The Nakamichi Dragon Lily is a wireless speaker system that has a host of connection options to enable you get any device connected, simply and quickly.
The most striking thing about it is the looks of the unit. Modeled on what looks more like a Tulip than a Lily, the design is certainly striking. The model we had to review had a smart brushed aluminium outer finish with a black interior, but a pink leaved and black leaved version are also available.
What is perhaps more striking though is the size of the unit. Standing at over 330mm high it was bigger than we expected, and its overall footprint was 260mm x 260mm. It’s not a unit you could really tuck away, but with the effort that put into the design, it’s not really meant to be.
The smart design continues to the small remote control – looking more like a key fob than a remote it’s one of the most solid examples we’ve come across. It looks like it is cast from a solid piece of aluminium and certainly shows nice attention to detail.
A good use of NFC
Before we get onto the sound, it’s worth mentioning the connectivity features – there are a lot of them!
First of all, as you’d expect it comes with Bluetooth connectivity, and if you have a recent Android phone such as the Nexus 4 or HTC One, getting paired is as simple as touching the NFC panel on the top with your phone. It works really nicely, and is an elegant use of the new NFC technology. Otherwise, the Bluetooth is connected in the normal way by pairing the devices through the device.
The Dragon Lily will also connect using Air cast over a WiFi network, or alternatively you can use simply use the speaker as a WiFi direct speaker. In case none of these will do you can also connect directly using an Aux cable from your headphone socket.
The touch sensitive control on the top panel work very nicely – manufacturers seem to have nailed this at last – and as we mentioned, the remote control is a real delight.
Does the Dragon roar?
The size of the speaker means it manages to contain a 2.1 system, so with 2 speakers and a separate sub-woofer it is able to deliver a powerful sound, and it does – to a point.
It produces an extremely well-balanced sound and the sub-woofer integrates absolutely seamlessly. With all the music we tried, it never seemed stressed or underpowered and the overall coherence of the sound was a delight and one of its strongest points.
Despite its capabilities though it didn’t sparkle in the way we would have liked and expected, and the lack of dynamism was a little disappointing. It also sounded distinctly mono some of the time, and not dissimilar to a single Sonos Play One, although more powerful.
What to consider
The Nakamichi Dragon Lily is one of a new breed of Bluetooth speakers, and as we’ve seen from some of the recent offerings from Edifier, an ultra stylish speaker has a big part to play in modern home audio. The problem is that the Dragon Lily is quite an expensive piece of kit, and whilst it’s unlikely you’ll be disappointed with the sound, we would like to seen a few pounds of the main selling price.
Why you should buy the Nakamichi Dragon Lily
The design is the main selling point of the Nakamichi Dragon Lily, and the overall attention to detail and quality is very impressive. Our reservations about the audio quality may have seemed a bit serious, but make no mistake, the Dragon Lily produces a very good quality and enjoyable sound. It was just with the high quality of the speaker and remote control we perhaps expected a little too much. If you want an attractive Bluetooth and WiFi speaker then the Dragon Lily will make a fine choice. Rating: /5
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