REVIEW – Not three months ago, I reviewed the Ultimea Aura A60 7.1 soundbar. I was pleasantly surprised at the sound I was able to get from that small package with Dolby Atmos to boot. Today I’m back with the Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom 7.1 soundbar, and I’m here to tell you it’s a worthy upgrade. If that’s all you need to know, see ya. Take off. Go to the website and buy it now. If you want to find out why I say that, I’m afraid you’re going to have to read on. If you’re in the market for a surround system for a smaller room, a man cave, or whatever, I think it’ll be worth your time.
︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Ultimea (Save $40.00 off with code D80BOOM40)
What is it?
The Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom is an upgraded version of their current Poseidon D80. It’s a Dolby Atmos 7.1 channel soundbar with 4 satellite speakers and a 6.5″ subwoofer.
What’s included?
- Soundbar
- Sub-woofer
- 4 satellite surround speakers
- Power adapter
- Speaker cables
- HDMI cable
- Optical audio cable
- Remote
- Mounting hardware
- User guide
Tech specs
- Dolby Atmos Yes
- Speaker Channels 7.1
- Total Number of Speakers 8
- Mainbar: 2.25″ × 3
- Surround: 2.25″ × 4
- Sub: 6.5″ × 1
- Remote Control Type
IR Signal - Listening Modes(EQ)
Movie, Music, Voice, Sport, Game, Night - Frequency Range
35Hz -18kHz - Max Sound Pressure Level
>96dB - Signal-to-Noise Ratio
≥70dB - Distortion
<1% - Static Noise
38dB - Connectivity
HDMI IN ×1
HDMI eARC ×1
Optical ×1
AUX ×1
USB ×1 - Bluetooth
BT5.3 - Wired Surround Speaker ×4
- Power Supply
18V 3A - Soundbar Dimensions
Mainbar: 400 (L) × 90 (D) × 70 (H)
Surround: 135 (L) × 90 (D) × 70 (H)
Sub: 218(L) × 264 (D) × 317 (H) - Soundbar Weight
17.4lbs(7.9kg) - Packaging Dimensions
16.7 x 20 x 10.2 in
424 (W) x 508 (H) x 258 (D)mm - Total Weight
25.13lbs(11.4kg
Design and features
First things first, the Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom is bigger in almost every way when compared to the Aura A60 system. It has bigger surround speakers and a bigger subwoofer. I mean, it is a different product line, so that might be comparing apples to oranges. The Poseidon D80 Boom is also bigger than the current Poseidon D80 system, according to Ultimea but but both systems are the same price, $299. So bigger speakers, more oomph for a decent price? Yes, please. How does the price compare to the Aura S60 system I reviewed? It’s only about $90 more. I say that’s money well spent. So, first notable feature? The price.
The Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom system is centered around the soundbar obviously. It acts as the center and the left and right front speakers, 3 in 1. The soundbar is where all the sound science magic takes place. Its main feature is the decoding of the Dolby Atmos signal. This is what Google has to say about Dolby Atmos.
“Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology that creates a more immersive audio experience by adding height channels and free-moving sound objects. It allows sound designers to position sounds anywhere in 3D space, including overhead, giving the listener a sense of being enveloped in the sound. This can be experienced in movies, music, and games, and is available on a wide range of devices, including TVs, soundbars, and headphones.”
All of that to say, you can get bigger, more natural sounds that move up, down, and all around.
There are also 4 satellite surround speakers, 2 front surround and 2 rear. These are noticeably bigger than the Aura system, but they use the same mounting hardware. Ultimea says that all the drivers in these speakers, including the soundbar, are made with high-density molecular materials to ensure accurate reproduction at high sampling rates and bit depths. I don’t know what kind of materials. I couldn’t find that on the Ultimea website. So if anyone reading this can tell me, drop a comment. I’d appreciate it.
The subwoofer is 6.5″, which is certainly bigger than the 4″ that comes with the Aura A60, and it’s bigger than the 6″ that is included in the original Poseidon system. More bass, more boom, fuller sound.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Installation of the system is really simple. All the cables are labeled and color-coded, so connecting everything together is a breeze. The subwoofer connects via Bluetooth and comes paired from the factory. If, for whatever reason, it doesn’t connect, Ultimea provides troubleshooting steps to remedy that. I had no problems. The rear surround speakers are powered by the subwoofer, so that means the sub gets placed in the rear as opposed to the way the Aura system has it in the front.
All your media devices connect to the soundbar itself. You’ve got several options. There are 2 HDMI ports, one of them being eARC. If your TV is eARC compatible, I highly recommend using it. This allows you to use your TV remote to control volume, so you’re not having to switch back and forth between remotes. It allows the soundbar to switch off or go into standby when the TV is off. There’s an optical port for audio if you’d prefer to use that and Bluetooth connectivity so you can play from other sources.
Just like most everything else in the world today, there’s an Ultimea app. You can control the system with it should one of your kids misplaces the remote. There are several default EQ settings to choose from and a customized EQ if you know more about that type of stuff than I do. You can even upgrade the firmware from it once a new version is released.
Performance
For a small system in a fairly small space like my living room, the Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom is a huge upgrade to the Aura. It should be. Every speaker in the system is bigger and with more power. I could immediately tell a difference in the actual surround performance. With the Aura system, I didn’t quite get that sense of immersion that I do with the D80 Boom. The larger powered subwoofer is certainly welcome. Along with the surround speakers, it makes my movie watching much more enjoyable.
Are there any drawbacks to the system? The only negative thing I’ve experienced with the Poseidon D80 Boom soundbar is that sometimes, when streaming content, if you skip an intro or recap, the sound may disappear after the jump. So, I had to back out of the show I was watching, then go back in. I can’t narrow down if that’s an issue with the sound system, the streaming service, or the TV. Currently, I’m leaning toward the TV. It recently got an OS upgrade, and I haven’t had that issue for the last few days.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking for a surround system to fill a small room at a budget price, then the Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom 7.1 soundbar is the system I would recommend. I like it much better than the Aura A60. The sound is so much better with the Poseidon D80 Boom. If you were already looking at the original Poseidon system, then it should be a no-brainer to go with this one instead. Will I replace the Poseidon D80 Boom any time soon? Only if another system comes up for review, which I think might outperform this one. I’m quite happy with the setup currently. Alright. Enough yapping. I got movies to watch!
What I like about Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom 7.1 soundbar
- The price
- Bigger is better
- Simple controls
- Connectivity options
What needs to be improved?
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Ultimea (Save $40.00 off with code D80BOOM40)
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Ultimea. Ultimea did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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