DXRacer Martian Pro XL Gaming Chair Review: Otherworldly Luxury

Unless you’re in a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley, the best seat in the car is usually the driver’s seat. It’s the most ergonomic, with decent lumbar support and a few quality-of-life improvements like heating, ventilation, and maybe even a massage feature – everything designed to help the driver focus on the road and actually enjoy driving. At least, that’s what my wife tells me. As a lifelong passenger, I’m usually relegated to a manually adjusted seat. Well, I was until a few weeks ago, when the DXRacer Martian Pro XL showed up at my door. Judging from the spec list alone, it feels like this chair was taken straight from a Gran Turismo sports car – or maybe even a spaceship. So let’s see if it feels like sitting on a cloud or if it’s more down-to-earth.

Disclosure: DXRacer provided the Martian Pro XL for review. No payment was provided, and all opinions are my own.

Read also: All reviews of computer chairs on our website

DXRacer Martian Pro XL Specifications

The Martian Pro XL is part of DXRacer’s Martian line of electric gaming chairs – the company’s most luxurious and feature-rich series. Martian models feature an electrically adjustable backrest and lumbar support, with EPU leatherette or woven fabric available depending on the version.

The Pro sits above them all, adding seat ventilation, seat heating, and back massage. The trade-off is that it comes in only one color scheme and finish: black EPU leatherette with red stitching and subtle red accents.

DXRacer offers Martian chairs in Regular/L for users under 5’11” and Plus/XL for taller users. Both sizes are recommended for users under 275 lb (125 kg).

While yours truly has never been taller than 5’7”, DXRacer sent me an XL version – maybe because of overwhelming demand (the chair was out of stock at the time of writing), or to match the Tidal XL Desk. So keep in mind that I had some big shoes chair to fill.

Assembly and in-box content

Unlike the Tidal XL before it, the Martian Pro arrived in a single, albeit hefty, box. Inside were the chair parts, a memory foam headrest, a double-ended angled screwdriver, a removable battery, and a charger. More on why a chair needs those last two later.

Also, unlike the Tidal XL, the assembly instructions were easy to follow and straightforward: assemble the wheelbase and casters, attach the backrest to the cushion, screw on the side brackets, armrests, and tilt mechanism, connect the cables and battery, and put it all together. Voilà – you can cosplay the captain of the Enterprise in comfort.

The whole process took me about 40 minutes. If that sounds lengthy, I attribute it to the fact that it was late at night and I was tired. Thankfully, I had the whole next day to relax and recharge in my new chair.

Read also: DXRacer Drifting Series L Gaming Chair Review: Quality Construction, but Not Without Its Drawbacks

DXRacer Martian Pro XL Design & Adjustments

The next day, I started making myself comfortable in the Martian Pro XL. Honestly, that’s the easiest part: the leatherette upholstery feels comfy and premium and, with the included care instructions, should be easy to keep that way.

DXRacer Martian Pro XL

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From every angle, the design feels quite minimalist. No, it can’t pass as a low-key office chair – its overall shape, red stitching, and red “raceline” on the cushion are unmistakably part of the gaming-chair/racecar-seat aesthetic. But it follows modern gaming-product trends: it still has the look while feeling more natural in an office.

DXRacer Martian Pro XL details

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Personally, I’d dial back only the number of DXRacer logos. I counted nine on the chair itself and three (!) on the headrest. I know you cover most of them when you sit, but DXRacer’s signature look and comfort are worth more than a few logos.

And the Martian does have genuinely unusual features. While 4D armrests and smooth tilt-and-lift mechanisms no longer surprise anyone, electric lumbar support and backrest adjustment are still rare in gaming chairs.

If you’ve ever adjusted an electric car seat, you’ll feel at home: the left lever adjusts the backrest, while the directional keys on the right control the lumbar support. The range of adjustment is on par with a modern car – it feels like my Taos has the same range, if not less.

The lumbar support works in all four dimensions: I can inflate or deflate the cushion and move it up or down until I’m fully dialed in and no further adjustment is needed.

Reclining, combined with tilting, allows you to almost lie down in the chair. I’m writing these very lines near maximum recline, and I’ve never felt more comfortable. But if I want to, I can switch to a “straight-A student” position with a fully vertical backrest in seconds, without breaking a sweat. With comfort like that, I almost forget that my chair is made for taller folks.

That’s when I’m reminded that the only thing the Martian Pro doesn’t include is a footrest. It’s not a deal breaker – the chair already has a ton of features, and you can order a compatible retractable footrest from the DXRacer store. But without it, I feel like a character in Mr. Probz’s song: my feet can’t touch the ground.

So, learn from my mistake and order the right size: taller folks should go with XL, while the proud Tom Cruises of this world should pick L.

DXRacer Martian Pro XL Premium features

But wait: electric lumbar support and recline are available in the regular Martian chair for peasants. I got the crème de la crème Martian Pro. So, how is it different?

This is where my Taos’ driver’s seat gets blown out of the water: the Martian Pro has a ventilated and heated cushion, plus a massage function in the backrest.

The ventilation is straightforward: the front of the cushion is perforated, with a built-in fan underneath. Press and hold the ventilation button, adjust the power, and you have a perfect solution for North Carolina summers.

The effect is noticeable, but don’t set your expectations too high – it’s more of a cool breeze than full-blown seat cooling, and the cooling area is shifted toward the front of the seat. I ended up turning it up to level 3 for short bursts rather than keeping it on all the time. The fan is noticeable too, and the AC in my unit is good enough that I don’t need to rely on the chair alone.

Summertime is the worst time to test chair heating, but I tried it too. Just like with the ventilation, you need to set your expectations correctly. Even on the highest setting, this battery-powered system never reaches a “my butt is on fire” level of heat – it warms up quickly but stays merely warm. On this point, the Taos wins: turn up its seat heater, and it can properly warm you in winter.

But the Taos clearly loses on the massage. My budget compact SUV simply doesn’t have it, though it definitely should. The Martian Pro offers six modes, and you can feel the massage motors working hard. I found it especially useful after workouts and long workdays: it was strong and relaxing enough that I never felt the need to book a professional massage during testing.

At least, until the battery runs low.

Read also: DXRacer Tidal XL Gaming Desk Review: The Modern Super Saloon of Sit-Stand Desks

Battery life and charging

I never thought I would write this in a gaming chair review, but here we are, discussing the battery life of the Martian Pro XL.

With a removable 5,000 mAh battery, DXRacer made a reasonable trade-off: it can power all those electric features without keeping the chair “on the leash” of a wall outlet.

In my testing mode, where I behaved like a child trying every power-draining feature, the battery lasted about two weeks. How did I notice? The electric backrest stopped responding, which was my signal to grab the charger and plug the chair into an outlet.

You can use the chair while it’s plugged in, but I recommend leaving it to charge overnight because your outlet might be farther from the desk than the six-foot cord allows. A green light indicates when charging is complete.

My biggest request is some redundancy for the electric backrest. After reclining and gaming for a few hours, you might want to return to an upright position only to discover that the battery is dead. A clearer low-battery warning – or a manual override – would prevent that awkward situation.

That’s where mechanical competitors might pull ahead – but is it enough to beat the Martian?

Price and competition

Let’s start with the price. The standard DXRacer Martian has a $699 list price on DXRacer’s official website across sizes and upholstery materials, which already puts it in the premium category.

Selected color schemes may be discounted. At the time of writing, the Yellow Black leatherette option was 4% off at $669.

None of that applies to the Martian Pro. It comes in one black-and-red EPU leatherette colorway and costs $899 in either L or XL.

So how does it stack up against the competition – if there is any? In my research, only two chairs come close to the Martian Pro’s feature set.

The closest is the AutoFull M6 Ultra+ 2.0. It looks similar and combines dynamic lumbar support, a ventilated and heated seat, and a full-on shiatsu massage system. It also uses a removable battery to power its features. The one thing it lacks is powered recline, though it compensates with a built-in footrest. Its regular price is slightly higher at $999.99, but it was on sale for $799.98 at the time of writing.

On the ergonomic side of the premium-chair spectrum is the HBADA X7. This is an ergonomic office chair, so gone are the leatherette upholstery, magnetic headrest, and powered recline. In their place are AI-powered lumbar support, an 8D lower-back massage system, dual-fan ventilation, seat heating, a built-in footrest, and a remote that attaches magnetically to the seat’s side. It also offers more manual adjustments for different heights and postures – and a higher price. The X7 Air with a reinforced nylon spine lists for $1,399, or $999 on sale. The aluminum-alloy X7 lists for $1,509, or $1,169 on sale.

On paper, DXRacer undercuts both competitors’ list prices while retaining the powered recline and car-seat-like controls that make the Martian Pro distinctive. And these features don’t feel like a random checklist. They all serve one clear idea: reimagining a premium car seat as a gaming chair.

Verdict

And DXRacer did what it does best: brought the best of the automotive world right next to your desk.

The Martian Pro XL pleasantly surprises with electric features usually found in car seats: powered recline, massage, and adjustable lumbar support. I want to see more of this in gaming chairs.

There are still things to improve: the ventilation and heating aren’t at car-seat level, I’d prefer a built-in footrest instead of a paid DLC, and the electric backrest could use a clearer low-battery warning or manual override.

Nevertheless, the DXRacer Martian Pro XL is the first chair I actively want to spend more time sitting in. Its premium features are absolutely worth the premium price tag.

And I’m apparently not the only one ready to put their money where their mouth is: at the time of writing, the Martian Pro was sold out.

Who knows? Maybe some Martian technology will eventually become available in more down-to-earth chairs. I’d love to see that happen.

Where to buy DXRacer Martian Pro XL