NakamichiShockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 Channel Dolby Atmos/DTS:X Soundbar with Dual 10" Subwoofers (Wireless), 4 Rear Surround Effects Speakers, eARC and SSE Max Technology (Flagship)

First, allow me to explain that I am more than an audiophile. I produce/DJ/Audio Engineer and sound design. This review stems from my professional background of nearly 20 years in a non-treated room (since most consumers do not do so, a fair study would be done how the average consumer listens). I am currently limited in space and needed a solution for my family and me to bring the theater here without taking away from my studio budget for the upcoming upgrades. I glanced at Image Dynamics at first but then stumbled upon this soundbar which is more like a home theater than a sound bar when I saw the name... Nakamichi and I grew up with one of the outstanding tape decks. I had to try and was at first going to purchase the 7.2, but then I could not resist the 9.2 when I discovered it was in production.9.2 channels for.a sound bar are unheard anywhere and especially at this price point with this setup! I ordered the system, and the big box came. I unpacked it which took a bit because it was packaged so well. The box is heavy so, unless you are me, you will need two people incl yourself to carry it. The quality of the system is near flawless with two subs being wood! Wood is the best for bass, and I like 10-inch subs for clean, tight bass unlike 12 and above. Unfortunately, to keep the costs down, the system is supplied with cheap RCA cables. I swapped mine out with a custom pair from Worlds Best Cables (Amazon) Canare star quad from Amphenol which made a world of a difference, and I achieved increased density and more air (high-end openness) with a couple of new decibels. The system took about 30 mins to hook up. I first tried di-pole mode and initially was not too impressed with my medium sized room. Speaking of which room size matters with this beast and you will want to consider treating your room for acoustics with it (make sure you only deal with the ceiling minimally). The product shines in its 9.2 setups with at least 6 feet of distance from the satellites and 9-11 feet from the soundbar, and the subs may be placed behind you, but I would encourage them off to the side at a distance of 9 feet. DTS:X neural works pretty good minus at times with whatever device you use (like the Nvidia shield tv) where it does not always upmix to 9.2 but when it does, it is immersive with everything flying around and over you. The system does decode everything else pretty well including Dolby Atmos when using DTS:X neural (pure direct button to turn off to activate it).I demoed a lot of movies from IT to XXX (Xander cage) to Independence Day 1 with the DSP movie setting and without. Without any DSP you can achieve the rated specs without distortion but with the DSP on the bass at times is too powerful (nature of how the movie is mastered) and creates a lot standing waves and reflections in spaces that not necessary. I feel there is not much headroom needed for the subs and that they should be 300 instead of 200 because with music and movies the subs pop with the bass level set at anything above two. There are also some time alignment issues (a delay between explosions), and I wish there a way to adjust the parameters of the subs or even a limiter/compressor to prevent the popping. I hope Nakamichi in the future considers consumers are allowing a wired option since nothing beats a cable to the speakers! Also, a different connection could be found for some maniacs who want to integrate this bad boy into their current setup that may use XLR connections (oppo blurry even).Here are things I like:​Great immersive experience and sound quality that commands you to pay more than the asking price.Clean bass that is tight and replaces transducer (buttkicker)Great dialogue clarityHandles 4K content wonderfully and source switching with CEC is incredible.Good selection of output options.Loud as hell and beyond theatrical, I stopped going to the movies because of this thing.It is CHEAP IN PRICE! Your family will love it, treat your room!Ok for small rooms (13x13, nothing less)The CEO is fantastic and I admire his and the company’s customer service.What I do not likeI replaced a dead rear speaker, QC needs to be on top of this.Music EQ is worthless and unintelligent. I would like to have my EQ options instead of presets. I do not master music with presets!Subwoofers are the only the speakers to distort with a pop sound at any bass level above 2. It should have a soft limiter/compressor.Cheap RCA wires but this is my personal preferenceNo subwoofer options available other than bass level. Where is the low pass filter? The crossover? Phase? Individual sub levels?No option for wired connections for the subs. Qualcomm Apt-X technology will never replace a wire connection.XLR/Neutrik should be made available to analog guys like me.Hi-Res?Perhaps a way to calibrate the speakers, in general, would be a great idea?I do admit that despite some of the limitations, I would not change my purchase decision except for an upgrade from Nakamichi. There is some room for the company to explore for future sound bars but they nailed it with this one given that they just started making sound bars. They should stick to soundbars because the systems are just that good! Forget the other brands like Trident, image dynamics, Bowers and Wilkins, and Bose (haha do not get me started with them!). Buy this thing and treat your room and decouple (float) your subs from the floor, get some good RCA cable from worlds best cables and a 48 gig HDMI cable.... prepared to be rocked!

How do we start?!! I also want everyone to know that I’m not sponsored, affiliated, or have anything to do with this company or Amazon. I’m leaving a review like this because of the excitement this system has brought me. I have used many different surround sound systems and this trumps every one I have used so far!!First off, the packaging is done very very well and all of your components are protected! There is so much packed in this box. There are wall mounts for all of your speakers, wires for everything, and very nice instructions. The subs are very impressive when you finally get down to the bottom of the box and you just start feeling like a child on Christmas morning!! Setup is very easy and detailed. I have 12’ vaulted ceilings so I did not set my speakers to upfire. I have the subs on both sides of the sofa, speakers behind the sofa, front surround speakers about 3’ in front of the sofa, and the soundbar mounted below the tv. Just so your aware, when you first turn this on and hear what it sounds like, do not be discouraged. Don’t get me wrong, it will blow most people away without changing settings. But for the people with a more sensitive ear to quality, adjusting the treble, bass, center speaker volume, surround speaker volumes, room size, and stereo type, you will be very very pleased! The first thing I did was get a Dolby atmos video off of YouTube to try this thing out. Holy Moly!! The bass vibrated my entire house. My finance was getting ready in our bedroom which is about 50’ away from this system and said she could feel the house shaking! The surround speakers make you feel like your in the tv with the sounds circling you. It’s amazing! The soundbar and surround speakers are very crisp. Even at loud volumes! I can’t tell you how loud it will go as it’s already too loud at level 60 out of 100. I’ll either blow the windows out or get the police called on me if I go louder than that😂. We just watched the new Planet Of The Apes with the kiddos and I asked them if the sound was as good as the theatre. They both said this system is better than the theatre because you can actually feel the rumbling and feel the sounds around you. I am so very pleased with this system!! There are some cons but nothing that would prevent me from giving this system 5 stars!! The cons I have run into so far is that the tv for some reason will not save and recognize the soundbar. So every time I turn the tv on, it asks me to name the HDMI. I’ve done this 20 times now and it still asks me. This may completely be that it’s a cheap ONN tv and may not be anything to do with the soundbar. But it does not affect m me enough to look into it further. The other thing is that if you want to listen to music, I highly recommend downloading your music app to your tv and playing your music over WiFi. To most the Bluetooth may sound okay. But I find that the music is way more clear through my Apple Music app through the tv. The only thing I wish this system had is an app to control and setup the features and I wish the surround speakers were actually wireless. Other than that, this system is amazing! And please, whoever is reading this, please know that even the most expensive system on the planet will have its flaws. So please don’t take my cons as me saying that you should not get this. They are just my personal opinions. I 100% recommend this system to anyone that can afford it! If you can’t afford it, save for it because you need it 😂. Now I’m going to save up for the Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 Quad System!!