Nakamichi - Shockwafe Pro 7.1 (Gen 1 / V1)

Nakamichi Shockwafe. Just got mine this month and it’s incredible.

What guy said the soundstage was the weakest? I’m Comparing The new Shockwafe at $2277 vs the dragon at $3999, Obviously that’s with the 8” subs. Basically half price and never enough tech said Atmos is better, immersion is better and the subs are better on the Shockwafe! Maybe I’ll give it a try! I demoed the dragon and I liked things but disliked things more and overall to me it wasn’t worth it. Everyone is different and I’m sure the new subs are good, but only hitting 30hz for a $1500 sub is clearly not a good deal, it’s average at best. Many of the people touting these highly overpriced subs obviously have never heard real subs before, but if it makes you happy do it. I’m obviously not a Nakamichi hater or I wouldn’t consider demoing the new shockwafe, Watching NET say it’s better than the dragon with 8’s and basically half price, gave me a inkling to actually give it a try.

I’d agree with what @djsimmz said. I demoed the dragon and it was good, but I couldn’t get any overhead-spatial effects and the subs would die and bottom out and the noises it would make drove me insane. I myself have the Sony Quads and although their sub is also pretty bad, I still can’t believe how awesome its Atmos effects are. I also tried the arc ultra with era 300s and a gen 4 sub and I’d say that system does everything well. It was close but the Quads just wow me and I was sold. I would look at the Shockwafe with the 2 10” subs that is going for 2299-2499, as with the dragon and it’s chuffy 8” subs, I would need the 12” subs and I’m not paying 6 thousand for 2 12” subs that are not great. People, some of them say the 12”s are great and they are far from great, but this just shows how pitiful the 8”subs are. I would demo my Quads vs the new Shockwafe, but forget the dragon imo

Who? Scooby? He’s got buyers remorse and is taking it out on the world. Hey, if people like it that’s great, but I tried it and sent it back after 12 days. Those 8” subs were awful and I only got Atmos effects during the demos which sound good on most soundbars. The one thing that irks me is his and anyone else who says “It’s Not A Soundbar”.. I’m literally not a Nakamichi hater and after watching nets review of the Shockwafe at half the price and what he calls the best bass he’s heard yet on a soundbar system gave me pause to maybe give it a try. But I don’t like how nakamichi lied about several specs and there were tons of owners(total 603🤣) that were super pissed on Facebook, AV Forums and AVS too.

Nakamichi Shockwafe is no big deal. Tried it like I tried the dragon over a year ago and it just doesn’t seem right for 2 10” subs to have average bass and my Quads Atmos is leagues ahead. I guess it’s okay for the price but I’d rather pay more and be happy with the quality than save and be disappointed. My Arc Ultra era300s and 2 subs was expensive but it does everything so well. It’s your money, you should try several different brands til you find the one that you love. After all that the Ambeo max with a svs pb 2000 pro or 1000 pro. But obviously wait until prices plummet

Nakamichi hands down makes the best systems. The new shockwafe is as good as the dragon also. Even the 9.2.4 earc is badass

I’m extremely behind on my YouTube video reviews, but I have the JBL 1300X MK2, Shockwafe, and Q990. Get rid of the Q990 for the Shockwafe. Total watts don’t tell the full story btw. For example, higher quality amps/drivers with lower watts will sound better/stronger/louder than a lower quality amps/driver with higher watts. The JBL MK2 has crystal clear sound, Atmos, and voice clarity at all bass levels - the sub hits really hard….depending on placement and etc, it can be in the same bass ballpark as the 2 Nakamichi 10’s. It’s a definite improvement across the board over last year’s JBL 1300X. If you HAD to get rid of both, the Shockwafe is worth the sacrifice over the other 2. Outside of going the home theater route, NOTHING will come close to the cinema power experience of going Nakamichi Shockwafe or Dragon with 2-4 12 inch subwoofers if you can afford the Dragon. Still, the JBL MK2 is very competitive, gets you pretty close to the Nakamichi Shockwafe route especially for the price, and imo is the most underrated soundbar system of 2025.

They’re actually similar volume wise. I doubt you’ll ever go past 20-25 on the JBL similar to the Nakamichi. Nakamichi Shockwafe can hit 110-120 dB depending on setup. JBL doesn’t state the total decibel level, but focuses on immersion. I can assure you it’s more than enough to rival a basic home theater setup volume and decibel wise. You’ll want to turn it down, it gets very loud. I thought my Samsung Q990 was loud before (100 dB), but the JBL is louder.

Nakamichi Shockwafe or Dragon if in the budget. Period. Anyone with another opinion just doesn't know any better. I've side by side compared them ALL, extensively! You will agree if you take the time to investigate on your own!

Nakamichi shockwafe .. it’s awesome!

The new Nakamichi shockwafe is what you’re looking for, you won’t regret it.

Of those I'd probably pick the Nakamichi Shockwafe (new) system. System looks like a beast to my eyes, followed by the Samsung, then Sonos. And I definitely believe that these new Shockwafe systems are more "True Nakamichi" than the older Shockwafe bars. I'd pick the Samsung 2nd because they're so hard to beat for the price. They sound great, & lots of adjustments to make it sound the best to your ears. Also the app controls work very well and stable connection too. Had the Q800B myself and it was a very strong system all around. Unfortunately I also wouldn't say anything about it fully blew me away. I pick Sonos 3rd. I had Sonos before (Arc, Era 100's, & Sub Mini. All open box prices). Strictly sound wise they're pretty good but I've heard better from Bose, Samsung, Klipsch, and a couple others. And their ecosystem can be buggy, idk if it's improved to the level of how it was before the app release, but even just setting up the system was a pain in the ass for me, especially if a rear speaker drops connection, having to reset the entire system, felt like I spent half my time actually having to reset the system, then other half the time I'd be able to actually listen to it fully. I think the Nakamichi system likely is still worth the extra money over Samsung.