INTRODUCTION

   Space restrictions apply to most of us so it's a safe bet that many of you reading these lines had to choose many things carefully because of that including your TV screen and speaker system. Of course, the size of things that have to do with your PC like the tower, LCD screen and/or speaker system may also have been greatly affected due to a tight space. The good news is that everything is getting smaller and even though LCD screens may not get less wide they are certain to become even thinner. When it comes to speakers however current technology dictates that the larger the speaker the higher the output it can produce (and in many cases the clearer the audio). For people however who simply don't have the space requirements for something like that soundbars have proven to be the best alternative. Creative released the Sound BlasterX Katana Customizable 24-Bit Hi-Res Gaming Under-Monitor Sound System back in late 2016 and not only has it been one of their most popular products but it's also one of the bestselling gaming soundbars in the world.

   Creative is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Famous for its Sound Blaster® sound cards and for driving the multimedia revolution - which established a user base of 400 million - Creative drives digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions that include premium wireless speakers, wireless headphones, powerful audiophile-grade digital amplifiers and next-generation home-theatre systems. Aiming at the new mobile networked generation by bridging the worlds of the computer, smartphones, and tablets, Creative continues to reinvent the Sound Blaster, with its ground-breaking Sound Blaster Roar series and USB-audio class of products such as the Sound Blaster X7.

   The concept behind soundbars is rather simple, squeeze as many drivers/speakers as you can inside and point them in such a way that they can "mimic" 5.1/7.1 surround sound (what we all know as virtual surround or 3D sound). Creative placed a total of 4 drivers inside the Katana, two 1.3 inch (34mm) high-excursion tweeters (facing diagonally) and two 2.5 inch (63.5mm) mid-bass drivers (facing upwards). Good speaker systems however also sport subwoofers and so does the Katana which features a 5.25 inch (133mm) long-throw driver placed inside an CARB compliant MDF cabinet. What powers all of these drivers? The answer is not 1 but 3 DSP controlled amplifiers (one for mids, one for highs and one for bass) which complete the audio design of the Katana and produce a total output of 75WRMS/150W (45WRMS/90W for the soundbar and 30WRMS/60W for the subwoofer). The list of features doesn't end here since the Katana also features a 24-bit DSP (supports Dolby Digital decoding) which also allows it to be used as an 3D USB audio card (just plug it into a USB port and you're good to go), Bluetooth v4.2 wireless connectivity (A2DP with support for AAC and SBC audio codecs), optical SPDIF input, USB input (audio player compatible with MP3, WMA, WAV and FLAC), compact remote control and Creative's impressive Aurora Reactive Lighting System (49 programmable RGB LEDs with 13 effects). What more can one ask from a soundbar?