Yes, the LiberNovo Maxis lives up to its billing, with one thing we want to say before anything else: it is a genuinely big chair. It is the widest, deepest and thickest-seated chair on our showroom floor, engineered for people 178 to 200 cm tall and up to 181 kg, and it is superb for exactly that person. Our Sydney floor specialist, who is 177 cm, spent time in it alongside the Omni Pro, the Omni SE and the Herman Miller Embody, came away impressed by the size and the cushion, and was honest about the fit: at 177 cm they sit right at the floor of the range. This review puts those notes beside what overseas reviewers found, then tells you plainly who should buy the Maxis and who should sit in an Omni instead. The Maxis we tested is the one on the floor at our Sydney showroom.
What the Maxis is, in one paragraph
The Maxis is LiberNovo's big-and-tall chair, launched in mid-2026 on the back of the Omni line. It keeps the Omni platform: the Bionic FlexFit backrest made of eight flexing panels, the Dynamic Support System that links seat, backrest and armrests so they move together, and the five-position recline from 105° to 160°. What changes is the chassis around it. The seat is fixed at 52 cm deep, roughly 58 cm wide and about 7 cm thick. The backrest stands 63 cm tall and spans about 43 cm across the shoulders and 52 cm at the waist. The armrests spread from 40 to 60 cm apart, and the reinforced frame is rated to 181 kg under BIFMA testing. Two configurations are sold here: the Maxis Manual (manual lumbar dial, no powered parts, Graphite only) and the Maxis Airflow (motorised lumbar, OmniStretch and a ventilated seat, in Graphite or Glacier). The Electric version sold overseas is not part of the Australian and New Zealand range. Our Maxis vs Omni Pro guide covers the on-paper differences; this article is about what the chair is like to sit in.
First impression from our floor: it is big
The first thing our specialist said after sitting down was that it is big. Not tall-backed big; big in every direction. The seat is wide enough that a broad sitter can shift sideways without touching either armrest, and once the arms are pushed out to their 60 cm stop, the space between them is enormous. Where the Omni feels like a chair sized around you, the Maxis feels like a chair with room to spare, which is exactly what someone who has spent years perched on chairs built for average frames has been waiting for.
The cushion is the second thing you notice. It is thick and dense, and pressing a hand into it tells you how much material sits under the cover. The construction is multi-density foam in zones, firmer under the sit bones and softer at the front edge, and on a pad this thick the practical result is that it does not bottom out. Our specialist's verdict was that a heavy sitter will not sit this cushion flat, and the heaviest overseas tester we have read, BTOD's roughly 136 kg staffer, reached the same conclusion. Expect it to feel firmer than the standard Omni; that firmness is where the 181 kg rating comes from.
The Maxis (centre) beside the Omni and Omni Pro on our Sydney floor: the same backrest architecture on a visibly broader frame.
Seat depth and seat height: read this if you are under 180 cm
Numbers first. The Maxis seat is fixed at 52 cm deep; there is no seat-depth slider. LiberNovo's fit range starts at 178 cm, and our floor test shows why. At 177 cm, our specialist could feel the front edge of the seat reaching the calves: the pad is long enough that the back of the knee does not clear it. For comparison, the Herman Miller Embody's adjustable seat tops out at about 46 cm, and the Maxis is longer than an Embody set to its deepest position. If you are in the 178 to 186 cm band with long thighs and the Omni's 48 cm seat has always felt short, this is the depth you have been missing. If you are shorter than that, it will push you forward and off the backrest.
Seat height is the subtler catch. The gas lift itself has an ordinary range, but the 7 cm cushion sits on top of it, so the lowest usable position is higher than you would expect. With the lift fully down, our 177 cm specialist had feet flat and thighs level; raise it at all and the heels start to leave the floor. That is no problem for someone 185 or 190 cm, who will live in the middle of the range. It is a warning for anyone under about 175 cm: the lowest setting becomes the only setting.
The Maxis (left) beside the Herman Miller Embody Gaming Chair. Even against the Embody's deepest seat setting, the Maxis pad is the longer of the two.
Backrest and lumbar: built for a broad back
From behind, the Maxis shows you what the money buys. Eight horizontal panels are stacked up a central spine, each free to flex on its own, with two X-shaped linkages tying them back to the frame. As you move, the panels reshape around you, so the backrest keeps contact from the hips to the shoulder blades instead of touching at two points the way a fixed shell does. On the Maxis the panels are simply wider, about 52 cm at the waist, and the backrest is 63 cm tall, so a 200 cm sitter gets support behind the shoulders where a standard chair has already run out.
Lumbar support is where our specialist's build showed. At 177 cm with a medium frame, the lumbar felt fine, but less direct than the Omni Pro and Omni SE sitting next to it: the lumbar bar is wide, and it presses across a broader stretch of back than a narrower spine needs. A reviewer at Sleek Setups noticed the same thing from another angle, reporting that on a smaller frame the support lands higher, towards the mid-back, rather than squarely in the lumbar curve. Read that the right way. For the person the Maxis is built for, a wide lumbar meeting a wide back is the entire point. For a slimmer or shorter sitter, the Omni family's narrower support will feel more precise.
How you adjust it depends on the configuration. The Manual uses a screw dial: set it once and there is nothing to charge. The Airflow adds a motor driven from buttons on the armrest, moving the support forward and back, plus OmniStretch, a slow powered stretch cycle that runs in deep recline. Overseas reviewers were of one mind on OmniStretch: pleasant, but not the reason to buy the chair.
Recline, armrests and headrest
The recline is a six-spring Controlled Recline System with five locking positions: 105°, 115°, 125°, 135° and 160°. The springs engage progressively, so the chair firms up the further you lean and the more you weigh, and on our floor it feels controlled rather than springy. There is no sudden drop near the back of the travel, which is the thing heavy sitters rightly fear in a chair that lies back to 160°. The armrests and headrest travel with the backrest as one motion, and for the flattest position the optional LiberNovo Footrest takes the weight off your legs.
The armrests drew the most praise from every overseas reviewer, and we agree. BTOD called the pads the largest they had seen on an office chair, and nothing on our floor argues with that. They pivot 40° inward, travel about 13 cm fore and aft and about 13 cm in height, and open from 40 to 60 cm in width; that 60 cm outer stop is what makes the chair feel so open. The one caveat, also from BTOD, is that the pads do not lock in place, so they can drift when you lean on them hard. Test that on the floor. The headrest is a wide U-shape on 140 mm of vertical and 120 mm of forward travel, and a 196 cm reviewer at Geeky Gadgets said it was one of the few headrests that reached the right spot on the neck without running out of travel.
Build: the base and what it is rated to
Look underneath and the base is a reinforced aluminium alloy star with the LiberNovo mark cast into each leg, on 360° casters with built-in damping. The gas lift is a TÜV Rheinland-certified Class 4 unit, and the frame has passed the BIFMA cycle tests LiberNovo publishes: 300,000 recline cycles, 120,000 on the backrest and 100,000 seating-impact cycles. That is the assembly carrying the 181 kg rating. The chair is also Greenguard Gold certified for low chemical emissions.
Manual or Airflow?
Same seat, same backrest, same frame and the same 181 kg rating. The difference is what is powered, and both configurations sit on the one Maxis product page.
| Maxis Manual | Maxis Airflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Lumbar | Manual screw dial | Motorised, armrest buttons |
| OmniStretch | No | Yes, powered stretch in deep recline |
| Seat ventilation | No | Active AirFlow centrifugal fan, about 40 to 41 dB on low |
| Upholstery | Micro-elastic stretch fabric | Danish Gabriel Atlantic fabric |
| Battery | None; no powered parts | 3,000 mAh, USB-C, about 4.4 hours to charge |
| Colours | Graphite | Graphite, Glacier |
The Airflow's seat is a six-layer stack: breathable fabric, silk-cotton padding, 3D support mesh, perforated foam, an airflow channel and the fan itself, which draws air down through the seat and switches itself on and off with a pressure sensor. LiberNovo quotes up to 14 hours on the low setting per charge, and GameRevolution's 200 cm reviewer, testing through a hot summer, rated the fan the standout feature and reported charging about once a week with heavy use. The Manual's case is just as clear: fewer parts to fail and nothing to charge. Our take is simple. If you run warm at a desk or want the powered lumbar, the Airflow is the one. If you want the size and the seat with the simplest possible mechanism, the Manual is. Availability for each configuration, including pre-order timing, is on the product page.
What overseas reviewers found, and what we would add
The Maxis has been reviewed widely since launch, and the verdicts are unusually consistent. GameRevolution's 200 cm reviewer scored it 10/10 and called it the best ergonomic chair they had tested, singling out the armrests, the recline and the fan. BTOD, whose testers were 188 cm and, separately, around 136 kg, called it well worth buying for anyone over about 90 kg who is tired of cushions that flatten, and credited LiberNovo with engineering it big rather than scaling up a standard chair. Sleek Setups' verdict was that it feels purpose-built rather than oversized, and Geeky Gadgets called it one of the most impressive chairs it had tested for taller users.
The criticisms are consistent too, and we would rather you read them here than discover them later. The seat is firmer than the standard Omni. The armrest pads can drift. The powered features add a battery to charge and more parts that can go wrong. And LiberNovo, a company founded in late 2023, has had customer-service growing pains overseas, with Trustpilot feedback that mentions slow responses. Several launch-week articles were also paid placements, which is why we weight the hands-on reviews above them.
What we would add from our own floor is the fit floor. Most of the overseas reviewers who loved the chair were 188 cm or taller, or well past 120 kg. Our 177 cm specialist liked the chair and still would not choose it for daily desk work, because the seat depth and the seat height are both a size up from what a 177 cm body needs. That is not a flaw; it is the chair doing its job. With a brand this young, it is also worth buying somewhere you can walk into, rather than through an overseas ticket queue.
Who should buy the Maxis
- You are 178 to 200 cm tall. Below that, look at the Omni or Omni Pro with the 45 or 48 cm seat.
- You are heavier than the Omni family's 136 kg rating, or you want a wide margin under it. The Maxis is rated to 181 kg.
- You have long thighs and every seat has felt short. The 52 cm pad is the deepest seat we stock.
- You are broad through the shoulders and hips and standard armrests pinch. The arms open to 60 cm and the backrest is 52 cm wide at the waist.
Who should look elsewhere
- You are under about 175 cm. The seat will reach your calves and the lowest seat height will be your only setting.
- You want a soft, enveloping seat. The Maxis is supportive first and plush second.
- You want the powered lumbar but never want to charge anything. The Airflow's battery needs a top-up; if that bothers you, the Manual is the honest answer.
The LiberNovo range on our Sydney floor, with the Maxis at centre. The size difference is easier to feel than to photograph.
Maxis vs the rest of the LiberNovo range
| Model | Fit range | Rated load (BIFMA) | Seat depth | Lumbar | Seat ventilation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omni SE | 153 to 186 cm | 136 kg | 45 or 48 cm | Manual dial | No |
| Omni | 153 to 186 cm | 136 kg | 45 or 48 cm | Motorised with OmniStretch | No |
| Omni Pro | 153 to 186 cm | 136 kg | 45 or 48 cm | Motorised with OmniStretch | Yes |
| Maxis Manual | 178 to 200 cm | 181 kg | 52 cm, fixed | Manual dial | No |
| Maxis Airflow | 178 to 200 cm | 181 kg | 52 cm, fixed | Motorised with OmniStretch | Yes |
If you are choosing within the Omni family, our Omni vs Omni SE vs Omni Pro guide and the 30-day Omni review go deeper. If you are shopping the whole big-and-tall category, including the Aeron Size C and the Embody, start with our big and tall chairs guide.
FAQ
Is the LiberNovo Maxis too big for someone 175 cm tall?
For daily desk work, yes. At 177 cm our specialist was at the floor of the range on both seat depth and seat height. Under 178 cm, the Omni or Omni Pro with the 45 or 48 cm seat is the better fit, and it shares the same backrest technology.
How wide and deep is the Maxis seat?
LiberNovo lists the seat at roughly 52 cm deep, 58 cm wide and 7 cm thick, with the depth fixed. The backrest is 63 cm tall, about 43 cm across the shoulders and 52 cm at the waist, and the armrests open from 40 to 60 cm apart.
Is the Maxis seat firm or soft?
Firm and supportive. It is a thick, zoned multi-density cushion that is firmer under the sit bones and softer at the front edge, and it feels firmer than the standard Omni. Heavy sitters will not bottom it out; lighter sitters who want a plush seat should sit-test first.
What is the difference between the Maxis Manual and the Maxis Airflow?
They share the seat, backrest, frame and 181 kg rating. The Airflow adds motorised lumbar, OmniStretch, an Active AirFlow seat fan, Gabriel Atlantic fabric, a 3,000 mAh battery and the Glacier colour. The Manual has a screw-dial lumbar, no powered parts and comes in Graphite.
How loud is the Maxis Airflow fan, and how long does the battery last?
LiberNovo quotes about 40 to 41 dB on the low setting, up to 14 hours on low or 9 hours on high per charge, and about 4.4 hours to recharge over USB-C. The fan only runs while you are in the seat, and one overseas reviewer reported charging roughly weekly with heavy use.
Can I try the Maxis before I buy?
Yes. It is on the floor at our Sydney showroom in South Granville, next to the Omni family and the Embody. Book a visit through the showrooms page, tell us which chairs you want to compare, and we will have them ready for you.
Come and sit in it before you decide
Everything above describes a chair whose whole argument is physical: how wide the seat is, where the front edge lands on your leg, whether the lumbar meets your back. Thirty seconds in it will tell you more than this review can. The Maxis is on the floor at our Sydney showroom at Unit 11, 46-50 Wellington Rd, South Granville, beside the Omni, Omni Pro and Embody Gaming Chair, so you can feel the size difference directly. Our Melbourne showroom at Shop 1a/280 Whitehorse Rd, Nunawading, carries the LiberNovo range as well. Both are by appointment: book through the showrooms page, tell us which chairs you want to compare, and we will have them ready. If you already know the Maxis is your size, the Maxis product page has both configurations, and we deliver across Australia and New Zealand.