Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 Soundbar Surround Sound System Unleashed

Nakamichi's Dragon soundbar is a monster, boasting 21 audio channels and claiming a world's first in offering DTS: X Pro, which supports up to 32 speakers and has only so far been seen in high-end AV receivers. In contrast, the standard DTS:X can 'only' cope with eleven.

Audiophiles will already be familiar with the significance of the name as used by the legendary Dragon Cassette Deck (1982), the Dragon Turntable (1985) and the Dragon CD Player (1996). These Nakamichi products have achieved cult status, with the Nakamichi Dragon badge representing technological breakthroughs and audio performance.

Five years of extensive research and development efforts have resulted in this return of the Dragon with the 11.4.6 surround sound system announced in time for the brand's 75th anniversary.

The Nakamichi Dragon's stainless steel chassis measures a massive 58-inches across, which is wider than the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max and will be a decent match for HDTV's 60-inches or bigger.

Under the hood, you will find 31 drivers, including six up-firing units (four in the main soundbar and two in the 3D Omni-Motion Reference Surround speakers) and four subwoofers.

We are told that the soundbar-dwelling up-firing drivers are angled at 10 and 20 degrees (one on each side) to render vertical and overhead sound objects at precise heights.

Meanwhile, the Dragon's bipolar surround speakers are equipped with the patented PerfectHeight Mechanism, enabling the upfiring drivers to be rotated up to 180 degrees to accommodate any environment, giving them an optimal angle regardless of room shape and seating position.

Additionally, each surround speaker carries two three-inch drivers for the rear and surround channels and an Air Motion Transformer tweeter.

Those drivers are powered by 15 digital amplifiers producing a claimed peak power output of 3000W (125dB).

The result is support for all Dolby Surround formats (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos, etc.) alongside Dolby Vision. In addition, Qualcomm's aptX HD is also on-board, offering higher-quality wireless audio via Bluetooth.

The new Dragon soundbar system has already picked up a CES Innovation award and will be released into the wild later this year and sell overseas for USD $3,499. Australian availability has not yet been confirmed.