As a home cinema expert, I review a whole lot of soundbars. While no model can quite match the truly immersive experience of a good, full-fat multi-speaker setup, the category has grown considerably over the years, and for good reason.

When soundbars were first introduced in 2005 with the Yamaha YSP-1, they boasted an all-in-one, compact design that packed surround sound into a single product that sat neatly in front of your TV. And there's a lot to like about that simplicity.

But I have been testing more and more soundbar packages that are adding extra elements to the mix. One of the most extreme examples is the Nakamichi Dragon soundbar package, consisting of two subwoofers, two surrounds and a main soundbar which creates a whopping 11.4.6-channel configuration.

You may think that adding extra subwoofers and surround sound speakers would immediately make for a more immersive listening experience. I've tested my fair share of soundbar packages, however, and the most recent system to be put through its paces proves that this is not always the case.

As always, the devil is in the details, and it depends heavily on the specific models you're considering.

Enter the JBL Bar 1000MK2, which sports one of the most versatile soundbar package designs we have had in our test room.

The Dolby Atmos soundbar launched at £1000 / £1200 / AU$1600, although in the UK you can pick it up for £900 at a variety of retailers.

Offering a 7.1.4-channel configuration, the JBL model features two detachable surrounds that deliver “immersive, cinematic surround sound” for movie viewing, according to the brand.

Inside each surround, you will find one up-firing driver as well as a racetrack driver.

They can also be used with JBL's Broadcasting feature, which means you can take one of the surrounds into another room and transform it into a surround speaker, so you don't miss out on the action.

The speakers provide a claimed 10 hours of battery life, but when you need to give them some juice, you can connect them to the main soundbar's magnetic ports on each side.

This all makes them sound great. But upon actually using it, the JBL shows that having lots of clever functionality and wireless surrounds doesn't garuntee it's the best product available, or that it'll be better than equivalently priced single bar solutions.

While the 1000MK2 delivers a reasonably precise and wide soundstage with its detachable speakers, they fail to pack the punch we were hoping for.

We say in our review: "Even when they are cranked up to their maximum volume, they don’t create as much scale as rival systems and struggle to generate a truly immersive dome of sound above us."

Their versatile design is still a big draw, giving the package a flexibility that rivals simply don’t have. But class-leading single soundbars can offer a more immersive listening experience without the extra kit.

Take the Sonos Arc Ultra, we compared it against, for example. The Award-winner comes in at roughly the same price as the JBL model, costing £999 / $999 / AU$1799.

When we put the two soundbars head-to-head, the Sonos surprisingly manages to produce a more convincing surround-sound experience, despite it being just one soundbar. While watching Thunderbolts with both models as gunshots fire all around the soundstage, the Sonos delivers a wider yet more precise experience that the JBL can't match.

Despite including a clever, innovative design with its detachable speakers, the JBL's surrounds don't make enough of an impact, especially when compared to the Sonos' more compact build. It seems that less is more, in this case. Which is why I felt the need to pen this warning, letting readers know, just because something has surrounds, doesn't make it automatically better. Trust me, I've done the side-by-side comparisons to check.

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If there’s one thing my 20-plus years of writing about AV tech have taught me, it’s there’s no such thing as the perfect product.

Whether it’s wireless earbuds, music streamers or flatscreen TVs, there’s always room for improvement, even in the very best five-star performers.

And the world of Dolby Atmos soundbars is no different. It’s a category that has exploded in recent years as support for the audio format has gained momentum, thanks to its ability to add an extra dimension to traditional surround sound.

But what if I had a blank sheet of paper and could create the perfect Dolby Atmos soundbar, combining the best bits from models we’ve had through the What Hi-Fi? Test rooms?

Below, I’ve attempted just that. My aim? To try and build a bar that delivers a bit of everything in your hunt for convenience and amazing, immersive sound quality.

What would you like to see in your ultimate Dolby Atmos soundbar? Let me know in the comments below.

JBL's flexibility

Part of the selling point of a soundbar is the convenience. Many people want to improve their TV’s audio but haven’t got the space for a traditional full-blown surround sound set-up and all the big boxes and reams of cabling that it entails.

This hasn’t stopped the emergence, though, of what we’d call soundbar systems. These halfway house packages include surround speakers, such as the Samsung HW-Q990D.

But even this solution still leaves you with extra boxes cluttering up your living room and, in many cases, these boxes (specifically rear surround speakers) require a power cable running to them.

However, JBL has come up with a genius solution which I would love to see more manufacturers implement. The unique feature of the JBL Bar 1300 is that it has speakers at either end of the soundbar, which, when detached, turn into wireless surrounds.

Not only this, they can be used as portable Bluetooth speakers, which gives you an immense amount of flexibility and added value.

The wireless surrounds even have an upfiring driver, which helps with the dispersion of effects at the rear of your viewing position.

Worried about them running out of steam before the end of your LOTR movie marathon? Battery life of around 12 hours should put your mind at rest (and should even cover you for the extended editions of the Rings trilogy).

Sonos' precision

The Sonos Arc Ultra is arguably the best Dolby Atmos soundbar you can buy if you’re looking at all-round performance for the money. And a huge chunk of its appeal comes from the sound quality it spits out.

In particular, it delivers some of the most precise placement of dialogue, Dolby Atmos effects and bass that we’ve experienced from a standalone soundbar.

In our Sonos Arc review, we noted that the “increased precision helps keep everything organised both rhythmically and spatially”. It’s a dab hand at extracting a real sense of atmosphere from any soundtrack it’s asked to handle.

Lower down the frequency range, we noted that “bass notes hit with greater force and stop more precisely, and they’re tuneful in a way that makes the bass from the original Arc sound somewhat leaden and one-dimensional”.

Partly responsible for this awesome audio are the bar’s Sound Motion drivers. These clever units have four smaller, lightweight motors in opposing corners, which push the cone more than the single motor you find in most traditional drivers.

These motors push the cone to shift far more air and produce far more bass. But the extra agility in the low-frequency performance also makes the Arc Ultra even more musical than its close rivals.

Sony's scale

No Dolby Atmos soundbar we’ve tested does room-filling sound quite like the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9.

While it’s not difficult for a good soundbar to bring an improvement to your TV’s sound, it can be difficult for a soundbar to truly fill your living room and deliver a proper home cinema experience with enough of a sense of scale to make the bar just blend into the background.

Step forward the Bravia Theatre Bar 9. It features 13 drivers and quad passive radiators with the array designed to create a 'bubble of sound' in your room using Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping.

This extra processing creates phantom speakers in places where physical speakers don’t exist, and the effects are fantastic.

Sony also uses its Sound Field Optimisation processing to get the soundbar performing optimally for your particular room layout and viewing conditions.

In our Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 review, we said it “puts in arguably the most Atmos-y delivery we’ve heard from a solo soundbar”. We also remarked that it “pushes sound far out to the left and right, a long way into the room and right up to the ceiling” – which is exactly what you want from a soundbar.

The last thing you need to hear is gaps in the sound field, and the Sony is an expert at filling these in.

Samsung's bass

If there’s one area where soundbars can struggle, it’s in the bass department.

Given the laws of physics and the slim dimensions of many soundbars, it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that, generally, they can’t unleash a lot of low frequency heft.

But even when a subwoofer is added, the integration between bar and bass box isn’t always perfect and can make the sound more disjointed. The quality of bass can be sub-par too, with explosions and rumbles sounding thick, wallowy and ill-defined.

Which is why I’d take the bass performance from the recently tested Samsung HW-Q990F.

This soundbar package includes a cool cube subwoofer that not only hits hard with plenty of power behind it but also sounds controlled and dynamic, and paints low frequencies with the kind of tonal texture you rarely hear from such systems.

In our Samsung HW-Q990F review, we said bass sounds "organic, balanced, and seamlessly integrated into the system", which is a tricky thing to accomplish.

Nakamichi's features

The Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 might not have blown us away in the sound department, but there are a few features I’m drawn to that seem to make sense for a Dolby Atmos soundbar.

Take the satellite speakers. Each unit features two drivers pointing in different directions so that they can serve as surround or surround-back speakers.

Not only this, each one has an upward-firing driver on top that can be rotated to five pre-set positions to angle the overhead sound towards your seating position.

Other soundbars could learn from the Nakamichi’s wired connectivity and excellent choice of inputs too. These include an HDMI eARC socket plus three full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 connections that support 4K up to 120Hz, or 8K up to 60Hz, as well as VRR and ALLM.

The Dragon 11.4.6 also supports HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR through those HDMI passthrough ports. All Dolby formats are supported, as is DTS:X Pro, which is a rarity in the world of soundbars.

Oh, and did I mention this bonkers bar even has a concierge service, which you can use if you’re having any technical difficulties?

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We asked you, What Hi-Fi?'s readers, if movies are better streamed or on a disc – and your responses made one thing clear

This month’s visit to What Hi-Fi? archive saw me, as usual, pick up an issue – if not quite at random, certainly with little pre-planning – and finding plenty of content to raise an eyebrow. Similarities, contrasts, the familiar and the strange; there’s always something of note to highlight, whichever issue I stumble upon.

The June 1995 issue it is, then. Thirty years ago, What Hi-Fi? was able to undertake a ten-way Supertest of two-channel stereo amplifiers with laser-like focus on a tiny price-break. The team was also investigating the burgeoning world of multi-channel home cinema sound, looking at AV amplifiers and speakers specifically designed for surround-sound duties.

It’s an interesting comparison with the June 2025 issue of the magazine – out now and available in all good newsagents! – which also concerns itself with improving your TV’s sound, and also recommends some stereo amplifiers. (Those amps, mind you, are at a considerably more lofty price-point than we were investigating 30 years ago.)

So much power…

The amplifiers we are highlighting in the latest issue of What Hi-Fi? are serious hi-fi – high-ticket items that we love across a broad band of pricing (from £1000-£5000). Back in ’95, though, it was possible to put as many as 10 amplifiers in direct comparison with one another – and each of them costing between £200 and £300.

From Arcam to Technics, via the likes of Creek, JVC, Kenwood and Nakamichi, we put the two handfuls of power providers through their paces. And it was the Kenwood KA-3020SE, a What Hi-Fi? Award winner for a reason, that shone the brightest. And it came in at just £200, so there was some serious value there.

One that got away

The amplifier, of course, has been the heart of the hi-fi system since the beginning of recorded music reproduction. There was evidence in the June 1995 issue, though, of a hi-fi format that flew, perhaps, a little close to the sun, only to crash and burn.

Inside the front cover of the magazine is an offer from arch-innovator Philips for readers to try one of its new (and well-reviewed) Digital Compact Cassette machines in a 28-day money-back offer. It is a rather sobering reminder that brilliance in a product is not necessarily enough to make it a success.

Format wars have been a recurring theme in the world of home entertainment, and this format was to fall by the wayside rather quickly: Philips discontinued the sale of its DCC technology just a year or so later after the public failed to take it to its heart (even after this generous offer to our loyal readers…)

When CD was king

The lead First Test back in June 1995 was the Marantz CD72MkII, a five-star £600 CD player that put in a striking performance for our review team.

The mid-90s was, of course, the very height of CD’s power in the world of music reproduction, and the Marantz was just one of a number of supremely talented performers at the time; it had to contend with excellent rivals from the likes of Arcam and Micromega, among others.

And the format, while it has waned considerably over the intervening three decades, still endures with some strength – as the launch of a brand new Cyrus 40 CD shows only too clearly.

One-star rarity

Another test to leap off the pages of the June 1995 issue of the magazine at me did so for very different reasons. What Hi-Fi? star ratings have been with us for most of the brand’s history and it is fair to say that the vast majority of products we test are at the very least competent.

Solid three and four-star reviews abound – and we should all be happy to see that there are plenty of excellent five-star performers out there to buy as well. Two and even, heaven forbid, one-star products are far, far more unusual (although certainly not unheard of – cough Amazon, cough).

I present, then, to you, dear reader, a one-star pro-logic home cinema receiver from Sherwood. The final paragraph sums things up, really: “Packing too many ideas into a single box is bound to lead to compromise, and this receiver doesn’t impress in any of its roles.”

Bringing up the rear

To bring things back to the start of this column, the little test of rear channel speakers from 30 years ago was interesting. The concept of home cinema was clearly relatively new – other than incredibly expensive custom installs, it hadn’t been something most people could have reasonably considered.

Interesting, then, to see a panel explaining just what we meant by “home cinema” and going into a bit of detail about just what these small surround speakers were for and how they differed from the main speakers in a system. The panel also goes into the different forms of Dolby sound and explains how to get the most out of your system.

All very different from today, of course, when it is perfectly possible to get a form of surround sound (in Dolby Atmos, for example) that was beyond even cinema complexes 30 years ago – and that from a relatively small bar sitting in front of your TV.

And, in the case of some of the soundbars gracing the front cover of the June 2025 edition of What Hi-Fi?, for not any more money than you would have had to shell out for some of those surrounds of 1995.

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Nakamichi has unveiled a beastly new 12-inch subwoofer upgrade for its Dragon home cinema system, which promises to shake rooms (and possibly your house’s foundations), with earth-shattering bass.

The new sub is a response to Dragon owners clamouring for even more low-end oomph, and it even has the stats to prove it – Nakamichi's survey found that 67 per cent of respondents prefer a subwoofer with a 12-inch or larger driver, while 41 per cent fancy having three or more subs in their room (more on that in a bit).

Tipping the scales at a hefty 36kg, the sub rocks a carbon fibre-reinforced aluminium driver, paired with a 12-inch carbon passive radiator. This combo promises to deliver a thunderous 750 watts of power, and is capable of reaching down to 19Hz. For those keeping score, that's substantially beefier than the company’s original 8-inch dual-opposing drivers.

And if your bass addiction goes beyond the extreme, you’re more than welcome to add up to four of these 12-inch monsters to your Dragon setup, if your wallet is up to the challenge. Nakamichi goes as far as stating that this quadruple setup "will leave even the most die-hard low-frequency aficionados in awe". We're not sure if that's a promise or a threat, but we applaud the low-end love nonetheless.

Rayman Cheng, Nakamichi USA's CEO, states that "Our 12-inch subwoofer doesn't just emit bass – it releases cataclysmic rumbles with thundering subsonic energy, unlocking a new dimension to your favourite content." Hyperbole? Perhaps. But we'd be lying if we said we wouldn’t like to take a fully kitted-out setup for a spin.

The subwoofer itself slots into Nakamichi's modular Dragon system, which remains a formidable setup in its own right. At its max configuration, it serves up 21 channels, 15 digital amplifiers, six up-firing speakers, and a pair of Omni-Motion Reference Surrounds. It's also one of the first wireless systems to support DTS:X Pro, for those who like their surround sound cutting-edge.

If you're feeling particularly extravagant (and have very understanding neighbours, or better yet, none at all), you can now order Dragon’s flagship system which includes a a full quartet of these 12-inch subs, along with a 58-inch main unit and two Omni-Motion Reference Surrounds, if you fancy. This flagship config pushes out a room-trembling 5000 watts, and will set you back $8499.99.

For those with slightly more modest (but still considerable) ambitions, there's also the option for a Dragon system with two 12-inch subs, priced at $5599.99. The original setup with dual 8-inch subs remains available at $3999.99.

And if you’d like to upgrade your existing Dragon setup, you can nab individual 12-inch subs for $1499.99 each, while pairs of the original 8-inch dual-opposing subs go for $1199.99.

Only US pricing and release dates have been confirmed, with no word yet for UK or Australian markets. Nakamichi says the new subs and system configurations will debut on its US web store later this month.

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You may have heard of the Nakamichi Dragon before, but you might not remember it looking like this. Once the moniker of a legendary cassette deck and record player in the 1980s, a CD player in the 1990s, and even a Bluetooth speaker in the early 2010s, the Dragon name has adorned a veritable mishmash of audio gear in the last few decades.

Now the Nakamichi Dragon has been reinvented once again, this time for the 2020s, and it’s come back as a… Dolby Atmos soundbar package? It’s a left-field development in Nakamichi’s legacy, but we’re interested to see how it fares in our AV test room. Can this soundbar bring the heat, or will we have to slay this Dragon?

Price

The Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 (to give it its full title) emerged from its lair at CES 2023, where the company announced it would be reviving the mythical beast. Up until very recently, Nakamichi only sold this soundbar system in the US, with outcry from many prospective customers worldwide. 

That situation has now changed, thanks to Nakamichi striking a partnership with American online technology retailer B&H Photo Video, who will ship the bar overseas for customers in a wide selection of countries. 

As standard the package costs $3900 (around £3200 / AU$6050), however, that price jumps up with tax and shipping costs if you want to get it sent across from the States. So, the total cost to buy the Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 and have it shipped to the UK is $5300 (around £4200), and for Australia, the total cost is $5050 (around AU$7600). 

Spending well over a thousand pounds/dollars to get a soundbar shipped overseas may be a tough pill to swallow, and US customers will likely be relieved that they don't have to cough up any extra cash to have it delivered.

Build

Lugging the Nakamichi Dragon into our test room is no small feat, and if you plan on buying one of these yourself, you will absolutely need someone to help you get it out of the box. The total weight of the system, box and all, is a staggering 67kg.

Starting with the heart of this system, the main soundbar unit, we’re first drawn to how absolutely huge it is. It measures 11 x 148 x 20cm (hwd) and weighs the best part of 15kg on its own, making it look rather out of proportion sitting below our 65-inch LG TV. We’d struggle to imagine it paired with any smaller TV either, so bear that in mind if you have a 55-inch set or smaller. Those with 75-inch TVs upwards may not be as concerned, although you are still going to need a hefty support to hold this bar.

Thankfully, Nakamichi offers mounting brackets if you plan on setting the bar up that way. Aesthetically, we find the main unit of the Dragon system to be divisive. While the steely grey colour pallet with occasional gold accents looks rather smart, we find the bulky build to be cumbersome, and the angled edges won’t be to everyone’s taste. Atop the soundbar, you’ll find a set of illuminated touch controls that are useful and responsive, and there is a reasonably sized integrated two-line dot matrix display on the front of the unit. 

The surround speakers carry on the sizeable theme, dwarfing the petite surrounds of the soon-to-be-reviewed Yamaha True X soundbar package and even towering over the more conventionally sized surround speakers of the Samsung Q990C. The satellite speakers measure 27 x 23 x 21cm (hwd) and weigh 4kg each, and they too carry the dark grey and gold design of the main bar. 

Interestingly, each unit features two drivers pointing in different directions so that they can serve as surround and surround-back speakers, and so they can be placed in different locations accordingly. There is also an upward-firing driver on top that can be rotated to five pre-set positions to angle the overhead sound towards your seating position. Slightly disappointingly, neither speaker stands or wall mounts for these speakers are included in the box, though both are available as optional extras. Each speaker features an ‘L’ or an ‘R’ on the rear which signifies if it's a left or right surround channel.

Finally, we have not one but two subwoofers, which is a rarity for a soundbar speaker package. It should come as no surprise when we say that these subs are also much bigger than those of other such packages, measuring 53 x 32 x 28cm (hwd), and weighing 16kg per unit. The subwoofers feature a black wooden veneer that seems slightly at odds with the look of the rest of the system, but the mesh grilles on either side of the units look fairly stylish. You’ll also find a sizeable port on the front of the subwoofer, with a power switch and pairing button on the rear.

If we’re being brutally honest, we would like this package to feel a bit more premium, especially considering the price. Nakamichi claims the soundbar is constructed with stainless steel (and we don’t dispute that), but we find it feels a bit cheap to the touch. The surrounds are weighty but feel a bit plasticky, and the subwoofers are nothing special in terms of construction. It’s by no means terrible, but it could be better. 

The remote feels solid thanks to its metal top plate, and it features backlit buttons, which is a real treat. However, we find it to be a bit busy, with an abundance of buttons that hint at a 'kitchen sink' approach. It is quite responsive and you can switch between it using Bluetooth and IR to interface with the soundbar, which is useful if you have a lot of conflicting signals around your home entertainment set-up. 

Features

Strap in, this is a long one. Ultimately, Nakamichi is positioning this as offering the convenience of a soundbar system with the power, features and (most importantly) sound quality of an AVR and speaker package system. Therefore, it has loaded the Dragon with an absolute onslaught of features, and yet there are some very confusing omissions. 

This is evident in the set-up process. Plugging the system in is where we come across our first hitch, as Nakamichi only provides leads with US plugs in the box – we know that’s not a deal breaker but it’s worth noting just in case you need to order some spare cables or adapters. Thankfully, when we do get the system powered up, all of the components immediately and seamlessly connect. This is a promising first sign, but it doesn’t tell the full story of the set-up process. 

Nakamichi hasn’t included a microphone-assisted calibration system on the Dragon, which is rather puzzling. That means that we have to reach for our trusty tape measure in order to measure the speaker distances to the walls and listening position. While that in itself isn’t an issue – in fact, it’s likely to be a more accurate measure – we find the lack of mic-driven calibration to be a strange omission as it's a common feature of both soundbars and AVRs. On the subject of microphones, there isn't one built into any part of the system, including the remote, which means that the Dragon doesn’t feature support for Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, which might be an issue for those who like to have their sound system integrated with their smart home. 

The initial set-up of the system is made somewhat easier by a comprehensive on-screen display system. Nakamichi allows you to change sound levels for each channel, which is unusual in a soundbar system, and you can save your set-up presets too. Interestingly, Nakamichi includes a concierge service that you can contact via phone call, email or WhatsApp if you get stuck setting up the soundbar or need help with operation – although it’s only open from 10am to 6.45pm (4.45pm on weekends) Pacific Standard Time.

Connectivity on the Nakamichi is a tale of two halves. Wired connectivity is absolutely stellar, with inputs including HDMI eARC, optical and a 3.5mm jack. It features an impressive list of inputs, too, with three full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets that support 4K up to 120Hz, or 8K up to 60Hz, as well as VRR and ALLM. It also supports HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR through those HDMI passthrough ports. 

Wireless connectivity, on the other hand, is much less impressive. Nakamichi has opted not to include any sort of internet connectivity, which means no wi-fi streaming via Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect or Google Chromecast. While we understand that you can stream tracks via your TV, media streamer or console, the simplicity of picking a track from your phone and beaming it to the bar would be more convenient. There is Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, and it does support Qualcomm’s aptX HD codec, which is a nice touch, but you’re still stuck with compressed tracks over Bluetooth, especially from services such as Tidal. Much like the microphone-assisted set-up, most soundbars and AVRs we test offer support for wi-fi streaming, so it's another head-scratching omission. 

The Nakamichi Dragon has a borderline overwhelming number of sound features. It supports all Dolby formats, including Atmos, and it’s the first soundbar in the world to support DTS:X Pro. There are two options for each, with either Dolby Surround or native on the Dolby side, and DTS: Neural X or DTS Direct on the DTS side. Your selection here dictates whether the content you play is upmixed to all channels or directly decoded. 

Alongside this is ‘studio mode’, which repurposes the side-firing drivers on the main unit into dedicated left and right channels. There is also the ability to set the Dragon to play in stereo using only the bar, or you can opt for ‘all channel stereo’, which combines the might of the surround channels and subwoofers to create a strange amalgamation of surround and stereo. 

On top of that, there are a total of 14 EQ options. These include three music mode presets, three movie mode presets, presets for gaming, news and sport, four different intensities of night modes and a setting to turn off any Nakamichi equalisation. Layered on top of that once again is Nakamichi’s Adaptive Height Dispersion system, which uses sound processing to change the presentation of height channels. 

There are four options to choose from: 'off' (as the director intended), 'focal' (optimised for a centre-focused three-dimensional soundstage), 'wide' (opens up the soundfield) and 'max' (maximises height effects regardless of the content). If our maths is correct that means that there are well over 2000 combinations between the various sound modes, EQ settings and Adaptive Height Dispersion – which feels overwhelming even to us, and we use complicated audio kit on a daily basis.

Nakamichi also features a set of QR codes in its manual that tells you the best settings for your HDMI sources to get the best sound. This exhaustive list includes practically everything: the Apple TV 4K, Panasonic Blu-ray players, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Roku media streamers are all included and there are even American cable TV boxes. This is a genuinely handy guide to make sure your HDMI device is outputting sound correctly, and it's something other manufacturers could certainly learn from. 

Last but certainly not least we get onto the speaker units, and there are a lot of them. Within the main unit, there are a staggering 17 speakers powered by seven digital amplifiers. That consists of ten 75mm drivers (forward- and side-firing), four 75mm angled upward-firing speakers and three 38mm air motion tweeters, which are a very rare find on a soundbar. Each subwoofer contains two 20cm woofer drivers (so other are four in total), and each satellite speaker has two 38mm air motion tweeters, two 9cm mid/bass drivers and one rotatable 75mm upward-firing speaker. That comes to a total of 31 individual speakers within this package. It’s also a powerful system, with a total claimed peak power output of 3000W – 1500W for the main soundbar unit, 250W per surround speaker and 500W per subwoofer. 

Sound

It’s all well and good cramming the Dragon soundbar with features, but audio performance is paramount. If there is one thing we can say about the Dragon, it is that its namesake is indicative of its performance, which is to say that it roars with very little subtlety. We pair the Nakamichi with a selection of test discs from our collection, including Oppenheimer, No Time To Die, Interstellar and The Batman. These films feature explosive action scenes, quieter moments of dialogue and plenty of opportunities for enthralling surround sound. We also flip through plenty of the sound settings to see how the bar performs.

The Dragon does a handful of things very admirably. Foremost is the clarity of its dialogue. Not once during testing do we find it difficult to understand dialogue, whether in a scene with two characters having a simple conversation or with dialogue spoken amidst lots of competing effects such as gunshots, car engines or loud cinematic scores. It also handles bass well, with a punchy, taut and controlled presentation giving a satisfying low-end kick to our cinematic scenes. While the option to turn the bass up is present, we find that in the more reserved numbers (bass level three at a push), the subwoofers deliver ample bass without sounding overbearing or mushy. 

This soundbar package is also a dab hand at delivering surround sound effects. The sheer scale of this system means that you’re placed directly in the middle of the action, and that works a treat when it comes to scenes with effects that are designed to travel around you. The climactic cat-and-mouse game that plays out between Bond and a group of Land Rover and motorbike-riding baddies in a Norwegian forest is right at home on the Dragon. The effect of a grumbling, revving dirt bike travels naturally around us as we watch, making for a truly immersive and engaging experience. 

However, it’s not all good news for the Nakamichi, as its fatal flaw prevents us from truly enjoying the sound it produces. No matter what we watch, in whichever setting, this soundbar system is overbearing and brash. It’s got a hard edge to its sound that deprives it of subtlety, and no matter how much we turn the volume down, it still sounds oppressive. Its big, shouty nature makes it unpleasant to listen to at times, and while we appreciate that it can go very loud, we’d trade sheer volume for a more enjoyable sound any day of the week.

It doesn’t present much character either, likely as a result of that lack of subtlety. We watch scenes with inspiring and energetic discourse, heartbreaking emotional pleas and outbursts of explosive rage in Oppenheimer, but it's rare that the Dragon will capture the intended emotion that the actors are trying to convey. 

This is evident when we play music through it too. We use tracks by The XX, Taylor Swift and Hans Zimmer, and we find little enjoyment in listening to any of them. The sonic pitfalls we encountered with movies are also apparent here, and the all-channel stereo mode sounds disjointed and claustrophobic. Songs with lots of conflicting instruments and effects can also sound cluttered, which is something we also picked up during the Batmobile chase scene in The Batman.

Verdict

We don’t want to deter Nakamichi from trying new things, as there is a glimmer of a truly impressive product here. We cannot fault its determination to deliver a no-compromise alternative to an AVR and surround sound speaker package pairing, and we think that a few feature tweaks and paying closer attention to the sound characteristics of the Dragon could achieve this.

Unfortunately, the Dragon in its current state feels like a confused product. We find it too difficult to overlook the Dragon's hard, aggressive sound and lack of commonplace features, making it a tough system to recommend.

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Samsung Q990C

Also consider the Sony HT-A7000

Read our Sennheiser Ambeo Max review

Best soundbars: options for every budget, recommended by our experts

Rotel has thoroughly updated its A10 and A11 integrated amplifiers and CD11 player to give them second-generation status. The fittingly named A10MKII, A11MKII and CD11MKII follow in the footsteps of other Rotel 14 Series components (namely the A12, A14 and CD14) which have spawned sequels over the past two years.

The trio remains competitively priced in the budget-to-midrange market but benefits from upgrades to “critical components” and circuit design. The A10MKII amplifier, for example, supposedly features more than 65 component upgrades over the original, including in the power and amplifier gain stages, in the name of improved performance. The Class AB, 50-watt-per-channel integrated is well furnished in the analogue department with three RCA pairs and a moving-magnet phono stage, plus a 3.5mm headphone output, though the same can’t be said for the digital side of things – this is a pure analogue-only design.

The A11MKII is not, expanding on the A10MKII’s analogue connectivity not only with coaxial and optical inputs but also aptX HD Bluetooth. Indeed, the Class AB, 50-watt-per-channel amplifier utilises Texas Instruments’ PCM5102A 32-bit/384kHz DAC, which marks one of over 22 component upgrades in the digital circuitry compared to the A11 Tribute model it replaces. Rotel’s Tribute Series models were inspired by, and co-operatively engineered with, the late Ken Ishiwata, so the aim here is to remain true to his design while enhancing performance.

The CD11MKII is also a successor to a Tribute model (the CD11 Tribute), justifying its existence by featuring over 10 critical components upgrades in the digital circuits surrounding its Texas Instruments PCM5102A 32-bit/384kHz DAC. Rotel says the smooth-action CD tray mechanism, LCD display and intuitive front panel controls remain to ensure easy operation. The CD11MKII also includes a coaxial output allowing the unit to be used as a CD transport. 

Available in black and silver from August, the latest Series 14 MKII are priced as follows:

• A10MKII stereo amplifier: £549 / $599 / AU$tbc

• A11MKII stereo amplifier: £699 / $800 / AU$tbc

• CD11MKII CD player: £549 / $600 / AU$tbc

MORE:

Nakamichi announces big price increase for its Dragon Dolby Atmos soundbar

Our pick of the best stereo amplifiers you can buy

And here are the best CD players on the market

Nakamichi has announced that its Dragon 11.4.6 soundbar system will now cost $3899, an increase of $400 over the original price. 

Pre-orders for the system will open on 2nd August at 17:00 GMT. The original price of $3499 will still apply to the initial 1000 units available; once those have been snapped up, however, the new price will come into effect. 

Nakamichi states that the planned rise in price reflects additional necessary labour for the Dragon – which has more than 700 components and a 110-step assembly process across four production lines – alongside the company's stringent post-assembly inspection process. 

It is of course also possible that the increased price for the second round of orders could be an attempt to ensure the first batch of 1000 units sells as quickly as possible. 

The packaging and shipping methods Nakamichi employs also needed adjusting, with immense care taken to ensure damage to units in transit is reduced to an absolute minimum. Each unit weighs in at 63.5kg (140lb), is subject to a 30cm (12in) drop test, then has to survive 30 days out at sea while en route to the USA.  

Nakamichi’s Dragon 11.4.6 system comprises the main 148cm (58in) soundbar, two wireless subwoofers featuring two 20cm (8in) drivers per cabinet, and two Omni-Motion reference surround speakers. The system features 31 drivers in total, providing 3000W of peak power.

The Dragon soundbar is the first of its kind to offer DTS:X Pro, which supports up to 32 speakers, compared with the standard DTS:X's 11. The system also supports Dolby Atmos and features three eARC inputs along with one output. 

We were lucky enough to experience the system earlier this year and can confirm that this Dragon definitely roars.

MORE:

We got to try out the Nakamichi Dragon and it really is something 

The 21-channel Dragon soundbar is the first to support DTS:X Pro

Check out our picks for the best soundbars in 2023

Classic hi-fi is in. OK so it isn’t in in like bike shorts, Tik-Tok and The Last Of Us, but the hi-fi realm is undoubtedly experiencing a movement whereby many manufacturers are reimagining classic speakers and electronics for new releases. JBL, Wharfedale, Mission, NAD and Fyne Audio, to name just a handful of brands, have all launched modern-retro kit in recent months. As our global technical editor couldn’t help but notice, it was everywhere at last year’s High End Munich Show.

Some examples above have proven that combining today’s technologies with yesteryear’s aesthetic can be done exceptionally well. And it got us thinking about what old-timers we would like to see reinvented to take on the 21st century. Alas, we have come together to make a list! 

We should, however, caveat it by saying these are very much wishlist products; some almost certainly will not materialise, not least as not every brand still exists today! And as much as we would also like to see modern-day Sony Walkman Pro WM-D6C and Nakamichi Dragon cassette decks – two picks that cropped up in the penning of our initial long list – we can't quite see the rebirth of tapes happening anytime soon.

Of course, if you have your own wishes for classic hi-fi you’d love to see revived, please do put them in the comments!

Pink Triangle Tarantella (1998)

London-based manufacturer Pink Triangle, which was founded by Neal Jackson and Arthur Khoubesserian in 1979 but was forced to shut up shop in 2003 after declining vinyl sales, made a big impression on the high-end turntable market in a relatively short time, combining striking aesthetics with high performance – and the Tarantella was a double-page advert for just that. The triangular chassis lit up pink, the power supply and speed-change were housed in a neat little ‘hornet’ box, and when we were presented with the company’s entry-level turntable we quickly lapped up its open, transparent sound and refreshingly clear dynamics. Some have gone on to note speed instability issues, but nevertheless it went on to gain legendary status.

We could actually be in luck for a Tarantella revival, or perhaps a similar design, as Pink Triangle is now back after a 20-year hiatus! And if its ‘first’ turntable – the £8000, highly customisable Blue Danube, said to possess “the lowest wow, flutter and rumble ever measured” – is anything to go by, the British firm looks to be starting off where it finished. We look forward to hearing more at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2023.

• The 16 best turntables of What Hi-Fi?'s lifetime

Heybrook HB1 (1983)

While it now has plenty of company, the Heybrook HB1 was the first product to win three What Hi-Fi? Awards in a row (in 1983, 1984 and 1985). The entry-level bookshelf speakers were designed by Heybrook co-founder Peter Comeau, who many of you will know as the speaker designer behind the Mission 780 and 782, Volare V63 and Elegante E8, and Wharfedale's iconic Diamond range, to name just a handful. Heybrook was named after Devon’s Heybrook Bay in the UK, where the company operated, and arrived in the late 1970s at a time when other British hi-fi brands such as A&R Cambridge and Rega were also starting out.

Its first speaker was arguably what turned out to be the company’s most iconic, the HB2, but Comeau and his friend and co-founder Stuart Mee wanted to create a truly budget speaker around the £100 mark. Comeau has said before that at one time the popular HB1 had about a 15 per cent share of the loudspeaker market under £200. A true classic that is very much alive and kicking in the second-hand and restoration market, and one we imagine could be resurrected to give the very few class leaders in the entry-level market today a run for their money.

Acoustic Research AR18 (1978)

Back in the 1970s, Acoustic Research was one of the biggest hi-fi brands around. You wouldn't know it by looking at its website today – it's worlds away from the brand it used to be and is, like Pioneer, Onkyo, Klipsch and Jamo, now owned by Voxx – but the Massachusetts-based company made a huge impact in the hi-fi market with its popular turntables and AR line of acoustic-suspension loudspeakers, of which the very fanciable AR18 was one.

Following up the legendary AR7, the AR18 became one of Acoustic Research's most famous products. They were considered a very simple design when they arrived in the late 70s – two-way, sealed-box, in-house-manufactured standmounters housing a 20cm paper cone mid/bass, a rather unrefined 32mm tweeter and a minimalist crossover design. But this formula led to one of the most fun-sounding small speakers in the history of the budget market, not least one of the finest.

Liveliness doesn't often take a front seat in budget speaker tuning today so, given a sweeter, less rolled-off treble, a reimagined AR18 could do very well indeed.

• The What Hi-Fi? Hall of Fame: the best hi-fi of the 1970s

Roksan Darius (1986)

The year after Roksan (and its debut product, the Xerxes turntable) came into this world courtesy of co-founders Touraj Moghaddam (now of Vertere) and Tufan Hashemi, so did its first pair of speakers. Named after Persian ruler 'Darius the Great' (Moghaddam was very interested in the Persian Achaemenid Empire from 550 BC), the Darius (pictured top) were distinct-looking, high-end standmounters with a suspended tweeter (it was supposedly the first tweeter to be mechanically isolated from a bass unit using springs), a remarkable exoskeleton stand, and a high-performing direct, dynamic sound output. 

The Darius S1 that arrived in 2014 actually had little resemblance to the 80s original – from both engineering and aesthetic perspectives – though it was also a two-way design and it too performed impressively for its price and time. Of course, Roksan has gone on to be more celebrated for its electronics handiwork than its speakers (which no longer feature in its catalogue), but we wouldn't say no to a true Darius homage with a highly dynamic and precisely imaged sound.

• Touraj Moghaddam interview: the man behind Roksan and Vertere talks turntables and cables

Pioneer A400 (1990)

Pioneer absolutely hit it out of the park with the A400 budget stereo amplifier in the early 90s, much like Onkyo did a couple of decades later with its budget A-9010 integrated, so you can imagine how much we anticipate the UK return of these home audio heavyweights at the Bristol H-Fi Show. Indeed it has been a while, and the entry-level market could do with a new competitor to bring the heat to the largely untouched class leaders of Marantz and Rega.

Back then, the A400's combination of class-leading detail, agility and dynamics did send the competition, from Arcam to Cyrus to Denon, back to the drawing board, forcing wholesale changes in the field.

As we said in our What Hi-Fi? Hall of Fame: the best hi-fi of the 1990s, where the A400 proudly sits, we heard systems where the amplifier was flanked by high-end sources and speakers, yet still came up smelling of roses – a rare feat for any budget electronics.

• The best 19 stereo amplifiers of What Hi-Fi?'s lifetime

A&R Cambridge A60 (1976)

Amplification & Recording Cambridge (now known as Arcam, of course) created a blinder of a first product. The A60 amplifier laid the foundations on which the British firm built its success and, priced at £190, was considered by many (including us!) throughout the 80s as the ideal upgrade from the popular entry-level models at the time – your NAD 3020s, Mission Cyrus Ones, and Kenwoods.

The power output of 40W per channel wasn't special and might well struggle a little driving today's speakers, but we'd take the punchy, rhythmic and dynamically expressive A60, revisited – so long as it too had wooden casing, of course.

Some years ago we listened to the A60 against Arcam's current A19 model at the time and, while the latter was indeed the better-sounding amplifier all-round, the veteran did show it a thing or two about how to truly entertain.

Musical Fidelity A1 (1984)

Musical Fidelity's first integrated amp (which followed The Preamp and designer-named Dr Thomas Power Amp two years prior) is a bona fide classic that went on to sell some 200,000 units. This Tim de Paravicini design used Class A amplification and output a smooth, tonally warm, slightly coloured sound that many considered valve-like in character – a likeness that was also accentuated by the A1 tending to run fairly hot (Class A, pretty high power consumptions and small chassis will do that, after all, even if it did 'only' deliver 20 watts per channel.)

In the following years, revisions were made to the mid-ranging A1 and a couple of limited-edition models were launched, while a modern A1 sequel (also with Class A amp modules) arrived in 2008 with digital connectivity. It was good, but we'd be intrigued to see how Musical Fidelity would approach an A1 tribute design today.

• 9 debut stereo amplifiers from iconic hi-fi brands

Naim Nait 2 (1988)

This iconic gem of a shoebox-sized amplifier requires little introduction to Naim loyals, and consequently perhaps the Nait 2 is better left in the past. But a 50-70 watt per channel, and maybe even analogue-only, version for today's market to take on Rega's Brio would nonetheless be intriguing to see materialise – perhaps even as a limited-edition 50th-anniversary product this year. After all, there is still a solid second-hand market for Nait 1s, 2s and 3s from the 80s/90s, and there aren't many models of that ilk today to choose from.

As we said in our audio and AV products wishlist for 2023, considering the pricier models in the Nait range were advanced in mid-2019, with both the (now What Hi-Fi? Award-winning) Nait XS 3 and Supernait 3, you could say that more affordable Nait components are due.

MORE:

14 of the most legendary hi-fi products of all time

7 examples of high-end audio engineering to savour

10 of the craziest-looking high-end hi-fi products on the planet

Are you ready for a new soundbar? Better yet, are you ready for a new Dolby Atmos soundbar? If so, you're in luck, because there are plenty of very exciting-looking models on the way in 2023.

If you own a decent TV, one of the best ways to upgrade your movie, TV show and gaming experience is to stop using those TV speakers for the sound. The almost-always tiny speakers of a modern TV simply aren't up to the task of delivering full-bodied, exciting or engaging audio.

Of course, if you want the full home cinema experience, an AV amplifier and speaker package is the way to go, but for many people, that sort of setup just isn't an option. That's where the Dolby Atmos soundbar comes in.

Convinced? You could simply choose a current model from our list of the best soundbars available right now. After all, every model has been carefully selected after extensive, comparative testing in our dedicated labs.

But what if there's something even better on the horizon? Is it worth waiting? We can't pass judgement on a new soundbar until it's been fully tested, but it's fair to say that some very interesting new models have already been announced for release soon, so read on the learn all about the coolest 2023 Dolby Atmos soundbars...

Why pick a Dolby Atmos soundbar?

Even the very best TV speakers are invariably less sonically capable than a decent soundbar, and most TV speakers – even those built into fairly premium TVs – are passable at best. Adding a soundbar is almost always a quick, easy and substantial upgrade. In many cases, it's pretty cost-effective, too, though you can spend a lot on a soundbar if you want to.

The big feature to look out for if it's a cinematic sound experience that you're after, is Dolby Atmos. This is a form of 3D audio (also sometimes referred to as spatial audio) that basically tries to fill your room with sound and place sound effects precisely within this three-dimensional soundstage.

In order to fill your room with sound, Atmos soundbars often fire audio forwards, to the sides and upwards, but some also come with satellite speakers than can be placed to the sides or behind the seating position for a more enveloping experience. Some also come with a subwoofer for extra bass or can have one added.

There are other forms of spatial audio, but right now, Dolby Atmos is the most popular, most mainstream implementation of spatial audio. Based on our extensive experience reviewing products with the tech, we can confirm that whether you're gaming or watching a movie, Dolby Atmos can radically improve the experience.

So, if you're in the soundbar market, buying one that supports Atmos is often a good idea. And that brings us to our round-up of the Dolby Atmos soundbars to look out for in 2023.

Nakamichi Dragon 

A long time ago, Nakamichi made one of the most iconic hi-fi products ever, the Dragon cassette deck, and today, the brand is calling back to that legacy with this wild 21-channel Dragon soundbar.

This soundbar sits somewhere between a traditional soundbar and a full-fat speaker system. That's because the Dragon isn't just a soundbar: it's actually a huge soundbar, a pair of rear surround speakers, and two subwoofers.

In total, the Dragon boasts 31 different drivers that deliver 21 channels of audio in an 11.4.6 configuration that, of course, supports Dolby Atmos alongside DTS:X Pro. According to Nakamichi, this is the first plug-and-play soundbar that supports the Atmos code designed to enable support for more than 7.1.4 channels.

We were treated to a demonstration of the Dragon's power during CES 2023 and described it in our hands-on as "a plug-and-play beast that can make one heck of a roar", though we won't be providing a full verdict on the system until we've had it in our test labs for a full review.

Of course, a system this size and this tech-heavy doesn't come cheap, and the Dragon is set to cost $3500 (around £2830 / AU$5000) when it launches later this year. If that price tag doesn't put you off, you can head over to the Nakamichi site to sign up to be notified when the Dragon becomes available for purchase. We recommend that you wait until we've fully tested it before handing over any money, though.

JBL Bar 1300

If you like audio kit, you'll be well aware of the JBL name. This is a brand with a reputation for seriously high-end audio kit, from the L100 Classic speakers to the Synthesis SDR-35 AV amplifier, but that also produces a vast range of more affordable devices such as headphones, wireless speakers and soundbars.

It is, of course, soundbars that we're interested in here, and the newly announced JBL Bar 1300 has caught our eye.

The Bar 1300 is the latest in a soundbar sub-genre that has wireless speakers that can be attached to the main bar or detached and placed to the sides or rear of the seating position for a more surrounding experience. It comes with a wireless subwoofer, too, and has 15 channels of audio overall.

Inside the Bar 1300 are six upward-firing drivers, JBL's MultiBeam tech, and in the detachable speakers are rechargeable batteries alongside Bluetooth for wireless pairing. It supports Dolby Atmos, of course, but also DTS:X. AirPlay 2, Alexa Multi-Room Music and Chromecast are all on board.

It's similar to the JBL Bar 9.1, which also had detachable speakers, but the Bar 1300 packs in more audio channels than ever before. Hopefully, it will also sound better, as the Bar 9.1 received a somewhat disappointing 3-star rating after our extensive testing.

We'll deliver our verdict on the JBL Bar 1300 once it's had its own full test in our dedicated labs. Only then will we be able to conclude whether it's worth the £1300 / $1555 / AU$2300 price tag.

LG SC9

LG's C-series TVs are comfortably the most popular OLED TVs out there, but it's fair to say that they don't sound amazing. In our extensive C2 review, we stated that the TV "while decent-sounding, is more easily upgraded [by a soundbar] than might be expected of a TV costing as much as it does".

LG would obviously prefer that those adding a soundbar did so using one of its own models, and to that end has created the new SC9 model, which is designed to be the perfect aesthetic and sonic partner for the C2 and new C3.

The SC9 comes with a custom bracket it can be mounted directly to the TV, essentially replacing the TV's original pedestal stand for placement on top of a TV unit or hanging neatly below it if wall-mounting. The mount is even designed to perfectly position the soundbar so that the sound from the three upward-firing drivers isn't blocked by the bottom lip of the TV.

Dolby Atmos is on board, of course, but so is DTS:X. And if you partner the SC9 with a new LG TV, you can also take advantage of a feature called Wow Orchestra, which synchronises the soundbar's drivers with those of the TV for a potentially bigger, more spacious sound. This feature sounds very similar to Samsung's Q-Symphony, and it will be interesting to thoroughly test it and establish whether it delivers actual improvements over using the soundbar's speakers alone.

Another neat bit of symbiosis allows the SC9 to connect to some of LG's TVs using a feature called Wowcast, which is essentially wireless transmission of audio. While a soundbar is usually placed very close to a TV, we can imagine that some people will still appreciate the option to do away with the cable between the two. Those who are less cable-averse can of course use HDMI eARC instead.

Pricing and availability haven't been announced yet for the SC9, but we can see it being popular with LG OLED owners, of which there are loads. Here's hoping LG has put as much thought into its sound as it clearly has the design and feature set. We'll of course wait until we can fully, comparatively test the soundbar before delivering our verdict.

Samsung HW-Q990C

Samsung's new flagship soundbar, the HW-990C, offers up 11.1.4 channels of sound alongside Samsung's Q-Symphony 3.0 tech, which is designed to "precisely direct individual audio elements" by way of using the soundbar and your Samsung TV's speakers. With both TV speakers and the soundbar in play, Samsung says that Q-Symphony can leverage up to 22 channels of audio in total.

With the Q990C itself, you're getting the bar, a pair of surround speakers, and a wireless subwoofer. Dolby Atmos is supported (the 'bar wouldn't be on this list if it didn't), and the system can be controlled via wi-fi, which is really no less than you'd expect from a Samsung flagship.

Details on pricing and availability are so far unconfirmed but expect news imminently. We will, as ever, perform a full, comparative test before delivering our verdict.

MORE:

Here's our list of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars around

As well as our list of the best soundbars out now

And these are our favourite products from CES 2023

“Has any piece of hi-fi ever sounded as mythical or mystical as the Nakamichi Dragon?”, we penned some years ago as we mused the most legendary hi-fi products of all time. The Dragon cassette deck was indeed one of our chosen 14, owing to the lasting prestige surrounding the exquisite high-end deck, which was born in 1982 following a decade of innovative and premium cassette deck design by the company.

The Dragon naming carried through to a computing turntable in 1985 and a CD player in 1996, but for the past two and a half decades it has more or less laid dormant, a thing of pure legend. That is – and you know what is coming – until now. At CES 2023, Nakamichi declared the Dragon reborn. The company launched a… no, not a new Dragon cassette deck (though it did hand me press materials on a USB stick encased in a charming cassette in honour of the heritage), but a Dragon soundbar. Such a lifestyle and AV-orientated product type might not naturally sidle up to former Dragons, though the choice to revive the line with a soundbar isn’t wholly surprising considering the Japanese company has gone big in that market of late.

Indeed, Nakamichi has transformed into a rather different beast since those hi-fi heydays. It has changed hands more than a baton in a relay and since the early noughties shifted its focus to lifestyle wireless products rather than play to its hi-fi pedigree. With the exception of the AV1/AVP1 amplifier pairing in 2014, that is.

We imagine Nakamichi fans of old, not to mention today’s Nakamichi team itself, would probably be quite precious over the Dragon brand, so in a way it is nice to hear that the company spent five years developing the soundbar in order to get it right.

An AV system-soundbar hybrid

So, the Dragon soundbar. Or perhaps I should say the Dragon ‘system’. It’s easier to understand Nakamichi’s ambitions for the new Dragon when you learn that its goal was to create “something between an AV surround system and soundbar system”. After all, the Dragon isn’t just a soundbar, or even a soundbar and subwoofer; it’s a huge soundbar, a pair of significantly sized rear surround speakers and two subwoofers that try to behave like four. Suddenly, $3500 doesn’t seem so ‘out there’ – especially now that we are more ‘comfortable’ with the $2500 price tag of the single-bar Sennheiser Ambeo Max.

If you aren’t someone who is comfortable with the Sennheiser Ambeo’s size, however, you might well throw your arms up in disgust at the sight of the Dragon system's soundbar component, which is 58 inches (150cm) wide, 7.7 inches (19cm) deep and weighs 14kg. In fact, Nakamichi CEO Rayman Cheng says it had to approach an automotive company to manufacture such a large panel piece, and that if it wasn’t for shipping costs the Dragon bar might’ve ended up even bigger.

It might not be the most practical unit to house, but it doesn’t look overkill with a large TV such as the 75-inch model with which it was partnered for my demo.

The huge size is made necessary by the incredible number of drivers that need to be housed. The whole system has 31 in all, covering 21 channels in an 11.4.6 configuration that supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X Pro decoding. Fun fact: this is supposedly the first plug-and-play soundbar set-up to use the Atmos code designed for AV receivers that support channels numbers greater than 7.1.4 – which may well explain why many other Dolby Atmos soundbars top out at 7.1.4.

Six of those drivers are up-firing (four of these are in the main soundbar and two in the 3D Omni-Motion Reference Surround speakers) and four are in the two subwoofers in a dual isobaric (push-pull) configuration. Those soundbar-housed up-firing drivers are angled at both 10 and 20 degrees (one on each side) to render vertical and overhead sound objects at precise heights. Those at the top of the surround speakers can be rotated up to 180 degrees to accommodate different room layouts, too. And each surround speaker also features two three-inch drivers and an Air Motion Transfer tweeter.

These drivers are driven by 15 amplifiers, making for a claimed 3000-watt output. Suddenly, the Dragon looks worthy of its colossal name. It sounds worthy, too, thanks to some very impressive, er, scale…

Sonically ferocious

Perhaps unsurprising considering the numbers on its spec sheet, the Dragon can certainly unleash sound. This goes far beyond a typical soundbar set-up, which ordinarily fills the bubble of space around the TV and listener, and even the models we’ve heard that come with separate (albeit smaller) surround speakers. The Dragon easily filled the suite, almost right up to the rather high ceilings. As a room-filling alternative to a full-blown speaker system, this isn’t a bad compromise when it comes to scale. The soundfield wasn’t gappy either, despite there being a good few metres between the soundbar and surround speakers.

It can play loudly, too, with a claimed peak volume of 125 decibels (which is about as loud as a jet engine sounds when you're standing 100m from it). It isn’t a volume I was prepared to hit during my demo – my three-days-into-CES self was not ready for that – but even the comfortably loud half-volume had me sitting back in my seat. And for me, that is a first in the company of a soundbar set-up. I sat through testing classics Unbroken and Mad Max: Fury Road and the Dragon's renditions hit the spot when it came to atmosphere and cinematic excitement – jet engines and car revs had plenty of heft, with the subwoofers really able to dig their claws into explosions and the like, while gunfire was precise and plane rattles and wind noise filled the room.

Now, the Dragon essentially uses four subwoofers, and thankfully you can control how many you want in action at one time simply using the remote – because if you had all four going all the time, your sofa would likely inch out of position within weeks. Its peak bass level is, to put it mildly, intense.

Despite all of the Dragon's volume, magnitude and weight, Nakamichi has resisted making a system that shouts at you. That said, the jury remains out on how subtle the system really is, as everything seemed very vivid and direct in our demo – sonic traits the hotel suite, with all its ceiling-to-floor window, would only have emphasised. 

Team What Hi-Fi? will put the Dragon through its paces to properly scrutinise its dynamic dexterity and subtle detail soon enough, but already I can be sure of one thing: the Nakamichi Dragon soundbar is a plug-and-play beast that can make one heck of a roar.

MORE:

Stars of CES 2023: the 10 best TV and audio products we saw this week

Cassette Store Day: a look back to 1985 and the blank tape's heyday

Hands on: LG G3 OLED TV and C3 OLED TV review

If you thought JBL's new 15-channel soundbar was a bit much, get a load of this – Nakamichi has launched a soundbar with a whopping 21 audio channels! And it's the first to offer DTS:X Pro, which supports up to 32 speakers (as opposed to standard DTS:X's 11).

DTS:X Pro has previously only been seen in high-end AV receivers.

The Nakamichi Dragon is a 11.4.6-channel soundbar system that measures a gargantuan 58 inches across, which is roughly the same width as a typical 65-inch TV and bigger even than the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max. 

It's pricier than Sennheiser's effort too, costing $3499 (about £2900, AU$5000).

Inside are 31 drivers, six of which are up-firing (four of these are in the main soundbar and two in the 3D Omni-Motion Reference Surround speakers), and four subwoofers. Those soundbar-housed up-firing drivers are angled at both 10 and 20 degrees (one on each side) to render vertical and overhead sound objects at precise heights. And those in the surround speakers can be rotated up to 180 degrees to better suit your room layout.

Each surround speaker is also home to two three-inch drivers for the rear and surround channels, and an Air Motion Transfer tweeter.

Both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision are supported, and Qualcomm's aptX HD also comes as standard, meaning higher-quality wireless audio via Bluetooth.

The Dragon has already picked up a CES Innovation award, and will be unleashed in the spring.

MORE:

Will it make our list of best soundbars?

Or would you be better off with a full surround sound system?

Testing time: 4 of the best Marvel scenes to test your Dolby Atmos soundbar or speaker system

That's it, folks. The world's biggest annual consumer technology show has come to a satisfying end, having welcomed back thousands of exhibitors and media (including us!) to Las Vegas, following an unusually quiet and pandemic-impacted CES 2022.

CES 2023 hosted around 2,400 exhibitors – including many of the big hitters such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Qualcomm, LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and JBL – and took place across three days in early January. The show was also a digital affair, as it was too in 2022, with press conferences, keynotes and tech talks available to live stream. 

CES is typically where many of these technology brands pull back the curtain on their latest innovations and reveal the best of their products coming that year. We saw showcases and demos of next-gen flagship 2023 TVs from LG, Panasonic and Samsung, as well as brand-spanking-new sets from the likes of TCL, Hisense and even Roku. We also saw plenty in the way of new audio announcements too, with JBL and Naim launching stunning new hi-fi electronics, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X-equipped soundbars from Nakamichi and JBL, and brand-new turntables with wireless streaming. And talking of wireless, there were a couple of 'wireless TVs' raising eyebrows too...

What Hi-Fi? has been on the ground to bring you all the latest news and first impressions of what we see, hear and experience. Future – What Hi-Fi?'s publisher – has also officially recognised the very best products and technologies at the show with its 'Best Of CES 2023' Awards, as chosen by tech experts from What Hi-Fi?, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, T3 and more. 

All the news and highlights from the show are rounded up for easy access below and include announcements from LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Naim and JBL as well as hands-on reviews of some exciting new products...

Hands-on reviews

Hands-on: LG M3 wireless OLED TV review
One of the most exciting, innovative TVs we've seen so far at CES 2023 is LG's "wireless" OLED TV. The 97-inch LG M3 is a nearly entirely wireless TV that claims to receive up to 4K 120Hz video wirelessly and, most importantly, without interruption. We got a first-hand look at this TV to see how the clever wireless technology works and how well it performs.
Read the full LG M3 wireless OLED TV hands-on review

Hands on: Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV review
Just hours after we published our five-star review of Panasonic’s flagship 2022 OLED TV, calling the LZ2000 “as cinematic as they come”, we found ourselves standing in front of its 2023 successor – the MZ2000 – which builds on last year’s model with a new OLED panel that benefits from Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology...
Read the full Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV hands-on review

Hands on: LG G3 / C3 OLED TV review
It’s fair to say that LG’s C3 and G3 OLED TV ranges have a lot to live up to in 2023. The C2 hoovered up five-star ratings across multiple screen sizes in 2022 and it also dominated the TV category at the end-of-year What Hi-Fi? Awards. So, it’s only natural that all eyes will be on C3 and whether or not it’s deemed the sweet spot of LG’s new line-up in terms of performance and price...
Read the full LG G3 / C3 OLED TV hands-on review

I heard the 21-channel Nakamichi Dragon soundbar unleashed – and it really is quite something
We imagine Nakamichi fans of old, not to mention today’s Nakamichi team itself, would probably be quite precious over the Dragon brand, so in a way it is nice to hear that the company spent five years developing the soundbar in order to get it right.
Read our full first impressions of the Nakamichi Dragon soundbar

Hands on: JBL SA550 review
JBL unveiled an exciting new range of hi-fi kit (Classic Series), and we had a first look at and listened to the new SA550 amplifier, which takes design inspiration from the 1960s but packs in modern technology. Classic in name, potential classic in nature?
Read our first impressions of the JBL SA550 amplifier

CES 2023 news highlights

New LG M3 OLED is a stunning, 97-inch 'wireless' TV
LG has unveiled a "world first": a giant 97-inch 4K TV that receives all of its video and audio wirelessly. The high-quality panel has speakers and a power cable, but all 4K 120Hz content is wirelessly transmitted from the Zero Connect HDMI streaming box (to which you can connect all your sources) that can be positioned up to 30ft away.
Read the full LG M3 OLED TV story

LG's new G3 OLED TV apparently uses Micro Lens Array tech to hit a super-bright 2000 nits
LG has announced its OLED TV range for 2023, with new A3, B3, C3, G3 and Z3 models to replace 2022's models. The G3 is poised to be a pretty massive step forward for OLED TVs, with LG claiming the new screen is capable of going 70% brighter than "traditional" OLEDs.
Read the full LG G3 OLED TV story

Samsung unveils two QD-OLED TV ranges for 2023, 77-inch screen size also confirmed
The new premium S95C and more affordable S90C QD-OLED TV ranges have been announced, with Samsung claiming this second-generation QD-OLED panel will be even brighter than its predecessor. Both ranges will feature 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes, along with a mammoth 77-inch version.
Read the full Samsung QD-OLED TV ranges story

Panasonic promises best HDR picture yet from 2023 flagship MZ2000 OLED TV Available in 55- and 65-inch sizes, Panasonic's new flagship MZ2000 OLED TV claims to deliver its “best and brightest picture” yet with a combination of new technologies that improve peak brightness (by a substantial 150 per cent) and average brightness compared to 2022's OLED models. The TVs also feature a Technics-tuned, Dolby Atmos system comprising multiple built-in speakers.
Read the full Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV story

JBL launches Classic Series of hi-fi electronics, including its first-ever turntable
Featuring a modern-retro design inspired by the JBL SA600 amplifier from the 1960s, JBL's new Classic Series consists of the CD350 CD player, the SA550 integrated amplifier, an MP350 hi-res music streamer and JBL's first-ever turntable, the TT350 Classic – all featuring the latest audio technologies.
Read the full JBL Classic Series story

Naim celebrates 50 years with new Classic series for streamers and record spinners alike
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in style, the British brand has revealed a new Classic range of components: the NSC 222 streaming pre-amplifier, a new (sixth) iteration of the iconic NAP 250 power amplifier, and the NPX 300 power supply upgrade. Naim says of the trio: "We've combined our 50 years of experience with the very latest technology to redefine home hi-fi."
Read the full Naim Classic range story

JBL 4329P Studio Monitor is a premium all-in-one speaker system to rival the KEF LS50 Wireless
The 4329P Studio Monitor is pair of active loudspeakers with "extensive wired and wireless connectivity options", built-in Digital Signal Processing, hi-res audio support and the US brand's iconic horn-loaded compression drivers.
Read the full JBL 4329P Studio Monitor story

JBL's first Bluetooth turntable offers aptX HD wireless streaming at an affordable price
Not content with launching just one turntable, JBL has also announced the Spinner BT deck, which has a built-in phono stage and aptX HD Bluetooth streaming. This lets you stream your vinyl to compatible wireless speakers/headphones/sounders in 24-bit hi-res "without sacrificing audio quality" says JBL.
Read the full JBL Spinner BT story

Meet JBL Bar 1300, the Dolby Atmos soundbar with 15 audio channels
JBL's new soundbar can transform from a single soundbar (with wireless subwoofer) that fits neatly under a TV to a fully-fledged surround system with detachable rear speakers that can deliver up to 15 channels of sound. It also features Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D technologies, voice control, wi-fi, AirPlay 2 and Chromecast.
Read the full JBL Bar 1300 soundbar story

LG's new soundbars are designed to look and sound great with its OLED TVs
LG's new SC9 and SE6 soundbars are designed to work seamlessly with the brand's 2023 OLED TVs. They're able to use every audio channel in the TV and soundbars in unison to create an expanded soundstage with more height, depth and power. The soundbars also feature Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced powered by DTS:X, Tidal Connect and VRR, ALLM and 4K 120Hz support.
Read the full LG 2023 soundbars story

Gamers, rejoice! BenQ unveils 120Hz 4K OLED monitor and portable gaming projectors
BenQ has announced a slew of monitors and projectors. The highlights are the 48-inch EX480UZ OLED gaming monitor with 4K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and a response time of just 0.1ms. While the HT2060 gaming projector is for those that want an even bigger experience, thanks to its 100-inch picture from just 8.2 feet away. Two home cinema projectors with HDR are also announced, pricing TBC.
Read the full BenQ gaming monitors and projectors story

JBL's new Quantum gaming headsets are designed for Xbox and PlayStation
JBL is adding to its Quantum range of gaming headsets with the 910 and 360 models, both of which are specifically designed to work with Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Both models feature JBL's own spatial audio solution, QuantumSPATIAL 360, but can also be used with Dolby Atmos and Sony 3D Audio.
Read the full JBL Quantum gaming headsets story

Philips Hue lighting is coming to Samsung TVs - but it'll cost you
You'll soon be able to sync your Philips Hue lights to your 2022 Samsung TV thanks to a new partnership announced at CES 2023. There's no need for any extra hardware, but the Philips Hue Sync TV app that makes it all work is rather pricey at £115 / $130 / AU$200.
Read the full Philips Hue and Samsung TVs story

Roku is now making its own TVs, and they start at just $119
Known for its TV OS and streaming sticks, Roku is now producing its own TVs. There will be 11 models ranging from 24-inch to 75-inch screen sizes, but the highlight is the budget pricing: the Roku TVs will start at $119 (around £98 / AU$174) for the 24-inch model and go up to $999 (around £830 / AU$1463) for the 75-inch model. Details are light but the TVs are expected to go on sale in Spring 2023.
Read the full Roku TVs story

Hisense announces new Mini LED TVs, ULED X display tech, Laser TVs at CES
Next-gen ULED X technology that boasts higher peak brightness and contrast, three core ranges of Mini LED 4K TVs that are "affordable", and new Laser TVs and UST projectors – Hisense has had a busy CES 2023.
Read the full Hisense TVs story

TCL CES 2023: QD-OLED, Mini-LED, and QLEDs TVs are on the way
TCL has announced its first QD-OLED TV (on sale in late 2023) and while details are scarce, we suspect the brand's value-led approach means we might be looking at more affordable prices than the current QD-OLED TVs. There will also be new Mini LED and QLED TV ranges from TCL, with screen sizes varying from 50-inch to 98-inch.
Read the full TCL TVs story

Focal's Vestia speaker range is designed for stereo and home cinema systems
Featuring five models – one bookshelf, three floorstanders and one centre speaker – the new Focal Vestia line offers refined design, multiple finishes and new tweeter technology developed from its in-car expertise, all for relatively affordable prices.
Read the full Focal Vestia speakers story

Samsung says it will launch a 50-inch Micro LED TV this year
Micro LED is getting closer to becoming a reality, with Samsung saying its 2023 Micro LED range will span from 50- to 140-inch screen sizes. 50-inch is the smallest Micro LED set proposed yet, and a great step forward for the next-gen TV technology.
Read the full Samsung Mirco LED TV story

Nakamichi's 21-channel Dragon soundbar is the first to support DTS:X Pro
This 11.4.6-channel soundbar system measures a gargantuan 58 inches across (which is even bigger than Sennheiser's Ambeo Max) and is the first to offer DTS:X Pro, which supports up to 32 speakers. There are 31 drivers inside the Dragon soundbar, which also supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and aptX HD Bluetooth. Read the full Nakamichi Dragon soundbar story

Want to add a record player to your Sonos system? Check out the Victrola Stream Onyx
The Onyx is a more affordable version of last year's Stream Carbon deck and is certified by the Works with Sonos programme, so you can stream music from your records to any Sonos-equipped multi-room zone in your home.
Read the full Victrola Stream Onyx story

Sennheiser IE 200 earbuds offer high-end DNA at a more affordable price
Sennheiser's latest wired earbuds aim to bring audiophile-grade design and sound to the mainstream, with driver technology trickled down from the pricier IE 300 and premium five-star IE 900 models. There are more flexible options to get the best fit, too, which is very welcome indeed at this accessible price point.
Read the full Sennheiser IE 200 story

Razer's new soundbar features THX Spatial Audio and dynamic head-tracking
Razer has joined forces with Audioscenic to deliver a feature-packed gaming soundbar that combines THX Spatial Audio, 3D beamforming and dynamic head-tracking with the aim of delivering personalised immersive sound. Available for PCs in February 2023.
Read the full Razer Leviathan V2 Pro story

FiiO M11S portable music player boasts dual DACs, hi-res MQA support and is cheaper than Astell & Kern rival
The new M11S is a supercharged portable music player that supports playback of 32-bit hi-res files (including MQA and DSD) and your favourite music streaming apps. It has a DAC for left and right channel each, a new and improved headphone amplifier circuit and 32GB onboard storage (with the option to expand up to 2TB). All this for under £500 / $500.
Read the full FiiO M11S player story

Dirac Live Active Room Treatment uses the whole AV system to eliminate boomy bass
Dirac's latest room optimisation feature uses all the speakers in your home cinema system to reduce bass decay, promising to eliminate boomy bass and deliver cleaner, tighter audio. It's basically ANC for your speakers: the system's speakers cooperate to actively cancel out other speakers' unwanted wavelengths.
Read the full Dirac Live Active Room Treatment story

These Sony LinkBuds rivals are safety-first open-ear wireless earbuds
Cleer Audio ARC II earbuds promise longer battery life (35 hours total), along with IPX4 sweat and water resistance, Bluetooth 5.3 and aptX codec support. The open design means they sit on your ears and let you hear and be aware of your surroundings – ideal for runners and cyclists.
Read the full Cleer Audio ARC II earbuds story

JBL announces Endurance, Tune and Vibe wireless earbuds at CES 2023
It wouldn't be CES without a slew of new headphones from JBL and sure enough, the brand announced seven new wireless earbuds, all with different designs and specs, all for very affordable under $100 prices.
Read the full JBL earbuds story

CES 2023 dates: when is CES?

CES officially takes place between Thursday 5th and Sunday 8th January 2023, though the 'Media Days' – when most product news announcements break – are being held two days prior on Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th. These are the two days you'll want to keep whathifi.com in your browser window!

The CES 2023 schedule can be viewed here

CES 2023 news: what will be announced?

As CES is a world stage for news announcements, not many let slip before the show. Some press releases and teasers do tend to land in late December, so we can get some sort of idea as to what we can expect to see at the show, and we shall share what we are allowed to on this page when they do. But even without so much as an official whisper from companies ahead of CES, we can have a good guess at which big brands are going to wow audiences at CES 2023...

LG at CES 2023

As is the way, the CES Innovation Awards (which recognise 'outstanding design and engineering' and tease what is to come the following January) have already been dished out to a number of products for 2023. LG has already received 10 2023 CES Innovation Award recognitions for its OLED TVs alone, with the company sharing that its 88-inch LG Signature OLED 8K TV was recognised in three categories while its 97-inch OLED and LG OLED Flex were double honourees. As for other sets recognised by these Awards, well, we will have to wait until CES to find out.

It is expected that the annually updated LG OLED series will be revealed, however, to replace the multiple What Hi-Fi? Award-winning C2 series, as well as the A2, B2 and G2 ranges. Will they be named A3, B3, C3 and G3? It very much appears so, as the National Radio Research Agency (NRRA) of South Korea appears to have already certified a 55-inch B3 TV and 65-inch C3 TV. We can only speculate about the rest for now, but considering the success of LG OLEDs in recent years, any 2023 OLED TV announcement will be a big deal regardless.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 8am PT
Livestream: https://www.lg.com/uk/ces2023-teaser

Samsung at CES 2023

Samsung's theme for CES 2023 is ‘Bringing Calm to Our Connected World’ and its press conference will be hosted by Jong-Hee Han, vice chairman, CEO and head of Samsung’s DX (Device eXperience) Division, suggesting that much of the company's focus will be on products and technologies within its smart home ecosystem. But it will undoubtedly pull a cloth from some sort of brand-new TV, and if previous CES reveals are anything to go by, it will likely be most of the models in its 2023 range, if not all of them.

Samsung's current TVs span Micro LED, Neo QLED, QD-OLED and 'lifestyle' models, so we should be prepared for a broad spectrum of new TVs – and, fingers crossed, more in the way of QD-OLED sets and more affordable Micro LED. Like LG, Samsung isn't usually shy when it comes to displaying out-there TV concepts at CES too.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 2pm PT
Livestream: https://news.samsung.com/global/

Sony at CES 2023

While Sony is another brand that usually goes all-in at CES, the brand has confirmed that it will not reveal any new TVs at CES this year. Sony will instead be giving the spotlight to its new PlayStation VR2 (with dual 120Hz 4K OLED displays).

As for its TVs and audio line-up for 2023, those will be announced at an event later in the Spring. Will its 2023 flagship 4K TV be another QD-OLED? We wouldn't be surprised considering the acclaim that its 2022 Master Series A95K QD-OLED has received in recent months, though Micro LED will surely be on the Sony TV horizon – if not this year, then in 2024. Will we get a new Sony Dolby Atmos soundbar or a new pair of Sony LinkBuds? Is Sony lining up a new Walkman, or will it have updates on its Bravia Core video streaming service or 360 Reality Audio technology? All will be revealed later this year.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 5pm PT
Livestream: www.youtube.com/Sony

Panasonic (and Technics) at CES 2023

Now here are two brands that are bound to have big news to share. Year in and year out, Panasonic reveals its all-singing-all-dancing reference TV at CES, so CES 2023 should follow that pattern. Both of the 2022 Panasonic OLEDs we have tested this year, the 48-inch TX-48JZ980 and 55-inch TX-55LZ980B, have garnered five-star reviews from us, with the larger size also winning a What Hi-Fi? Award, so we are betting the company sticks with high-performing OLEDs for 2023.

Technics is also in very fine form, having recently impressed with its Award-winning SA-C600 streaming system and EAH-A800 wireless headphones, so we are just as hopeful that the brand has something new to show off in January – new true wireless earbuds and, better yet, new hi-fi components perhaps.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 10am PT
Livestream: https://na.panasonic.com/us/ces-2023 

JBL at CES 2023

We can't remember JBL ever having had a quiet CES, so there is no reason to believe it will start to at CES 2023. That said, the company will be entering this year's show after a very prolific previous 24 months during which it launched a bunch of hi-fi and audio products in celebration of its 75th birthday, including the L100 Classic 75 speakers and SA750 streaming amplifier. 

JBL is bound to launch at least one pair of true wireless earbuds (though our money is on at least three pairs, including these smart Tour Pro 2) and we can cross our fingers that more JBL hi-fi lands too.

Press conference: tbc
Livestream: tbc

TCL at CES 2023

TCL has won two 2023 CES Innovation Awards. The first is for the TCL 75C935, the brand's latest generation 74-inch Mini LED 4K TV, which combines Mini LED and QLED panel technologies as well as 1920 full array local dimming zones and 144Hz refresh rate support in a bid to become the premium TV of choice for next year. And the second is for the TCL 75C835, also a Mini LED 4K TV, with support for Dolby Vision IQ and a 144Hz refresh rate in addition to 360 panel control zones and a choice of Roku or Google TV operating systems.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 1pm PT
Livestream: https://www.tcl.com/us/en/ces

CES 2023 news: the best of the rest

While the attendance from most of the biggest names in technology elevates CES to 'the world's best show' status in the industry, it just as importantly gives smaller brands and startups public exposure and a chance to show off their own creations to the world's media. As a result, it is a launchpad for some of the most innovative and creative products we are confronted with every year – even if some of it is at the concept stage and may never appear on shelves.

CES 2023 is bound to flaunt the latest and greatest ideas from all around the world. Indeed, the show kicks off with its CES Unveiled event, which sees a huge event space packed with stalls and booths showing off these very things. We already know that one of them will be occupied by Displace, a US startup home entertainment company that claims to have developed "the world's first truly wireless TV". The Displace 55-inch 4K OLED TV sure does look wild, and we cannot wait to see it in the flesh during the week. And a bright spotlight often shines on in-car audio technology as well - stay tuned!

CES 2022 highlights: what wowed last time?

Yes, CES 2022 ended up being a much more muted affair than normal after many big companies were forced to pull out citing COVID 19-related travel and health issues. But while physical attendance wasn't what it usually is, product launches didn't seem to suffer. Not only that but they contained plenty of success stories...

In the TV sector – arguably the most consistently dominant of the show in the home entertainment field – Samsung announced its first hybrid QD-OLED TV, which went on to win lofty praise from us as represented in our Samsung QE65S95B review (as did the Sony XR-55A95K QD-OLED that we also saw this year). While QD-OLED and Micro LED technologies stole the CES 2022 headlines, LG determinedly doubled down on its OLED Evo panels – and now has multiple 2022 What Hi-Fi? Awards to show for it.

And little did we know at the time of its CES 2022 reveal that the Technics SA-C600 streaming amplifier would go on to win a 2022 What Hi-Fi? Award too. The same goes for the Mark Levinson No.5909, which raised eyebrows in January for their unprecedented price tag in the wireless headphones space, only to then receive a five-star review from us when we got our ears under them. And then there was the quirky Samsung Freestyle projector, which also impressed us when it entered our test rooms in the months following its CES reveal.

Naturally (it is CES, after all), there were plenty of wacky products and inventions that made our the best of CES 2022 roundup too, so we can hope for more of that same outlandish creativity come January.

• See all the CES 2022 news and highlights
• And our full best of CES 2022 list, featuring QD-OLED TVs, 'invisible headphones', and projectors for lightbulb sockets

Japanese audio specialist Nakamichi has expanded its 2022 Dolby Atmos soundbar line-up with two new models, both of which support Qualcomm aptX HD, enabling users to stream music via Bluetooth 5.0 at up to 24-bit quality. 

Superseding models initially launched in 2019, the Shockwafe Pro 7.1 eARC and Shockwafe Elite 7.2 eARC introduce a host of new upgrades and technology first developed for the brand's flagship Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 eARC soundbar at a lower price.

Both soundbars come with Nakamichi's Spatial Surround Elevation (SSE) MAX technology, upgraded speaker drivers and amplifier hardware. Adding HDMI eARC connectivity instead of ARC means that both bars can handle lossless Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. There's also support for Dolby Vision passthrough. 

The Shockwafe Pro 7.1 eARC includes a separate wireless subwoofer with a 10-inch driver, up from 8-inches previously. The new sub boasts a claimed 300 watts of peak output power and low-end extension down to 30Hz.

It's not just the bass bin that's had an overhaul. Nakamichi says every speaker in the system has been upgraded with twin-cone drivers and silk dome tweeters. The Shockwafe Pro 7.1 eARC also incorporates high output amplifiers that Nakamichi says can deliver up to 850W of total system power.

In addition to eARC with support for Dolby Atmos True HD and DTS:X, there are three HDMI inputs that can handle video sources with Dolby Vision HDR.  

For those looking for more bass from their bar, the Shockwafe 7.2 eARC comes with dual 8-inch subwoofers delivering 450 watts of power and bass extension down to 25Hz. The system has a claimed total power output of 1000 watts.

Like its sibling, the Shockwafe Elite 7.2 eARC includes upgraded drivers, Qualcomm aptX HD, eARC and three HDMI inputs.

Priced at $900 (around £760 / AU$1300), the Shockwafe Pro 7.1 eARC is available now. The Shockwafe 7.2 eARC is on track for a late September release and will retail for  $1300 (around £1100 / AU$1880). Although official pricing is only available for the US, Nakamichi offers global shipping via eBay.

MORE

Nakamichi's insane 9.2.4 Dolby Atmos soundbar is still reduced by $250 in the Labor Day sale

Should you buy a Dolby Atmos soundbar?

The 22 best Dolby Atmos movie scenes to test your home cinema surround sound system

If, like us, you're of a certain vintage, you will remember Japanese audio specialist Nakamichi for its tape decks and in-car stereo systems. Although the company struggled to compete in the era of CDs and went into administration in 2002, Nakamichi has been back in business for a few years now and, since 2016, has quietly been producing a range of Shockwafe soundbars – no, that isn't a typo. 

Quick history lesson: the first model, the Shockwafe Pro 7.1 soundbar, was the first ever soundbar to include seven discrete surround channels. Cut to 2018 and four more models were added to Nakamichi's Shockwafe lineup, incorporating dual subwoofers, quad modular surround speaker technology and DTS:X compatibility – spearheaded by the flagship Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 DTS:X. In 2019, the company updated this range-topping model with the Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 SSE Soundbar System, which was named a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree. 

Now, Nakamichi is upping its game again with the model we want to tell you about: the new flagship Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 eARC soundbar (2022). It features the company's all-new Spatial Surround Elevation (SSE) Max technology, supercharged speaker drivers and amplifier hardware, eARC connectivity, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Dolby Vision and, for the first time ever, Qualcomm aptX HD support.

In an unconventional approach, Nakamichi actually collaborated with its customers through survey and beta tests, analysing over 5000 reviews to understand the upgrades and features that consumers most wanted for the 2022 model. 

So you could say that the new Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 eARC soundbar flagship system is a celebration of the relationship between the company and its beloved tribe of Nakamichi fans, but the audio specialist assures us its progeny is also the new reference plug-and-play home theatre soundbar system to beat all others in its category. But then they would say that.

Spatial Surround Elevation (SSE) Max Surround Processing Technology (say that after a few drinks) is billed as a "state of the art architecture consisting of precisely-tuned performance hardware and the exclusive SSE surround processing software technologies featured in previous Shockwafe series". This convergence of power, processing and performance promises the most immersive 360° movie, music and gaming entertainment experience possible.

A quick run through of the components in the system begins with the fully upgraded soundbar, which features custom-designed extended range twin-cone drivers, silk dome surround effects tweeters and high output amplifiers to boast smooth, powerful, crystal-clear sound, ensuring every audience member has the best seat in the house. This supercharged soundbar and surround speakers are encased in a premium, matte black chassis.

Next up, the dual subwoofers. Nakamichi's signature dual 10-inch subwoofers have been elevated with all-new high output amplifiers and upgraded subwoofer drivers. 

Lastly, the quad modular surround speakers (2nd Gen) promise to wrap you in "a rich 360° sphere of cinema sound". Said quad two-way modular surround speakers now boast silk dome tweeters and extended range twin-cone drivers too.

And to future-proof connectivity, HDMI eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) enables the soundbar to receive higher-resolution audio coupled with 4K HDR and Dolby Vision pass-through to a TV. With 3 HDMI 2.1 inputs, multiple devices can be conveniently connected to the soundbar also.

Finally, Nakamichi says the Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 eARC is the world’s first soundbar with Qualcomm aptX HD, allowing listeners to stream their favourite tunes in better quality from smartphones, tablets or laptops via Bluetooth 5.0. 

Pricing? Of course. The Nakamichi Shockwafe 9.2 eARC (2022) flagship soundbar system will be available from select retailers in March, with a MSRP of $1900 (which is around £1450 or AU$2565, although official pricing for these regions is not yet known). 

Can Nakamichi challenge the Dolby Atmos soundbar class-leaders? We shall see. 

MORE:

See our pick of the best surround sound systems 2022

Or here's our roundup of the best home theatre speaker systems 2022

Have the kit? Check out 20 of the best film scenes to test surround sound and also 19 of the best Dolby Atmos movie scenes

First a declaration: Stax enabled one of my first hi-fi writing successes. It was the late 1980s, and I had been taken on as Assistant Editor for What Hi-Fi? magazine, located then a short walk from the Thames in Teddington, West London. After several years on Electronics Today International I was thrilled to have pushed open the door of more audio-based publishing, but the then-Editor of What Hi-Fi?, Simon Davies, may have had a sadistic streak, as the first test he allocated to me was an enormous group of some 40 blank cassette tapes, to rate using WHF’s famous five-star ratings for sound, build, and value, to deliver a final verdict ranking all 40 blank tapes in order of performance. 

This Herculean task would have been impossible using the budget Aiwa cassette deck and half-decent Sennheisers that I owned at the time, so I leveraged the power of the publication to call in the very best tools for the job. For the cassette deck, the brand required was obvious – Nakamichi. My memory is not 100% here: I know the deck I used was not the legendary Dragon, as I played with that later; I’m pretty sure it was the almost equally impressive ZX-9. 

For the headphones, there was not only an obvious brand but one clear model for the job; indeed I was instructed to accept no substitute not only by editor Simon and Tech Ed Andrew Everard, but by the extended and elevated reviewers of then sister titles New Hi-Fi Sound and Hi-Fi Answers, which included the likes of Keith Howard, Jonathan Kettle, Malcolm Steward, Jimmy Hughes, Alvin Gold (noted electrostatic speaker enthusiast), and Paul Miller. I was to learn much from my contacts with these writers over the ensuing years, but the very first recommendation from those I consulted was that I should tackle my task using Stax SR-Lambda Signature earspeakers. 

It was the first time I had used electrostatic designs and, as is the common experience, they were a revelation as to the sound quality that can be delivered by headphones – or ‘earspeakers’, as Stax prefers to call them. Their clarity and detail made it possible, via endless days of popping cassettes in and out to compare the recording quality of four pieces of music and the hiss levels behind them, to deliver a confident final ranking of all those blank tapes. 

So on my first big hi-fi assignment, it was Stax that got me over the line.

In the round

Stax no longer makes those specific Lambda Signature earspeakers, though the series lives on in the three current SR-L models of the Lambda-Advanced series. For many fans it is their oval sound elements and rectangular headshells which epitomise the Japanese brand. 

But the company has always had circular designs on its books as well, and the current round ‘Omega’ series outranks the rectangular models as the true flagship Stax designs.

The earliest Stax earspeakers were also round: the SR1 shown at the Tokyo Audio Fair in 1959, also the SR-3 model which cemented the company’s reputation for headphones in 1968. 

Stax first tried using metal-mesh electrodes, as compared to more solid ‘hole-punched’ stators, with the SR-X in 1970, and returned to them in 1993 for the very first of the Omega series, the SR-Ω. Its 90mm-diameter metal-mesh electrodes then represented perhaps the largest driver delivered in a headphone design. The greater openness of metal mesh assists transparency of sound by reducing air resistance to the diaphragm’s motion, and the effect of reflections. 

The problem of metal mesh is the size required to match the large ultra-thin diaphragms that can move enough air. 

The reducing rigidity of larger meshes would reduce the accuracy of the sound. So to improve rigidity in the SR-Ω, the metal mesh was reinforced using an adhesive, in a manual operation requiring high-precision work. So tricky was this process that demand outstripped the ability to supply; it is thought that only 600 units of the SR-Ω were ever delivered. It took until 2011, with an investment injection from China’s Edifier when it took ownership of Stax, for the problem to be solved using a new multilayer metal-mesh construction, which became the basis for the SR-009 released in that same year. 

That was further developed in the 2018 SR-009S, which refined the etching process to smooth the edges of the electrode openings, further reducing air resistance, while gold-plating the electrodes to both stiffen them and reduce their electric resistance. The results were stunning; the SR-009S, with the SRM-700S driver, went on to win the top Sound+Image headphone award.

New flagship

Now we have the new flagship, the SR-X9000. It raises the bar once more, beginning with a new version of that metal-mesh electrode system. The ‘MLER-2’ from the SR-009S has evolved into the four-layer ‘MLER-3’ (the ‘MLER’ stands for ‘Multi-Layer-Elect-Rords’ [sic]). The ultra-thin plastic film diaphragm has been increased in size by 20% over the SR-009S and this is flanked by a new and more rigid combination of metal-mesh electrode and a frame-like etching electrode which are bonded together using thermocompression. 

In electrostatic designs, a bias voltage is applied to the ultra-thin diaphragm, which is sandwiched and suspended between two plates (called stators; Stax often calls them electrodes), to which the fluctuating voltage of the audio signal is applied as a push-pull signal where one side is always the reverse of the other. The diaphragm is attracted towards one stator, and ‘pushed’ the same way by the other. When the signal reverses, the diaphragm moves the other way. Thus its movements follow the audio signal, and because it has so little mass and the movements are quite small, there is little inertia to the movement, which allows electrostatic speakers to deliver their reputation for incredible detail and low distortion.

You need protective guard meshes outside the electrodes, but these can cause reflections which muddy the sound before it reaches the ear. On the SR-X9000 the guard meshes been redesigned to reduce reflections by using pillars of different heights at front and back to vary the gap between the sound unit and the guard mesh. With the guard mesh no longer directly parallel to the sound unit, Stax says that reflection effects are all but eliminated, thereby clarifying the sound. 

This new construction still requires skilled manual labour at Stax’s Japanese headquarters, and as with the SR-Ω, we gather that demand is already outstripping the ability to make them. When we collected the review pair from Australian distributor Audio Marketing, together with the flagship SRM-T8000 driver unit, we heard that only three pairs of X9000s have yet made it to Australia, with a promise of more for Christmas.

One of the problems with the electrostatic approach is the relatively low strength of electrostatic fields compared with magnetism. Hence high voltages are required both for the bias voltage and the audio signals, to create fields sufficiently strong to move the diaphragm. In the beginning, Stax used voltages of around 200 volts to create its electrostatic fields, which worked, though limiting the volume available. The arrival of rock music changed listener’s expectations of loudness, and Stax responded by upping the voltages used to create the electrostatic fields to the 580V it uses today on most models.

Hence you can’t be plugging Stax’s earspeakers into the headphone socket of a portable device or even a hi-fi amplifier. They need a dedicated ‘driver’, sometimes called an energiser, or more prosaically a headphone amplifier. So you’ll often see Stax sold as packaged systems of earspeakers and driver. 

The connection between the two is made by the company’s 5-pin ‘Pro’ plug connector, the sockets for which look very like valve connectors.

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In use

Talking of valves, the Stax driver we were loaned, the SRM-T8000 (£4395, $6090, AU$8000), employs two small-signal 6922 valves in the input stage (hidden away under the substantial casing). These then drive a Class-A solid-state output stage. The T8000 is a substantial and solid unit some 32cm wide and nearly 40cm deep, offering three analogue inputs – two on unbalanced RCA and the third balanced on XLR sockets – and it has twin outputs so that you could, should you be so magnificently equipped, listen alongside a listener using a second pair Stax earspeakers. 

The box for the SR-X9000 earspeakers is a beautiful case of dark paulownia wood, known in Japanese as kiri. This is a fast growing hard wood, light in weight, fine-grained, and warp-resistant, used in Japan for centuries for storage chests and boxes, as the wood keeps out humidity, heat and even insects. This box with its soft plush interior should keep your Stax earspeakers in perfect condition.

Lifting them out you can feel their fair weight, just over 430 grams and a little more once the cables are hanging, but as soon as you place them on your head and feel the real sheep leather around your ears (the surrounding areas are high-quality artificial leather), the comfort level is so high and their weight so well dissipated that they feel remarkably light; these are headphones that won’t ever discourage listening.   

The main enclosures are machined aluminium; they hold the gold sound units firmly in place, clearly visible through the open guard meshes; it’s immediately clear that careful handling and avoidance of contact with those end meshes is important. Keep them in that paulownia box!

The two enclosures are connected by a stainless steel headband assembly – none of the plastic hinges which sometimes alarm on lesser Staxes. The headpad which contacts your hair – or head – is again made of real leather. 

The final element is the cabling – one of those classic six-strand liquorice cables favoured by Stax, this one with 6N annealed copper (99.9999% purity). We love these liquorice cables not only for their appearance but because they’re completely silent if you move them, unlike many headphone cables. Even better, you get two of them in the box – 1.5-metre and 2.5-metre varieties – useful both for preferred use, and just for having a spare. 

Classical music would have been the mainstay in the earliest days of Stax, so we began with that. The thrilling qualities of electrostatic performance were immediately apparent. Arvo Part’s Fratres For Eight Cellos (Naxos 1997) rises gradually from the softest sul tasto to full-strength ensemble in the middle, and such was the silence behind the Stax presentation that we set the intro higher than we otherwise might. The peaks were fully fledged indeed, yet distortion free and emotionally full. 

The detail is extraordinary. Despite some stormy dynamics in Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ symphony (Berlin Phil, 1970, a remarkably hiss-free recording on the Complete Karajan EMI recordings set, CD 64), you can hear the flop of flute keys and turns of sheet music pages. This is why classical fans are advised not to buy any headphones without first spending time under the spell of electrostatic detail and dynamics. It’s hard to stop listening.

Things remain similarly enthralling with acoustic jazz. It’s not just the accuracy of tone on Joe Henderson’s slightly off-centre solo sax on Ask Me Now (from Chesky’s ‘Ultimate Demonstration Disc’), it’s the sound of rapid taps on the keys, the way you sense his movement in the microphone field as he seeks to soften the sound. 

This level of revelation might almost be expected from acoustic recordings, so it’s even more of an ear-opener to hear artificial fare given a full resurrection. The 2017 OMD track As We Open, So We Close is almost entirely electronica, and the speed and dynamics imparted by the Stax brought it all alive – from fizzy phat bass to creamy synth pads and an impeccably real vocal centre stage, just out of the spotlight within the wide soundstage created here. 

Can they deliver the weight to drive rock and other modern genres? At first the bass, so natural with classical and jazz recordings, may feel light to those more used to closed-back headphones, especially the many designs which ‘push’ the lowest frequencies to set your head a-thrumm. But play Tyler, The Creator’s appropriately-titled EARFQUAKE though this Stax system and you surely won’t think them short of bass, and more, the ultra-thin diaphragm just about managed this huge bass content without masking the frequencies above. Meanwhile in the bass-free sections we’ve never heard this mix so clearly, nor the synths so pleasingly fizzy. 

On The Flaming Lips’ A Spoonful Weighs A Ton, the crazy fuzz bass in the bridges lacked nothing for depth, and was tightly portrayed in the soundstage too, where many headphones splatter it everywhere. There were percussion details behind this bass that we’ve never noticed before because they’ve always been drowned or knocked unconscious by the more common dominant delivery. A bass sweep showed the low-end to stay at full strength to at least 60Hz, dropping away thereafter only gradually. 

Also important, if auditioning, is to ensure the Stax you’re hearing is fully run in. The longer we ran them – and before critical listening they’d been playing continuously for 120 hours – the more the bass seemed to strengthen and solidify.

What the X9000s really love is a dense mix with plenty going on; they break down the detail so that it’s like watching a movie on IMAX – over here! over there! – you lock onto detail after detail. The wonderful ‘Like A Version’ take on Dumb Things by A.B.Original with Paul and Dan Kelly is one such, an outstanding live take with every piece perfectly in place. It saddens us that we may never hear it quite so clearly again.

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Conclusion

We’ve never yet heard a Stax electrostatic earspeaker which hasn’t delighted us, so to hear the best-ever Stax earspeaker backed by the flagship driver was simply a transport to musical delight. 

The combo delivered transparency, detail and soundstaging to shame even price-comparable dynamic designs, while the bass available was tight and real, never over-emphasised, and nearly always balanced enough to underpin even rock and modern artificial recordings, while given acoustic recordings they are simply unsurpassed. 

Once under their spell, it’s very hard to stop listening; you want to hear more, more, more... 

Postscript

Back on that blank tape assignment, this clarity from Stax not only gave me the confidence to rank those cassettes, it saved me during the subsequent saga of being challenged by the German makers of Agfa and BASF tapes. Their blanks had done less well than they clearly believed should have been the case, and they figured they’d caught us out because some star ratings were different between Agfa and BASF cassettes despite the tape inside being exactly the same formulation — aha! 

But examining the ratings, it turned out that the sound quality ratings had indeed been the same, but the build quality ratings had differed, because the shells were different. ‘Aha’ right back at you, we said.

Not satisfied by this, they flew over from Germany to test my hearing, I kid you not. They suggested a challenge which they had been taking to hi-fi shows, where you listened to 20 short segments of audio, some from the input to a tape deck, some from the replay heads. Their tapes were so good, they said, that you couldn’t hear the difference, and at the hi-fi shows, anyone getting 14 or more out of 20 correct received a gift to take away. 

In they came to the What Hi-FI? Hampton Road offices, and set up their tape machine. Could I use music of my choice, I asked? Yes, they said, so I selected a fairly quiet piece of Philip Glass. Could I use headphones of my choice, I asked? Yes, they said, so out came the Stax SR-Lambda Signature earspeakers and their driver. We plugged them up, and I waved them to start. 

Through the Stax earspeakers, the hiss on the recorded tape was not very difficult to hear, and I remember also keeping mental time with the Philip Glass pulses to spot the time delay evident on the recorded segments. I scored 19 out of 20, and they left very quietly. 

SPECIFICATIONS: Stax SR-X9000
Type: Push-pull open electrostatic circumaural headphones
Sound unit: Circular plastic biased diaphragm, MLER-3 stators
Frequency response: 5Hz–42,000Hz
Impedance: 145kΩ (including cable, at 10kHz)
Sound pressure sensitivity: 100dBSPL @ 1kHz
Bias voltage: DC580V
Earpads & headpad: Genuine leather in skin contact areas, high-quality artificial leather elsewhere
Cable: Silver-coated 6N (99.9999%) OFC parallel 6-strand wide, 2.5m & 1.5m
Weight: 432g (without cable)
Tested with: SRM-T8000 Vacuum Tube Input Driver Unit, $8000

• See all our Australian reviews from Sound+Image & Australian Hi-Fi

Yes, Cassette Store Day is a thing – and actually, that's not at all unjust considering tape sales are the highest they've been since 2004. Inspired by the popularity of Record Store Day, Cassette Store Day was concocted in 2013 to celebrate yet another retro format.

But whereas the vinyl revival maintains a continued resurgence – with new turntables being produced every year and vinyl LP sales reaching 4.1 million in 2017 – cassette tapes haven't made quite the same roaring comeback... yet. Will 2020 be the year? 

Sales of cassette tapes doubled in the UK in 2017, 18,500 tapes were sold during the first half of 2018, and this year sales are already over 36,000.  It's not loads, of course, but it's a surprising amount for a once-dead format. 

Invented by Philips in 1962, the compact cassette tape was originally meant for dictaphone use rather than hi-fi audio, but it quickly became the go-to analogue format of its time thanks to a mix of convenience, compact size and, of course, the ability to make mixtapes by recording music on to the tapes yourself.

• Cassette Store Day's official website

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Recent movies such as Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014, 2017) heavily featured the original Sony Walkman and mixtapes (the soundtracks were also released on cassette) and trendy high street shops like Urban Outfitters are now stocking cassettes and faux-Walkmans alongside its vinyl LPs. Sony has recently announced a retro Walkman, the £400 NW-A100TPS, to mark the iconic portable cassette player's 40th anniversary this year. And even artist newcomers are seeing some value in the format, with Billie Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? album having shifted 4000 copies alone this year. 

It's no wonder, then, that the cassette tape is currently enjoying a boost in popularity.

While Cassette Store Day (now in its seventh year and taking place on October 12th) is nowhere near as large a celebration as Record Store Day, it did make us nostalgic for the days when cassette tapes were the main way to listen to music.

So we dug into our archives to the hi-fi heydays of the 80s and 90s when we used to test and review blank cassette tapes. That's right: Blank. Cassette. Tapes.

See the galleries below:

Alongside the tapes were hi-fi cassette decks - the pinnacle of which was the Nakamichi Dragon - and the iconic Sony Walkman TPS-L2, the granddaddy of portable music players and a firm fixture in pop culture.

Sony started the personal stereo craze with the Walkman's introduction in 1979, and it's no stretch to say that the MP3 players and hi-res portable music players of today can trace their lineage back to this compact blue and silver box.

The original Walkman featured stereo playback, ran on two AA batteries, and had two mini headphone jacks so two people could listen at the same time (even though it came with only one pair of MDR-3L2 headphones).

• That Was Then... Sony Walkman review

Will cassette tapes ever enjoy the widespread popularity of vinyl again? We doubt it. Sure, certain generations will fondly remember poking a pencil or their finger into the reel holes to manually rewind a tape, and Spotify playlists aren't quite as personal or customisable as a mixtape with a handwritten tracklist. (Seen those cassette-inspired USB mixtapes, though?)

Because while cassette could sound surprisingly good with a really capable deck, it's still a heavily compromised analogue medium in the way MP3 is a heavily compromised digital medium. Vinyl can justify its premium cost thanks to fantastic audio quality (with the right pressing and the right kit), but cassettes were never really about attaining the best sound quality.

Still, there's something to be said for nostalgia. We wouldn't blame you for never throwing away those old cassettes lying about in a dusty drawer...

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Mention the name Nakamichi and we bet most audiophiles still associate the brand with exquisite high-end cassette decks. Yet decks like the legendary Dragon went out of production decades ago.

Over the years the brand has gone through various management changes and its product mix has changed radically.

The last time we remember reviewing anything from Nakamichi, it was an all-in-one style system built to battle Bose.

But that was years ago, so imagine our surprise to be confronted by this – the AV1/AVP1 processor/power amp combination.

Design

On the surface, this pairing seems almost too good to be true. It’s smart, easy to use and finished to a high standard.

So high that we couldn’t believe the company could sell the combination at £900. We’d have guessed a figure at least double that.

Checking the specifications, though, you'll find a few omissions. There’s no network streaming ability or internet tuner (due imminently), and the AV1 processor won’t pass through a 4K signal.

While 4K is in its infancy we would expect most receivers to accommodate such a signal. Nakamichi plans to launch a suitable video scaler in due course, but there are no firm dates.

Oddly, there are no analogue video inputs either. These are no longer essential for many, but it’s still a surprise omission.

The AVP1 power amplifier is a real powerhouse, delivering 7 x 110 watts. It’s a chunky unit, weighing in at 32kg, so get help if you ever need to move it.

Even when pushed hard, it doesn’t get too warm. But it’s still worth making sure you leave enough room around it for air to circulate.

Apart from the misgivings mentioned, overall connectivity is good. There’s a decent range of analogue and digital audio connections, and the ability to output stereo signals to three additional zones.

An aptX Bluetooth dongle is supplied, which opens up the processor to use with smart phones, computers and tablets. Handy.

The units can be connected via single-ended or balanced leads. Most of our listening was done using balanced.

Performance

Getting started is straightforward. There’s the usual automated speaker set-up – it adjusts size, distance and level, but does it with a fair bit of fuss. Once done, though, the results are accurate enough.

The rest of the set-up menus are a touch basic, showing few of the flourishes the likes of Yamaha or Denon manage – but they do get the job done.

Much the same can be said of the remote handset. It looks smart enough, but isn’t particularly luxurious.

This Nakamichi combination sounds a little crude at initial switch-on. We leave it running for a few days before judging it seriously.

The extra time helps noticeably, with the presentation gaining refinement and losing its hard edge.

We start off with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on Blu-ray and are impressed with the solidity and power. It sounds really authoritative and delivers high volumes with impressive ease.

The sound field is pleasing too. It may not be the most expansive, but it remains convincing as the dragon thumps around.

Nakamichi has got the tonal balance pretty much right too – enough to make speaker matching relatively painless.

It’s not all good news though. There are a number of areas where this package falls short of the best at this level. Detail resolution is decent but no more.

There are nuances in voices and textures to the instrumental back-drop that the Nakamichi overlooks. Crashes aren’t delivered with a great deal of conviction either, pointing to restricted dynamics and a general lack of agility.

Moving on to the Blu-ray of Stevie Wonder’s Live At Last, the amp struggles to take a firm grasp of rhythms, leading to a slightly ponderous feel to songs.

There’s plenty of solidity behind basslines and the ability to raise replay levels close to that of the real event, yet we’re still missing a chunk of atmosphere and enjoyment.

Stereo performance mirrors that heard in a surround set-up. It has lots of muscle and balanced tonality, but could do with an extra dose of finesse and rhythmic ability.

Verdict

Ultimately, for all its authority, this Nakamichi pairing doesn’t entertain as much as the best.

It needs greater insight and more expressive dynamics before it can worry the class leaders.

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