Ultimia Nova S80 in test

The Ultimia Nova S80 is a soundbar with Dolby Atmos support that initially attracts attention with its comparatively low price. But how good is the device in home cinema?

Modern televisions often have inadequate sound quality; Their integrated speakers do not have enough space to produce proper sound. Soundbars with their subwoofers and satellites naturally have better cards, but they also have to be adjusted and connected.

The Ultimia Nova S80 provides a solution. The soundbar is equipped with a somewhat unusual, but suitable for the living room, 5.1.2-channel architecture with Dolby Atmos. The test shows how good the compact system really is.

Dolby actually recommends that two speakers be mounted on the ceiling for Atmos. This is too complicated for most home theater users. Here Ultimia uses another option that Dolby suggests: speakers intended for the ceiling are built into the soundbar so that they aim upward at an angle to enable a reflection across the ceiling toward the viewer.

But the Ultimia Nova S80 goes even further than that and actually removed the separate front left and right speakers and integrated them into the soundbar – a total of 3×3 inches and 2×1.7 inches. Dolby offers a total of eight different speakers, with the Ultimia having four different housings in which to house them.

The package with the black soundbar is surprisingly compact at 49 × 45 × 33 cm – this is due to the modular approach that the manufacturer takes with the Ultimia Nova S80. A soundbar consists of several parts that have to be plugged together and connected to each other with a small cable bridge. When assembled, the soundbar measures 800 × 80 × 38 mm. The surface is neat and high quality, no sharp edges. On the back there’s an AUX and an optical input, HDMI-out (with eARC) as well as HDMI-in and USB. The speaker openings are located on the front and top.

The subwoofer (310 × 190 × 380 mm) is connected to the soundbar via Bluetooth and also has a clean, simple design. However, like all black hi-fi equipment, you can immediately see dust spots on the housing.

Small rear RCA cables are connected to the black subwoofer, which, unlike a subwoofer, does not require its own power supply. The black rear measures just 150 × 80 × 38 mm. Wall mounting accessories for them are also included. A cable duct can hide ugly RCA cables, but that’s definitely not included.

Unfortunately, as we found out ourselves, the setup is somewhat prone to failure. The Bluetooth connection, which is supposed to be established automatically, sometimes has to be initiated with a sync button on the subwoofer. It is annoying when the subwoofer is not easily accessible, but rather is behind a chair. The cables leading to the rear are too long and should not be used folded in half. If you hear noise, you can try using higher quality cables that are better shielded.

The soundbar is controlled using the included remote control, whose button feedback is not optimal. The keys feel spongy. The remote control can be used to activate preset equalizer settings or switch sound inputs. However, you will rarely need this remote control in everyday life because, thanks to CEC, the television remote control can be used to adjust the volume. Annoying: Batteries for the remote control are not included.

To set it up, the soundbar is connected to the eARC HDMI port on the TV using an HDMI cable, while a player like the Apple TV is plugged into the second HDMI input on the soundbar. The soundbar takes care of the audio processing. It is important that all devices support eARC and that the audio output settings are configured correctly.

The soundbar can also be updated via the USB port using a USB stick and firmware updates copied to it. It was distributed with an older version of the firmware, but the version that can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website must definitely be installed. This is especially true if there is unexpected background noise during sound reproduction or uneven volume distribution.

The HDMI eARC interface supports 4K HDR passthrough function. The system’s other input options (optical, 3.5mm AUX, Bluetooth 5.3, USB) are not suitable for Dolby Atmos. You won’t get WiFi, Spotify Connect, and AirPlay 2. The soundbar processes some Dolby sound formats, including Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos via eARC. DTS is not supported directly.

The Ultimia Nova S80 comes with a large accessory package. It includes an HDMI cable, a total of 6 meters of RCA cable, a digital-optical cable, HDMI angle adapter as well as wall bracket and screws.

The frequency range of the Nova S80 system is 35 Hz to 18 kHz. There is also an 8-inch subwoofer with a 25-litre housing volume. The fairly small subwoofer produces surprisingly strong bass sound. The system’s maximum sound pressure level exceeds 105 dB, but is likely to be well below this for most users in a live environment.

Before we get to surround sound: During testing, we noticed that the sound reproduction of stereo sound, especially in older movies, doesn’t sound particularly good. The sound here lacks shine. The soundbar mainly shows its strengths when playing multi-channel sound such as 5.1 sound, or, in the best version, Dolby Atmos. But even here there is a difference in quality which is related to how well the sound engineers have worked on the respective films. So we have seen some movies and series, such as “Squid Game”, “Scream 5”, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”, “Fast & Furious 9” or “John Wick: Chapter 3” and “Oppenheimer”, which Are particularly impressive, include Soundscape to better evaluate the soundbar.

In general, a soundbar is especially beneficial in action-packed films or in films in which even the smallest noises, their attitude and volume, contribute to the drama. Less interesting, at least to our ears, are films in which the amount of dialogue is particularly high. Of course, sounds can also be located in the room if the soundtrack has been mixed accordingly.

We also tested the soundbar with Dolby Atmos reference content. It becomes clear that in many films the full potential of this multi-channel sound is not utilized.

Overall, we found the sound quality to be quite good, although the highs did seem a bit choppy at times, even after changing some of the settings provided by the soundbar. On the other hand, the bass is sometimes over-emphasized, which may not necessarily appeal to everyone. Fortunately, the strength of the bass volume can be adjusted to several levels to suit your personal tastes. This is clearly displayed on the small, illuminated display on the front of the soundbar. Overall, the sound is decent for the price, but not excellent due to the limitations mentioned. Even though the sound can be easily localized in the room, we still lack a wide ambient stage – the sweet spot is quite small.

with a price of 251 euros (discount code bgtss80Valid till January 31, 2025), the Ultimia Nova S80 is unbeatably affordable compared to competitors with Dolby Atmos support and 5.1.2 sound.

The Ultimia S80 is suitable for price-conscious buyers who value Dolby Atmos and can live with some minor compromises in sound quality. Overall, the listening results are surprisingly good, especially considering the price.

Furthermore, the Ultimia solution is easier to integrate into the living room than a traditional 5.1.2 system according to Dolby standards as it requires more extensive cabling and, above all, many more speakers. For home use, Ultimia’s solution may be sufficient for many, while audiophile users will likely look for a higher quality system.

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