Hello Everyone!
I was asked to write a little review and report my experiences when I got used to my Ultimea Poseidon D80. So here it is now.
Spoiler: This story starts really bad but has a happy end. So please either stop reading here or read it till the end to get the right impression
It all began with my old (very very cheap) surround system stopped working and I needed a replacement. I do not have very high demands as i am not a hifi-guy. Basically it‘s enough for me that sound comes from all directions and that the device integrates nicely with my other components using CEC. I researched for a proper replacement and soon found out that the perfect product doesn‘t exist an I will have to accept some tradeoffs to stay in my planned price range. In case of the D80 I would have preferred …
*) … separate front speakers instead of a soundbar.
*) … a cable to the subwoofer instead of the wireless connection.
But I found no other device in this price range and except that the D80 looked really nice. I was only skeptical because I found two reviews that reported problems with the subwoofer and surround speakers at low volume. To be sure I asked here in the community and got assured that there is no such problem. (See topic „Ultimea D80 at low volume“.)
So I ordered a refurbished D80, which arrived a few days later nicely packaged. Setup was easy and after some minutes I could start testing. An this was where my troubles begun. (Be sure that I love my D80 and just list my problems for entertainment and documentation.)
Problem #1:
As a first test I turned up my TV and directly stumbled on the problem described in the reviews I read. At the volume range between 5 and 10 the surround speaker and subwoofer went on and of and seemed delayed a little bit. It sounded really terrible. It happened only when watching TV, everything else seamed not affected.
Problem #2:
Even when the first problem didn‘t happen, the subwoofer sounded strange and didn‘t fit to the rest of the speakers. It felt like it was doing his own thing ignoring the rest and was very intrusive even at low volume.
Problem #3:
Next I tested the Ultimea app on my phone. At first impression it looked so fishy that I triple checked whether I downloaded the right app. I had to register online to use it, although it communicates directly by bluetooth. There is no functionality without registration, and it was picky about the used email address.
Problem #4:
The next thing I tested was playing movies with kodi on my raspberry. I had prepared some test videos and was very surprised: The channels where wrongly ordered and every sound came from the wrong direction or just from the front speakers. This was something I really didn‘t expect. I played around and got drowned in options and settings, but everything was wrong. (I was quite sure that this wasn‘t a fault of the D80, but nevertheless it was quite frustrating.)
Problem #5:
This was a minor thing, but when I tested the other inputs like bluetooth I noticed that my tv always turned on when I turn on the D80, which made it impossible to listen to music without the TV running.
These where my problems I found in the first few hours of testing. It was quite devastating and thought about sending it back. So it was time to look for solutions, as I hate sending things back. My limit was to solve at least the first two problems, as the other ones where either minor or not a fault of Ultimea.
Solution #1:
I asked here in the community about the first problem and was told that it is most probably my TV doing something wrong and I should look for an option for the „Digital Audio Format“. I first thought I had no chance, because as soon as I enabled the surround system on my TV, nearly all audio settings got disabled there. Except for this single one, and it really solved the problem completely. I was really impressed. The sound my TV delivers is still not great, but for TV it is enough for me and the D80 makes the best out of it.
Solution #2:
The second problem was solved even easier than the first one. During the setup I followed the recommendation to put the subwoofer in the back with the surround speakers, and it turned out that I just hate this setup to a point that I really wonder if anyone really can keep the subwoofer in the back or at the side of the couch. I just moved it to the front and boom: everything sounded like peace and harmony. I moved it back and forth several times because I could not believe that the difference is that big.
This was the point where I was sure that I can keep the D80 and I do not need to send it back.
Solution #3:
I solved the problem with the app just by uninstalling it
All jokes aside: An app that directly communicates with the surround system should have at least _some_ functionality without registration. It‘s ok to have a registration for support requests or something like that, but the basics sould really work totally offline.
Solution #4:
The situation with the wrongly ordered channels turned out to be the hardest riddle of all. I was sure that it wasn‘t a fault of the D80 but my raspberry was doing something wrong, as I tested the same videos with my laptop as source and they worked fine. I endlessly tried different settings in the os (debian) and in kodi itself and nothing worked. Google told me to enable passthrough in kodi, but there where no options for it. After an endless struggle I found the reason for the missing options and could finally enable passthrough and avoid my raspberry do strange things with the audio streams. (I can provide some details if there is any interest.)
Solution #5:
Finally I was even able to solve the last tiny problem. It turned out that (again) my raspberry was the problem, because it always woke up the tv as soon as the D80 announced its presence through CEC. I could fix it with a small reconfiguration.
So at this point I have solved all major problems and can finally fully use it as intended. I still fiddle around with some minor things, but my main use cases work so I am quite happy now.
Now my impression of the D80 is really good. It looks and feels worthy. Setup was easy because all cables had plugs. (My old system had fixed cables at the speakers.) The interaction between the D80, my TV and my raspberry via CEC works really great and I can fully control everything through the TV remote control, as the D80 seem to feel what I needed. (This was something my old system failed catastrophically to a point where I had to unplug the HDMI-cable.)
And for the sound: My major use case is watching movies with kodi on my raspberry. This sounds great now and the D80 does a good job. (I connected the raspberry directly to the D80 to avoid my TV messing with the audio.) I like the fact that it doesn‘t dominate everything but does everything just right and beautiful. Every time I watched some movie scenes for testing I lost focus and just watched the movie without concentrating on the sound quality, because everything just fits together. Quiet scenes are nice and clear, and if the movie demands it the D80 can add the right amount of drama. I watched some scenes from Tron Legacy and the Dark Knight series for testing and they sounded fantastic.
Equally important for me is retro gaming, and this is something where the D80 also really shines. I was impressed how much good audio can add to the experience. I tried some Gameboy and Super Nintendo games and all sound nice and I swear there are tones that I never heard before. Super Mario World sounds great, Fzero is impressive, and everyone who loves playing Donkey Kong Country should really try to replay it with a decent sound system! If I hear it correctly, then all left and all right channels play the same audio in this scenario, which gives a nice stereo feeling and builds some sort of sound cloud around me. Truly great.
So I am really happy now and enjoy using my new sound system and I can fully recommend it to everyone. You get great sound for a low price.
I was asked to write a little review and report my experiences when I got used to my Ultimea Poseidon D80. So here it is now.
Spoiler: This story starts really bad but has a happy end. So please either stop reading here or read it till the end to get the right impression
It all began with my old (very very cheap) surround system stopped working and I needed a replacement. I do not have very high demands as i am not a hifi-guy. Basically it‘s enough for me that sound comes from all directions and that the device integrates nicely with my other components using CEC. I researched for a proper replacement and soon found out that the perfect product doesn‘t exist an I will have to accept some tradeoffs to stay in my planned price range. In case of the D80 I would have preferred …
*) … separate front speakers instead of a soundbar.
*) … a cable to the subwoofer instead of the wireless connection.
But I found no other device in this price range and except that the D80 looked really nice. I was only skeptical because I found two reviews that reported problems with the subwoofer and surround speakers at low volume. To be sure I asked here in the community and got assured that there is no such problem. (See topic „Ultimea D80 at low volume“.)
So I ordered a refurbished D80, which arrived a few days later nicely packaged. Setup was easy and after some minutes I could start testing. An this was where my troubles begun. (Be sure that I love my D80 and just list my problems for entertainment and documentation.)
Problem #1:
As a first test I turned up my TV and directly stumbled on the problem described in the reviews I read. At the volume range between 5 and 10 the surround speaker and subwoofer went on and of and seemed delayed a little bit. It sounded really terrible. It happened only when watching TV, everything else seamed not affected.
Problem #2:
Even when the first problem didn‘t happen, the subwoofer sounded strange and didn‘t fit to the rest of the speakers. It felt like it was doing his own thing ignoring the rest and was very intrusive even at low volume.
Problem #3:
Next I tested the Ultimea app on my phone. At first impression it looked so fishy that I triple checked whether I downloaded the right app. I had to register online to use it, although it communicates directly by bluetooth. There is no functionality without registration, and it was picky about the used email address.
Problem #4:
The next thing I tested was playing movies with kodi on my raspberry. I had prepared some test videos and was very surprised: The channels where wrongly ordered and every sound came from the wrong direction or just from the front speakers. This was something I really didn‘t expect. I played around and got drowned in options and settings, but everything was wrong. (I was quite sure that this wasn‘t a fault of the D80, but nevertheless it was quite frustrating.)
Problem #5:
This was a minor thing, but when I tested the other inputs like bluetooth I noticed that my tv always turned on when I turn on the D80, which made it impossible to listen to music without the TV running.
These where my problems I found in the first few hours of testing. It was quite devastating and thought about sending it back. So it was time to look for solutions, as I hate sending things back. My limit was to solve at least the first two problems, as the other ones where either minor or not a fault of Ultimea.
Solution #1:
I asked here in the community about the first problem and was told that it is most probably my TV doing something wrong and I should look for an option for the „Digital Audio Format“. I first thought I had no chance, because as soon as I enabled the surround system on my TV, nearly all audio settings got disabled there. Except for this single one, and it really solved the problem completely. I was really impressed. The sound my TV delivers is still not great, but for TV it is enough for me and the D80 makes the best out of it.
Solution #2:
The second problem was solved even easier than the first one. During the setup I followed the recommendation to put the subwoofer in the back with the surround speakers, and it turned out that I just hate this setup to a point that I really wonder if anyone really can keep the subwoofer in the back or at the side of the couch. I just moved it to the front and boom: everything sounded like peace and harmony. I moved it back and forth several times because I could not believe that the difference is that big.
This was the point where I was sure that I can keep the D80 and I do not need to send it back.
Solution #3:
I solved the problem with the app just by uninstalling it
All jokes aside: An app that directly communicates with the surround system should have at least _some_ functionality without registration. It‘s ok to have a registration for support requests or something like that, but the basics sould really work totally offline.Solution #4:
The situation with the wrongly ordered channels turned out to be the hardest riddle of all. I was sure that it wasn‘t a fault of the D80 but my raspberry was doing something wrong, as I tested the same videos with my laptop as source and they worked fine. I endlessly tried different settings in the os (debian) and in kodi itself and nothing worked. Google told me to enable passthrough in kodi, but there where no options for it. After an endless struggle I found the reason for the missing options and could finally enable passthrough and avoid my raspberry do strange things with the audio streams. (I can provide some details if there is any interest.)
Solution #5:
Finally I was even able to solve the last tiny problem. It turned out that (again) my raspberry was the problem, because it always woke up the tv as soon as the D80 announced its presence through CEC. I could fix it with a small reconfiguration.
So at this point I have solved all major problems and can finally fully use it as intended. I still fiddle around with some minor things, but my main use cases work so I am quite happy now.
Now my impression of the D80 is really good. It looks and feels worthy. Setup was easy because all cables had plugs. (My old system had fixed cables at the speakers.) The interaction between the D80, my TV and my raspberry via CEC works really great and I can fully control everything through the TV remote control, as the D80 seem to feel what I needed. (This was something my old system failed catastrophically to a point where I had to unplug the HDMI-cable.)
And for the sound: My major use case is watching movies with kodi on my raspberry. This sounds great now and the D80 does a good job. (I connected the raspberry directly to the D80 to avoid my TV messing with the audio.) I like the fact that it doesn‘t dominate everything but does everything just right and beautiful. Every time I watched some movie scenes for testing I lost focus and just watched the movie without concentrating on the sound quality, because everything just fits together. Quiet scenes are nice and clear, and if the movie demands it the D80 can add the right amount of drama. I watched some scenes from Tron Legacy and the Dark Knight series for testing and they sounded fantastic.
Equally important for me is retro gaming, and this is something where the D80 also really shines. I was impressed how much good audio can add to the experience. I tried some Gameboy and Super Nintendo games and all sound nice and I swear there are tones that I never heard before. Super Mario World sounds great, Fzero is impressive, and everyone who loves playing Donkey Kong Country should really try to replay it with a decent sound system! If I hear it correctly, then all left and all right channels play the same audio in this scenario, which gives a nice stereo feeling and builds some sort of sound cloud around me. Truly great.
So I am really happy now and enjoy using my new sound system and I can fully recommend it to everyone. You get great sound for a low price.
