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?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large product picture takes most of the front of the large box inside which Creative ships the Katana (of course their logo and the main product features are also present).

The product specifications are printed on the left side in 5 languages just over the bundle contents.

As expected at the rear of the box we find several pictures and drawings used to showcase the various product features.

Both the soundbar and the subwoofer are wrapped inside cloth covers and are placed between several pieces of foam.

Aside the Sound BlasterX Katana soundbar and subwoofer Creative also ships three power cords (EU/UK/USA for our sample), 1.8m long USB cable, 0.6m long USB cable (recommended for firmware updates), 2 wall mount brackets, IR remote, warranty and support leaflet, safety leaflet and the quick start guide.

THE SOUND BLASTERX KATANA

The 1.5Kg heavy soundbar features a nice looking brushed aluminum enclosure which measures 600mm in length, 79mm in width and 60mm in height.

At the top of the soundbar Creative has placed the on/off/bluetooth pairing, volume down/up, source and sbx (audio modes) buttons.

Needless to say, that beneath these two grills located at the top lie the 2.5 inch mid-bass drivers.

What did surprise me a bit was that even though the soundbar is 600mm long it has just two 1.3 inch twitters facing forward.

Every single port is located at the rear of the soundbar so here we find the DC in, subwoofer port, microphone input, headphone output, auxiliary input, optical SPDIF input, USB audio player and a micro USB port (for this review i used the micro USB connection and the SPDIF input).

Turning the soundbar over we see two feet and the RGB LED strip with te 49 programmable RGB LEDs.

The subwoofer weighs no less than 4Kg and measures 333mm in height, 299mm in width and 130mm in length.

Even though the port tube is located at the front of the MDF enclosure the long-throw driver fires from the right side.

The subwoofer sits on 4 round rubber feet.

If you plan on pairing the Katana wirelessly with your TV then this remote control can come in very handy.

USING THE SOUND BLASTERX KATANA

Pretty much every setting you change is displayed on the front VFW screen (for example the maximum volume level is 50).

Of course, the same applies whenever you chance the input.

Changing modes not only gets displayed on the VFW screen but it also changes the Aurora effect (of course you can change that from within the Sound Blaster Command 2 software).

I ended up using the Katana for almost 1 full month with several game titles, 4k movies and FLAC tracks (during that time i also finished Halo 3, Metro Exodus Gold Edition and Gears Tactics).

SOUND BLASTER COMMAND 2

Remember that prior to using the Sound Blaster Command 2 software you should upgrade the firmware of your Katana (you can do that either via the standalone updater seen above or through the Sound Blaster Command 2 software).

From the dashboard screen of the Sound Blaster Command 2 software you can change the audio mode (12 available ones), enable the equalizer function, adjust the acoustic engine settings, enable/disable the Aurora lighting and see which effect is currently loaded.

Inside the sound tab you can access the equalizer function (basically the same modes as seen before), access the acoustic engine settings and adjust the Dolby Digital dynamic range control.

If you decide to use a microphone with the Katana then you can use the voice reduction and voice morph from the voice tab.

You can change the Aurora effect and adjust the direction from inside the lighting tab.

Finally, the end user can check for both new software and firmware versions from the settings tab.

CONCLUSION

   I've only used 3 mid-end soundbars in my life (from Samsung/Sony/Pioneer) prior to receiving the Sound BlasterX Katana by Creative and so i honestly didn't expect that much in terms of audio performance. Fortunately, that wasn't the case and even though yes i wouldn't replace any of my two 5.1 surround sound speaker systems with the Katana it's a safe bet that I’d choose it in case of severe space restrictions. Volume levels can go very high (actually I hardly ever went over 30 – max is 50), both mids and highs are very accurate and crisp (even more so when connected to the AE-9) and as for positioning audio, well is actually surprisingly effective, especially in games, that is if you sit right at the front and center of the soundbar (more to the left or to the right and you will not be getting the optimal experience). Bass levels are also sufficient but not nearly as rich and powerful as what both the 12 and 8 inch subwoofers of my surround sound systems output (which is quite normal since this is a 5.25 inch driver after all). The Aurora RGB system also looks great and even though i didn't like the pairing Creative did in regards to the various modes (for example gaming just has a blue line going back and forth) this is very easy to change from the Sound Blaster Command 2 software.

   Roughly 4 years after its introduction into the market the Sound BlasterX Katana Customizable 24-Bit Hi-Res Gaming Under-Monitor Sound System has seen its price reduced a bit and so currently you can find it for USD271.86 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 234.93Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Of course, even today the Katana is far from an affordable soundbar but the thing is that you’re not just getting a bluetooth soundbar, you’re also getting a 24-bit/96KHz Hi-Res USB audio card, USB audio player and a portable RGB lighting system. So even though the Sound BlasterX Katana already counts almost 4 years in the market it’s still a great choice for PC and console gamers alike and that’s also why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Audio Clarity & Crispness
- Wired & Wireless Connectivity
- 24bit/96KHz USB Audio Card
- Aurora RGB Lighting System
- 75WRMS Output
- USB Audio Player
- Available Modes

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- 2016 Model