The Dragon is back for Nakamichi fans

[Nitin K]

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Is this the same company that used to make the tape decks ?

 

[Nitin K]

Is this the same company that used to make the tape decks ?

Yes, it's the same company. But not sure how many may find this system of their's feasible.

 

[rikhav]

From legendary stand alone cassete players to sound bars

I feel bad DRAGON name is being milked for its past glory

 

[chander]

Is this the same company that used to make the tape decks ?

Yes very much!

Yes, it's the same company. But not sure how many may find this system of their's feasible.

I am very interested, it might well be a very interesting product in another couple iterations. I have been waiting for systems like this for years The first time I heard the Sennheiser Ambeo, I was extremely impressed with what a "soundbar" can do and have since been waiting for Ambeo to release something like this

 

[keith_correa]

From legendary stand alone cassete players to sound bars

I feel bad DRAGON name is being milked for its past glory

It's not new for Nakamichi post their bankruptcy and re-emergence in the early 2000's. From then on they have been trying to position themselves into the lifestyle systems space. Even soundbar's are not new for them. I think they had found success with those.
Who knows, this soundbar might also achieve legendary status like their "Dragon" cassette decks. More power to them!

 

[Nitin K]

From legendary stand alone cassete players to sound bars

I feel bad DRAGON name is being milked for its past glory

I had seen their Dragon cassette deck years ago which was something really different from the rest which I had seen in my limited experience.
Totally agree with the Dragon name being milked for its past glory.

 

[Sandipbarik]

Are these launched in India yet ?

 

[reubensm]

I was hoping that they would return to cassette decks again, however they have taken a different path it seems. Similar business decisions for them in the past had not worked out, but hope they do well this time. But as the saying goes - never say never. If cassettes return like vinyl, they could perhaps explore coming out with a cassette deck . That would really create a terrific buzz, as their decks are still respected, loved and aspired for. They could make as big a splash as Technics, when the SL1200 and SP10 returned.

 

[chander]

The way I see it is currently this is a "kind of unique" product in the market & with the availability of content thru streaming services + dolby atmos content + growing popularity of soundbars, they could very well capture a segment of the market that have the means but are reluctant to go thru the hassle of setting up a full blown HT or just have reservations due to aesthetic load of a full HT setup.

IF they do deliver everything they promise and the product is reliable, the not so discerning HT crowd could also be happy to adopt these.

Sonos system (arc+sub+wireless surrounds) - is a pretty popular Soundbar/wireless setup that can run you very close to the cost of Nakamichi and this promises a lot more than that. The real world results will show see how it really performs.

This is a lifestyle product, that is "most probably" not aimed at the audiophile crowd (as nothing in a box ever is ) and for a lifestyle product, I guess this is promising. After I heard what Ambeo can do in a regular drawing room, I am personally waiting for a product like this to reach even about 80% of the performance of an HT in the same cost, I will take it.

 

[Thirumalkumaran]

1st impressions from Digital trends..
These guys knows what scenes to look for in a demo.

and 3000watts and 125db is a really good number for a systems like this, and av receiver with speakers and subwoofer combo will certainly exceed the price, not mentioning the convenience factor.

For me this looked like a pro version of samsung q990b.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

1st impressions from Digital trends..
These guys knows what scenes to look for in a demo.

and 3000watts and 125db is a really good number for a systems like this, and av receiver with speakers and subwoofer combo will certainly exceed the price, not mentioning the convenience factor.

For me this looked like a pro version of samsung q990b.

I guess Samsung historically sounded neutral compared to the nakamichi soundbars per rtings. Don’t know if this is better.

 

[reubensm]

I am not a home theatre or movie guy but it sounds very impressive.

 

[Nitin K]

I was hoping that they would return to cassette decks again, however they have taken a different path it seems. Similar business decisions for them in the past had not worked out, but hope they do well this time. But as the saying goes - never say never. If cassettes return like vinyl, they could perhaps explore coming out with a cassette deck . That would really create a terrific buzz, as their decks are still respected, loved and aspired for. They could make as big a splash as Technics, when the SL1200 and SP10 returned.

For stereo, even if they come back with a good cd player with usb and streaming capability would rekindle the interest as it takes care of almost all the digital sources in one unit.

 

[Thirumalkumaran]

For stereo, even if they come back with a good cd player with usb and streaming capability would rekindle the interest as it takes care of almost all the digital sources in one unit.

I dont think getting back to CD is a wise move! Hi-Res should be the format to look into! There is still an arguement if one can hear the differences, but going by bit-rate alone we have surpassed the CD era! my experience is a perfectly mastered aac can beat an OK CD!
Atmos is one format which is underrated for live recordings.
Whatever it is, more than 90% of a songs quality is from the mastering of it! remaining is how its transported!

 

[SatMumbai]

I know that some of us have more nostalgia towards the Brand and especially Dragon Name. If we just look at the Soundbar and the technology marvel it is with 21 channels, it feels like a great VFM for some one who want ease of set up. This is backed up by the company which is trying to reinvent to fit the current market. Currently, there is no soundbar with 21 channels, Air Tweeters, Dual Wireless Subs etc and from that perspective it is quite alright for them to use Dragon. Who knows, this could be just the beginning and they innovate so much that they might be able to create an Audiophile grade Soundbars who are fine with minimal compromise compared to Separates.

 

[nikhilblr]

This is not the same company. This is a chinese company now and they make mediocre products under the Nakamichi brand name. When Nakamichi went bankrupt it was acquired by a chinese company called Grande Holdings. They own the Nakamichi brand name under which they make average consumer electronic products but they can never be compared to the original Japanese engineering in Nakamichi which sadly no longer exists. Even the voiceover in the Nakamichi announcement video in this post sounded like a bad quality text to speech rendering

 

[Nitin K]

This is not the same company. This is a chinese company now and they make mediocre products under the Nakamichi brand name. When Nakamichi went bankrupt it was acquired by a chinese company called Grande Holdings. They own the Nakamichi brand name under which they make average consumer electronic products but they can never be compared to the original Japanese engineering in Nakamichi which sadly no longer exists. Even the voiceover in the Nakamichi announcement video in this post sounded like a bad quality text to speech rendering

Things are not the same anymore with many esteemed companies of the yesteryear. Luxman, Mission and Dynaudio have also been bought by Chinese companies. In some the quality has been maintained while in others it is not so the case. Most of the American and British products are also manufactured in china nowadays. China has become the world's factory whether we like it or not.
Things are changing and users are now concerned with the quality of products and what it delivers. Whether a product lives upto its previous reputation is meant to be seen & accordingly judged by the users.

 

[Chrisace]

This is not the same company. This is a chinese company now and they make mediocre products under the Nakamichi brand name. When Nakamichi went bankrupt it was acquired by a chinese company called Grande Holdings. They own the Nakamichi brand name under which they make average consumer electronic products but they can never be compared to the original Japanese engineering in Nakamichi which sadly no longer exists. Even the voiceover in the Nakamichi announcement video in this post sounded like a bad quality text to speech rendering

Countless high quality electronics companies have products being made in China. They have the capability to produce quality & quantity so should not be deemed mediocre.

 

[Yogesh]

1. Chinese company making a product designed by a quality company as per their specs under their guidance and QC standards
2. Chinese company making a product designed by self under own QC standards

There will be a difference.