I bought this machine after dping some research. Super quiet and east to out together. At first I thkught the resistance was almost the same on each level but after usimg the machine you can clearly feel the difference. I start liw for warm up and gradually increase resistance and then lower again as I start to cool down. U have added this to my regime aftwr doing 20 min on the treadmill. You can you tube workout videos. Sometimes I just use my arms, sometimes legs, and you can row for a whole body work out. I love this machine. My 76 yr old mother even bought one and she loves it for a whole body, low impact workout!It's a bit over 1 month since I purchased this rowing machine. The reason I bought it was because I was sick and tired of being tired and achy. I am a 76 year old female with fibromyalgia. Stretching with yoga is helpful, and I walk every day about 45 minutes. Being tired and achy all the time becomes debilitating, both physically, as well as mentally and emotionally. It's easier to lie on the bed and rest, than pull myself together and row this machine. But after all, it's mind over matter. I now know that rowing on this machine stretches my muscles, and increases the endorphins in my body. 2 years ago I had a knee replacement, and still struggled to bend that knee, with much difficulty on stairs. Instead of a stationary bike I should have bought this rowing machine. My knee has become so much more flexible. I started out with 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, and not every day. I am still on the lowest tension, and might never increase that, but who knows. The last few days I was determined to row 2 miles, and a bit over 2 miles take me 20 minutes. I bought wrist braces since I have osteoporosis on my wrists, and also had surgery on both wrists plus one elbow for tendonitis. I checked on UTube to see that I am rowing correctly because my kids told me I would ruin my back. My back has gotten stronger since I am using my legs and not my back. I am happy with this purchase, it is an excellent investment for my health. I feel so much better now. My husband put it together for me, and it took him a couple of hours. He believes it's made to last for a while.With 16-levles of resistance, you would think each would get stronger than the previous one. There is no way to tighten up the resistance that I know of yet. Level 1 feels just like level 5. Level 16 does not feel as tight in resistance at all. You do have a wonderful timer on there that allows you to input your time, as in how many minutes do you want to workout for. You can set your workout by time, reps, and distance. The seat is not soft and it will hurt after a while. Perhaps a future upgrade will include a better seat. I have workout on it for about 30-45 minutes. You do need to do at least a 20 minute to an hour workout on this machine to feel the burn. It will workout your core. However, if you do 5-10 minutes, you won't feel much. Perfect for indoors, living room, or garage. Even in your back patio. I still continue to use mine, but I really wish each resistance level was stronger than the previous level.This was a great buy. It was packed well in styrofoam ad there was no damage. Assembly was very easy and quick. I have used it 6 days and put over 60000 meters on it. It is smooth, quiet and the tension adjusts easily. Other reviews have said minimal change in tension, I have not found this to be true. It has very noticeable change from low through high. It is well made, sturdy and comfortable. Great purchase!I like the machine it was easy to set up in the very easy to use awesome productThis machine is perfect for my use, was reasonably priced and was delivered a day earlyPut it together in less than an hour! So happy with this rowing machine and it’s so quiet!The machine was extremely easy to assemble and came with all the tools needed to assemble it. The machine is surprisingly quiet and works well! It’s very sturdy and the seat is comfortable. I am a 5’10 290lb woman and feel very secure using this row machine. Also I wear a 12 woman’s 10.5 mean shoe and my feet fit well on the pedals