INTRODUCTION

   From 2.0 and 2.1 stereo speaker sets to 5.1, 7.1 and ATMOS surround sound speaker systems and even soundbars with numerous speaker configurations (1.0/2.0/2.2/2.1.2/3.1/3.1.2/3.1.3/4.0/5.0.2/5.1/5.1.2/5.1.4/5.2/6.1/7.1.2/7.1.4/9.1/9.1.4/11.1.4) today's market should be more than able to cover every consumer's needs and requirements in regards to home audio. Still, when it comes to gaming things are not quite as simple, not just because well we'd all like something unique looking for our desks but also due to space limitations around that said desk most of us have experienced more than once in our lives. This is why Creative recently took their popular Katana V2 gaming soundbar series back to the drawing board to remove the bundled subwoofer from the mix and the somewhat recently released Katana SE model is the result.

   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.

   Once again and exactly like their Katana V2 and Katana V2X gaming soundbars Creative has squeezed 4 drivers (2x109mm up firing mid-range/2x54mm front firing fabric dome tweeters resulting in a frequency range of 55–20000Hz), two amplifiers (90WRMS total and controlled by a multi-core DSP), and a 2.0/5.1 virtual surround sound audio card (Hi-Res 24bit/96KHz capable with Dolby Audio and X-Fi support), dual beamforming noise-cancelling microphones (allow the soundbar to also be used as a speakerphone). What's interesting in comparison (aside the lack of a subwoofer and its replacement by two passive bass radiators at the rear) is that the drivers of the new Katana SE have the same exact output of 90WRMS (25WRMs for each mid-range driver and 20WRMS for each tweeter) as the ones in the Katana V2X plus its subwoofer. Needless to say, Creative has placed an almost identical ARGB LED bar beneath the front of the soundbar (7 zones), the same front display and in regards to connectivity this includes Bluetooth v5.0 (support for A2DP/AVRCP and SBC audio codec), HDMI ARC port, optical port (SPDIF), 3.5mm AUX input, USB-C and a 3.5mm headset output. So, time to see what Creative has been up to and whether or not the Katana SE can actually rival its predecessors, even without a subwoofer.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

This time over Creative has used a thin and long box to ship the Katana SE the front of which has a product picture, their logo and the main product features.

The bundle contents are printed on the left side whereas on the right we find the product specifications in 4 languages.

At the rear Creative speaks about the main product features in depth and in 4 languages (a drawing of the dual-amps powering the drivers is also placed here).

Packaging is pretty much excellent with the entire bundle secured by numerous plastic bags and pieces of cardboard.

So, aside the Katana SE soundbar and its power adapter with its three cables (EU/UK/USA) inside the box you'll also find two wall mounts with their screws, optical cable, USB-A to USB-C cable, remote control and a quick start guide.

THE SOUND BLASTER KATANA SE

The new Katana SE model is larger than its predecessors and so it weighs 2.67Kg and measures 650mm in length, 109mm in depth and 78mm in height (short clip of the Sound Blaster Katana SE is available on TikTok and YouTube).

Here you can see just how the Katana SE compares to the 1.52Kg heavy Katana V2 (and V2X since it's identical to the V2).

At the front of the soundbar we find two forward 54mm firing tweeters (far left and right), long display, two beamforming microphones (left and right from the display) and the 3.5mm headphones port.

Moving on top we find one 109mm mid-range up-firing driver on each side and the media buttons (this time rubberized) which include the on/off/bluetooth pairing, increase/decrease volume, source (USB/optical/aux/bluetooth/TV), mode (movies/music/gaming/effects) and SXFI buttons.

Turning the Katana SE around we find two passive bass radiators (one on each side) and the HDMI ARC, USB-A (SXFI output for use with USB headphones), USB-C, aux-in, optical in and power ports.

At the base of the soundbar we find three rubber feet (1 more compared to the Katana V2 and V2X models) and a very long RGB LED bar (7 zones - doesn't however extend to the sides like the Katana V2 and V2X).

As expected, Creative has used the same IR remote as with the Katana V2 and V2X.

CREATIVE APP

In order to control all aspects of the Katana SE via USB you will need to download and install the Creative App software.

As expected at launch the software detects whether or not there are firmware updates for your Katana SE.

From the main tab you can access and control most aspects of the soundbar including its preferred sound mode, Super X-Fi (you will need a separate app for this), acoustic engine (audio tweaking), crystal voice (microphone tweaking), equalizer, scout mode (emphasizes online gaming), lighting (RGB LED bar effects), Dolby Decoder, mixer and custom buttons (button customization).

Worth pointing out is that you can easily add/remove icons on the main tab of the software as seen above.

Inside the playback tab Creative has placed just that, audio quality for both speaker and headphone use.

Needless to say, the same applies for the recording tab.

Last but not least from inside the settings tab you can check for software and firmware updates, reset the device, change the display brightness, adjust subwoofer volume, enable/disable the energy saving features and enable/disable the HDMI CEC standby link.

Ah, forgot to mention that you can also change the appearance of the Creative App software (light/dark) from the settings menu.

CONCLUSION

   Space restrictions is not something rare, not just for PC gamers but every consumer out there which is why the marketing pitch for the Sound Blaster Katana SE (when launched) included everyone. Does it deliver however? The short answer is yes, it delivers and then some. Granted, bass levels may not be quite the same and the “in your face” low frequencies (although far more subtle than a dedicated sub) may not be quite what we’ve all learned to expect from soundbar models with their own subwoofer (usually placed on the ground) but thanks to its power output and audio clarity (largely thanks to the large 109mm mid-range drivers) the Sound Blaster Katana SE more than makes up for that. Needless to say, for optimal results especially while gaming you will need to play around with the different modes (scout mode included) but in the end you’ll never look back to what speakers you had before. The one thing that annoyed me with all past Katana models was the delay in bootup and yes, it’s still not fixed (around 15 seconds) with the SE model either which leads me to believe that this has to do with the dual amps (self-test or something). The change from hard to soft media buttons may not be something I like or dislike but from time to time I do feel like the hard buttons of my Katana V2 model don’t work very well so perhaps this is just Creative further improving on that aspect of the soundbar.

   So, just how much are you required to spend in order to get your hands on the latest Sound Blaster Katana SE model? Well at the time of this review the Katana SE is actually on sale for USD259.99 inside the USA (US.CREATIVE.COM) but on its normal price of 329.99Euros inside the EU (DE.CREATIVE.COM) and so once again things look better on the other side of the Atlantic. With that out of the way what I can say about the Sound Blaster Katana SE is that it’s a solid soundbar which not only looks great but it will probably outperform most soundbars out there that don’t include their own subwoofers and that’s why it deserves the Golden award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- Space Requirements (Lack Of Subwoofer)
- Audio Clarity & Crispness
- 90WRMS Output (180W PMPO)
- Wired & Wireless Use
- 24bit/96KHz USB Audio Card
- Dual Beamforming Microphones
- RGB Lighting System
- General Connectivity
- Headphone Out with Super XFi
- Available Modes
- Price (USA)

CONS

- Price (EU)
- No USB Audio Player
- Creative SXFI App (MS Store/Android/iOS Only)
- Lack Of Subwoofer (Reduced Bass Performance)