Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As always, I pour a lot of effort into investigating products before I buy them, and this purchase was no different. Unfortunately, there was not much out there to review. I was looking for a very sturdy, well constructed home gym from a company with a history and good reputation in the business. I've owned several Marcy products over the years and have been impressed with how the company has increased their quality over time. The market place is flooded with moderately appointed home gyms that top out at 150 lbs, but I was looking for something heavier that I would not grow out of. At 200 lbs (270 lbs resistance), this one fit the bill. My major concerns were how smooth and reliable the pulley system and general parts movements would be and how well I fit the equipment. Marcy (Impex) has another model that looks similar to this one and is sold in our local Dicks and Sports Authority. I first went to the store to inspect and found it disconcerting that the cable on the machines in the store were all wedged off of the pulley tracks, making it impossible to test the machines. After closer inspection of documentation for this unit, I noticed that the pulleys have cable guides, which were not installed on the store machines, which gave me some comfort. I was also curious why the one in the store was so much cheaper ($399) than this model even at 150 lbs, when they look identical. Again, after closer inspection, I could see that the physical mechanisms for the arm assembly are much more heavy duty with this model. I am a big guy (6'5") and need space to move. After using this for a couple of weeks now, I can say that I am very pleased overall. Setup was a long process, but not unexpected. I allotted a full day for this and it took the better part of that time. I did not rush, but opted to go slow and steady to minimize any rework. The lift action on all cables is very smooth and I feel the components will last a very long time. With all of that said, there are a couple of design areas that need improvement and would go a long way to making this a 5-star system. 1) The upper pads that support your legs for leg extension exercises are too narrow. You must squeeze your legs close to the center support, which makes the action less than natural and efficient. I am looking at purchasing a longer, solid metal bar from another source to replace this part. 2) There are plastic retainer caps that hold the pads onto the bar. I had to remove these because they were painfully digging into the underside of my thigh during leg extensions. Your leg naturally compresses the pad, only to run into the retainer cap. 3) The handles used to perform butterfly's is too long and close, painfully pressing into your chest during the movement. This would make it even more comfortable for women for obvious reason! Either the butterfly bar should be extended out from the machine an additional 3 inches, the seat moved back an additional 3 inches or the press handles reduced in size by 2 inches. I am also looking at shortening the handles myself. 4) On this model, there are no weight indicators on the shroud or on the weights to let you know what you are selecting. I've seen this on other models and would hope that Marcy would provide that most critical item on this one, as you currently have to count the individual weights or holes and look at the chart. Some of these items are easy to negotiate around, others not so much. These 4 items are refinements that would catapult this system into the indisputable best value in this class of machine. Nowhere else will you find a serious machine with 200 lbs raw weight and sturdy construction for this price.