At the annual CEDIA Expo in Denver, Colorado, Magnetar is showcasing a new 4K UHD Blu-ray player — but not just any player. The ULTIMA Ultra HD Blu-ray Reference Transport is an extreme piece of kit, serving as a high-end universal media transport player, and targeting advanced home theater setups.
The Magnetar ULTIMA is laser-focused on preserving disc source integrity, engineered to achieve this goal at all costs. It features a separate DC power supply with dedicated lithium-based power stages to isolate from electrical noise, it has a 10 MHz master reference clock to maintain accurate signal transmission, and its dual-staged chassis is designed to reduce vibration and resonance.
As per eCoustics, the Magnetar ULTIMA is currently on display at the CEDIA Expo 2026 in booth 4103, where it’ll be showcased through September 4. A full specs sheet hasn’t been made public yet, but we do know its MSRP in the United States: $12,000. Yes, you read that right: $12,000.
The 4K UHD Blu-ray player to end all Blu-ray players
The Magnetar ULTIMA costs as much as a car
With the ULTIMA, Magnetar is building a no-holds-barred flagship home theater system for enthusiasts with a lot of money to burn. It’s more of a statement piece than a mass-consumer device, but that’s not stopping the company from going all out with the reference-grade motif.
The ULTIMA is built on Magnetar’s existing high-end MKII platform, meaning the player supports a variety of physical media formats like UHD Blu-ray, standard Blu-ray, DVD, CD, SACD, DVD-Audio, and more. It also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which is a given at this price range.
…for enthusiasts looking for the best of the best, the ULTIMA is precisely what the doctor ordered.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the look of the unit, with its double-decker design and metallic enclosure evoking a sense of premium luxuriousness. It does appear that the device features a tray-loading disc mechanism, which is a bit unfortunate — slot-loading mechanisms, in my opinion, look and feel that slightly bit more fancy on the whole.
Even still, Magnetar has effectively built the 4K UHD Blu-ray player to end all Blu-ray players. With a price tag as commanding as it is, I don’t expect the player to achieve living room ubiquity anytime soon, but for enthusiasts looking for the best of the best, the ULTIMA is precisely what the doctor ordered.
