I have one foot up on the seat cushion, and that can be harder to do when you have a narrower cushion to work with. Luckily, the seat cushion on the M56C is quite wide, and I didn’t have to deal with my feet or legs knocking up against the sides of the arms or the rest of the chair. I know not everyone sits like this, but I do, and I tend to sit this way for an hour or two a couple of different times a day. So it was really refreshing to see that the Sihoo M56C didn’t impede this.
Sihoo M56C Ultimate Review: Build Quality
Sihoo takes pride in its work, and that becomes clear the moment you sit in one of its chairs because the build quality is pretty good. Considering the price of most of Sihoo’s chairs, you’re getting a pretty good value.
Upon opening the box and getting all the pieces laid out before putting the chair together, it was immediately noticeable that the build quality of the M56C was going to be good. Although you have to put together the chair and it doesn’t come assembled, this helps save on both shipping and packing costs for Sihoo, which helps the price of the M56C stay as low as it is. It could easily cost more. All of that aside, the chair’s different parts felt like they were quality-built, and I think this was more apparent because I was able to see and handle each individual piece during the assembly process.
Most of the chair is made from premium plastic, but some parts, like the legs of the chair and parts of the wheels, are made from metal. This gives the chair a more premium look and makes it more durable. The piston and the chair’s lift system are also made of metal, although this is essentially the same for every office chair. Still, it’s nice to see that Sihoo didn’t deviate from this. In terms of the assembly, the chair was easy enough to put together. It was a bit time-consuming because I had just spent hours putting together other furniture, so I was slow by this point. Other than that, the process was pretty straightforward, and the instructions were easy to understand.
Should you buy the Sihoo M56C?
Sihoo makes ergonomic office chairs that are available at a reasonable price point. It also does this while making chairs that can keep you supported, so you don’t run into issues with sore muscles at the end of a long day. With those two things in mind, let’s look specifically at the M56C. Should you buy it? If you’re looking for an ergonomic office chair, then yes, I think at the very least, the Sihoo M56C is worth considering.
However, I think it’s worth buying if you’re looking to get a chair like this in the $200 range. Think about it. This is a well-built ergonomic chair to help keep your back, neck, and joints healthy, and it costs less than a pair of Pixel Buds Pro 2 at their full price. I’d say that’s worth it. Especially since you’d be sitting in it all day, and potentially a good portion of the night if you play games. So, to sum things up, I think for its price, features, and comfort, the Sihoo M56C is easily one of the best budget ergonomic chairs available today.
Buy the Sihoo M56C if:
- You’re looking for an ergonomic office chair that is more affordable
- You want something that has a headrest and good lumbar support
- You want a chair that’s very breathable and has an ultrawide design
The post Sihoo M56C Ultimate Review: All-day comfort doesn’t have to be expensive appeared first on Android Headlines.
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