Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Nakamichi increases the price of its Dragon 11.4.6 soundbar

Simon Cohen
By
Center channel of the Nakamichi Dragon Surround System.
Zeke Jones / Digital Trends

Nakamichi says that it can no longer afford to sell its wild, 11.4.6-channel Dragon soundbar system for its original price of $3,500. Once the original pre-order inventory of 1,000 units has been spoken for, the company will up the price of the Dragon to $3,900.

Preorders on the first batch of 1,000 Dragons haven’t started yet. They begin on August 3 at 9 a.m. PT.  It’s possible that Nakamichi is using the threat of a price increase as a stick to ensure that its first 1,000 units see rapid sales, however, the company claims it has to charge more in order to offset unexpected costs associated with both the production of the Dragon as well as complexities involved in the shipment of these systems to customers.

“The intricate nature of Dragon, with over 700 components and a meticulous 110-step hand assembly process across four production lines, has revealed the need for additional labor beyond our initial estimations,” the company said in an emailed press release. “Despite optimizing our throughput to 25 systems per day, these factors have unexpectedly raised the cost of manual labor.”

Related

Apparently, even the boxes that Nakamichi uses to package and ship the Dragon have needed to be redesigned in order to keep the monster sound systems safe on their journey to customers. Each Dragon unit weighs over 140 pounds and has to survive a 30-day voyage by sea in shipping containers as well as a 12-inch drop test.

Price increases are never welcome news, but ever since the world was rocked by the economic tsunami created by Covid-19, we’ve seen more price bumps as companies adjust to increasing costs on a variety of components and services.

Digital Trends Editor-at-Large Caleb Denison recently reviewed the Dragon and came away deeply impressed by the system’s ability to replace a traditional AV receiver-based wired home theater setup, giving it a nine out of ten and Digital Trends’ Editors’ Choice award. He also pointed out that the only soundbar-based system that might give the Dragon any real competition is a Sonos Arc paired with two Era 300 surrounds and two Sonos Subs, a combo that costs $3,270 — just shy of the Dragon’s original $3,500 price.

As to whether you should be put off by Nakamichi’s price increase, Denison reasons that you can put together a decent Atmos system for less, but “it won’t work like the Dragon, and it won’t look like the Dragon, and it won’t feel quite like the Dragon.” So if you were excited about the Dragon at $3,500, it’s just as exciting at $3,900 — just a little harder on the wallet.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…
Nakamichi’s wild Dragon 11.4.6 Dolby Atmos soundbar goes up for preorder this week
Nakamichi Dragon soundbar with subwoofers and Omni Motion Reference surrounds.

Nakamichi's epic Dragon 11.4.6 Dolby Atmos soundbar, which debuted at CES 2023, is about to go up for preorder starting at 9 a.m. PT on April 26. But instead of the usual preorder process, Nakamichi has decided to make the first Dragons off the line limited editions. Officially, it will be called the Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 Home Surround Sound System 75th Anniversary World Premiere Edition, and only 500 will be made.

Nakamichi has set the price at $3,499. That includes free shipping, but apparently only to U.S. residents. In a footnote on the preorder site, it says that Nakamichi initially planned to offer international shipping too, but had to reevaluate those plans after it discovered the logistics company it's using (eBay’s Global Shipping Program, for some reason) has a maximum weight and dollar value threshold, which the Dragon exceeds by almost $1,000. I guess some dragons don't fly.

Read more
Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 first impressions: it’s all about immersion
Sonos Era 300.

Sonos has launched its latest wireless multiroom smart speakers — the $249 Era 100 and $449 Era 300 — effectively rebooting the company's entry-level product. It marks the end of the Sonos One, and its midsize offering, which had been noticeably absent since the discontinuation of the Play:3 in 2018. We'll have reviews in due time, but I've spent a little bit of time with the new kit, and here are my first impressions.

I got a chance to hear both the Sonos Era 100 and 300 in action at a private launch event in New York City. The demo room was hardly an ideal spot from an acoustics point of view -- a wide and shallow shape and drapes slung on some walls, while others were built from highly reflective glass -- and yet I was able to get a sense of both speakers' potential.

Read more
Samsung prices its 77-inch QD-OLED at $4,500. Presale starts now
The Samsung S95C on display at CES 2023.

Confirming an earlier leak, Samsung has formally announced the price of its 77-inch 4K QD-OLED TV, the S95C. The new model which was shown first at CES 2023, will sell for $4,500.

, and Samsung says shipments will begin later in the month. Those who buy the TV during the preorder period will also qualify for free professional installation, which Samsung says is worth $250.

Read more