Soundbar Nova S90 - One of the worst product I ever purchased for the price tag

[simranjeet2310]

I was previously using a Samsung 2.1 soundbar and was genuinely excited to upgrade to the Ultimea Nova S90 — their so-called flagship 7.1.4 model at the time, before the Skywave series was launched. Given the premium price and all the marketing claims, I expected a top-tier experience.

The product arrived well-packed, and the delivery was smooth, so no issues there. But the moment I turned it on, the disappointment began. Despite all the hype around “immersive Dolby Atmos sound,” the performance was flat, hollow, and nowhere near what a ~€400 soundbar should deliver. I kept convincing myself that maybe this is just how Dolby Atmos systems are tuned — but no matter what settings I tried, it simply sounded worse than my old Samsung 2.1 system.

When the Skywave X70 launched, I decided to give that a try — and that’s when I finally heard what a real Atmos soundbar should sound like. Just to be sure, I set up the Nova S90 again side-by-side. Unfortunately, even after the latest firmware update (v190), the results were the same: dull, lifeless audio with no real surround experience.

At this point, my five-year-old Samsung still sounds far better than the Nova S90. Now, it just sits there as a reminder of an expensive mistake I should have returned when I had the chance. I truly wanted to love this product, but the Nova S90 has been nothing but a major disappointment.

 

[AlexTypeR]

I had a Nova S80 and returned it. I honestly thought it sounded good at first but the subwoofer is the problem. Cutting in an out and picking up voices. Did you notice this with the S90?

 

[Ultimea Team]

I was previously using a Samsung 2.1 soundbar and was genuinely excited to upgrade to the Ultimea Nova S90 — their so-called flagship 7.1.4 model at the time, before the Skywave series was launched. Given the premium price and all the marketing claims, I expected a top-tier experience.

The product arrived well-packed, and the delivery was smooth, so no issues there. But the moment I turned it on, the disappointment began. Despite all the hype around “immersive Dolby Atmos sound,” the performance was flat, hollow, and nowhere near what a ~€400 soundbar should deliver. I kept convincing myself that maybe this is just how Dolby Atmos systems are tuned — but no matter what settings I tried, it simply sounded worse than my old Samsung 2.1 system.

When the Skywave X70 launched, I decided to give that a try — and that’s when I finally heard what a real Atmos soundbar should sound like. Just to be sure, I set up the Nova S90 again side-by-side. Unfortunately, even after the latest firmware update (v190), the results were the same: dull, lifeless audio with no real surround experience.

At this point, my five-year-old Samsung still sounds far better than the Nova S90. Now, it just sits there as a reminder of an expensive mistake I should have returned when I had the chance. I truly wanted to love this product, but the Nova S90 has been nothing but a major disappointment.

Thank you so much for sharing such detailed and honest feedback on your Nova S90 user experience. We sincerely appreciate you trying our products twice, including the Skywave X70.

Feedback like yours is a key driving force for us in developing and optimizing new products like the Skywave X70. We are truly delighted that the X70 has finally brought you the immersive, high-quality Atmos experience you've been dreaming of. We also appreciate your continued commitment to comparative testing even after the firmware update. This kind of real-user validation is crucial; frankly, it's exactly what we need to reflect on and improve our products.

We understand that trust is earned, not easily gained. Your willingness to share your experience is the best proof of our trust. Thank you for your high expectations.

Sincerely,
The Ultimea Team

 

[simranjeet2310]

I had a Nova S80 and returned it. I honestly thought it sounded good at first but the subwoofer is the problem. Cutting in an out and picking up voices. Did you notice this with the S90?

No, there was no such issue with my unit just volume was too dry and not worth calling it a Atmos Soundbar. Subwoofer is 8" for name sake only and performs worse than a 4" subwoofer.

 

[simranjeet2310]

Thank you so much for sharing such detailed and honest feedback on your Nova S90 user experience. We sincerely appreciate you trying our products twice, including the Skywave X70.

Feedback like yours is a key driving force for us in developing and optimizing new products like the Skywave X70. We are truly delighted that the X70 has finally brought you the immersive, high-quality Atmos experience you've been dreaming of. We also appreciate your continued commitment to comparative testing even after the firmware update. This kind of real-user validation is crucial; frankly, it's exactly what we need to reflect on and improve our products.

We understand that trust is earned, not easily gained. Your willingness to share your experience is the best proof of our trust. Thank you for your high expectations.

Sincerely,
The Ultimea Team

That's it? No commitments that it will be improved with future upgrades? Or sympathy that my money is not wasted or any sort of options to give it back to you etc etc. I'm disappointed to say the least on your response.

 

[Nathan Grimmer]

Same here had a s90 nova for a week. Worse soundbar ever, mine did the same, subwoofer played more mid range than bass haha.
It was a shame as the concept was there, but in reality it's just a cheap Chinese soundbar
I did send mine back, now got the x40 Skywave which is much better, but still has teething issues

 

[simranjeet2310]

Same here had a s90 nova for a week. Worse soundbar ever, mine did the same, subwoofer played more mid range than bass haha.
It was a shame as the concept was there, but in reality it's just a cheap Chinese soundbar
I did send mine back, now got the x40 Skywave which is much better, but still has teething issues

this is an appropriate description "a cheap Chinese soundbar"

 

[Ultimea Team]

That's it? No commitments that it will be improved with future upgrades? Or sympathy that my money is not wasted or any sort of options to give it back to you etc etc. I'm disappointed to say the least on your response.

We fully understand your disappointment and sincerely apologize for not fully empathizing with your feelings in our previous response. It's truly frustrating that you spent your hard-earned money only to receive an experience that didn't match.

Please allow us to clarify and solemnly promise: our commitment to product improvement is continuous and unwavering.

Your specific feedback regarding the Nova S90 is invaluable to us. It directly helped us identify shortcomings in the product's early stages. In fact, our newly launched Skywave X series is the result of comprehensive optimizations in acoustic tuning, functional stability, and user experience, incorporating extensive feedback from early users like yourself. We will continue to improve the product and drive its iteration, hoping to bring everyone a better user experience.

Thank you for sharing and your suggestions. We wish you all the best!