Naka-Tribe Feature #9:
Leandro Mendes
What got you started as a home theater enthusiast?
My love for everything audio and video started very early on as a child, and only grew over the years. I remember very vividly listening to old vinyl albums with my mom in the early 80's and being mesmerized by the sound quality. Not long after, my dad introduced me to high-quality cassette tapes.
As a young adult, I started building early versions of future man caves. Everything modular, with dedicated surround speakers. Fast forward 40 or so years, and here we are - rocking a Nakamichi Dragon 🐉 as the centerpiece of my entertainment center. Couldn't be happier!
How did you start on your Nakamichi journey?
A lot of research went in before purchasing the Dragon. From watching the very first Dragon CES presentation, to listening to many early previews. Also, a lot of reading about it on specialized magazines. After all said research, I quickly realized the uniqueness and potential of the system, which led me to preorder on day one!
Why did you decide on DRAGON, out of the many other audio systems available on the market?
I would say it's a blend of ease of use and bleeding-edge features, plus its insane value proposition. You get all the bells and whistles of the high-end modular systems without the installation hassle. The audio quality is pure heaven. The Nakamichi Dragon is in a league of its own!
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?
Everything looks cleaner without wire clutter. The soundstage is ample and the spatial audio bubble it creates is second to none. The Dragon on-screen user interface is intuitive, and a lot easier to use when compared to my previous receiver. The speaker positioning is a lot more flexible, giving me more freedom to rearrange and experiment.
Describe the bass experience from DRAGON's quad subwoofers, in terms of depth, power and tightness.
One word comes to mind when describing the Dragon's quad subwoofers - Power.
The sheer amount of low-frequency air pressure I get in my room when engaging them at full throttle is unbelievable!
They can reproduce the lowest frequencies without booming or losing quality.
Tell us how the sense of height and spaciousness has improved with DRAGON, when listening to overhead effects.
The spatial audio effects produced by the Dragon are truly stunning. Atmos and DTS-X come to life on the Dragon, creating an enveloping sound bubble like no other surround system on the market. You can really tell the overhead sound effects like rain or a flyover plane coming from above.
What do you think of the overall experience brought about by DRAGON, when it comes to realism, directionality and clarity of surround effects?
The Dragon has a very unique way of creating realistic audio by using AMT tweeters. Mids and high frequencies truly shine on the Dragon.
Whether in the center channel with voices or the Omni-surround speakers, the clarity produced by the AMT tweeters is truly amazing.
Describe the overall music playback experience with DRAGON. Which is your favorite mode for music listening and why?
I would say Music 2 is my favorite listening mode. It balances the right amount of sound pressure with great clarity, plus an ample soundstage. Atmos soundtracks sound incredible on the Dragon using Apple Music on an Apple TV 4K. Even regular 2-channel stereo songs sound great on the Dragon.
Anything else you would like to share regarding your Nakamichi journey?
So far, the Nakamichi Dragon is the best surround system I've ever had.
From gaming to movies to music to streaming, there's nothing better than experiencing the true surround bliss that is the Dragon. 🐉
