Today, we’re looking at every feature, pro, and con of the Alpha JX luxury bidet toilet seat, in detail with images demos.
I’ve yet to meet a perfect bidet and the JX is no exception, but it is without a doubt, the best bidet on the market for the money. It might be the only luxury class bidet in the sub-$400 range.
(For reference, the most expensive luxury bidet on the market, the TOTO S550e, is $1,200 and really only offers 2-3 extra features.
If you like what you see, I recommend getting the JX through Bidet King, since they own and operate Alpha Bidet and will give you the best warranty and support–which you will need at some point. You can check out their current prices here.
And for a really good price (cheapest anywhere), check out the open box special. These bidets were opened but not used for toileting purposes. You can check open-box prices here.
If you prefer Amazon or want to compare prices, you can check out the Alpha JX here (Amazon link). The JX is usually pretty close in price between the two retailers.
Alpha JX Bidet Toilet Seat Review
Overall Performance: 9/10
Here are the results before and after only 1.5 minutes of cleansing.
Pressure-wise, the JX is the second-strongest bidet that I’ve used, right after the BB-1000 (an extra-strong, but otherwise inferior bidet).
It has a big water flow rate of 0.7 liters per minute which is above average. There isn’t a “Rear+” (turbo) button like other Alpha bidets. To get max pressure, use the “H” button/up arrow on the buttons labeled Water/Dry.
It puts out about twice the water (and water pressure) compared to that of TOTO bidets.
Here are the results side-by-side with a much more expensive bidet.
Unsurprisingly, CNN tested out a bunch of bidets and found the Alpha JX to be among the best performance-wise. In fact, the JX won the best overall category.
The default wash cycle length is only about 1 minute and I can see why. It just cleans way better and faster than most bidets.
Hot Water Performance of the Alpha JX: 10/10
The JX has a tankless, or instantaneous heater, that puts out hot water at maximum temperature.
Most entry-level bidets rely on a small heated tank of water. The warm water tank with such heaters runs empty at about 30-40 seconds. A lot of bidets on the market cost more than the JX, yet have basic tank heaters.
Instantaneous heaters, like that of the JX heat water on-demand, so the warm water flow never runs out. You could run it for an hour and it would still be providing warm water. Brondell bidets with instant heaters cost about 1.5 x that of the JX. The cheapest TOTO bidet to offer this feature is the TOTO K300.
Finally, not all instant heaters are created equal. Some only manage to put out water in the low 90’s Fahrenheit. The JX top temp reaches 104° F (40° C) per the manual and I tested it at right at 99° F.
Design: 8/10
Dimensions
The difference in length between the round and elongated versions is not quite an inch.
The bidet measures 20.8″ (elongated) or 19.4″ (round) in length, 15.1″ in width, and 5.8″ to 6″ in height. I measured the rear height at 5.8″ and it is listed as 5.8″ on the website. The manual has it listed as 6″.
About Average in Size and Bulkiness
Slimmer bidets are more desirable, since they look better, take up less space, and provide more sitting room (the user isn’t forced to the front of the seat).
There is a notable slope from back to front, but the rear seat height is on the lower end. So, overall, the bidet has a relatively slim, non-bulky design.
Rear and Front Cleansing, Adjustable Nozzle Position: 9/10
On the upside, the rear and frontal cleansing work great.
The Alpha JX lets you adjust the nozzle across 3 positions for accurate aiming. While it offers plenty of precision, most adjustable nozzles have 5 positions.
The front-feminine mode is extra-soft at lower pressure (the demo is on a setting, btw) because the nozzle has several holes for frontal spraying–this allows for a softer, gentler frontal cleansing experience.
This is useful because high-pressure frontal cleansing can cause water to migrate from back to front (source) and can dry out the skin in that area.
Controls (Wireless Remote and Control Panel): 9/10
Of course, being a luxury bidet, you get a wireless remote instead of a side panel.
The remote lets you do a lot with very few buttons overall, so it’s less bulky than most bidet remotes. While it is not double-sided, it saves room with the LCD screen (LCD displays let you do more with fewer buttons).
Also, not every feature has a dedicated button, so some features are activated by pressing certain buttons in combination.
On the upside, it saves room. On the downside, you’ll have to memorize how to activate a couple of the features. For example, you press and hold the Power Saving and Rear/Stop at the same time to activate the on-demand nozzle cleaning feature (the auto nozzle-cleaning feature works automatically).
Other than that, the remote is easy to use. The main features have dedicated buttons that are large and intuitive. This makes the bidet easier to operate for guests (that are new to bidets), kids, and older adults.
Buttons include:
- Rear and front feminine modes.
- There’s no button labeled “Rear+” for the turbo mode. You simply adjust the pressure to the highest setting.
- Dryer with temp adjustment arrows.
- Nozzle position arrows.
- Seat temp w/adjustment arrows.
- Water temp icon and arrows.
- Two easy, one-push operation modes, one with and without a drying session.
Control panel buttons:
- On/off button.
- Eco power-saving mode.
- LED nightlight button.
Water and Energy Efficiency: 10/10
Negligible Monthly Energy Cost
Being an instant heater, the JX water heater only uses energy when needed, since it doesn’t have to keep a tank of water warm 24/7. Along with the Alpha UX Pearl, the JX is one of the most energy-efficient bidets I’ve tested so far.
Since bidets are only used a few minutes per day, most of the energy is consumed at idle. With the Eco mode on, the bidet only draws 1 Watt (0.001 kilowatts) at idle. With daily use factored in (~0.02 to 0.08 kWh per day), the bidet should cost about 14 to 35 cents to operate per person per month.
Eco Mode
The Alpha JX has two power-saving modes, whereas most bidets have one.
The two settings include the Auto and Super energy-saving modes.
When activated, the Auto setting maintains the heater temperatures at 86° F during periods of non-bidet use.
For the most energy savings, use the Super saver mode. It goes the extra mile by reducing heater temperatures when lighting conditions are dark.
For max savings, keep the heated seat off when the bidet isn’t in use.
Aerated Spray
Bidet King lists the bidet as having an aerated jet stream.
Aerated nozzles incorporate air bubbles into the outgoing water. In addition to providing a stronger, more effective cleansing spray, the air displaces water which significantly reduces water consumption over the long term.
Warm Air Dryer: 7/10
As you can see, the dryer works well if you have the patience for 3 minutes.
This dryer performed above average, but not quite on par with TOTO bidets.
I’ve never met a bidet dryer that could dry the entire butt, and the JX dryer is no different. The thing is, bidet dryers are usually pretty good at drying the target zone, the same zone that receives the cleansing spray.
The challenge is that during the course of cleansing, water can get on the back of the bidet seat and end up contacting areas of the skin adjacent to the target area. This happens less as you get enough practice.
In the beginning, you’ll probably have to dry other areas of your booty manually (with TP or a towel) unless you don’t mind shifting around a lot during the dry session.
Convenience Features: 6/10
On the downside, the Alpha JX lacks user presets, so you won’t be able to save your preferred settings..
User presets let users (typically two), save their preferred water temperature, pressure, and nozzle position. Some even let you save dryer and seat temperatures.
The JX does, however, save your most recent settings, so if you’re the only user this won’t be an issue.
On the upside, it has two one-push auto functions.
These include:
- The “Easy Wash” button which activates a high-pressure rear wash with nozzle oscillation.
- The “Wash & Dry” which activates a 1-minute rear wash cycle followed by 1 minute of drying.
This is useful for several reasons:
- General convenience, since you only have to press one button, instead of the 4 or 5 it would normally take to initiate and stop a wash and dry cycle separately, adjust water pressure, etc.
- It’s extra useful for kids since they can operate such a fancy bidet with one push of a button.
- It’s nice for the elderly who may not want to learn how to use a newfangled fancy remote with all of its functions.
Nightlight: 10/10
This is a demo of the nightlight with ambient sensor, i.e., auto on/off function.
It is the best in-bowl nightlight for three reasons.
For one, the light is much brighter than the LED light that comes with most other bidets.
For example, here is next to the GX Wave bidet:
With this feature, you can navigate the bathroom at night without having to turn on blinding bathroom lights. It softly illuminates the toilet/toilet bowl and surrounding areas for safe passage in the dark. This feature is especially useful for folks who make frequent trips to the bathroom at night.
Secondly, the JX light has an ambient sensor, so it turns on and off automatically depending on light conditions. The light sensor sits at the top/rear of the bidet on the control panel and senses both natural and artificial light.
In this way, you don’t have to turn the light on/off manually each time it’s needed. By turning the light button on, it will turn on/off automatically from there. Of course, it can be deactivated.
Finally, most bidet lights are blue. While blue looks cool, a lot of users like to avoid blue light at night, because blue light exposure is thought to potentially interfere with sleep. So, that’s another bonus for you biohackers out there.
Cleansing Nozzle (Features and Sanitation): 10/10
The JX comes with a top-quality nozzle.
First, it’s of durable material–not made of plastic like most bidets.
The aluminum nozzle comes with antimicrobial nanotechnology, to keep the wand free of microbial growth. This is a rare feature, so the JX is one of only a few bidets to have it.
The JX has an automatic and on-demand self-cleaning function, meaning it cleans itself before and after each use and via the control panel, the latter by pressing/holding the Rear/Stop and Power Saving buttons at the same time for 5 seconds.
Finally, the JX is the only of the Alpha bidets to have a soft-feminine wash feature built into the nozzle, in the form of smaller holes that deliver a softer, gentler cleansing spray.
Special Spray Features: 7/10
On the upside, the JX has the nozzle oscillation feature. On the downside, it doesn’t have a pulse mode.
Pulse settings rotate soft and strong pressure to provide a massage-like effect. Oscillation modes cause the nozzle to move back and forth to cover a wider area.
The oscillation mode is one of the more important bidet features and one of the main features that sets electric bidets apart from non-electric seats and attachments.
After all, cleaning your rear with a stationary nozzle is like washing a dirty car by holding the hose in one spot. Having the nozzle move for you means less having to shift around to get water to the right places.
Heated Seat: 10/10
The heated seat works and feels great.
It’s adjustable across four settings: room temperature, 89.6° F (32° C), 95° F (35 C), and 100.4° F (38° C).
Seat and Lid (Sittable Lid, Sitting Room, Slow-Close): 8/10
Slow-Close Seat
The Alpha JX, however, does offer a slow-close seat and lid. This helps save wear and tear, extending the life of the bidet.
Some luxury bidets on the market provide auto open/close seats and lids. But the auto open/close feature is typically limited to ultra-expensive bidets, several times the price.
Sitting Room
For the elongated version, I measured the sitting surface at about 15-3/4 inches and bowl opening at 11-1/2″.
For the round version, you can subtract 3/4″ of sitting surface. The round version has a bowl opening of 10-1/4″.
Sittable Lid
Whether for clipping toenails or just having a rest, you can pop a squat right on the lid.
Sittable lids are pretty rare for some reason, but several Alpha bidets have this feature, including the JX, GX, and GXR. The iX doesn’t have this feature.
Most bidets have low weight limits for the lid (typically 160 lbs) and typically recommend against lid sitting even for folks who fall below the max weight limit. The JX lid is meant for sitting and has a weight limit of 320 lbs.
Alpha JX Review: Conclusion
There you have it.
Compared to the most expensive luxury bidet on the market (the TOTO S550e), the JX lacks a few features like user presets, an air deodorizer, a pulse mode, and bowl misting function.
But at ~1/3 the cost, I’d say that’s a fair tradeoff, especially given that the JX has a few features lacking in the S550e (one-push auto modes, aluminum nozzle, and sittable lid).
The JX is similar to other luxury bidets like the Brondell S1400 and Omigo Luxury, but costs significantly less.
It costs about the same as an entry-level TOTO bidet It’ll have a lower-tech water heater, no nightlight, etc. Sure, it’ll have Ewater+, but the JX has an antimicrobial wand so it doesn’t even need Ewater+.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.