Soundbar My Experience with the Ultimea Nova S90 – The Good & The Not-So-Good

[souvikdas95]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been using the Ultimea Nova S90 for a while now, and I thought I’d share my complete experience. Hopefully this helps anyone considering it, and I’d also love to hear how others are finding it with their setups.

The Good​

• Crisp & Clear Sound – The front, side, and wireless rear speakers deliver full-range and clear audio with negligible latency.
• Wireless Subwoofer – Solid, clean punch without distortion.
• Upfiring Speakers – The real highlight. Turn them off, and the room instantly feels dull.
• 4K HDR Passthrough – Works flawlessly. With my Sony XBR-49X800H (ARC-only) and a Fire Stick 4K Pro (eARC) passed through the soundbar, I now get Dolby Vision on the TV and TrueHD Atmos (using Plex) on the soundbar — a huge upgrade for movies!
• Non-Atmos Sources – Surprisingly impressive. Upmixing works really well with Non-Atmos 5.1 and even Stereo sources (as long as the content has good virtual-channel separation/fidelity), and it even engages the upfiring speakers. For instance, watching AGT Season 20 on PeacockTV actually gave me goosebumps!
• 7.1 Atmos Content – Absolutely stunning. From the vastness of space (Interstellar, Gravity), to natural soundscapes (A Quiet Place, Bring Her Back), to the futuristic soundscapes (Blade Runner 2049, Dune), and the roar of oceans (Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean) — the realism is absolutely breathtaking!!

The Not-So-Good​

• No App Control – None at all. Period.
• Forward Vocals – Vocals often sit too far forward, with no way to tweak (even in Music mode).
• Weak Rear Surrounds – The rear speakers only stand out noticeably with a few select sources.
• Remote Limitations – Treble/midrange buttons don’t actually affect the sound (firmware v190).
• DAP Toggle – Has no real effect — upmixing stays enabled for all non-Atmos content regardless of the DAP toggle state (firmware v190).
• 5.1 Atmos Content– Very disappointing.
  • Netflix, TIDAL, and Apple Music Atmos sound flat, with most audio centered in the soundbar and little coming from the surrounds.
  • Nearly all streaming platforms only provide 5.1 Atmos, which explains the lifeless experience.
  • Only a handful of Blu-ray titles deliver 7.1 TrueHD Atmos — and that’s where this system shines!!
  • Honestly, my TV sounds better than the S90 for most Netflix Atmos content.
• Included HDMI Cable – The included HDMI cable caused random audio dropouts during Atmos playback. Replacing it with a better cable resolved the issue.
• Bluetooth – Average quality and poor range. One wall and the signal starts crackling. Only SBC/AAC supported — no LDAC or hi-res codecs.
• Inputs – Haven’t tested USB/AUX (and realistically, who still uses them?).

Note on Atmos Support​

• Works only on ARC/eARC.
• ARC supports up to 5.1 Atmos (compressed) on HDMI 2.0.
• eARC supports full TrueHD Atmos (uncompressed, 7.1) on HDMI 2.1.
• Don’t trust YouTube reviewers claiming Atmos works on Optical or TrueHD on ARC — it doesn’t!

Final Thoughts​

• If you mainly use it for movies in full 7.1 TrueHD Atmos via eARC, this soundbar is phenomenal. The upfiring speakers alone make the experience worth it!
• If your main use is streaming (Netflix, Apple Music, TIDAL, etc.), prepare to be underwhelmed — the 5.1 Atmos handling just doesn’t deliver!
• Lack of app control, weak rear surrounds, and limited Bluetooth capability hold it back from being a complete package.

That’s been my experience so far, but I’d love to hear from others:

• Have you run into the same issues with 5.1 Atmos streaming?
• Do you have any tips or workarounds for adjusting vocals, treble, midrange, or surround balance? (Firmware hacks… kidding, of course )
• Any 7.1 TrueHD Atmos titles you’d recommend experiencing on this system?
• How has Bluetooth performance been for you across different devices?

Meanwhile, I’m still waiting (not so patiently) for the Ultimea Skywave X70 to launch

 

[Leongino]

“Excellent review, thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed experience! It’s a great contribution to the community because with real comparisons and tests like this, many doubts we usually have before choosing a system become much clearer.

As a D80 Boom user, I’m not sure if it shares exactly the same technologies, but in my case I haven’t experienced the issues you mentioned with Atmos or Bluetooth. That said, I do agree with you about Atmos in streaming: it often sounds flat and far from what you’d expect. The reason is that most platforms (Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, etc.) only deliver Atmos in compressed Dolby Digital Plus, usually limited to 5.1 channels with Atmos metadata. This causes a loss of punch and immersive effect. On the other hand, with UHD Blu-ray or local files you get full Dolby TrueHD Atmos (7.1 channels + Atmos objects, uncompressed), and that’s where the system really shines. Also, with ARC (HDMI 2.0) you only get compressed Atmos, while with eARC (HDMI 2.1) you can take full advantage.

I also find your note about replacing the HDMI cable very interesting, since not many people point that out.

For 7.1 TrueHD Atmos titles, I’d recommend Mad Max: Fury Road and Bohemian Rhapsody (the concert sequence is absolutely insane in Atmos).

And regarding Bluetooth, in my case I’ve used it with a Samsung phone and experienced dropouts if I move just one room away.

Have you tried calibrating the rear speakers with an external sound app like REW, or even through the TV itself, to see if it balances voices and treble better?”

 

[Nutron]

I'm pretty unimpressed with the app functionality for the Apollo S90 too and shocked that I can't adjust each speaker level. You can't always place speakers in the room where they would sound balanced, there needs to be balancing adjustment.

I was torn between the Nova and Apollo S90s but couldn't really find any reviews on the Apollo so I flipped a coin. Which is supposed to be the higher quality?

 

[harshjain]

Excellent Review Brother, After seeing so much positive about this soundbar, sounds like a great product. But App support is major miss.