GTRACING vs. Secretlab: Which Gaming Chair Brand is Better?
In a recent post, I put GTRACING and DXRacer chairs to the test to determine which was the best of the best. Today, I want to compare GTRACING to a different breed of gaming chair brand: Secretlab. Which is better?
Between Secretlab and GTRACING, Secretlab is a higher-quality brand. Their premium gaming chairs have the superior build quality and feel due to the comfortable, durable materials used. GTRACING chairs are a good value for the money, especially if you like DXRacer, as GTRACING is a lot cheaper.
These two chair brands are quite disparate, as GTRACING is much more of a budget gaming chair compared to Secretlab. Still, in your quest for a gaming chair, you’ll undoubtedly come across both brands. This guide will help you choose which one is right for you.
Secretlab Overview
When it comes to gaming chairs, Secretlab is definitely one of the top dogs. They offer some of the most premier and innovative gaming chair designs and are one of the most active companies in the eSports scene.
Let’s start with the rising star in the world of gaming chairs, Secretlab. Created by Ian Ang and Alaric Choo, Secretlab is based in Singapore. The chair brand began in 2014 and sells about 500,000 of its gaming chairs per year.
Secretlab produces computer desks, but it’s the brand’s gaming chairs that are its top sellers. In the 2020 Series are such gaming chair heavy-hitters as the Omega, the Titan, and the Titan XL.
The latest model (as of this writing) of Secretlab chairs is the Evo 2022 Series, which improves upon the Secretlab features that fans know and love.
Read our full Secretlab Gaming Chairs Review
GTRACING Overview
GTRACING makes high-quality gaming chairs at an affordable price. They offer a wide variety of racing style gaming chairs that are on par with some of the major brand names at a fraction of the price.
That brings us to GTRACING. The impetus for GTRACING’s creation was DXRacer. To put it bluntly, GTRACING copied design aspects of DXRacer. That’s not something the company keeps secret.
GTRACING does put its own unique spin on most of its gaming chairs. Theirs are some of the most inexpensive chairs around too, which is great for gamers on a budget. Perhaps your first gaming chair was a GTRACING chair, or you know someone whose it was.
As of this writing, GTRACING produces 47 gaming chairs, including 10 in the Pro Series, seven in the Footrest Series, five in the Music Series, and three in the premium Ace Series. If you’re on a budget and looking for a decent Secretlab alternative, then you should definitely check out GTRACING gaming chairs.
Read our full GTRACING Gaming Chairs Review
Secretlab vs GTRACING: What’s the Difference?
With those introductions out of the way, I want to examine the differences more closely between GTRACING and Secretlab gaming chairs. These differences will become more apparent in the section to follow as I put Secretlab and GTRACING chairs head-to-head (well, figuratively, at least).
Brand Reputation
Let’s begin by touching on the reputation of each brand, starting with GTRACING. As I talked about in the paragraphs above, GTRACING is a known DXRacer copycat. I had mentioned that that doesn’t mean that GTRACING doesn’t bring its own unique features to the table, as it does.
For example, the Footrest Series–as I’m sure you could have guessed, includes gaming chairs with footrests. DXRacer chairs don’t have footrests. The Music Series gaming chairs boast speakers, which is another feature unique of GTRACING chairs.
If you combed through Amazon and looked at the reviews for GTRACING chairs, some users find the chairs quite cheap and talk about how the components break quickly. I’ll talk specifics about GTRACING chairs shortly, but considering how cheap these chairs are, their lack of durability isn’t surprising.
Other users are perfectly happy in their GTRACING chairs. Thus, I wouldn’t say that GTRACING has a bad reputation. It just isn’t the most beloved either.
Secretlab made a splash upon its debut in 2014, and it seems like in the years to come, the brand has only continued to gain momentum. Sales for Secretlab experienced a major uptick between 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic when many people were forced to work from home.
Plenty of people are still doing their work from the comfort of their home offices, and they need a quality chair. Secretlab chairs–despite technically being gaming chairs and not office chairs–are appropriate for both work and play.
Secretlab has a reviews section on their website, which is something that GTRACING does not. Geek Culture has given Secretlab chairs four and a half out of five stars and Gameranx five out of five stars.
On top of that, Secretlab has taken home a multitude of awards. The accolades include:
- CNET – Best Gaming Chair
- GamesRadar – Editor’s Choice Awards
- PC Gamer – Editor’s Pick
- Tom’s Hardware – Editor’s Choice Award
- TweakTown – Editor’s Choice Award
- Gotta Be Mobile – Mobile Editor’s Choice Award
- GameRevolution – Editor’s Choice Awards
- IGN – Best Game Chair
- ZDNet – Best Gaming Chair
I don’t think GTRACING has any awards to its name, so it’s clear to me that Secretlab is the much, much more renowned gaming chair brand of the two.
Number of Models Offered
Technically, Secretlab only offers three gaming chairs. To reiterate from earlier, these are the Omega, Titan, and the Titan XL. Each chair is modifiable in a multitude of ways. However, those are the only chairs currently available.
That’s not comparable to the 47 gaming chairs in the GTRACING lineup.
Materials and Build Quality
The materials offered between GTRACING and Secretlab are night and day. GTRACING chairs outside of the Ace Series are made of PU leather with racing stripe accents (ala DXRacer) with nylon five-star bases.
The chairs feature headrest and backrest support pillows that are also covered in PU leather with colorful accents and the GTRACING logo stitched across both. The armrests are 2D and sometimes 3D or 4D (rarely). Spongy, high-density foam is standard too.
The Ace Series chairs are more upscale. Rather than resembling a DXRacer chair, these GTRACING chairs are a lot more reminiscent of a Secretlab chair. Since the Ace Series chairs are more expensive, they use premium materials. The leather is still fake, but now it’s premium PU leather.
Rather than low-cost foam, you get high-density cold-cured padded foam. The five-star base is nylon and metal, and the armrests are 4D for high degrees of flexibility.
The GTRACING Ace Series is moderately comparable to Secretlab’s gaming chairs, but the chairs in every other GTRACING series are not.
Secretlab offers four upholstery choices. The first is their PRIME 2.0 PU leather, which is tested for proven spill-resistance and quick drying. The feel of the leather is anything but fake, as the PRIME PU leather feels smooth and soft on your body. You can use a leather cleaner to keep it looking good.
If you’d rather have the real deal, which is premium leather, Secretlab gives you that option too. Their gaming chairs feature legit Napa leather for a major price uptick. Napa leather is known for cleaning easily, and its feel is utterly luxurious too.
The third available upholstery material for Secretlab chairs is SoftWeave fabric. The fabric offers superior breathability and will maintain its form even if you use the chair every day. The texture of the SoftWeave fabric is cozy and soft.
You can vacuum any surface dust or dirt from the SoftWeave fabric using a detachable vacuum nozzle. The material is also compatible with fabric cleaner.
The latest upholstery material, available only in Secretlab’s 2022 Series chairs, is NEO hybrid leatherette. The leatherette feels like Napa leather but without the hefty price tag. Promising 12 times the durability of Secretlab’s PU leather, the NEO hybrid leatherette is light and sleek.
As for the other materials of Secretlab’s gaming chairs, those include the brand’s old cold-cure foam mix (which is patent-pending), metal 4D armrests, Secretlab Signature memory foam pillows, and an ADC #12 aluminum wheelbase.
The difference in materials makes it clear that Secretlab chairs have the superior build quality compared to GTRACING chairs, especially GTRACING’s chairs outside of the Ace Series.
Comfort
The spongy padding featured in most GTRACING chairs is only marginally comfy. I must again go back to the Ace Series from GTRACING, as it’s truly the best of the company’s chairs. The cold-cure foam mix is on par with the patent-pending high-density cold-cured foam found in any of the chairs from Secretlab.
That said, padding alone is not enough to make a comfortable gaming chair. Many GTRACING chairs feature head and back pillows for lumbar support with other adjustments that are somewhat ergonomically focused.
The pillows used in Secretlab’s chairs are integrated and adjustable for encompassing lumbar support. The Signature memory foam in the pillows, along with the included layer of cooling gel, keeps your body temperature down and supports your head and back.
That’s not all. Secretlab gaming chairs include an integrated lumbar support knob that you can turn to set your degree of lumbar support.
Secretlab decided to further innovative lumbar support for the Evo 2022 Series chairs. The curvature of the pebble seat base keeps your posture upright while you sit.
The adaptive lumbar support system is like something you’d see out of a $1,500 Herman Miller office chair.
The new lumbar support is called the L-ADAPT Lumbar Support System. It’s a four-way system with a built-in flexible spine within the chair. The hinges of the spine move like your spine does, even during micro-movements.
GTRACING doesn’t have anything quite as close to the level of lumbar support that Secretlab offers, and that includes the esteemed Ace Series of chairs.
Adjustability
The degree of adjustments between GTRACING and Secretlab are another huge difference-maker.
Secretlab, as I’ve talked about, has always offered 4D armrests. Being able to raise or lower the arms, pivot them, and angle them is a must as a gamer. You can set the armrests so they’re either out of your way entirely or they support the way you’re sitting, however unconventional that may be.
Some GTRACING chairs don’t even have 3D arms, which I would call the standard for gaming chairs (although that’s quickly becoming 4D arms). With barely movable 2D arms, GTRACING’s chairs don’t offer the adjustments that today’s gamer needs.
I will say that GTRACING’s chairs move in plenty of other ways. You can rock most of them, swivel them 360 degrees, and recline between 90 and 170 degrees. You can also adjust the height of your seat.
Secretlab gaming chairs use Class 4 hydraulics so you can raise or lower your chair. A built-in suspension system included with the 2022 chairs allows you to tilt, adjust tilt tension, and lock your tilting angle. You can also recline an expansive 165 degrees.
Yes, that’s right GTRACING chairs can recline more. In almost every other way though, Secretlab has the better adjustments.
Aesthetics
Since aesthetics are such a personal preference, you might like GTRACING chairs more than Secretlab or vice-versa.
Secretlab offers many customizable skins to give your gaming chair flavor and personality. Some of these skins even feature your favorite video game, television, and comic book franchises.
The GTRACING chairs that try to look like DXRacer might not be anything spectacular, but other versions of their chairs have nice designs. The Ace Series chairs mimic the sleek, classic look of a plain black Secretlab chair.
Some of fabric Pro Series chairs have a classic look as well.
Price
Here’s where the difference between brands becomes very noticeable. The average price of a GTRACING chair is less than $200. A Secretlab chair costs about $450.
Secretlab vs GTRACING Models Compared
To help make your purchasing decision earlier, I want to examine the differences between specific Secretlab and GTRACING gaming chairs. First, I’ll look at the Secretlab Omega versus the GTRACING Ace Series M1, then the Secretlab Titan against the GTRACING Ace Series L3.
Secretlab Omega vs. GTRACING Ace Series M1
Starting with Secretlab, the 2020 Omega is available in PRIME 2.0 PU leather, SoftWeave fabric, or Napa leather. You can select from Secretlab Signature colors or other skins, with 77 variants available in all.
Secretlab’s patent-pending cold-cure foam is included in the Omega. The foam is the ideal mix between firmness and softness. The metal arms are 4D adjustable. The arms feature PU padding and a concave shape for further arm and wrist support.
The Secretlab Signature memory foam pillow with cooling gel is plush and soft. The Omega’s backrest reclines 165 degrees. You can also set your precise degree of lumbar support using the lumbar adjustment knob. A multi-tilt mechanism lets you lean back just the way you want to while the Class 4 hydraulics raise and lower your chair quietly.
The Omega features a sturdy ADC12 aluminum five-star wheelbase with oversized PU casters. Secretlab offers an extended warranty on the Omega that’s good for five years.
The Ace Series M1 from GTRACING is outfitted with high-density cold-cured foam cushioning for awesome elasticity. The premium upgraded PU leather is designed to resist wear and tear.
The M1 has 4D arms, but they’re not metal. You can recline deeply in this chair and lock your tilt at any angle between 90 and 170 degrees. Spin seamlessly with 360 degrees of full movement.
GTRACING recommends users weighing up to 350 pounds use the Ace Series M1. The chair is protected under a five-year warranty.
The Ace Series 1 is comparable in a handful of ways to the Secretlab Omega, including looks and adjustments. The Omega though has more of the Secretlab features that keep customers coming back for more.
These include the variety of upholstery options, the brand’s own cold-cured foam, the sturdy yet lightweight wheelbase, and the ergonomics.
Secretlab Titan vs GTRACING Ace Series L3
Next, let’s see which chair is victorious in the battle of the Secretlab Titan and the GTRACING Ace Series L3.
Beginning with the L3 this time, this is probably GTRACING’s most ergonomic gaming chair. It includes an advanced lumbar support system with a curve that’s supposed to match your spine. It’s not quite like the built-in spine featured in the Titan 2022, but it’s better than other GTRACING chairs by a huge margin.
The L3 has the same cold-cured high-density foam as found in the other GTRACING Ace Series chairs. The premium PU leather also returns here, as do the 4D arms, although they’re bigger this time around.
The weight capacity of the L3 is higher, up to 400 pounds, which is very inclusive. The base rocking mechanism has been upgraded too, as the base is made of corrosion-proof aluminum. The casters roll more smoothly than ever.
A button allows you to set the degree of lumbar and headrest support, which is another great ergonomics feature. The same five-year warranty as offered for other Ace Series chairs applies to the L3.
Now let’s talk about the Titan Evo 2022 Series gaming chair. You can select from three sizes: small, regular, and XL. The greatest weight capacity for the new Titan is 395 pounds, so the GTRACING L3 does have an advantage there by five pounds.
Regarding the variety of materials though, Secretlab cannot be topped. You can choose their NEO Hybrid leatherette, SoftWeave Plus fabric (which is the new and improved SoftWeave), and Napa leather. That’s right, no PU leather here, just authentic upholstery.
The Secretlab Signature colors are selectable, as are custom skins, just as with the 2020 edition of Secretlab’s gaming chairs. Cold-cured foam (still patent pending) produces a medium firmness that encompasses and supports your body while you sit.
The pebble seat base, which I touched on earlier, is a new feature of the 2022 Titan. The seat has flared edges so you can sit more comfortably and move as you need to throughout the day.
The L-ADAPT Lumbar Support System is the real starring feature here. Yes, the GTRACING L3 has a similar feature, but to include a built-in spine in their gaming chairs would probably drive up the price too much. Thus, the L-ADAPT tops GTRACING’s ergonomics.
The 2022 Titan still includes Class 4 hydraulics and a suspension system for adjustments. The degree of recline hasn’t increased past 165 degrees, which is surprising, but I guess it’s not something that Secretlab prioritizes.
The Signature memory foam pillows are improved though, as now they have magnets built in. You can slide the pillows in any place on the Titan and the magnets will keep the pillows secure. Oh, and don’t worry, the cooling gel is still there.
The 4D arms were made even better, as they feature a CloudSwap replacement system so you can customize your armrests your way. The ADC12 aluminum wheelbase has been reinforced for extra durability and the XL casters are quieter than ever.
Between the GTRACING Ace Series L3 and the Secretlab 2022 Titan, the competition is close, but the Titan still comes out on top.
Secretlab vs GTRACING: Which Is Better?
Secretlab is the winner between it and GTRACING. The Singaporean gaming chair brand utilizes premium materials that just keep getting better. The feel, materials, and build quality are excellent, and the price of Secretlab chairs remains fair at under $500.
That’s not to say that GTRACING is a poor brand. For the price you’re paying ($200 or less), their chairs are quality enough. You won’t get much in terms of durability unless you pay extra for the Ace Series chairs.
If you like the look of DXRacer gaming chairs and other brands like them, you can own a GTRACER for about half the price, which is great for gamers on a shoestring budget. Once that budget is more sizable though, you should strongly consider upgrading to a Secretlab gaming chair.
Even if you buy a 2020 edition rather than a 2022, Secretlab’s chairs have been making remarkable innovations from day one, and they continue to do that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you still have a few more burning questions about Secretlab or GTRACING? Allow me to answer them in this section!
Is Secretlab a Good Brand?
Yes, Secretlab is a good brand. I’d go so far as to say they’re a great brand. They’ve won countless awards from gaming and tech magazines, and the demand for their chairs now is as high as it’s ever been.
Secretlab knows that even in a gaming chair, ergonomics is important, hence they added supportive features so you can play for hours without pain. Their chairs also look appealing enough that you’d be happy to be spotted on a livestream playing video games in a Secretlab chair.
Is GTRACING a Knockoff?
Yes, GTRACING is a knockoff brand, which I’ve said they’ve made no secret of. The company started after DXRacer had existed for a few years and seemed to be directly inspired by DXRacer’s line of gaming chairs. You only have to look at two chairs side by side from both manufacturers to see what I mean.
Even though GTRACING started off copying DXRacer, the company has since forged its own path, diverging from DXRacer-style chairs more and more. If GTRACING continues in this direction, its origins won’t matter as much.
What Is Better Than Secretlab?
Although Secretlab is a highly regarded gaming chair brand, they’re not the best chair manufacturer out there.
To many, that’s Herman Miller. The Herman Miller brand doesn’t make gaming chairs (although they do have a gaming version of their best-seller the Aeron), but office chairs instead.
As ground-breaking as some of the features in Secretlab’s gaming chairs, Herman Miller did them first. That includes the built-in spine for back and neck support even down to your subtlest micromovements.
Again though, Herman Miller and Secretlab aren’t competitors since they’re appealing to different markets. Plus, Secretlab took that Herman Miller advancement in office chairs and applied it to gaming chairs.
Along the way, Secretlab found a way to keep ergonomics affordable. The average cost of a Herman Miller chair is around $1,300 while Secretlab chairs are far more reasonably priced.
Conclusion
In the great battle of GTRACING and Secretlab, I’d declare Secretlab the winner. The brand stands head and shoulders above GTRACING in areas like materials, build quality, ergonomics, and chair style.
That said, some of GTRACING’s higher-end chairs in the Ace Series are quickly catching up and are viable opponents for Secretlab’s chairs.
I hope this guide helps you select your next gaming chair!
