Great job and I have one quick question since I don’t have experience with the dragon. I found an eBay every refurbished one for under $3000. My question is it only comes with one year warranty what happens after that that’s my concern. So for only one of these bad boys, is it worth the money?
By far the best review of any product, ever, I came across CZcams, very precise, in your face, honest and user centric review. Rightly put that not in the line of some shiny CZcamsrs, but those seems flashy and somewhat promotional videos. You earn my subscription, keep up the good work 👍
11.4.6 hell yes! Imagine 13.6.8? Or 15.6.8, or 17.8.10, or 19.8.12, or the panacea 21.10.14 only with 14 Atmos channels can you have true Atmos! My Uncle Ned has a 33.14.26 Atmos system he uses only reference equipment! Love you Uncle Ned, hope you’re reading this and seeing how much I love you.
Fantastic and thorough review! Liked and subscribed. As a lucky owner of the first 500 dragon, I agree with everything said here. After owning the system since early August, I have zero regrets and have been wanting a robust atmos system without the bulk and it works perfectly for me. Naka, has said they’d replace some of the damaged (from shipping) components for me, but haven’t delivered since. Though they respond quickly, their actions haven’t proven much as far as customer support goes for non influencers like myself. 😢
That’s disappointing to hear they haven’t replaced. I will admit I use my channel as some kind of insurance to make sure my issues get resolved … but that’s a lot of work for non contractual insurance … glad you are happy with it otherwise
As an update, they have sent me replacements for any of the dented equipment. I hope they improve the shipping experience and really listen to the customers
As soon as I finished watching this, I bought myself a Nakamichi dragon. No matter what the haters say never forget you’re really that guy when it comes to this. Keep it up!
I dunno. I had the Shockwafe system. I got a used Marantz and discontinued sale on Jamo concert series speakers and while I loved the Shockwafe when I first got it, as soon as I plugged in a more traditional setup with some good bang for buck speakers and subs it was definitely much more brash and the difference between the highs and lows made it to where I was constantly grabbing the remote to turn it down when shit got loud. With my jamos they stay at about the 80% volume level and get loud without distortion or hurting my ears, but can be so quiet at the same time with objects getting kick clear out of my theater room and across a non existent hallway. It was a night and day difference and my setup is probably around the $2500 price range with 5 base layer speakers, two heights, and two subs. Almost half the price of the dragon for arguably much better quality. I gave my Shockwafe to my mom because I just couldn't go back to it after hearing a full range nuanced system that had an incredible soundstage and could handle low and high volume with precision and finesse
Subscribed. I appreciate your attention to detail, and willingness to let the video be as long as it needs to be to convey the necessary information. Uncompromising! Love it!
@neverenoughtech buddy quick question based on alot of your reviews I decided to try the Samsung q990c and this is coming from a guy who loves jbl 9.1 long story short you was right 990c sounds overall better even with less bass, my only problem is I'm experiencing some cutting out not all the time but enough, just asking any recommendations or experiencing with this or solutions
Cleanest 3D effects is probably A9. But the sound is far less full - the sub is a must. Sonos with 300s is good but I would wait for this new rumored soundbar to see if the 300 bar cooperation gets better and well whatever benefit you might get from a better sounding bar.
This is by far the best review i have ever seen on the Dragon! And the way you do your content is very funny and nice at the same time👍😂. Thank you loads🔥
Great review and useful and regarding the damage to the main unit it’s UPS fault. When I was expecting mine to arrive I was lucky enough to see the ups truck down the street when they arrived to my house the way they were handling it was unacceptable and I stepped in right away and I got it out of the truck myself, my unit arrived in good condition thank goodness and the sound is amazing by the way.
Thank you for all your hard work! Appreciate the in-depth review and look forward to the next one! Have one for preorder, will be upgrading from the ambeo max so always nice to see pros and cons from an unbiased reviewer. :)
Excellent review. I think it shows something, when the high end companies are making products like this the receiver way is just getting too complicated. I own a Pioneer SC-09TX some consider it the "mother of all receivers" every time an up-grade comes along it's a nightmare to re-program. Sound bars look better all the time!
This! I had a nice Denon surround sound receiver ten years ago. Still remember how it took an entire day to get it working and even longer to fully set it up. Fun for some, but not for me. Been rolling with a Paradigm Soundscape soundbar paired with an RSL Speedwoofer for the past five years. Decent set up, but no surround and dialog is crap. I wanted a large enough of an upgraded experience to justify spending money to replace a system that is not broken, just disapointing. I also wanted something easy to set up. I simply refuse to go through the frustration of setting up a full surround system again. Screw that!Enter the Dragon. Receiving mine tomorrow. Looking forward to playing around with it. I may upgrade in a few years and go whole hog with a properly prepped room with sound deadening and high end system, but if I do, I'm hiring someone to do it. Until then, I think the Dragon will do the trick.
An excellent point! A cable "fell" out of the Pioneer, couple hours trying to re-figure the thing out. Your excellent note got me to thinking. I am 70 and when I wanted to up-grade my 2 channel system couple cables and good to go. I never "had" to up-grade it was always if something quit (rare) or a new bit of technology and that was only a cd player. It is funny speaking for myself that something was good enough 30 years or so ago it still is. Or cannot be bested on my income. When this quits it will be a soundbar for me! After all if a cable comes loose from say the "phono" jack on the back of any stereo piece of equipment I sure always know where it goes to plug it back in! Wishing you a great New Year!@@overbuiltlimited
Thank you for being very thorough, I loved all of your sections and breaking down all of the aspects of this unit. Also thank you for being brutally honest pros and cons.
Looking forward to the face off between the Dragon and the Sonos + 4 ERAs. I suspect in 2024,, the Sonos Arc 2 will make that configuration happen in a truly integrated setup. The Dragon may represent the limits of the current soundbar form factor (soundbar + 2 surrounds.) I think customers are open to a more flexible arrangement between soundbar and discretes.
I'd say 30k subs is the mark. This is the review I needed. I got these speakers.. and yes.. a Condo is not big enough for its potential.. Neethless to say, I am looking forward to your next review. Long live the King! Nakamichi Dragon!!
GYI I have the Nakamichi Shockwafe 9.4 and had an issue with the bar randomly switching between inputs on its own. I called customer service, an English speaking american answered the phone, I told him the issue, told him it was a gift so I had no receipt and the sent me a brand new bar. Amazing customer service! Never had an issue after the second bar was installed. This is now 4 years later.
I enjoyed the demos at the end, the detail the tweeters can display are probably unmatched unless you have a high end speaker system. Thanks for the thoughtful and thorough review.
Watching the Oppenheimer portion on my iPad and streaming to my Bluetooth Oticon hearing aids (which FYI cost more than the Dragon 😮) - it was like being back in the IMAX theatre all over again 😂
Great Review! Thank you for doing this, wanted to add that you CAN turn off the main display and adjust the brightness, under system, main unit display it can be set to 0-3, 0 turns it off after a few seconds of no input command or change in audio signal
Great review. I just set up my Dragon a few days ago, holy sh$t is all I can say, that demo button...holy cow lol, I've gone in and have changed the didtances to my seating position but have left the sound levels alone for now, I also have 1 bass speaker in each cabinet playing currentley, keeps the miss's happy:)
Stumbled across your channel on accident after realizing my purchase of LG's SPQ8-S rear speaker set with SC9S soundbar was rather... disappointing. Love your humor, your punctual nature, and showing the appropriate visuals, manuals, etc during discussion. For me, a fellow with a huge attention deficit, you make this daunting research significantly more bearable. You have my thanks! Subscribed for sure.
Too bad about the LG. Really glad to hear that the video helped - like the manuals as not sure if they were of use - I suffer from the same attention issues
I have to admit I've had the dragon in the box from September 6th and didn't open the box until watching your video. All my components are in perfect shape. Im still enjoying my Nakaimichi shockwafe Earc in my masterbedroom which I upgraded from original Nakaimichi shockwafe SSE Arc. It was such a huge improvement i was in no rush to get my dragon. But I ordered the AWOL 3000 pro with self rising 120 inch screen. Im waiting on the cabinet to set up the Nakaimichi.
Let us know how you like the Dragon once in place as I have a similar Nakaimichi purchase history as you. Love my Shockwave Arc and reluctant to go the distance with a Dragon
One other advantage of the Dragon vs a more traditional AVR setup is the wireless satellites and subs. I live in a 150 year old house and running wires just wasn't an option.
Awesome review! Thanks for sharing your experience! I had the same cutting sound issue you experienced but I was able to resolved it by resetting the dragon back to factory after I installed the new firmware 2.1. Hope this helps. Also when mine arrived my left sub was clipping and I am happy to report that Nakamichi support replaced it and now my all my subs are rocking my entire house with no issues.
I never thought that the thing that made me laugh harder than anything else today would be a video reviewing a soundbar setup! The dry humor hits so hard!
Honestly, I stopped using soundbar systems years ago. I got into a full home theater system, which are kick ass. But your reviews are so enjoyable & and thorough. I wish I would've known when I got my first Nakamichi in 2020
1 correction is needed in your video- yes you can adjust brightness along with you can turn off the bar display. Hit home in menu- scroll to far right to settings-scroll all the way down then turn brightness to adjust up or down. If on lowest setting it will turn off after a few seconds. Otherwise spot on video! Just subbed
I have never come across this channel nor have I heard from you mate; but i’ll say this; If every president put the amount effort, sass, detail into their job, there would be no issues in the world.
Thanks for the honest and unbiased review. I had this in mind as an option, but I’ll stick with Denon (AVR-4800H). At least I know what I get and that it’s right for the value and price.
@@neverenoughtech The Dragon’s 21 channels does sound temping, as it probably is very immersive. But that’s the only reason why I would give it a try. If.
New to your channel. Holy #%&$, this was an awesome review! So thorough, funny and useful! Thank you for all of your hard work! This system is truly intriguing. I also appreciate the many comparisons and the different use reviews. Thanks again! 🙏🏽🎶🖤‼️
He's going to make 24,000 subs within the next few months with his excellent DRAGON content. Pretty good secondary gain for the $4000 soundbar investment.
Superb video again Dan, on top of the thorough review, your memes and jokes are damn funny! Crouching Dragon Hidden Tiger ???🤣🤣🤣 should be the other way round. More video please!
Thank you so much for this INSANELY detailed video. I very much appreciate the time & effort you've put into it, & how you haven't sugar-coated anything. I decided to pull the trigger & I purchased the Dragon yesterday. I found it on eBay at significant savings as an opened box item sold directly from Nakamichi USA (100% positive feedback). It still comes with a 1-year warranty & they described it as being in A- condition with only (possible) light cosmetic imperfections 🤞, & they did show many (example) photos of what cosmetic imperfections I may encounter; I seriously hope I don't encounter the damage like what you've experienced 🙏. For what I paid ($2,600), I'm more than willing to accept minor cosmetic imperfections, but if it arrives with anything more than that, & if they don't honor their clear & very detailed description, you better believe they will be hearing from me, plus, if need be, eBay's guarantee has always done right by me. I contemplated going the official true Atmos route with all the proper components but decided the ease of setting up the Dragon along with its many advanced optional tweaks was more appealing. Don't get me wrong, if I hadn't grabbed it at the price I did, I would have likely passed on it.
Great review. I might be pulling the trigger on this system. I will be using it an ultra short throw projector and the placement of the center channel is something I am looking to resolve w the projector in the middle of the console.
Being in Australia I’d love a dragon but opted for the 990c. I’ve enjoyed watching movies on it but feel underwhelmed when listening to music. Only early days and haven’t figured out best sound settings yet and prob not even warn in. Hopefully I’ll get a dragon one day and retire the 990c for a bedroom solution Thanks so much for the time and effort of the review. It’s an absolute ball tearer as per your usual high standards.
After getting 990c it became clear to me that it sucks at stereo music... Therefore I bought a tiny Fosi Audio V3 and gave my old Wharfedales a new life. For around 100 USD with 48V/5A power supply it runs circles around Samsung and my old Yamaha RX-V471 receiver, too... Paired with WiiM Mini - fantastic duo!
@@sebanow interesting. I had a set of wharfedales not that long ago but they were cheap modern speakers which in my honest opinion I under powered. Might hunt around for a good stereo pair for music. Decisions decisions
@@michaelbray6499 well, as far as the speakers go, they were just waiting to be scrapped/sold cheap, because here was hoping for the bar to deliver... As it came out, while being great for movies, dialogue, atmos content and effects, etc., when it comes to stereo it's just a glorified bluetooth speaker, sadly, no matter how you connect it whatever source. Since the idea was to get rid of the Yamaha brick, I went the mini D class route with V3 and old speakers.
Thanks for the review.. definitely sounds like this system would be king for audiophiles BUT you’re standard individual most likely wouldn’t be able to set this up to its full potential.. I have the Sonos 7.2.4 and although it might not compare to the dragon imo the simplicity and standard user would actually find the sonos sounds better (given failure to properly set up the dragon)
@@MrBjorn6 initial setup probably not I was referring more to tuning it properly for your space. The vibe i got from the video is that it essentially a proper hi-fi system in soundbar form.. tuning wise it reminds me of the old school receiver with individual speakers style tuning
If they included an acrylic board you’re probably ok, and grill damage does not seem to affect or damage sound/internals. But I can see why you would be nervous
Really great review ! One request: would you please listen to some classic "hard" rock (Zeppelin, Who, or newer, Pearl Jam,) when reviewing. I don't want you to play a sample, you just listen and comment. I would bet the average purchaser of a $4000 soundbar is not that focused on pop music released in the last 3 years. Just my opinion. I thoroughly enjoy you site and don't understand why you don't 100,000 subscriptions by now !
Cracking review (pun intended) as always! Hope you achieve your 23k subs!! Clearly a beast of an all in one. Looking forward to the big shoot out! .. still haven't got rid of my Sony HT-A9. Will you be testing that in the comparison? Best
I upgraded my Nakamichi 7.2.4 to the Sonos Arc/Dual Subs/Fives a year ago (before Era 300 had a release date). I had an audio issue with the soundbar at purchase and Nakamichi sent a replacement ASAP. I gave up on the Nakamichi after 18 months when I started getting a random muffled sound that got progressively more frequent with any audio source (firmware was up-to-date). I had a noticeable improvement with the switch to the Sonos system in sound quality, ease of use, smaller system footprint with easier placement being wireless, less adjustment per audio source, easier tuning, easy updating of individual components, and one click whole house audio (now have 11 additional Sonos/IKEA speakers and 3 Beam soundbars). I'm 100% convinced the Dragon is better & will sound better. I don't want to give up the added flexibility and ease of use of the Sonos system listed above.
Great video as always. At some point, a head-to-head comparison between you and Caleb would be appropriate. 😊 You mentioned your next video with be a comparison between flagship systems, however, what about your non-sanctiones Sonos set-up? Again, thank you for making informative and entertaining content.
As a huge Nakamichi fan from the '80's (still have my BX-300 tape deck) I'd love to hear this. I think it could definitely be the best all-in-one box system, certainly WAY better than the Bose and Sonos cr@p. I definitely don't buy the "3,000 watts" claim. I have no interest in BUYING it though as my current home theater system is 7 Focal Chora 826's powered by an Onkyo TX-RZ820 receiver and a Polk 2x10" PSW650 sub. I plan on upgrading to an NAD M28 as a power upgrade for the 826's with eventually probably an Emotiva processor. For now I'd simply use the RCA outs on the Onkyo.
$3200 now for this system with the old one box packaging. I just can't imagine how would I feel if the soundbar comes damaged, not to mention my wife would punish me really bad still at this price hehe
Would be awesome to have the Dragon! In the past month I’ve had the Bose Ultra, Sonos Arc and now have the JBL 1300X. The JBL wins because it’s loud, great dialogue and truly 100% wireless rear speakers. I charge them at night conveniently on the sound bar like I do my phone. And they last all day! The JBL is usually $1700 plus tax but during Black Friday it was $999 and that’s a steal! To add further contacts, I have a wide-open living room with the dining room and kitchen attached. And I have 15 foot vaulted ceilings only the JBL 1300X was able to provide an amazing Atmos experience.
I am the owner and satisfied with the product as a perfect all-arounder. My 50c: woofers: ceo is concerned about size of the boxes when using 10" drivers. The solution is to put 2x 1x10" in a BR box. But then you loose "x.4.x" in the name (and potentially atoms or dolby cert). Based on the dimensions of ports the subs are tuned very high, potentially to compensate some mids. With 10" subs and lower tuning we would loose some mids and gain bass. To compensate this Nakamichi would need to put some bigger drivers to the bar to improve mids and these would take space and they would need to put few drivers out. So Dragon would become something like 9.2.4. And we would loose the extra sound effects in movies. And hype :)
Outstanding effort on this review! I appreciate how deep you went into the details. It truly is a special soundbar system that I really enjoyed, but for my ears I couldn’t get the subwoofers to perform on a level that matched the cost of this system. I ended up returning the Dragon. It seems to make most buyers happy though. Props to Nakamichi for being so bold with this product.
@@neverenoughtech The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree :) Even though it didn’t fit the bill for me, I’m looking forward to more videos from you featuring the Dragon. I spent 9 months yearning for it so I feel like I have an emotional connection to it even though I don’t have it anymore lol.
The question here is: Is it actually $2,500 better than the Q990C??? Does it really offer that much of a better experience in the average medium to large room found on most of our houses? Will it pay dividends? To me, the only appealing benefit is having two subs. Great video as always!
That value equation is purely based on your sound desire pitted against a customers relationship with the dollar (can’t really be determined by a reviewer) … this is not the only audio product priced with limited sound returns. It’s obvious though that this is priced such that it will remain niche so the generalized answer to the question is NO based on market feedback. Samsung has hit the sound price balance nearly perfectly - I’ll give them that.
from my experience where you are coming from plays ALOT. if you are coming from TV speakers the samsung990c will sound like paradise to you. if not then the discussion is open.
@@saiksaikatai594 you may be right. However, I’ve always had full discrete systems and I’m moving to a new place where I can’t fit all my equipment. So I’ve been auditioning a lot of audio systems and I can say there are some soundbar systems that give some discrete systems a run for their money.
I have the Dragon and i absolutely love it, but i was wondering if your subs made port noise or if they sounded like they were bottoming out? Do you think the default setting is too high and did you leave it at that and experience what I experienced? Thank You and great review!! So I realized I had set the crossover to 120hz so when I changedr it back to the default 200hz it helped and wasn't that noticeable at all and now sounds fantastic anyway thanks for the review and keep up the great work!!
Yes it's great product because no other like it in the market unfortunately the company will not sell you a replacement part if you have any problem in the future for some reason my 9.2.4 sse HDMI board went bad they refused to sell me another one now I'm using the optical cable
The delay when the remote is in Bluetooth mode is totally normal. If you have a Bluetooth mouse you'll notice this if it has a power-saving mode. If the remote has a power-saving function that could be what is happening. The first button press is waking the remote up and the Bluetooth connection has to reestablish. If it does have a power saving mode that could be disabled, then it would stay connected all the time and the delay would never be an issue.
Right, Nakamichi said they have never seen the behavior before (of which I’m skeptical) and it’s kind of important for a remote to be responsive because a higher % of the interactions are … first interactions. It’s not normal remote behavior in any case
Only one thing I can't get past. The 1 year warranty. Anything this proprietary and more importantly expensive needs to be backed by a more robust warranty.
The best nakamichi dragon review hands down! The fact that this beast can still make it place for comparison with other soundbar system doesn't justify the 4x price diff at all imo. Better place on with similar price tag avr system but i guess it will slightly lose out for sure. Cant wait for your next review sir 👍
Woah that's pretty wild that a 3900 dollar speaker system doesn't have WiFi connectivity. I use it ALL THE TIME on my Samsung Q930c and it's a must have for playing spotify. That and airplay are features I can't part with.
Great review! Would you please review the other Nakamichi sound bar!!!??? I’m referring to the Nakamichi Ultra Shockwave 9.2.4 with eARC. The second version of the Shockwave. Thank you 😁
🔥Buy Dragon on Amazon 🔥: amzn.to/3HyUv6x
Great job and I have one quick question since I don’t have experience with the dragon. I found an eBay every refurbished one for under $3000. My question is it only comes with one year warranty what happens after that that’s my concern. So for only one of these bad boys, is it worth the money?
By far the best review of any product, ever, I came across CZcams, very precise, in your face, honest and user centric review. Rightly put that not in the line of some shiny CZcamsrs, but those seems flashy and somewhat promotional videos. You earn my subscription, keep up the good work 👍
These comments mean a lot! Thanks for taking the time.
The best Dragon 11.4.6 review out there! Very well executed and presented 🥇🏆
Warms the heart. Thanks!
11.4.6 hell yes! Imagine 13.6.8? Or 15.6.8, or 17.8.10, or 19.8.12, or the panacea 21.10.14 only with 14 Atmos channels can you have true Atmos! My Uncle Ned has a 33.14.26 Atmos system he uses only reference equipment! Love you Uncle Ned, hope you’re reading this and seeing how much I love you.
Does anyone own a 11.4.6... is it really worth the extra 2000 dollars over the 9.2.4
You have a unique gift of staying informative and entertaining at the same time. I was thoroughly impressed.
Thanks - this was a tough one as I was sick the whole time
This review was so entertaining and informative! Didn’t even realize I watched a whole 50 minutes!
Appreciate the comment!
Best 50 minutes of my life. Work productivity be dammed.
That is a next level compliment … appreciate the good vibes!
Fantastic and thorough review! Liked and subscribed. As a lucky owner of the first 500 dragon, I agree with everything said here. After owning the system since early August, I have zero regrets and have been wanting a robust atmos system without the bulk and it works perfectly for me. Naka, has said they’d replace some of the damaged (from shipping) components for me, but haven’t delivered since. Though they respond quickly, their actions haven’t proven much as far as customer support goes for non influencers like myself. 😢
That’s disappointing to hear they haven’t replaced. I will admit I use my channel as some kind of insurance to make sure my issues get resolved … but that’s a lot of work for non contractual insurance … glad you are happy with it otherwise
As an update, they have sent me replacements for any of the dented equipment. I hope they improve the shipping experience and really listen to the customers
As soon as I finished watching this, I bought myself a Nakamichi dragon. No matter what the haters say never forget you’re really that guy when it comes to this. Keep it up!
Thanks man!
I dunno. I had the Shockwafe system. I got a used Marantz and discontinued sale on Jamo concert series speakers and while I loved the Shockwafe when I first got it, as soon as I plugged in a more traditional setup with some good bang for buck speakers and subs it was definitely much more brash and the difference between the highs and lows made it to where I was constantly grabbing the remote to turn it down when shit got loud. With my jamos they stay at about the 80% volume level and get loud without distortion or hurting my ears, but can be so quiet at the same time with objects getting kick clear out of my theater room and across a non existent hallway. It was a night and day difference and my setup is probably around the $2500 price range with 5 base layer speakers, two heights, and two subs. Almost half the price of the dragon for arguably much better quality. I gave my Shockwafe to my mom because I just couldn't go back to it after hearing a full range nuanced system that had an incredible soundstage and could handle low and high volume with precision and finesse
Corrections: #1 you can set the display to turn off in OSD (there will probably be more and I have properly shamed myself)
Subscribed. I appreciate your attention to detail, and willingness to let the video be as long as it needs to be to convey the necessary information.
Uncompromising! Love it!
Oh hell yeah, brb grabbing coffee
I would make it strong
Actually, probably a nice Kentucky bourbon - Flatboat or Bulleit, I can’t quite decide, so I guess a short one of each🥃🥃
(not to scale🤭
Get me one too! 2 sugars and sweet cream! Andrew Robinson for president of the American!
@neverenoughtech buddy quick question based on alot of your reviews I decided to try the Samsung q990c and this is coming from a guy who loves jbl 9.1 long story short you was right 990c sounds overall better even with less bass, my only problem is I'm experiencing some cutting out not all the time but enough, just asking any recommendations or experiencing with this or solutions
The precision in the way you articulated your experience was in one word, Professional.
I did have a question, if your Number 1 goal was to have the best 3d immersion in movies, would it be this system? Or something else?
Cleanest 3D effects is probably A9. But the sound is far less full - the sub is a must. Sonos with 300s is good but I would wait for this new rumored soundbar to see if the 300 bar cooperation gets better and well whatever benefit you might get from a better sounding bar.
this is the most underrated channel on CZcams, FOR NOW!
Excellent review (per usual). The Dragon is an absolute beast, and it has a price tag to match.
This was an excellent review ! Thankyou for all the hard work you put into this review. Well done!
🙂
This is by far the best review i have ever seen on the Dragon! And the way you do your content is very funny and nice at the same time👍😂. Thank you loads🔥
Appreciate it!
Great review and useful and regarding the damage to the main unit it’s UPS fault. When I was expecting mine to arrive I was lucky enough to see the ups truck down the street when they arrived to my house the way they were handling it was unacceptable and I stepped in right away and I got it out of the truck myself, my unit arrived in good condition thank goodness and the sound is amazing by the way.
Excellent coverage, top notch as per usual, well done. I'm in Europe and knowing I cant have it here is giving me a brian itch.
If it’s an expensive SB, we Yankees can buy it.
@@neverenoughtech Maybe they'll have mercy on us and start shipping EU versions directly here eventually if there's enough demand.
@@Braconara1981 +1 We need this in Europe!
Thank you for all your hard work! Appreciate the in-depth review and look forward to the next one! Have one for preorder, will be upgrading from the ambeo max so always nice to see pros and cons from an unbiased reviewer. :)
Ooooo, I would think the Ambeo Max is fire 🔥!?
Definitely a great soundbar but not having surrounds makes it feel a little lacking as far as something more immersive.@@edmundgil6008
The Dragon isn’t something I need, but I like that it exists. Looking forward to your four flagship fight video!
Congrats on reaching 23k early! You are by far the most enjoyably informative reviewer on CZcams. Looking forward to watching future videos
Excellent review. I think it shows something, when the high end companies are making products like this the receiver way is just getting too complicated. I own a Pioneer SC-09TX some consider it the "mother of all receivers" every time an up-grade comes along it's a nightmare to re-program. Sound bars look better all the time!
This! I had a nice Denon surround sound receiver ten years ago. Still remember how it took an entire day to get it working and even longer to fully set it up. Fun for some, but not for me. Been rolling with a Paradigm Soundscape soundbar paired with an RSL Speedwoofer for the past five years. Decent set up, but no surround and dialog is crap. I wanted a large enough of an upgraded experience to justify spending money to replace a system that is not broken, just disapointing. I also wanted something easy to set up. I simply refuse to go through the frustration of setting up a full surround system again. Screw that!Enter the Dragon. Receiving mine tomorrow. Looking forward to playing around with it.
I may upgrade in a few years and go whole hog with a properly prepped room with sound deadening and high end system, but if I do, I'm hiring someone to do it. Until then, I think the Dragon will do the trick.
An excellent point! A cable "fell" out of the Pioneer, couple hours trying to re-figure the thing out. Your excellent note got me to thinking. I am 70 and when I wanted to up-grade my 2 channel system couple cables and good to go. I never "had" to up-grade it was always if something quit (rare) or a new bit of technology and that was only a cd player. It is funny speaking for myself that something was good enough 30 years or so ago it still is. Or cannot be bested on my income. When this quits it will be a soundbar for me! After all if a cable comes loose from say the "phono" jack on the back of any stereo piece of equipment I sure always know where it goes to plug it back in! Wishing you a great New Year!@@overbuiltlimited
Thank you for being very thorough, I loved all of your sections and breaking down all of the aspects of this unit. Also thank you for being brutally honest pros and cons.
Thanks - I give it my best shot
Looking forward to the face off between the Dragon and the Sonos + 4 ERAs. I suspect in 2024,, the Sonos Arc 2 will make that configuration happen in a truly integrated setup.
The Dragon may represent the limits of the current soundbar form factor (soundbar + 2 surrounds.) I think customers are open to a more flexible arrangement between soundbar and discretes.
Finally it's happening to me!!!! This was a fantastic review and worth the wait!
I'd say 30k subs is the mark. This is the review I needed. I got these speakers.. and yes.. a Condo is not big enough for its potential.. Neethless to say, I am looking forward to your next review. Long live the King! Nakamichi Dragon!!
Always like your reviews sir. Thorough and hilarious at the same time.
As you said, i have the Ambeo Max from 2020, and i am furious that they don't have surround speakers like the 300sonos era or at least something..
GYI I have the Nakamichi Shockwafe 9.4 and had an issue with the bar randomly switching between inputs on its own. I called customer service, an English speaking american answered the phone, I told him the issue, told him it was a gift so I had no receipt and the sent me a brand new bar. Amazing customer service! Never had an issue after the second bar was installed. This is now 4 years later.
Best review on CZcams about the Nakamichi 👌🏽💪🏽🙏🏽
Means a whole bunch!
I enjoyed the demos at the end, the detail the tweeters can display are probably unmatched unless you have a high end speaker system. Thanks for the thoughtful and thorough review.
The tweeters are a bright spot for sure! Appreciate the comment
Watching the Oppenheimer portion on my iPad and streaming to my Bluetooth Oticon hearing aids (which FYI cost more than the Dragon 😮) - it was like being back in the IMAX theatre all over again 😂
Great Review! Thank you for doing this, wanted to add that you CAN turn off the main display and adjust the brightness, under system, main unit display it can be set to 0-3, 0 turns it off after a few seconds of no input command or change in audio signal
Yeah - I was made aware. I did issue a correction in the description. Regrettable error on my part … didn’t properly investigate
Great review. I just set up my Dragon a few days ago, holy sh$t is all I can say, that demo button...holy cow lol, I've gone in and have changed the didtances to my seating position but have left the sound levels alone for now, I also have 1 bass speaker in each cabinet playing currentley, keeps the miss's happy:)
Right on!
I thought I will get tired to listen to your review but I wasn’t, excellent review.
Wish I could get certificates to those that complete the whole thing … means a lot
Stumbled across your channel on accident after realizing my purchase of LG's SPQ8-S rear speaker set with SC9S soundbar was rather... disappointing.
Love your humor, your punctual nature, and showing the appropriate visuals, manuals, etc during discussion. For me, a fellow with a huge attention deficit, you make this daunting research significantly more bearable. You have my thanks! Subscribed for sure.
Too bad about the LG. Really glad to hear that the video helped - like the manuals as not sure if they were of use - I suffer from the same attention issues
This was a fantastic watch. Thank you for the awesome reviews, you always kill it!
Means a bunch … thanks!
I have to admit I've had the dragon in the box from September 6th and didn't open the box until watching your video. All my components are in perfect shape. Im still enjoying my Nakaimichi shockwafe Earc in my masterbedroom which I upgraded from original Nakaimichi shockwafe SSE Arc. It was such a huge improvement i was in no rush to get my dragon. But I ordered the AWOL 3000 pro with self rising 120 inch screen. Im waiting on the cabinet to set up the Nakaimichi.
Epic Flex
Let us know how you like the Dragon once in place as I have a similar Nakaimichi purchase history as you. Love my Shockwave Arc and reluctant to go the distance with a Dragon
thank you very much for the excellent review on the dragon very in depth detailed as well. it is a hell of a system...and very powerful as well...
Great job I can’t wait to get my! 😎👍
One other advantage of the Dragon vs a more traditional AVR setup is the wireless satellites and subs. I live in a 150 year old house and running wires just wasn't an option.
Awesome review! Thanks for sharing your experience! I had the same cutting sound issue you experienced but I was able to resolved it by resetting the dragon back to factory after I installed the new firmware 2.1. Hope this helps. Also when mine arrived my left sub was clipping and I am happy to report that Nakamichi support replaced it and now my all my subs are rocking my entire house with no issues.
I’m never as smart as the community
You’re very technical and very knowledgeable sir. 👍🏼
I never thought that the thing that made me laugh harder than anything else today would be a video reviewing a soundbar setup! The dry humor hits so hard!
Another excellent detailed review, thanks for making this video.
Honestly, I stopped using soundbar systems years ago. I got into a full home theater system, which are kick ass. But your reviews are so enjoyable & and thorough. I wish I would've known when I got my first Nakamichi in 2020
1 correction is needed in your video- yes you can adjust brightness along with you can turn off the bar display. Hit home in menu- scroll to far right to settings-scroll all the way down then turn brightness to adjust up or down. If on lowest setting it will turn off after a few seconds. Otherwise spot on video! Just subbed
I made a correction in the description weeks ago - and I made a clarification in followup videos
Your best review to date, so much effort!
This did require a BUNCH of effort. Appreciate the encouragement!
I have never come across this channel nor have I heard from you mate; but i’ll say this; If every president put the amount effort, sass, detail into their job, there would be no issues in the world.
Forwarding to my wife who doesn’t appreciate all my traits sufficiently
Thanks for the honest and unbiased review. I had this in mind as an option, but I’ll stick with Denon (AVR-4800H). At least I know what I get and that it’s right for the value and price.
I’m sure it will sound great
@@neverenoughtech The Dragon’s 21 channels does sound temping, as it probably is very immersive. But that’s the only reason why I would give it a try. If.
Thank you for this wonderful review!
Appreciate it
New to your channel. Holy #%&$, this was an awesome review! So thorough, funny and useful! Thank you for all of your hard work! This system is truly intriguing. I also appreciate the many comparisons and the different use reviews. Thanks again! 🙏🏽🎶🖤‼️
I try not to let people know about my channel. Very exclusive (by the numbers) 🙂. Glad you found it!
You got a new follower just for this excellent review of the nakamichi dragon 🐉👍🏽
That keeps the engine going. Thanks!
Excellent review, keep up the great work
Appreciate the encouragement!
Wow! You covered EVERYTHING! Best review by far 😎👌
You are such great presenter
Means a lot!
@@neverenoughtech I mean it 👍👍👍
He's going to make 24,000 subs within the next few months with his excellent DRAGON content. Pretty good secondary gain for the $4000 soundbar investment.
We share a vision 🙂
Kuddos for high quality content. Appreciate it.
Thanks!
Great review! Thank you!
Best ears on CZcams
Goes without saying
Thank you for an exceptionally detailed and informative review.
Surprisingly funny in parts. Steven Wright might be getting jealous.
I’m not that good looking
Seems awesome, though picked up the Q990C with the AAA discount deal at $840 and yeah that price difference is hard to justify.
Kool story
Superb video again Dan, on top of the thorough review, your memes and jokes are damn funny! Crouching Dragon Hidden Tiger ???🤣🤣🤣 should be the other way round. More video please!
Well the dragon is crouching so it’s only logical to assume the tiger would then need to hide
Excellent review and very informative and useful. Compared to other youtubers just trying to get a commission.
Thank you so much for this INSANELY detailed video. I very much appreciate the time & effort you've put into it, & how you haven't sugar-coated anything.
I decided to pull the trigger & I purchased the Dragon yesterday. I found it on eBay at significant savings as an opened box item sold directly from Nakamichi USA (100% positive feedback). It still comes with a 1-year warranty & they described it as being in A- condition with only (possible) light cosmetic imperfections 🤞, & they did show many (example) photos of what cosmetic imperfections I may encounter; I seriously hope I don't encounter the damage like what you've experienced 🙏. For what I paid ($2,600), I'm more than willing to accept minor cosmetic imperfections, but if it arrives with anything more than that, & if they don't honor their clear & very detailed description, you better believe they will be hearing from me, plus, if need be, eBay's guarantee has always done right by me.
I contemplated going the official true Atmos route with all the proper components but decided the ease of setting up the Dragon along with its many advanced optional tweaks was more appealing. Don't get me wrong, if I hadn't grabbed it at the price I did, I would have likely passed on it.
Great review. I might be pulling the trigger on this system. I will be using it an ultra short throw projector and the placement of the center channel is something I am looking to resolve w the projector in the middle of the console.
When you mean center channel are you referring to the dragon’s main unit or am I missing something?
Being in Australia I’d love a dragon but opted for the 990c.
I’ve enjoyed watching movies on it but feel underwhelmed when listening to music.
Only early days and haven’t figured out best sound settings yet and prob not even warn in.
Hopefully I’ll get a dragon one day and retire the 990c for a bedroom solution
Thanks so much for the time and effort of the review.
It’s an absolute ball tearer as per your usual high standards.
After getting 990c it became clear to me that it sucks at stereo music... Therefore I bought a tiny Fosi Audio V3 and gave my old Wharfedales a new life. For around 100 USD with 48V/5A power supply it runs circles around Samsung and my old Yamaha RX-V471 receiver, too... Paired with WiiM Mini - fantastic duo!
@@sebanow interesting.
I had a set of wharfedales not that long ago but they were cheap modern speakers which in my honest opinion I under powered.
Might hunt around for a good stereo pair for music.
Decisions decisions
@@michaelbray6499 well, as far as the speakers go, they were just waiting to be scrapped/sold cheap, because here was hoping for the bar to deliver... As it came out, while being great for movies, dialogue, atmos content and effects, etc., when it comes to stereo it's just a glorified bluetooth speaker, sadly, no matter how you connect it whatever source. Since the idea was to get rid of the Yamaha brick, I went the mini D class route with V3 and old speakers.
Dolby atmos soundbars are intentionally crap at music since they are optimised for surround home theater audio...
Thanks for the review.. definitely sounds like this system would be king for audiophiles BUT you’re standard individual most likely wouldn’t be able to set this up to its full potential..
I have the Sonos 7.2.4 and although it might not compare to the dragon imo the simplicity and standard user would actually find the sonos sounds better (given failure to properly set up the dragon)
The dragon isn't that hard to setup
@@MrBjorn6 initial setup probably not I was referring more to tuning it properly for your space.
The vibe i got from the video is that it essentially a proper hi-fi system in soundbar form.. tuning wise it reminds me of the old school receiver with individual speakers style tuning
Amazing review Daniel. I have to be content just watching your review of this beast coz its not available in India.
i trust his ears for sound quality evaluation.
This is a joke people make
You’re the best, keep up the great work please, I just bought one ande will get it shipped to Mexico I’m totally nervous about the handling
If they included an acrylic board you’re probably ok, and grill damage does not seem to affect or damage sound/internals. But I can see why you would be nervous
Awesome review
Really great review !
One request: would you please listen to some classic "hard" rock (Zeppelin, Who, or newer, Pearl Jam,) when reviewing.
I don't want you to play a sample, you just listen and comment.
I would bet the average purchaser of a $4000 soundbar is not that focused on pop music released in the last 3 years. Just my opinion.
I thoroughly enjoy you site and don't understand why you don't 100,000 subscriptions by now !
Great review! Keep em coming!
Cracking review (pun intended) as always! Hope you achieve your 23k subs!! Clearly a beast of an all in one. Looking forward to the big shoot out! .. still haven't got rid of my Sony HT-A9. Will you be testing that in the comparison? Best
A9 will be there 😀
I upgraded my Nakamichi 7.2.4 to the Sonos Arc/Dual Subs/Fives a year ago (before Era 300 had a release date). I had an audio issue with the soundbar at purchase and Nakamichi sent a replacement ASAP. I gave up on the Nakamichi after 18 months when I started getting a random muffled sound that got progressively more frequent with any audio source (firmware was up-to-date).
I had a noticeable improvement with the switch to the Sonos system in sound quality, ease of use, smaller system footprint with easier placement being wireless, less adjustment per audio source, easier tuning, easy updating of individual components, and one click whole house audio (now have 11 additional Sonos/IKEA speakers and 3 Beam soundbars).
I'm 100% convinced the Dragon is better & will sound better. I don't want to give up the added flexibility and ease of use of the Sonos system listed above.
Actually pretty cool review.
Can we get a 6months later update? I have watched this video literally more then 7 times till now.❤
I’m thinking along those terms
Mad max is just sound and visual paradise, a master piece 🙌
Probably the best meld of traditional and modern filming techniques I can think of
Seriously, nice video!
Glad you liked it!
Great video as always. At some point, a head-to-head comparison between you and Caleb would be appropriate. 😊 You mentioned your next video with be a comparison between flagship systems, however, what about your non-sanctiones Sonos set-up? Again, thank you for making informative and entertaining content.
You also didn’t implement taking the side subs and putting them at a 45° angle against the walls
That’s the recommendation when in the corner. The corner is not recommended
THAT ENDING IS 👌
New subs here. Ill wait for the 2nd ver before grabbing one. For now, im happy with Q990C with daisychaining 15” sub lol
Appreciate the support
As a huge Nakamichi fan from the '80's (still have my BX-300 tape deck) I'd love to hear this. I think it could definitely be the best all-in-one box system, certainly WAY better than the Bose and Sonos cr@p. I definitely don't buy the "3,000 watts" claim. I have no interest in BUYING it though as my current home theater system is 7 Focal Chora 826's powered by an Onkyo TX-RZ820 receiver and a Polk 2x10" PSW650 sub. I plan on upgrading to an NAD M28 as a power upgrade for the 826's with eventually probably an Emotiva processor. For now I'd simply use the RCA outs on the Onkyo.
$3200 now for this system with the old one box packaging. I just can't imagine how would I feel if the soundbar comes damaged, not to mention my wife would punish me really bad still at this price hehe
Would be awesome to have the Dragon! In the past month I’ve had the Bose Ultra, Sonos Arc and now have the JBL 1300X. The JBL wins because it’s loud, great dialogue and truly 100% wireless rear speakers. I charge them at night conveniently on the sound bar like I do my phone. And they last all day! The JBL is usually $1700 plus tax but during Black Friday it was $999 and that’s a steal!
To add further contacts, I have a wide-open living room with the dining room and kitchen attached. And I have 15 foot vaulted ceilings only the JBL 1300X was able to provide an amazing Atmos experience.
I am the owner and satisfied with the product as a perfect all-arounder. My 50c: woofers: ceo is concerned about size of the boxes when using 10" drivers. The solution is to put 2x 1x10" in a BR box. But then you loose "x.4.x" in the name (and potentially atoms or dolby cert). Based on the dimensions of ports the subs are tuned very high, potentially to compensate some mids. With 10" subs and lower tuning we would loose some mids and gain bass. To compensate this Nakamichi would need to put some bigger drivers to the bar to improve mids and these would take space and they would need to put few drivers out. So Dragon would become something like 9.2.4. And we would loose the extra sound effects in movies. And hype :)
Outstanding effort on this review! I appreciate how deep you went into the details. It truly is a special soundbar system that I really enjoyed, but for my ears I couldn’t get the subwoofers to perform on a level that matched the cost of this system. I ended up returning the Dragon. It seems to make most buyers happy though. Props to Nakamichi for being so bold with this product.
I get where you’re coming from. My dad who is very offended by any amount of bass was very triggered by the dragon. Maybe that’s good enough for me.
@@neverenoughtech The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree :) Even though it didn’t fit the bill for me, I’m looking forward to more videos from you featuring the Dragon. I spent 9 months yearning for it so I feel like I have an emotional connection to it even though I don’t have it anymore lol.
The question here is: Is it actually $2,500 better than the Q990C??? Does it really offer that much of a better experience in the average medium to large room found on most of our houses? Will it pay dividends? To me, the only appealing benefit is having two subs.
Great video as always!
That value equation is purely based on your sound desire pitted against a customers relationship with the dollar (can’t really be determined by a reviewer) … this is not the only audio product priced with limited sound returns. It’s obvious though that this is priced such that it will remain niche so the generalized answer to the question is NO based on market feedback. Samsung has hit the sound price balance nearly perfectly - I’ll give them that.
from my experience where you are coming from plays ALOT. if you are coming from TV speakers the samsung990c will sound like paradise to you. if not then the discussion is open.
@@saiksaikatai594 you may be right. However, I’ve always had full discrete systems and I’m moving to a new place where I can’t fit all my equipment. So I’ve been auditioning a lot of audio systems and I can say there are some soundbar systems that give some discrete systems a run for their money.
I saw one of those things up close and had no idea the soundbar was that huge.
It’s a chunker
I have the Dragon and i absolutely love it, but i was wondering if your subs made port noise or if they sounded like they were bottoming out? Do you think the default setting is too high and did you leave it at that and experience what I experienced?
Thank You and great review!!
So I realized I had set the crossover to 120hz so when I changedr it back to the default 200hz it helped and wasn't that noticeable at all and now sounds fantastic anyway thanks for the review and keep up the great work!!
yup 120hz is the key and the 2.1 software upgrade
Yes it's great product because no other like it in the market unfortunately the company will not sell you a replacement part if you have any problem in the future for some reason my 9.2.4 sse HDMI board went bad they refused to sell me another one now I'm using the optical cable
The delay when the remote is in Bluetooth mode is totally normal. If you have a Bluetooth mouse you'll notice this if it has a power-saving mode. If the remote has a power-saving function that could be what is happening. The first button press is waking the remote up and the Bluetooth connection has to reestablish. If it does have a power saving mode that could be disabled, then it would stay connected all the time and the delay would never be an issue.
Right, Nakamichi said they have never seen the behavior before (of which I’m skeptical) and it’s kind of important for a remote to be responsive because a higher % of the interactions are … first interactions. It’s not normal remote behavior in any case
Have been planning on getting a Sonos ARC with 300’s - but now I’m thinking about blowing my savings for a Dragon.
Dialog is key for me. Hmmm.
Well done.
Only one thing I can't get past. The 1 year warranty. Anything this proprietary and more importantly expensive needs to be backed by a more robust warranty.
Yes …and I should have pointed that out
Great review
The best nakamichi dragon review hands down! The fact that this beast can still make it place for comparison with other soundbar system doesn't justify the 4x price diff at all imo. Better place on with similar price tag avr system but i guess it will slightly lose out for sure. Cant wait for your next review sir 👍
Woah that's pretty wild that a 3900 dollar speaker system doesn't have WiFi connectivity. I use it ALL THE TIME on my Samsung Q930c and it's a must have for playing spotify. That and airplay are features I can't part with.
Great review!
Would you please review the other Nakamichi sound bar!!!??? I’m referring to the Nakamichi Ultra Shockwave 9.2.4 with eARC. The second version of the Shockwave.
Thank you 😁
HE HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK AND RESEARCH,.SUBSCRIBE PEOPLE !!!
Officially endorsed 🫡