

🎬 Elevate your home theater game with Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra — where power meets precision!
The Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 Channel Soundbar redefines home audio with its industry-exclusive dual 10" wireless subwoofers, 4 modular surround speakers, and advanced SSE MAX technology. Delivering 1300 watts of power and immersive Dolby Atmos/DTS:X surround sound, it supports future-proof HDMI eARC and Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD streaming. Designed for professionals who demand cinematic sound quality and seamless connectivity, this system transforms any space into a high-end theater experience with easy setup and precise audio calibration.


















| ASIN | B08Z37YTVG |
| Additional Features | Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Surround sound |
| Age Range Description | Adult |
| Antenna Location | For Gaming Consoles, For Indoor Use, For Surround Sound Systems |
| Audio Driver Size | 10 Inches |
| Audio Driver Type | Dynamic Driver |
| Audio Output Mode | Surround |
| Best Sellers Rank | #14,685 in Electronics ( See Top 100 in Electronics ) #90 in Home Audio Sound Bars |
| Brand | Nakamichi |
| Built-In Media | Soundbar, Subwoofers, Surround Speakers |
| Color | Black |
| Compatible Devices | Home Theater |
| Connectivity Protocol | Bluetooth |
| Connectivity Technology | wireless |
| Control Method | Remote |
| Controller Type | Remote Control |
| Customer Package Type | FFP file |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,181 Reviews |
| Enclosure Material | Plastic, Paper/Polypropylene, Silk, Plastic/Metal |
| Frequency Response | 20 Hz |
| Is Waterproof | FALSE |
| Item Dimensions D x W x H | 3"D x 45.5"W x 3.6"H |
| Item Height | 3.6 inches |
| Item Weight | 80 Pounds |
| Manufacturer | Nakamichi |
| Model Name | Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 SSE Max |
| Model Number | Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 SSE Max |
| Mounting Type | Tabletop Mount |
| Number Of Circuits | 2 |
| Number of Audio Channels | 9.2.4 |
| Number of Batteries | 2 AAA batteries required. (included) |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Power Source | Corded Electric |
| Speaker Maximum Output Power | 1300 Watts |
| Speaker Size | 10 Inches |
| Speaker Type | Subwoofer |
| Specific Uses For Product | Home theater systems, movies, and gaming |
| Subwoofer Connectivity Technology | Wireless |
| Subwoofer Diameter | 10 Inches |
| Tweeter Diameter | 1 Inches |
| Warranty Description | 1 year labor and parts warranty |
| Warranty Type | Limited |
| Water Resistance Level | Not Water Resistant |
| Wireless Technology | Bluetooth |
| Woofer Diameter | 10 Inches |
C**N
No need to go to theaters.
09/18/25 This is for nakamichi shockwafe wireless 11.2.6. Not sure why reviews for past nakamichi products are on this posting for the sohockwafe wireless but meh. Any who. I had my eye on this system for the better part of 6 months since announced around February of 2025. Since my old system was annoying me to the point of just throwing it out along with the trash. In comes the Shockwafe almost like a sign from the speaker odds. I left the thought marinade in my head until August, when i pulled the trigger on this. So far.... no regrets.... As i said august 1st i ordered it and by the 7th of august, it was sitting at my door. Amazed at the three fairly bulky packages i had to lug in. "lug" is an understatement. Two of the three packages were quite the adventure getting them in the house and down to the room where they are gonna live. The packages themselves were nicely fortified, although the soundbar one had a noticable gash in it but luckily it was not in a critical position. Setting it up was fairly eazy, hooked up the sound bar to my tvs arc port and it "just worked" not sure of if its mandatory, i waited to turn everything on for the first time until i had everything pulled out and all speakers placed. **note i will warn you before you play your first source turn down the volume. Upon turning on soundbar for the very first time. Volume is set at max "30" this system is "llloooouuuudddd" I really hope that with future upgrades they reduce the default volume level to at least half way. I would really hate to attempt a firmware update at 1am only to scare the soul out of everyone at home. Now for the meat and potatoes. Firing up the system for the first time. The sound was.....im sorry but meh. Dont get me wrong the subs are boomy, but there was no "bubble effect" like the hype videos said. Sounded a little flat. But then here comes the "firmware upgrade" the firmware upgrade came in one day in a little usb flashdrive before the whole system showed. I decided to listen to the system "out of the box" for the whole first day. Next day i decided to do the firmware update. Following nakamichi's instructions, resetting setting right after (watch the max volume) quite literally took 15mins to complete. I watched youtube vids on my phone during this time. After the update, i did notice a significant difference. A "bubble" like difference. I do notice before the update the system would not play nicely with the remote app, after the update, you can do practically anything with it. Hell you can put away the remote it comes with and just use the app. Take a few minutes to do the advanced system calibration through the app it make a further difference. I know alot of people like to dump on nakamichi for being behind the curve on things like mic assisted calibration, or room correction. They probably think with more bells and whistles the more that can go bad. Im all for that thinking. Im also beginning to like what this system does with 2 channel stereo music videos it enhances the music effects and harmonys by putting them on the rear speakers on the fly. The nakamichi theater app....can use some TLC. Two major problems neither are deal breaking but could use some fixing. First is the apps tendency to not be able to sometimes connect to update servers to find updates. although im not sure whether this lies with the soundbar or the app. Every so often the app would fail to connect to update servers due to a wifi disconnection. So i would have to reset wifi connection through soundbar and reconnect by app. Next would be using the custom calibration option. After inputting measurements for speakers, clicking save a loading circle appears and never progresses from there. It seems to update sound bar with calibration measurements cause sound pauses momentarily and sounds different. (UPDATE: OCT 17: I HAVE NOTICED THAT THE ISSUE MIGHT LIE WITH MY PHONE. I NOTICED WHEN APP FAILS TO CONNECT WITH SOUNDBAR , I TRIED TO RESTART PHONE AFTER; PHONES REGAINES CONNECTION) I know the shockwafe wireless is barely in its infancy, those are the only two issues i found with it. (Yeah first world problems) So for the verdict. if you got the money to blow. And the wife/GF doesn't want to murder you upon seeing you bring this monster through the door. Do it. (JUST WATCH OUT AFTER RESETTING IT WILL SCARE THE SOUL OUT OF YOU)
J**S
Updated: 9.2.4 Sounds great. Broken HDMI input caused much extremely difficult debugging.
Update 24 DEC 2019: -- All is basically forgiven, the sound is that good -- It's sorta of complex to get perfect sound, but this thing can make great sound; see long discussion of what I did to get that sound at the end... At this time I can say this thing sounds awesome. Like it brings me joy to listen to this soundbar. However was a pain to get to this point. Nakamichi service, Alberto, was extremely professional and efficient. In retrospect it was all clear. One of the two HDMI inputs the soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos (must use either #2 or #3) was broken. In particular it was intermittent. This was infuriating and really hard to debug. It also has an aggravating quirk (when soundbar is reset, the two memories get set at super loud, you will be shocked how loud it is when you accidentally hit "M1" or "M2") -- but All is basically forgiven, sound is that good -- Nakamichi Makes great sound, but you'll be need to be an enthusiast to realistically be able to get it all set up. Or just spend a $100 and have a "geek squad" person install it. === Getting rid of the no sound problems I was also real disappointed like some reviewers, however after a lot of debugging it turned out the constant rebooting came from several things related to it takes the sound bar about 10 second to sync up with the input signal. Any glitches (e.g. change channels, Netflix buffers) cause some failure and then no sound. So have reported changing the volume while waiting for the sound to come back will reliably cause the problem I did several things to make "no sound" largely a thing of the past. Key was getting the Netflix streaming device (Apple TV 4K) on a wired ethernet connection. That keeps the time buffering way way less, and sound bar is now rock solid streaming. Yes that was a pain because I had to get room wired. Try it and see with a long ethernet cable... Secondly I moved the old TiVO DVR from the sound bar input to the 2019 LG C9 tv, which appears to give the sound bar a solid signal, even when changing channels on TiVo and so on. In the end I have the Apple TV and a Blu-ray directly connected to sound bar, and the DVR connected directly to the TV. That is in the manual BTW Third I found that when the now rare glitches does happen, and no sound happens, rather than reboot I j switch the soundbar input to something else, e.g. optical or other input for a second, and then immediately back to the desired input. Works every time. Yes that is a pain, but after fixing the first two things, its so rare I do not care. === Getting amazing sound? Here's what I did. As far as poor quality sound/music I was also disappointed at first. Here are some of the things that fixed that. I love the sound now. The most important is that the sound quality is hugely impacted by the placement of the speakers.Boviously. Way more sensitive to small changes than I expected. I'm talking about a few inches. Height makes a surprisingly big difference. I placed these their sides, but which side, etc. It all matters a lot. I was casual about this, but just for fun/desperate I followed the placement suggestions on the large setup guide EXACTLY. First make sure all 4 surrounds are exactly ear height. I initially had the Backs on a shelf at wrong height and place. === Height really matters! == I finally used a tape measure, sounds silly, was a big deal. Next I use all 4 speakers, 2 back 2 front. No dipole. I have them on their side in what Nakamichi calls "Elevation". This means all four are on their side and the speakers are pointing up towards the ceiling at a 45 degree angle. Key to great surround sound. Trust me. Location matters. A lot. In particular I moved the surrounds to exactly 2m (6.5 feet) away from center of FRONT of couch, pointing exactly down the front edge of couch. Exactly as it says on the huge folded setup guide, but they don't make it emphatic that --you really need to do this--. The backs and the surrounds all point to the center of the front edge of the middle of sofa. The surrounds need to lined up along the front edge of couch and backs at 135 angle from front edge. The backs are also 2m/6.5 feet from the front edge of couch. Use a tape measure. It matters. --> Suddenly great spatial effects. --> Great music. Sounds silly; try it and see! Keep everything at ear height 6 feet from center of couch. I think you will be amazed. Next part of this puzzle, use the demo disk "Helicopter" sound track to adjust the volume of the surround and back and center speakers until the helicopter sound is at constant volume and therefore sounds like helicopter is always a constant distance away. It should sound like a helicopter circling you at a constant speed and distance. I needed to fiddle with the location of the back speakers to get constant speed from helicopter sound. I needed +8 on the back and +7 on surround and +4 on center to get constant volume. Obviously you'll need to fiddle for yourselves, but "Helicopter" really shows what this thing can do when adjusted just right. Almost done and this is easy. Make sure all the DSP stuff is OFF. No stereo, no night, not native, not game, not music, SSE is off; get rid of it all. No easy way to do that. Just cycle thru "info" on remote and see what is turned on. Then get rid of it. You want ONLY "movie" and "dolby surround". Now the fun! Fiddle with room size and SSE. SSE has 4 choices (0-3), and size has 3; try all 12 combs (easy). I find small room SSE 2 or 3 works WONDERFUL for TV and music. You might prefer SSE 0 for music. SSE makes it seem, for example like the saxophone player is standing up, and it changes how tall he is. It also changes the sensation of how far apart sideways the musicians are. Makes the stage seem bigger. When I got it just right? I can stare with my eyes at the sound bar and it still sounds exactly like Coltrane is 6 feet tall and about 6 feet from the piano. My sound bar is 24" off the floor. I find most of "stereo imaging" stuff like this doesn't work if my eyes are open. This sound bar does this wonderfully using my Apple TV 4K to play music. Lastly I fiddled with the subs. I was amazed how critical it is to get them at the right place and pointing in the correct direction. Other wise I got nothing but room resonance or "boom". This makes bass guitar sound like a thud; you know loud but cheap stereo in a car. I moved, and turned and fiddled with the subs while listening to John Coltrane music; key is prominent acoustic bass on a quality recording. Try his song "I Want to Talk About You". That sort of music usually causes a sub to resonate with the room making bass sound like drum; it "booms". I tried moving the subs out of the corner, into the corner, away from the walls, point the port on the back towards corner, towards side wall, or the back wall. etc etc. Hint: turn the volume way down and the bass up to say 8 and move the sub around. At very low volume you know the sub is not distorting from lack of power and so on. You may or may not like booming bass, some do, (but you'll know it when you get what you like). Slowly but surely I got clean, deep bass with little booming. In my particular case the ports point away from the couch, the subs are near the couch but a foot away, and the couch is about 2' from wall. That was to get the back surrounds in right place. I expected very low "spouse approval" for subs in room, but we have small end tables. And sounds so amazing, this is not a factor. Sound really is almost perfect. Last key step, the sub crossover frequency on setup menus needed, in my case, to be turned down from 180 to 110. Hint: while fiddling with this crossover setting, nothing happens till you exit the setup menu, and there is a few second delay when you change it; etc. $%&# , but try it and see if the boom goes away. Whew. Watch something with clean sound on Amazon that I thought had bad sound; I found "Seal Team" dialog amazingly clear. A first! Explosions do NOT boom! Music? Bass sound like a bass, not a drum. Listen to some techno and you'll see most techno is all drum, no bass! And so on. Clear Clear Sound. And when the people down stairs are away; crank this bad boy up. Lots of clean power + clean sound = wow. I'm telling you this thing started like a nightmare and now makes sound so clean, it brings me joy. Obviously you going to have to fiddle with your subs location and orientation and the couch's position for the back surrounds, and so on; but keep all the surrounds and back at the exact same ear height, and at the correct distance from a very unlikely place, (aka center front edge of couch), and I think you will have awesome sound too.
S**S
Great sound system
Easy setup, app works well and is simple. Great sound. Best wireless system I've ever had. Volume is default set at 30 which is very loud. Turn down as soon as you power up for the 1st time or your room will shake. Seems plenty loud at 15. My max is 20 and that is LOUD.
S**S
Shockwave Wireless vs Sonos Arc Ultra Ultimate Set – My Real-World Experience
Let me keep it simple, and let the pictures speak for themselves—these are from my actual test, where I ordered both the NSW and the Sonos ultimate sets. I come from the older gen Sonos Arc and One SL with Sub 4, and I wanted the next best thing in a $2k budget. I sold my Sonos Arc and One SL on Facebook Marketplace, planning to upgrade to the Sonos Arc Ultra and Era 300, since I’m still holding onto my Sub 4. I was very happy with my previous Sonos set, especially since I came from a Bose TV speaker bar. I built my Sonos setup piece by piece—the bar first, then the One SL, and finally the Sub 4 when it launched. That’s the great advantage of Sonos if you want to build your system over time. But unless you have the full Sonos setup, you can’t call it a pleasant cinematic Dolby experience. Now, coming straight to the NSW and Sonos Arc Ultra set (let’s keep it simple): The only thing I find Sonos does better is managing the low frequencies. The sub-level frequencies are tighter, and the mid-bass is also audible. BUT the biggest problem with Sonos against the NSW is that it’s just not as cinematic. Simply put, it’s a war between “ohh, did you hear those mid-bass notes?” versus “wow, it feels like I’m in the theater and fully involved in the movie.” NSW, though it has two subs, could use a software update for managing some mid-bass (above 130Hz-ish) that the bar should handle. The mid base really needs improvement to really make this system shine more brighter. The dual subs do really well for their architecture—a bottom-firing sub produces cinema-like bass, and sometimes it may get boomy. Overall, NSW feels more involving and makes your soul happy when you watch movies like "2012," "Top Gun," and even my kids loved the NSW when watching "Kung Fu Panda," "Moana," "Zootopia," and others. Music-wise, NSW is far superior, especially when you play from the TV. Set all channel stereo. Dolby also great but when ppl all around the sound system it’s the all channel stereo that brings the charm. Sonos is far, far behind in this aspect. Music from TV (like iTunes from Apple TV) only comes out of the bar and sub in Sonos, and the satellite speakers play very low-volume echo that’s hard to hear—even when you’re right next to the Era 300 speakers. Seems like era 300 are waste of money in immersive setup as they don’t do enough work for the money. Once I setup them as home theater I don’t switch them to anything else so I feel they are not worthy for the rear surrounds. NSW does everything well when you play music, and the bass frequencies come out really well, but still needs mids to be little more prominent to make it audiophiles. Having said, they don’t break sweat to make you feel like you’re at a concert. It’s cakewalk. A few things to note about NSW: It’s not as difficult to tune as people say. I wanted to return the device immediately when I heard it out of the box—not sure if it was properly factory reset before sending to me, but the initial sound signature left a lot to be desired. Then I did a factory reset to start from zero. I recommend everyone do the same. Reset before switching on for the first time. Some YouTube reviewers exaggerate the tuning process. All you need is common sense. It’s not hard to set how far the bar is from your sofa or the walls. For me, it was 10 minutes including resetting the bar. After that, you can keep changing subwoofer, surrounds, or height channels to your liking as you listen. You’ll end up with your perfect setup after 4–5 days of casual listening and tweaking. I do not like any DSP presets from NSW. I keep DSP off, most channels at 7, sub at 6, and LFE at -2. This works like a charm for me. One big problem is, it does not remember my DSP off setting and have to turn off every time I switch on. The support told they are aware of this service and working on a software update along with refinements on the mid base. Not sure when would that happen. Verdict: If you want to enjoy your audio—cinema or music—go for NSW. If you want to thump your chest about hearing a few frequencies better but are fine with disconnected music or cinema (because the surrounds only come alive when there’s something to do, and for me that’s just a sudden change in sound direction that only sometimes feels good), then go for Sonos. Price-wise, NSW costs about $1,700 for the complete set, and Sonos costs $2,700. Even though I come from a Sonos experience, I find NSW the better system here, and now I realize what I was really missing. Pros: 1) Truly cinematic, immersive sound 2) Superior music playback from TV 3) Easy setup and tuning (just reset and use common sense for measuring distance) 4) Great value for the price when you put this against systems like Sonos ultimate sets. Cons: 1) Needs a factory reset and some tuning out of the box 2) Mid-bass from the bar could be improved. 3) does not remember DSP settings. Bottom Line: If you want to feel like you’re in the theater or at a concert, NSW is the way to go. I’m glad I made the switch! As some reviewers noted, longer listening sessions can feel a bit fatiguing—just like leaving a real cinema after loud sounds. That’s true for any true cinematic experience. The good news is, you can still enjoy the NSW at lower volumes and it still sounds great, without the fatigue. It’s the flexibility and options that NSW gives you: crank it up for weekend movie nights, or keep it mellow for daily TV watching and still get an enjoyable experience. Having said that, I’m actually considering returning it and going for the Dragon base variant (which comes in at $2,300 with 8inch subs) just to see if it solves some of the subwoofer behavior for me, since that’s a different sub architecture.
C**S
OMG, welcome to the theatre
I'll start by saying that I upgraded from the Nakamichi elite 7.2 system with two surround speakers and two 8" subs (older model from 3-4 years ago), to the Ultra 9.2.4 (newest model just behind the dragon) and I'm comparing the two, and wow.... What a difference. This is long, but if you are trying to decide if spending the extra cash is worth it, I hope this helps. Bass - the bass is felt vs being heard. The Ultra has very deep bass that shakes the room, just like your favorite theater experience. The elite with the dual 8" subs were great, but the balance of sound vs bass coming out of them was just slightly off. I didnt feel this way until I heard the 10" subs and then I really noticed. You would hear what sounded like muffled voices trying to come through the speakers from the elite. I'm a big bass lover when I watch movies. If you like that rattle your windows, feel it in your toes kind of rumble, go with the Ultra. Great power without the voice distortion. Clarity- the highs are so much better with the Ultra. My dad who is hard of hearing commented on the clarity the first time he heard the system. He could actually hear it all, even with the system being turned down a bit. I really had to crank up the elite to get the clarity. That could be due to the 8" subs always drowning the highs out slightly with too much sound coming through them instead of rumbling low bass. It was a catch 22, I wanted to feel the bass, but by turning it up it would drown out a bit of the highs. It just wasn't as balanced. I think I was looking for too much bass out of the elite. That's on me. The elite is more than enough for 90% of home viewers. Surround- this system makes movies so much fun. It's truly a theater experience. I can't tell you how many times someone has looked over their shoulder looking for the noice they just heard. It takes scary movies to the next level. If you are a gamer, you can tell what direction something is coming from and respond as needed. Behind you, next to you, in front of you... Very emersive. Yes there are wires, so there's limitations on how you set it all up depending on your room. Connectivity- this was the game changer. The elite had issues with the Bluetooth from the sound bar to the subs, which means connectivity issues from the sub to the rear speakers. Most of the time it was a non issue. Other times it was maddening and because it was unpredictable, you just never knew what to expect. It is what drove me to the Ultra to be honest. That crackle of the rear speakers and distortion of bad as it would momentarily disconnect drove me insane and nothing seemed to fix it. Though I never changed the frequency that my router ran on (Nakamichi recommended) and to be honest, I shouldn't have to. When my family replaced their cell phone's and we were working on transferring data and updating to current software, the elite was rendered almost useless during that time. We also often had to keep the cellphones in the other room to limit any potential Wi-Fi disruption. Crackle, crackle, crackle, went the rear speakers and talk about a very distracting thing to be happening during your favorite F-18 dog fight scene in Top Gun Maverick. The Ultra has had zero issues with connectivity regardless of the phone or router placement. Huge win for Nakamichi. I'm sure the newest elite models have corrected this issue, mine was older. Elite will give you the small town theater experience. Great value, big sound, solid bass, but it takes more adjusting settings to get the most out of it. Ultra will give you more of the iMax experience. Big sound, ease of use with sound settings, and you will feel like you are in the storm vs watching the storm through a window.
N**W
11/5 Recent Purchase 9.2.4
So this is my first review of any product ever. Let me start by saying that if you are hesitant to buy this system because maybe you have never heard of this brand, or because of the price let me stop you right there; it really is worth every penny spent on it. The system I got came fully updated with Atmos and DTS:X so no need to go through trying to download the update like I did, it is ready to go already. I initially tried the Samsung Q90R to try out atmos and was less than impressed, and it was really glitchy. So after hours of research, (I never buy anything on a whim), I decided that because I am in an apartment I would try this rather than go full surround sound. This thing had a lot of positive reviews and I can confirm that they are justified. I will address the 2 main negative reviews and get those out of the way. The first one is that it came in not working. Mine came in working fine, the only glitch it had that was that my ATT modem was too close to one of the subs interfering with the signals, I simply put it on top of the sub and that fixed it right away and I have not had a single issue since. To be honest its not just Nakamichi, but every electronic product you can think of has some systems that come defective, no matter if its samsung, apple, or lg. it happens, so get over it, send it back and get a new one. The second criticism I read was that the bass was inadequate for this system and to that I call BS. Im not sure if some people have to give criticism in their reviews but the bass is overwhelming if nothing else. Now to the positive. Bass, "OMG" that's the only way to describe it. For an apartment its way too much, but there are so many adjustments and you can make to the bass and treble that can balance it out. But to say the bass isn't that great like some reviews say is just silly. Its almost like some people need something to complain about to make it sound like a "critical review," but pay no attention to those reviews, the bass is spectacular. Setup takes about an hour or so, but once its set up control is easy. I have an Apple TV 4k, PS4 Pro, and Sony X700 bluray player attached to it, and I have the sound bar plugged in using eArc to an LG Nano9 65 inch TV. I have 2 satellite speakers up by the TV and 2 near my couch which adds great surround sound effect. So far on apple tv i have watch John Wick, Interstellar (that scene with the ocean world is really intense), and Batman Begins. John Wick is done in Dolby Atmos, which sounds amazing and I have been hearing sounds I have never heard in surround sound. But even Interstellar and Batman Begins being in Dolby 5.1 sound great. The sound bar has amazing clarity, especially if your willing to take the time to adjust it to settings you will like. I listen to apple music a lot, heavy bass for hip hop, then take down to more of a clarity setting for 80s rock and it handles both really well. When I watch scrubs (my favorite show), it offers a ton clarity as well. In my personal opinion there is only two drawback and one is minor, the other is a good problem to have. The first is the satellite speakers can be a little lite on sound, which is okay because you will still know they are there, especially in atmos movies, but that is just not enough to take a star away. The second is of course the bass, its not that it is bad, its too good for an apartment so I have yet to fully experiment with it which sucks. So if your gonna get it for an apartment like me that may be a little bit of a let down unless you don't care about your neighbors lol. Overall this is a great system, the best on the market for "sound bars" if you can call it that. To be honest its really more of a home theater in a box than anything else. It pairs so nicely with the Apple TV 4k which offer by far the largest streaming library of Dolby Atmos/Vision Movies. The only reason I get a 4K bluray player is that I ordered the 4K special edition marvel movies that all now have atmos (which comes in next week!). But honestly everything else can be watch on Apple TV, which if your like me and you love movies than the combination is of the Nakamichi 9.2.4 and the Apple TV 4k should set you up for years to come. Don't hesitate to get this system, its well worth it I promise.
S**.
Great! But some issues.. Please read me Home Theater buffs!
Let me preface this review by saying that I'm a huge home theater guy for many years. I've used Polk, Focal, Paradigm and now in my current setup I have a full SVS Ultra Tower setup with SVS 13 Ultra Subs. Not saying I've heard the "Best" out there but I do have a pretty critical basis as I paid nearly 6 times what this sound bar costs in speakers alone not including the Marantz pre processor and Emotiva amps! I wanted a living room setup as my dedicated theater is nice but overkill for watching some things. I hated the Samsung built-in TV Speakers (Obviously) but didn't want to spend the money on another 7.2.2 sound system. I brought a JBL soundbar, returned it. It sucked! It was better then the TV but I needed something better. All my research brought me to this soundbar. So big question will this soundbar keep with the big boys? The answer is *drumroll*..... surprisingly yes!!! With some caveats. Sound quality out of the box in my opinion was completely horrible, the subs were muddy, too loud and overbearing. While this may be favorable for some I found it horrific and was automatically putting my return hat on. However with most sound/video equipment out of the box does not show it's full potential espically when it comes to personal preference. I found out the "Movie" mode was on, which in my opinion was very overbearing and trying to hard to be a almost IMAX like theater experience. Besides the basd, the main soundbar voices sounded way to high and hollow/boxy like the mids were turned up all the way! Long story short I messed around with the remote and found DSP Off. Once it was off hooray! A nice flat sound stage. SVS Sound stage? No. but nonetheless quite impressive! The overall sound is good and especially the surround speakers have great imaging that engulf you in a little sound bubble. A horizontal bubble I might add because Atmos... yeah I don't hear anything above me. Maybe I'm spoiled because I have dedicated atmos speakers in my theater but at no point did a helicopter fly over me and find myself saying "wow". Don't buy this with the idea that Atmos is just magically going to work. It's not. But in my opinion for what this overall soundbar is and how it performs for the cost it's hardly a deal breaker. Also not a knock on Nakamichi because I'm sure they had to cut some corners to get the price point. But the tweeters/high end can be quite fatiguting at higher volumes. I can run my SVS Speakers at full blast no distortion and my ears are fine. I find when pushing the Nakamichi at high volumes when watching something like Avengers my ears seem to have the "after a concert" feeling. I'm being a little nit picky here but this is something I would have like to known during my research period. I'll sum it up here: Pros: Excellent sound to cost ratio Has a premium look unlike many other soundbars Excellent connectivity options with the HDMI inputs all running HDMI 2.2. Easy installation! Comes with everything you need including speaker brackets. Absolutely solid wireless connection between the main bar and subs. Literally no lag or dropouts. Cons: Compared to my SVS system, this one sounds a little boxy with resonance. Probably would help put extra sound deadening material in each component. When starting a show or media the system plays the sounds. Stops for 1-2 seconds then the system will resume sound. More annoying then anything after that initial hiccup after starting every show or movie it works great. The menu system sucks! I guess I'm spoiled with great receivers I use that have great interfaces that let you control the sound. This one is ALL LCD which can be frustrating as some things are abbreviated. Please in your next soundbar try to implement the menu system on the TV itself. Since the Left Center Right are stuffed into one unit it's nearly impossible to get a true sound stage experience. Nakamichi was smart on placing the outward tweeters to give the effect of this but still, this does not replace a true front LCR setup. With all that said I would buy this again and again especially for those who don't have a dedicated theater space. Great job Nakamichi! Can't wait for your next generation of products!
J**E
Great not just good. Great
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Best Home Theater Upgrade I’ve Ever Made — A True Cinematic Beast I upgraded from the Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 to the new Shockwafe Ultra 11.2.6, and I can honestly say: this is a whole different species of home theater system. The first thing I noticed is how clean and effortless the sound is. The 9.2.4 was powerful, but this new system feels refined. Every detail is crisp, every effect is precise, and the room just fills with sound like it’s nothing. The Punktkilde drivers and new DSP processing take clarity to another level. 🎬 Surround Experience I was worried about losing my old wired rear surrounds, but this system proved me wrong immediately. The wireless bipolar surrounds make it feel like I have more speakers in the room—not fewer. The entire sound bubble feels wider, fuller, and more immersive. The height channels are incredible. In Atmos movies, sound moves around and above you with accuracy I’ve never heard from a soundbar system. 💥 Bass That Hits Harder AND Cleaner Let me talk about the bass: I actually had to turn it down. The new dual 10” subs hit with authority but without the muddy rumble you get from lesser systems. Explosions, engines, impacts—they slam hard, but stay clean. When I tested the seismic charge scene from Attack of the Clones, it was pure chef’s kiss home theater perfection. 📡 Wireless Stability My old 9.2.4 sometimes had WiFi interference. This new system? Rock solid. Not a single pop, drop, or hiccup. Everything connects instantly and stays locked in. ⚙️ Build Quality & Performance The whole bar feels premium. Every channel is more dynamic, more accurate, more controlled. Dialogue is clearer, surround effects are smoother, and the system stays distortion-free even at high volume. It takes everything I throw at it—Star Wars, War of the Worlds, sports in 4K—and just flexes. 🏈 4K Sports Sound AMAZING Watching live football in 4K feels like being inside the stadium. The crowd ambience fills the room while commentary stays perfectly centered and clear. When switching back to 1080p broadcasts, the difference is night and day. ⭐ Final Verdict This isn’t just an upgrade. This is a full home theater transformation. Nakamichi took everything great about the 9.2.4 and evolved it into something more immersive, more powerful, and more refined. If you want true cinematic sound without building a 10-piece receiver setup, this is the system to beat. Easily the best soundbar home theater system I’ve ever owned.
Trustpilot
5 days ago
2 months ago