Naka-Tribe Feature #10:
John Colbert
What got you started as a home theater enthusiast?
I love movies with immersive sound quality - a lot of action, drama, and suspense movies. I've been in home theater for about 43 years to date.
I believe there's a lot of emphasis that directors and producers pack a lot of content within their movies, and I believe they want them to be heard in the right format in the right ways, in each and everyone's home.
How did you start on your Nakamichi journey?
This was the very first product from Nakamichi for me, the Nakamichi Dragon. I also heard about the Nakamichi brand from the cassette tape world; I wasn't really into the cassette tape world, but that led me to look at it because of the audio.
Why did you decide on DRAGON, out of the many other audio systems available on the market?
Decided on the Nakamichi Dragon because I was looking for an immersive sound system just below my home theater system. I used Nakamichi Dragon system in my bonus room.
I've compared all the top brands - Sony, LG, etc., but they really weren't giving me the right punch. They were doing their own type of audio formatting which I didn't agree with. I want them to stick to the movie standard from the producers and the directors, and you were the only one to have one of the major audio certs that the movie producers recommended for viewing their films!
What are some of the ways in which your home theater experience has changed since your upgrade to DRAGON, as compared to your previous system?
The most important way my home theater experience changed was that I was looking for a quick, right-out-the-box performance that was somewhere close to my authentic 8.8.4 movie theater. I have a Sony soundbar that has rears, and the subwoofer to it sounds mediocre, but I thought it was good. Now, having the Dragon, oh my god it just blows that Sony soundbar away. It is now second to the 8.8.4 home theater system powered by Marantz AV8802A that I have in my house!
Describe the bass experience from DRAGON's quad subwoofers, in terms of depth, power and tightness.
I enjoy the bass from the entry system for movies.
The movie explosions, car racing collisions - the bass replicates that in such a high impact way with the lower volume.
That's the best way that I can explain the bass.
Tell us how the sense of height and spaciousness has improved with DRAGON, when listening to overhead effects.
There's a great sense of height with the Nakamichi Dragon system. I believe I can compare that to a 35-foot movie-height, theater environment.
What do you think of the overall experience brought about by DRAGON, when it comes to realism, directionality and clarity of surround effects?
I still go to the movie theaters to see the movie and how it is replicated at a movie theater. Now, when a movie gets released on digital streaming or on Blu-ray or 4K physical content, I put it on my Nakamichi. It sounds a little bit more intense than the movie theater.
Describe the overall music playback experience with DRAGON. Which is your favorite mode for music listening and why?
The Dragon is number two of all times in realism, direction and clarity of movie audio soundtracks. The surround sound clarity is just the best - whatever you did to replicate that, you bring the surround sound and incorporate it with the regular volume, but at different positions to your ears, matching what I see on my screen. Excellent!
Anything else you would like to share regarding your Nakamichi journey?
Nakamichi Dragon is a great system in the soundbar category that gives you the very best immersive sound to movie soundtracks.
