Nova S80

Hey is this the only ultimea soundbar you reviewed? I have a Nova S80 and the system is decent but the subwoofer is garbage at low volume below 20. The subwoofer cuts in and out, rumbles and picks up voices. I wanted to know if the f40 does this? Im not the only one who has this problem

Just to update this post, I bought it in the end and I love it. Dolby Atmos is fine. The Xupmix mode is not for me, but the original is perfect. I tested 4 types of Ultimea 5.1 soundbars and so far, this is the best for the budget in my opinion. Sound is clear, bass can be strong, within the app I can basically modify everything. I was in my local store to test more expensive devices from known brands like LG, but for me those didn't feel any better (I'm not an audiophil, so maybe this is why). So in case someone in the future comes here, I can recommend this model. And please avoid the Ultimea Nova S80 model - The subwoofer had some issues when playing normal youtube videos even when bass was on the lowest option. So that was a no-no for me. Also, if someone wondering, the up-firing speakers didn't give any bog noticable difference, but the soundbar's width compared to the Aura A30 and Poseidon D60 is superior in my opinion. Poseidon D60 is fine too as a secondary speaker for my other TV, but in the future I might replace it to this same model when this gets cheaper.

EDIT: This is NOT a paid review. I spent 2 years collecting my experience with this brand and the only purpose of this review is to help to ones who choose these products but can't decide which model to buy. If you don't like them, it's okay, choose another brand and please just scroll and don't share hate here. Any real life experiences (good or bad too) are appreciated in the comment section so it will help others too. I can see that the haters cannot be persuaded with anything that this is not paid review, so I won't even try anymore. \_\_\_\_\_\_ Hey everyone, I recently tested multiple Ultimea soundbars across different price ranges (this is not sponsored, bought all of them myself). I’m not an audiophile - just a regular movie lover guy who wanted to find the best budget speaker for himself and chose this brand. Sorry for stock photos, it is much easier to show how the speakers are positioned in a room - as this is different in many models + I already sold most of them. If needed, I can share my own photos too. All soundbars were tested in two rooms: a smaller one (\~6 m²) and a larger one (\~25 m²). Surround speakers were positioned behind or next to me, about 70 cm in the larger room and 100 cm in the smaller one. I mostly watched Dolby Atmos movies on Netflix and other streaming apps. None of these soundbars support THX, and some have 4K passthrough HDMI ports, though I didn’t use those. Prices are in USD. # Low-Budget Category **1. Solo B30 Pro – 2.1 soundbar (was a gift, sold for 55$)** * **Rating:** 3/10 * **Experience:** Suitable mainly as a computer soundbar. Built-in subwoofer doesn’t deliver strong bass, but it’s better than nothing. Fine for casual YouTube or Twitch viewing, but not impressive for movies. * **Base stats:** * Peak power: 120W * Dimensions: 40 × 10.8 × 6.6 cm * Connection types: Aux, optical, USB, Bluetooth 5.3 * Extra SUB out port (not tested) https://preview.redd.it/kyo2419dtvpg1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ebaa390499af438142ec5f325ecc0b3a6b08570 **2. Aura A30 – 5.1 wireless (109$)** * **Rating:** 4/10 * **Experience:** First soundbar I owned, much better than TV speakers. Surround is virtual, not true Dolby Atmos, but creates decent immersion. Rear speakers are loud and usable even in larger room. Small main soundbar makes front-left/front-right/center sound to feel less distinct. Subwoofer weak but usable. No HDMI ARC/eARC, so volume adjustments require app or remote. * **SURR mode:** 5/10 – because it's not real Dolby Atmos, but I liked the way it created surround sound from normal Youtube videos. The dialogue sound didn't only came from the front speakers, but from the Surr speakers too (I like it more this way, it just feels bad without it, when there is only silence behind me while watching a Youtube video) * **Base stats:** * Peak power: 250W * Dimensions (W × H × D): Soundbar \[40 × 6.5 × 10 cm\], Surr \[8.2 × 8.8 × 8.1 cm\], Sub \[14 × 22 × 19.5 cm\] * Connection types: Optical, Aux, USB, Bluetooth 5.3 * Wires: wire between Soundbar -> Sub, wires between Surround speakers, but they connect wirelessly to the main Soundbar https://preview.redd.it/1xfl0kiitvpg1.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c18c33801cfeb9912ca9315bb960842763a02aa **3. Poseidon D60 – 5.1 wireless with Dolby Atmos (180$-gift->125$)** * **Rating:** 6/10 * **Experience:** Front soundbar slightly larger than Aura A30 (but still small, not ideal for bigger rooms), subwoofer stronger. Dolby Atmos improves movie immersion. In larger rooms, speaking voices mostly come from front. Subwoofer felt through floor, volume typically 30–60%. * **SURR mode:** 6/10 – Dolby Atmos adds immersion, but dialogue is not coming from rear speakers (unless someone talks from behind in a Dolby Atmos movie), which was worse for me * **Base stats:** * Peak power: 410W * Dimensions (W × H × D): Soundbar \[40 × 7 × 9 cm\], Surr \[13.5 × 7 × 9 cm\], Sub \[15.5 × 24.4 × 21.5 cm\] * Connection types: HDMI eARC, Optical, Aux, USB, Bluetooth * Wires: wire between Sub -> Surr and between Surr speakers, but Surr speakers connect wirelessly to the main Soundbar https://preview.redd.it/ydzkvzoxtvpg1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f93929bf5dc9eab6c762dd85bae0054c39a53d3f # Mid-Budget Category **4. Nova S80 – 5.1.2 wireless with up-firing speakers(\~200$)** * **Rating:** 6/10 (not ideal for the price) * **Experience:** Bigger main soundbar improves sound noticeably. Subwoofer is strong, had to turn power down in smaller room. Up-firing speakers barely audible. Small clicking noise from subwoofer noticeable even at low volume -> heard that this was an issue for many people, so this is why I replaced this * **SURR mode:** 5/10 – rear speakers required max volume to be noticeable; dialogue placement was fine. * **Base stats:** * Peak power: 520W * Dimensions (W × H × D): Soundbar \[80 × 3.8 × 9 cm\], Surr \[15 × 38 × 8.2 cm\], Sub \[31.5 × 38.5 × 19 cm\] * Connection types: HDMI eARC, Optical, Aux, USB, Bluetooth * Wires: wire between Sub -> Surr and between Surr speakers, but Surr speakers connect wirelessly to main Soundbar https://preview.redd.it/o4rknhnytvpg1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=620dd459013d051d3e0447c7744e3d135d00c2d4 **5. Ultimea Skywave F40 Boom – 5.1.2 wireless with up-firing speakers(290$)** * **Rating:** 9/10 (my favorite) * **Experience:** Larger main soundbar, very loud rear speakers (had to reduce in small room). Subwoofer almost as powerful as Nova S80. Dolby Atmos movies feel immersive. BOOM version improves sub compared to standard F40. * **SURR mode:** 9/10 – voices mostly from front, but subtle rear sounds create pleasant immersion. * **Base stats:** * Peak power: 460W * Dimensions (W × D × H): Soundbar \[8 × 9 × 4.6 cm\], Surr \[6.9 × 6.9 × 12 cm\], Sub \[20 × 23.4 × 31.5 cm\] * Connection types: HDMI eARC, Optical, Aux, USB, Bluetooth * Wires: wire between Main -> Sub, between Surr speakers; Surr speaker connects wirelessly to Main https://preview.redd.it/yh6qotdztvpg1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a377937e2b7a53e2e62422c153c07c65392edbaf

I am the same. I don't judge a brand based on people's hate who didn't even try it. If someone really tries it out and shares their honest thoughts (which can be bad too of course), I appreciate it, because it will help me choose a better model of the brand (like in my case I advise to avoid Nova S80 based on my experience, but it can be a solid choice for others). I searched for many options when I wanted a cheap 5.1 system, but couldn't find any trusted brand with the same pricerange, same or better features. Maybe others which are more expensive have better sound quality, but my normal ears most probably won't really hear that much difference, so this is good enough for me. I will share a review once I try out my Skywave X100, please share your thoughts about it too once you have a chance in May-June.

Do you want to see the receipts too? What would you like to see to believe tham I'm not a paid reviewer but a normal user of this brand who wanted to share his knowledge? In my case, it was not a scam at all. I ordered the item, I got what I ordered, and I actually liked it, even if it's unbelievable for you. I bet you never even tried this brand just like to spread \*\*\*

If you'd like, I can show the photos I created when I sold them, but I think most of them wouldn't help to see where the subwooofer is positioned, which speaker is connected to which speaker. Also, as I bought all except one from online, I can even show the receipts too. In Hungary we have a Youtuber called Anoniminc who always gives honest opinion and he showed me the Aura A30 first - after I tested and saw that I liked that, I continued with the same brand as I didn't want to pay more on other known brands like Samsung or LG. Here is a photo of my F40 Boom: https://preview.redd.it/wzwcb3hb4wpg1.png?width=1536&format=png&auto=webp&s=2363cc5cd1f4f9049869e4f039f10167dfa03c28

Oh, thank you for this update. I pledged on kickstarter on their X100, so I really hope that the up-firing speakers will give a difference. A weird question - if you watch a normal Youtube video, the dialogue can be heard from the rear speakers too? Or just from the front?

I totally accept your opinion as well with no hard feelings at all. If someone has more sensitive hearing, they might notice bigger differences than me. Me and my wife both had very similar opinion on these and a few of my friends as well -> but neither of us are audiophile, just normal folks.

I get it that you don't like the brand. No hard feelings on that. But I spent 2 years collecting the information for these and nobody paid me to promote the brand. If you read my review, I said the bad things as well honestly. So just please don't do personal attacks on me because you don't like a brand and I wrote a personal, non-paid review about it.

https://preview.redd.it/glii251hrwpg1.png?width=1281&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9df8ad1673963fdf2a99094228e004c385b4f02 My review is clearly not fake, thanks. Fake reviews don't talk bad about their products. I old the truth honesly. I can attach my own device photos too, but that won't really help people who would like to buy devices from this brand. I attached 2 somewhere here in the comments, you can see that I used them for a while. Here are the ones I bought from their site:

This is an actual, non-paid review - I shared the bad things with the cheaper models I found. I'm sorry that you wanted to hear only bad things about it as you don't like the brand. I bought their X100 on Kickstarter for 699$, so when it arrives, I plan to test it and create a review about it too. I'm sorry in advance

Can you show me one please for this price, which is 9.2.6 (or similar, up-firing speakers don't really matter to me), has full wireless connection, supporting THX, Dolby Atmos and has very good sound quality? With my F40 Boom, I have a decent one, so I want an upgrade over it with more, bigger rear speakers, better SoC. Earlier when I asked for help in this sub, nobody could mention even one at my past price range which knew the same things as the Ultimea, so I ended up with them and didn't regret. I really wanted to try others too, but people either advised 2nd handed items (I'm not a fan of it because of warranty), or soundbars which were much more expensive. I'm very open-minded to other brands too if someone can really show me the ones which are at similar price, but better.

I can see it for about 900$ in my country. And 200$ is quite a lot of difference for me and that only have 2 rear speakers. I believe that it has better sound quality than my 300$ one, but I'm not sure if I would hear the difference. I already tested an expensive (about 800$) Samsung with 2 rear speakers at my cousin's house, but honestly I liked my setup more due to the way it created the surround sound. I like when the surround sound includes a bit of the dialogue too which the Samsung didn't do.

You're totally right, those are well tested reviews too. In my opinion, I trust the one Hungarian Youtuber who always gives honest opinion and they gave good ratings too. I know why many people hate this brand, but it's not because it's bad, it's just due to the paid reviews

I'm really sorry about that. I'm not a daily user of this subreddit. It took 2 years for me to collect the experience about the various models and thought that I would share my opinion - a real one, which is not sponsored in any way. I hoped it might help people choose the most suitable for them in case they choose this brand too

You need a reality check if you think this is a paid review. Just because a brand buys reviews, it doesn't mean that there aren't any people who actually tries these outs and share their honest opinion. I did and shared my thoughts -> and as you see apart from my last model, I found issues in all of the others and didn't give them much score, because I share reality, not paid 10 / 10 points.

So I got both. The ultimea sounds waaaaaay better. Returned the Vizio. It does feel and look cheap but the sound is really good. The sub won't knock your socks off so temper your expectations but it makes watching a movie really pleasant with Dolby atmos. Perfect for a smaller room

Ultimea Nova series are ultra thin if you didn’t want to raise the tv. Won’t blow you away but it sounds much better then tv speakers

Having peeped the Ultimea lineup based on the buzz from here, they're merely mid-level cabecillas, that will likely take the place of Vizio now that Walmart's subjugation and annexation of that brand sent them in a death spiral towards oblivion alongside Onn! I would've been satisfied with the typical "black plastic crap" sound of Ultimea & other nobodies had I not been a reporter on a university student newspaper in the early '70s for my fellow scribes introduced me to 🎖️& platinum 👂ed audio as they enthusiastically waxed rhapsodic about McIntosh, Mark Levinson & Nakamichi hardware, I ended up getting hooked on that class of audio!

Ultimea is the best value soundbar. I got an Apollo S40 on the Facebook Marketplace for $20, and it's more than adequate for a great 2.1 channel set-up. It has 2 tweeters and two woofers per channel and a subwoofer-out port. You can also buy refurbished models from their official Temu store named 'Ultimea Refurbished' to save 40 to 60%. Although for a PC in particular you should probably look for a PC-specific soundbar and surround system from someone like Logitech. There are lots of them on Facebook for less than $55.

Ultimea is not bad, but these cheap ones keep firing bass lol