The Titan Evo 2022 Series gaming chair is Secretlab's magnum opus

The Titan Evo 2022 Series gaming chair is Secretlab's magnum opus

Note: This review was first published on 13 July 2021.

A homegrown brand all grown up

If you’re a gamer, then Secretlab and its range of gaming chairs should be no stranger to you. The homegrown brand started in 2014 with the aim of building an ergonomic chair that would suit long hours of gaming. Its very first chair, the V1 Throne, quickly cemented a place among many gamers. A V2 Throne model with improved features followed shortly, but it was the excellent Omega series in 2017 that truly put the company on the world map. Secretlab has never looked back since and has kept on improving its formula with the 2018 Omega and Throne, the 2020 Omega series, and today it has announced its latest gaming chair – the Titan Evo 2022 series.

While the overall look of the Titan Evo 2022 chairs still retains the familiar Omega and Titan shape and contour, it really is an amalgamation of its two predecessors’ features – taking the best features of both chairs and then some. In fact, many of the quality-of-life upgrades take place under the hood and trust me when I say they are game-changers. The chair will also upend Secretlab's current product line-up.

With the Titan Evo 2022 rolling out with effect today, Secretlab will also be taking steps to phase out the Omega and Titan series. The Titan Evo will then henceforth be the company’s only gaming chair in its product catalogue. The reason for this, according to Alaric Choo, co-founder of Secretlab, is that the company has always believed in building and selling the best gaming chair. The Omega and Titan have had their run, as with the Throne series that precedes it. But for the next couple of years at least, the Titan Evo will be its marquee gaming chair. For a company that doesn't believe in selling "second best", this isn't surprising.

The Titan Evo 2022 Series

Ultimately, the main driving factor behind the Titan Evo 2022 series seems to have been the desire to create that one ultimate gaming chair for all-day use, for gaming and non-gaming. This also means choosing a chair from Secretlab will be a much easier affair moving forward. The chair comes in three different sizes – Small, Regular, and XL – so you still get to choose a size that best fits your body frame or sitting style. For easy reference, here's their recommendation to help you get the right chair size:-

The Titan Evo 2022 that I’m reviewing today comes in Regular size and with the new SoftWeave Plus Fabric (a more advanced version of the original SoftWeave fabric used in the Omega/Titan series) in Black³ colourway.

According to Secretlab, SoftWeave Plus Fabric has been made softer, more breathable and even more durable. A new construction comprising interlacing loops of high-strength yarn fibres allows for smaller details to be incorporated into every stitch, enabling them to map complex designs in a multi-layered textile with different layers of colours. Comparing this to the Prime 2.0 PU leather on my Omega 2020, I found the SoftWeave material softer and cosier, especially in an air-conditioned room. It’s a matter of personal choice, of course, and it’s also worth noting that the Titan Evo 2022 series also comes with the NEO Hybrid Leatherette option that's a tad cheaper than the SoftWeave version. It’s a new premium leatherette that Secretlab claims recreates the lustre and resilience of NAPA leather while being even tougher than Prime 2.0 PU leather.

That aside, the stitching and embroidery quality of the SoftWeave Plus Fabric on my Titan Evo chair is nothing short of excellent. You really do feel like you’re sitting on a premium chair. This is enhanced by the new ergonomic seat base with a design that feels like a mix-mash between the Omega’s bucket-style seat and the Titan’s levelled seat base. I’ve never had comfort issues with my Omega 2020. Still, I totally dig the less-aggressive side wings of the Titan Evo’s seat base as I tend to sit cross-legged when in my comfort zone and the new chair allows, “encourage” even, me to do just that very naturally.

Then there is the new and improved armrest design. They are still 4D, which means you can move them along the x-, y-, and z-axis, in addition to swivel adjustments. They also sport the same full-metal internal mechanism as the Omega and Titan series, but with one big fundamental change. The armrests on the Titan Evo 2022 chairs come with a new magnetic replacement system that Secretlab called CloudSwap. A little similar to their Magnus gaming table (my review of that will be available shortly), which uses a magnetic ecosystem, CloudSwap allows you to swap the armrests on the Titan Evo with different materials sold separately. At launch, there’s only the Technogel Premium Armrest Top – a German-made memory gel that conforms to your wrists and elbows better than the standard armrests.

It is certainly an upgrade to the PU coated armrests that ships with the Titan Evo, but if you, like me, tend to sit closer to the table, then the upgrade is inconsequential since the armrests would be tucked under the table and unused anyway. Secretlab will also be making other materials available in time, and even custom designs that match the rest of the seat can be expected. The replaceable nature also means it's easy to self-service and swap out any damaged armrest tops.

Comfort and ergonomic

Perhaps the two most noticeable upgrades on the Titan Evo 2022 series over the Omega/Titan series are the new lumbar system, and for me especially, the magnetic memory foam head pillow. But let me first talk about the former.

Secretlab first made an adjustable lumbar support system on the first Titan chair way back in 2016, so the Titan Evo certainly isn’t the first. Then there’s also the Razer Iskur gaming chair, which comes with a pretty good and comfortable, if a little unrefined, lumbar support. As someone with a lower back that’s prone to aching from prolonged sitting, a lumbar system in a chair is a no-brainer for me. But there hasn’t been one that I found that works for me. The obvious Titan has a seat base that’s too large, and the Razer Iskur, while having great lumbar support, comes at the expense of seat space. Then, the Titan Evo is really what the Omega would have been like had Secretlab built in a lumbar support system. In other words, the Titan Evo is perfect for someone like me.

Secretlab calls it the 4-way L-ADAPT Lumbar System, which is quite the tongue-twister but in my seven days of usage on the Titan Evo, my back (and bum) has never felt more blissful. Finding the sweet spot for my back support was easier than with Razer Iskur, thanks to the height-adjustable lumbar support on the Secretlab chair. While the Razer gaming chair’s lumbar support can protrude just like the Titan Evo’s, it doesn’t allow for height adjustment with it. The L-Adapt Lumbar System may not be necessary for everyone, but if you have a problematic back like mine, the ability to adjust the height of the lumbar support on a chair is an excellent quality-of-life upgrade. Not to mention, the lumbar system is even able to support your back when you happen to be off-centre, such as leaning towards one side, thanks to the lattice-like hinged backplate that conforms to your spine.

But a good lumbar support system is not complete without a meaningful headrest, and I think with the new Magnetic Memory Foam Head Pillow, Secretlab has finally nailed it. It begs disbelief that no other gaming chair makers, Secretlab included, had actually made a proper adjustable headrest that's ergonomic. Until now. Like its armrests, the Titan Evo’s head pillow also uses a magnetic system that allows you to slide up or down for the perfect fit. No more fiddling with adjustment straps. The pillow also uses the same dense, premium memory foam and infused with a layer of cooling gel like the ones in the Omega and Titan 2020 series. My back and neck have been gloriously comfortable more than ever since I sat on the Titan Evo chair. (Tip: you can even stow away the headrest at the back of the chair, attached magnetically.)

Elsewhere, the Titan Evo 2022 series also share the same recline and multi-tilt mechanisms found on the Omega and Titan 2020 series, so it's quite possible to take a nap in the chair with its 165° of recline. Even the XL PU caster wheels and multi-tilt mechanism, which are already excellent, by the way, are unchanged.

Colour options for SoftWeave Plus Fabric options are a mixture of old and new, including Arctic White, Cookies & Cream, Black³ (as pictured in this review), Plus Pink, Frost Blue, and Mint Green. If you prefer the NEO Hybrid Leatherette selections (previously Prime 2.0 PU Leather), then the colourways available are quite self-explanatory: Stealth, Black, Classic, Ash and Royal.

How much will you pay for comfort and quality of life?

I’m going to say it out loud – the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 series is the company’s magnum opus. The version I've tested, Titan Evo 2022 in SoftWeave Plus Fabric, is quite possibly a near-perfect chair for any form of productivity – not just gaming. I appreciate that the company has invested sizably in R&D, including having assembled an independent Ergonomics Advisory Board of experts and academics from various fields to work with their engineers. That’s no easy feat, and while it might have taken seven years since the company’s founding to reach this stage, the end result is spectacular.

The new chair won’t come cheap, though. But cheap is a relative word here, in my opinion. How do you put value to comfort and quality of life? All things given, it’s a slight uptick in price anyway when compared to the soon-to-be-phased-out Omega 2020. The Omega 2020 in SoftWeave, for example, costs S$529. With all the new features and improvements on the Titan Evo, I’m actually surprised Secretlab didn’t charge for more. Well, my back and neck are all the happier for it. Hats off to you, Secretlab.

So are you ready to give your back a treat? If so, head over to Secretlab to make the purchase.