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CES 2023: Nakamichi Unleashes The Dragon 11.4.6 Soundbar System

The Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 Surround Sound Home Theater System features 21 channels, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X Pro, and more.

Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 Home Theater System

Re-enter the Dragon? Nakamichi created the gold standard with its Dragon series of components including the highly coveted Dragon Cassette Deck that still fetches thousands of dollars in 2023 on the vintage audio market. The company went through a series of bankruptcy proceedings and was never the same after the departure of its founder, Niro Nakamichi, who left in 1998.

Grande Holdings, a Chinese company based in Hong Kong, purchased the brand and also currently owns electronics companies Akai and Sansui. Many have raised their eyebrows at the “Dragon” branding, but the reality is that Grande have moved Nakamichi away from the lifestyle products that it was manufacturing for over two decades and back into the high-end category. Have they succeeded or are they just trading off on the past?

The Legacy of the Nakamichi Dragon

Their current product line consists mostly of its Shockwafe soundbar home theater systems. Several models are available, most notably the Elite 7.2, Pro 7.1, and Ultra 9.2 EARC Soundbar Systems.

Building the on the foundation of both its Shockwafe product line and its past Dragon legacy, Nakamichi made a big splash at the 2023 CES in Las Vegas with a 21-channel (11.4.6) Home Surround Sound system that has been designated with the Dragon label.

Tip: 11 represents the number of horizontal channels, 4 represents the number of subwoofers, and 6 represents the number of height channels. However, some channels include more than one speaker driver as the total number of speaker drivers is 31. 

As part of its unveiling, Nakamichi demonstrated the new Dragon to select press on an invitation-only basis and I was fortunate to be afforded the opportunity to see and hear this product in person.

Going into the demo it was stated that Nakamichi’s philosophy for the Dragon is built on the following pillars:

  1. Deliver an authentic three-dimensional home cinema experience.
  1. Seamless integration with any room environment.
  1. Setup time of less than 15 minutes.

The Demo

Nakamichi Dragon Home Theater System at CES 2023

Using a Dolby Atmos test disc, cuts from two films were played: the opening scene from Max Max Fury: Road and the bomb-run scene from the Angelina Jolie-directed film, Unbroken – both are great Dolby Atmos demo scenes. My impression was that the Dragon was unleashed! I didn’t detect any amplifier strain, distortion, or speaker clipping, and the system filled the room with an immersive soundstage with precise sound object location. 

One of the weaknesses of most soundbar-based systems is the inability to reproduce a quality music-listening experience. Playing several musical selections ranging from pop to classical, and from stereo to surround sound, just as with movie content, the Nakamichi passed the test rather convincingly. Stereo separation was excellent and there was a rather clean sounding presentation that did not lose its focus or resolution as the volume level inched higher.

Coming away from the Demo, I felt that Nakamichi really thought out of the box on the Dragon and it raises the bar on what can be done with a soundbar-centric system when you let an engineering team push the limits. Although Nakamichi’s Shockwafe soundbar system line already provides a solid listening experience, they take it to the next level with the new Dragon. It was definitely the best soundbar-based system I heard at the 2023 CES and would be able to hold its own with many AVR-based systems. The question is, “How will it be received by retailers and consumers?” 

As they say, “The devil is in the details” – so let’s take a look at how Nakamichi was able to bring this system to life. 

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Product Design 

Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 Home Theater System in Living Room

The Nakamichi Dragon is an 11.4.6-channel system that consists of five components

  • One (1) 58-inch wide/30-pound soundbar with a stainless steel chassis.
  • Two (2) wireless Omni Motion Surround speakers that include an angle-adjustable upfiring speaker. 
  • Two (2) wireless Quad Subwoofers. Each subwoofer incorporates two outward firing drivers supported by an additional port. 

The system is compatible with most surround sound formats including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X Pro. The system also provides lots of connection options, including HDMI-eARC, plus three additional HDMI inputs that provide video pass-through.  

This is combined with more than enough power and other features that you would normally associate with a system consisting of an AVR and separate speakers. 

Nakamichi Dragon Soundbar Speaker Drivers
There are 31 speaker drivers in the main soundbar.
Nakamichi Dragon IsoBaric Subwoofers
8-inch Isobaric Subwoofer Drivers
Nakamichi Dragon Surround Sound Rear Speakers
Surround Speakers

Speakers & Amps

Here are the feature and specification details provided by Nakamichi so far. There are a total of 31 speaker drivers and 15 separate amplifiers in the system, distributed as follows: 

Amplification15 individual amplifiers
1500 watts/3000 watts peak (entire system)
Main Unit/Soundbar3″ Horizontal Midrange Drivers (10)
1.5″ Horizontal Air Motion Transformer (AMT) Tweeters (3)
3″ Dual-angled Up-firing Drivers (4 in total; 2 angled at 20 degrees and 2 angled at 10 degrees)
Two Quad Wireless Subwoofers2 x 8″ Isobaric Drivers (each)
Two Omni-Motion Surround Speakers 1.5″ Air Motion Transformer (AMT) Side and Rear Surround – 2 each
3.5″ Drivers (Side and Rear Surround) – 2 each
3″ Adjustable Angle Up-firing driver – 1 each
Surround Format SupportDolby Atmos
DTS:X PRO
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Digital
DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD High-Resolution Audio
DTS Digital Surround
LPCM 7.1
LPCM 5.1
PCM 2.0
HDMI 2.1 FeaturesVideo Pass-Through: Resolution and frame rates up to 4K@120Hz/8K@60Hz
Video Upscaling: 4K/2K
HDR Pass-Through: HDR/HDR10+/Dolby Vision
Gaming Support: VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)/ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) /FRL (Fixed Rate Link)
Connectivity3 x HDMI 2.1 In  
1 HDMI (eARC) 
1 Digital Optical In 
1 Digital Optical Out
1 Aux In
1 Aux Out
1 USB Type-A (firmware Update Only)
Bluetooth: Version 5.0 with aptX™ HD
Remote Control: Bluetooth and IR compatible
Size & Weight
(L x W x H)
Main Unit: 58.1 x 7.6 x 4.4 inches / 31.5lbs
Omni-Motion Surround Speakers: 9.0 x 8.4 x 10 inches / 8.8lbs (each)
Subwoofer: 8.6 x 12.5 x 20.5 inches / 32.6 lbs (each)

Tip: No measure reference point (RMS, IHF, etc…) was provided for power output ratings. 

Nakamichi Dragon Remote
nakamichi-dragon-main-exterior-interior

Tip: Since the demo provided was of a pre-release system, it is possible some of the features and specifications could change.

Availability and Pricing

The 11.4.6 Channel Nakamichi Dragon home surround sound system will be available for pre-order in Q2 of 2023 with a tentative price of $3,499

See more coverage of CES 2023 here →

23 Comments

23 Comments

  1. Metalhead

    January 12, 2023 at 11:42 pm

    I am too old apparently.

    This may be labeled as Nakamichi but that is just hollow marketing to this listener.

    I own REAL Nakamichi; a ZX7 and a Hi-Com II noise reduction unit. Both have been extremely enjoyable purchases and have paid back their initial high prices ten fold. Just flat ass killer cassette decks.

    But hey I hope they did a good job with this release and the purchasers enjoy them.

  2. Elecrtro Man

    January 13, 2023 at 10:20 am

    Does it come in blue?

    • william

      August 2, 2023 at 2:07 pm

      I was hoping for white

  3. MadMex

    January 14, 2023 at 4:08 am

    Sacre bleu and sacrilegious. May they go down in flames and burn for all eternity.

  4. MadMex

    January 15, 2023 at 11:29 pm

    Who me? I’d love to see er, hear a toe-to-toe, Texas-style, throw-down, heavy-weight, no-holds barred, bada-bing bada-boom, last man standing, death-cage match old school Nakamichi (brand) versus new school Devialet (brand) for the record and for the books. Who cares? No one. To the death. Swords up. Swing hard for the sound bars.

  5. Doug

    January 17, 2023 at 3:07 pm

    How is it hollow marketing if it’s a solid unit and does what it suppose to? No one listens to tapes anymore if you haven’t noticed. Tapes have always sucked

    • Ian White

      January 17, 2023 at 3:15 pm

      Doug,

      It’s trading off on a series that had nothing to do with home theater and Nakamichi has very different owners now.

      Nobody listens to tapes? You would be very mistaken about that.

      Best,

      Ian White

      • Christopher Mumford

        April 17, 2023 at 8:02 am

        I don’t think I’ve listened to a cassette tape for over 10 years. I liked cassettes & had 100’s but the time came to move on and along with my vhs tapes, dvd’s & 100’s of cd’s they all went off to charity shops over the years.

  6. r0llinlacs

    January 19, 2023 at 12:56 am

    Last time I checked, subwoofer channels are represented as the number of subwoofer channels included, not the number of subwoofers. That is not four subwoofer channels, it is two. Misleading advertising is what I expect from the likes of Boss audio, but I see Nakamichi has sunken to that level. Ready for their next 35.48.80 system since those numbers apparently mean nothing anymore. 10kilowatts per channel. Single 120v AC plug. What’s stopping them?

    • Andreas Myles

      January 24, 2023 at 3:44 am

      This surround sound system is the best on this planet I will be very proud to be one of the people to own it Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6
      I’ve been Dreaming for something like this I’m out of words for this ,
      This is like having a Hi end Mercedes Maybach .

      • keith nichols

        January 28, 2023 at 5:34 am

        I’m going to buy it but I’m also holding off till next year holding off to see what bugs and how Meany firmware updates FIRST most happy that I held off of the lg sound bar something it’s killing wifi

    • jianping zhang

      February 14, 2023 at 1:50 pm

      Indeed,
      3000W is also peek value (as RMS 1500 W).

    • Stifflo

      April 9, 2023 at 11:05 pm

      4 sub elements=4 channels , 4atmos in plank +2on speaker=6
      Im good with that. But where is nr11 on the plank? 10 around ➕ 4atmos

      • Eric N Spear

        April 29, 2023 at 12:13 pm

        The 11 channels are for 7 in the “sound bar” plus 1 surround/ 1 surround back channel on each surround speaker. So, 7 front + 2 LR/LB + 2 RR/RB = 11 channels (not 11 speakers). There’s a total of 31 speakers but only 21 channels (11+4+6=21).

    • Eric Spear

      October 7, 2023 at 3:17 am

      The subwoofer number is the number of speakers, not channels.

      Per Dolby…
      What do the numbers mean?

      To describe home theater setups, audio enthusiasts use numbered designations. Here’s how to read the designation, using “5.1” and “5.1.2” as examples: [5] the first digit refers to the number of traditional surround speakers (front, center, and surround). Both Dolby Atmos and traditional channel-based surround systems use this designation.

      [.1] The next digit refers to the number of powered subwoofers (sometimes called the low-frequency effects, or LFE, speakers) you can connect to your receiver. Both Dolby Atmos and traditional surround systems use this designation.

      [.2] Only Dolby Atmos enabled systems use a third digit, which referes to the number of overhead or upward-firing speakers in a Dolby Atmos setup.

  7. Ruud Mulder

    February 3, 2023 at 10:13 pm

    I can’t wait until it will be available in the Netherlands.
    This will give the best movie experience at home.
    Another product professionally made by Nakamichi, well done.

  8. Edward

    March 1, 2023 at 8:42 am

    There is nothing mentioned about Auro3D Codec. Is it going to be as an upgrade later? As I think, it is a fail not having this codec,there are a lot of movies in Auro 3D format in the market.

    • David Ecker

      March 6, 2023 at 3:53 am

      I asked and it is not currently on the supported format list. Auro 3D hasn’t launched their soundbars yet from what I’ve seen .

  9. Christopher Mumford

    April 17, 2023 at 10:38 am

    This looks like the future of home cinema. Taking into account what’s included it looks like an absolute bargain. The technology is incredible and way beyond anything we’ve seen ( and heard ) before.

  10. Ivory

    April 30, 2023 at 5:02 pm

    This is definitely the future of home theatre sound. I have been researching which Nakamichi Soundwaife to buy but the reviews are rather mixed. I will wait till next year, and buy this dragon. The specs sound good

  11. Done

    July 29, 2023 at 8:36 pm

    I want this so bad, my wife would probably divorce me if I got it …I have no doubt this is absolutely awesome.

  12. Gerald Cochrane

    October 2, 2023 at 4:24 am

    I would definitely buy one . I’m waiting for you to bring it to Canada I live in Winnipeg Manitoba please let me know when it’s available to us here and I’ll definitely order one

  13. Gerald Cochrane

    October 2, 2023 at 4:28 am

    I live in Winnipeg Manitoba can you guys really give it some thought what you did to the consumer in the US can you do the same to us in Canada like for instance first one 1000 units sold give it that special status being sold in Canada wouldn’t mind having having one of the special numbers that being said like one of 1,000 units so I can have that special status of number one you know what I mean I don’t care what status but I sure love to get one here

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