Nakamichi - Shockwafe 9.2.4Ch 1300W SSE MAX

I like my Nakamichi 9.2 eArc i had got in 2022 2 sub and 4 surrounds in upmix surround mode fills up a bigger area nicel. I only use sound bars in spare room and bedrooms tho AVR in main room i now use my JBL as a blutooth speaker setup you can’t complain how they sound either with there beefy 10” sub

I wish JBL offered there older bars with a 12” like there 1300 models do but there 10” sub sounds better then most. Ill use sound bars in my bedrooms and office i also got all mine stupid cheap when they were all fairy new or been out a year or so. A vizio m512a in office if came w an 8” sub wouldve been nice. Then 2 Nakamichis a 7.2 with dual 8” subs for 200$ was 1500$ or so new at time and 250$ for a 9.2.4 eArc 10” subs which was over 1600$ on Amazon back then. Both Geek squad had lost connection with sub which took out both surrounds on 1 and both subs and 4 surrounds on the other. Both Customers didn’t even try to fix them apparently because i messaged Nakamichi on each system they sent me out thumdrives for subs to try for free which worked on the 7.2 but lastthing they tried on the 9.2 was sent out new sub plates to try and if worked then id send mine back to them with a shipping label they also sent out. That actually worked out I couldn’t believe it for free in under 2 weeks and both sound better then other bars at the time especially in bigger rooms. Then some crack head was selling a JBL 5.1 multibeam w/ 10” sub for 175” I offered 125$ didn’t think id see a response but he messaged back a week or so later to sell BestBuy was selling it new for over 600$. I use it as a blutooth system in my garage off basement and sounds mint mostly because of the sub. Most sound bars I don’t think music sounds good at voume the Nak 9.2.4 still sounds decent id like to hear the 1300Pro just check Marketplace sometimes be surprised what you find sometimes.

I have a few. My main one is a Nakamichi Shockwafe eARC 9.2. I also have the 7.2 version of the same model. Before that I was using a Vizio M512a-h6.

I'm surprised the Nakamichi Shockwafe eARC isn't on the list. It's better than most of the list.

I'd say a lot is going to depend on your room size and shape. The Samsung subs simply don't work in my room. They sound hollow, more like a low-pitched "boing" kind of sound, and produce more bass outside the listening area than in the actual listening area. The Nakamichi dual subs shake the damn foundation and walls and if turned up enough will rattle the dishes in my kitchen cabinets. It is as close to movie theater bass as I've heard from a soundbar. When I was testing it I was told that people could hear it from outside the house. But people seem to love their Samsungs though so who knows... I've tried them and couldn't return it fast enough. But the new Shockwafe eARC, that thing is a beast. BTW, one of the big reasons people here knock it is because of the Rtings review. But Rtings rated it as the best soundbar for large rooms, and their overall review is useless because they tested everything with it on the Music EQ which is described by Nakamichi as designed to provide a live stage experience with the sound coming from in front of you. How the hell did Rtings not figure out that configured like this it's not going to sound ideal for movies that have a surround/Atmos soundtrack? And despite their botched testing, they still rated it the best for large rooms.

Of course I haven't tried every one on the list and other than professional reviewers I doubt there are many people who have. But I have researched pretty much all of them. I've tried the Samsungs and I don't get the hype. They are entirely overrated and the subs pretty much suck. And yes, I'm saying it because after buying and using more soundbars than I care to admit, I landed on the Nakamichi and it has ended my search for a true movie theater experience short of a $15K AVR+separates system. My second favorite has been a Vizio M512a-h6 which sounds great but doesn't provide the same movie-theater experience as the Nakamichi.

If you have a chance you should try the Nakamichi with dual subs. It's a game changer and makes the Samsung's sub sound like a toy. When I was using the Vizio M512 I thought it was great for a budget home system but the bass was just adequate. The day I hooked up the Nakamichi and fired it up I was floored. My significant other hates all my electronic toys and gadgets and thought it was a waste of time and money....then I told her to sit down and I played the Atmos demo that came with it. Her jaw dropped and she said "whoah...the other soundbar doesn't do THAT!!!" and promptly called her friends and invited them over for a movie night. We watched Civil War and the audio when they get to DC is just mindblowing. As are scenes like the opening in Oppenheimer. There are no other soundbars that provide this kind of bass except for the Nakamichi Dragon with the new 12" subs, but that's a $5K system. For under $1K the Shockwafe eARC 9.2 with its dual 10" subs can't be touched. Even the eARC 7.2 which I also have beats everything else out there. One can argue about the immersiveness of Atmos effects, clarity of dialogue, etc, but the Nak's subs, even though they are not 100% perfect, comfortably beat pretty much everything else out there in the soundbar world. The upcoming Klipsch Flexus 300 can be configured with dual subs and it looks very promising and may be as good, or maybe not, but I don't think it's available yet. I'm eager to see how it compares.

Yeah, the two subs and front/side surrounds make it ideal for a big room. But again, rtings completely screwed up their review by running everything in Music mode. I've been through a ton of soundbars, Vizio, LG, TCL, Samsung, and a few others and the Nakamichi blew them all away. Even the 7.2 is almost as good as the 9.2. The subs are smaller but still shake the room and you can actually feel the rumble. Jurassic Park when the dinosaurs are walking is just amazing. It ended my search for the "perfect" soundbar. None of them are perfect and the Nak definitely has its own set of quirks like they all do but the sound is above anything else I've heard or bought.

For a room that size I would look for a system with dual subwoofers. My room is roughly the same size and I have a Nakamichi 9.2.4 eARC. Best soundbar I've ever had, and I've tried a million of them. MSRP is right around your budget but Nakamichi sells some refurbished ones on ebay for under $1K and they come with the full 1-year manufacturer's warranty. Just make sure if you buy from there that the seller is Nakamichi direct. btw, this subreddit is basically a Samsung fan club so you will have people tell you the only choice is a Samsung Q990D or 990C and that the Nakamichi gets lower ratings on Rtings. But.... Rtings tested the Nakamichi using its Music EQ which is pointless for watching movies and TV. And despite them having tested it completely wrong, they still rated it the best soundbar for large rooms, which is what you want. BTW, for music, surprisingly, the best EQ mode is Game mode. ::edit: lol... told ya so. If you don't recommend a Samsung you will get voted down.

Nakamichi recommends connecting 4K 120hz devices directly to the TV, even with the 9.2.4 eARC. It doesn't support 4K 120 passthrough for devices connected to the bar. From their website: *^(2)* *The Shockwafe 9.2 eARC features 3 HDMI inputs, supporting HDCP 2.3 and video passthrough of up to 4K60 with VRR. We recommend connecting 4K120 devices directly to your TV for best video performance. Best quality (full resolution/lossless) audio will be passed from your TV to the soundbar via eARC.* I don't have a need for 4K 120 but that's disappointing anyway. But I still love my 9.2 eARC and 7.2 eARC. Best soundbars I've ever had or tried. I have never liked Samsung soundbars. For what it's worth, the Nakamichi Dragon does support 4K 120hz passthrough.

I'd avoid the Dragon for now. IMO the best thing Nakamichi has right now is the Shockwafe 9.2.4 eARC. The problem with the Dragon is that the subs don't perform to the rated specs and the bar itself has a pretty steep roll-off below 300hz. This means that unless you place the subs right next to the bar, the dialogue won't be placed in the center and you will get the lower mids from dialogue coming from wherever you have the subs placed. I have the SW 9.2.4 eARC and place one sub behind the couch and the other in a corner toward the front of the room diagonal from the other one. I also have a Shockwafe 7.2.4 eARC on another TV and like it just as much. Make sure you look at the eARC, not the older ARC.

Love my Nakamichi 9.2eARC and have been thinking about upgrading. Would you say the Dragon is worth it at $2999?

The best part of the Nakaimichi shockwafe SSE Earc 9.2.4 is the Subwoofers. The worst part of the dragon is the original subwoofer but I'd say the eARC might be better but I really can't say. Because the eARC is in my master bedroom and the Dragon in my basement which is a lot larger space. I will have 2 12 inch subwoofers and 2 8 inches subwoofers in the basement on Monday so I'm sure the dragon will blow away the eARC with subwoofer. But the biggest difference is in the lossless sound effect in Atmos and DTS X, that's where they aren't even close. As a matter of fact the Samsung 990d blows away the eARC with Atmos and DTS X effects also

100% Samsung. I sold my Nakamichi 9.2.4 and upgraded. I definitely prefer the Samsung. Overall dialogue clarity and surround sound effects are far superior.

Its a great system, but for the price it's not great..you can get a system that comes close for 50% less.

Lol. Most people don't want that. Especially at a cost of $5k+. I had a Nakamichi 9.2.4 and sold it for the Q990D. I'm much happier. I prefer crystal clear dialogue and surround effects over Bass my neighbors can hear.

I have had and do have a lot of nice audio stuff. Through the years I've tried it all. I have some older Vandersteen speakers upstairs in my listening room. In my theater room I have mostly velodyne subs and definitive speakers. I was raised on mainly bigger theater setups and they're awesome. But I'm shocked and how far along sound bars have come. I've tried several different sound bars from the Samsung 900d, Vizio,etc to a bunch of different other brands. I fell in love with the nakamichi shockwafe 9.2.4? The one that has the two 10-in subs and the four surround speakers. I got it refurbished from nakamichi on eBay for $657 delivered.. It's the only sound bar I've ever owned or listened to that has the real theater experience without running a bunch of wires and a bunch of hassle. I could hook that sound bar up in anybody's living room in 10 minutes and have amazing sound.

My theater room with the velodyne subs and definitive speakers are all 18 year old tech mostly,sure I've had a few new bits here and there..it's a 7 channel and it outperforms my nakamichi easily two fold it more. But it's also 50x the price or more and effort to install. The nakamichi setups I had so far are the 7.2.4 that has the two 8" subs. And then I moved onto the 9.2.4 with the 10" subs and the two extra surround speakers with a little more punch. Better sound bars are worth looking into imo.. technology has come along ways. I have a lot of audio file friends who come over and visit me in my second sitting room where I have my nakamichi. And not a single person has sat in that room and not made a comment to the effect of " is that soundbar making all that sound"...

None so far I own two of the nakamichi sound bars atm. The 7.2 with the dual 8" subs and now the 9.2 with the bigger subs and more surrounds. Same as you with each system I think it can't get better, but it does! The 7.2 I ordered new with no QC issues so far, the 9.2 I ordered refurb from nakamichi and it's smooth sailing still. Fingers crossed

you can get a great set from Nakamichi for under 1k on eBay with 2 subwoofers and great atmos bubble, and of course way WAY better customer service in case something happens. Like the Shockwafe 9.2.4 soundbar.

You will never out bang for the buck the Nakamichi line. I will compete with and dominate any that are willing to try. I have the 9.2.4 and in clarity of highs and voice, quality of Atmos and unrivaled enveloping bass, noone can remotely attempt to compete. Period.

990D. Don't look back. I had a Nakamichi 9.2.4 Shockwafe. The difference was amazing.

I got the nakamichi shockwave. I like it, but it can be a pita to set up. Still sometimes has interference from wifi (we think) which can be frustrating.