Looks like the best budget soundbar maker is bringing a 9.2.6-channel beast of a compact home theater system to CES 2026

• Ultimea will unveil a 9.2.6-channel soundbar surround system at CES
• Dual subwoofers and four satellite speakers
• Also available in a single-sub version

Ultimea makes some of the best soundbars at the cheaper end, such as the Ultimea Nova S50 and our current pick of the ultra-cheap soundbars, the Ultimea Poseidon D50. So wer're intrigued to see that the brand will be unveiling a new, premium soundbar surround system with up to seven speaker units at CES – the Skywave X100 Dual.

Ultimea describes the Skywave as its "flagship product for 2026" and it's been teasing two versions of the product on Instagram and Facebook: The Skywave X100 and the Skywave X100 Dual. The former is a single-subwoofer surround sound system while the Dual has two.

Ultimea Skywave X100 / X100 Dual: key features

So far Ultimea is keeping the details secret, preferring instead to show videos and images hinting at the design. But based on its CES preview image at the top of this post, the setup appears to be a 9.2.6-channel system with a central soundbar, four satellite speakers, and those two subwoofers, with Ultimea promising "cinema-grade bass" and "effortless simplicity."

If we zoom and enhance the picture above using advanced imaging technology (yes, it's Photoshop) we see the expected layout of the new system: soundbar at the front, two small satellite speaker at the side, two rear speakers, two subs on either of the soundbar, TV showing Edge of Tomorrow for demo-ing it (naturally).

I'm assuming that each of the small satellites packs one surround channel and one upfiring channel, with the soundbar suppling five surround channels and two upfiring channels.

Ultimea's current Skywave flagship is the X70 soundbar, which puts out up to 980W in a 7.1.4 configuration featuring wireless satellites and a 10-inch subwoofer. Although it's discounted now, the original retail price was $799 / £679 (about AU$1,192).

We've been very impressed by Ultimea's cheap soundbars, but if the X100 is coming in at this price point it needs to be very good as it's up against some of the very best soundbars including the Samsung HW-Q800D. That's 5.1.2 rather than 9.2.6 but there's more to a sound system than its channel count, and the Samsung is a superb-sounding system.

However, if Ultimea can pull off a super-immersive Dolby Atmos system (Atmos isn't mentioned in Ultimea's info so far, but it has to be) with multiple real surround speakers for a good price, it'll get a lot of interest from the TechRadar team, for sure.

The brand's livestream from CES should be interesting, not least because Ultimea says it intends to give out over $10,000 in "lucky draw rewards" to live viewers. It'll also feature more product announcements including "a complete home audio ecosystem" including "wireless home theater systems, bookshelf speakers, active subwoofers, music streamers, and karaoke machines."

The best soundbars for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best soundbars
1. Best overall:
Samsung HW-Q800F
2. Best budget:
Sony HT-S2000
3. Best premium all-in-one:
Klipsch Flexus Core 300
4. Best Dolby Atmos surround system:
Samsung HW-Q990F

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